Situational awareness: any tips?

[blackbelter]

How do you train yourselves in situational awareness? How do you find your enemies in the first place? How do you keep track of where your enemies are? Any tips would be welcome.

 

Thanks in advance.

[Solty]

Which type of planes? WW2 or modern jets?

[blackbelter]

Which type of planes? WW2 or modern jets?

 

I had modern fighters in mind... Thanks.

[blackbelter]

uh

 

uh... Please define "real question"...

[atsmith6]

Here's an exercise that changed everything for me. Please note that it pertains to flying DCS with TrackIR.

 

Air-to-Ground:

1. Use a simplified plane like the SU-25 / SU-25T. You want to focus on SA learning only.
   
2. Create a mission with enemy BMP's as well as one SA-18 hidden in a town somewhere 20+ miles from your airbase.
   
3. Navigate to that waypoint by flying along the radial from your take-off airport. Not directly to steer-point. This is important in helping you learn to know where you are relative to something else. I found that using modern sensors prevent you learning good SA as they act as a crutch and so your brain doesn't recognise the need to learn.
   
4. Now when you successfully get there, try find and destroy all the units hidden among the buildings with your guns only. Hint: Use zoom in and out to compensate for the fact that the resolution of your screen (even if it's 4K) is lower than your eyes and anti-aliasing effectively erases very far objects we'd still see in real life.
   

 

At first I found this exercise almost impossible. The first sight I got of the enemy was the incoming missile smoke path because I got too close. After a while I started to recognise the visual cues that gave away enemy positions. More importantly, in the beginning when I would find the enemy, I'd look away for some reason (like flying) and then they'd be gone! Once I'd done this for a little while my brain finally clicked it needs to know where it is relative to known spots on the ground. Now I can look away for extended periods and have no problem getting my eyes right back on the enemy.

 

Air-to-Air:

 

This was a big one for me. Every time I looked away I lost my opponent. So I created a TE with the F-15 (again, simple plane to focus only on SA practice) vs a SU-27, and started dogfighting with the following rules:

1. I may not shoot (intent is extend the fight so you can practice finding the enemy);
   
2. Once I know where he is I must look away for 2 seconds, then re-acquire him.
   

Again, in the beginning this seemed impossible. Now I can look away for extended periods and find him again in a second assuming he didn't change his flight path too drastically.

 

The above two exercises completely changed my abilities to fight in both DCS and Falcon BMS. Interestingly once I had good SA without the sensors, I found that my ability to use the sensors effectively improved enormously and they became an advantage rather than a crutch.

 

Hope that helps in some way.

[blackbelter]

Here's an exercise that changed everything for me. Please note that it pertains to flying DCS with TrackIR.

 

Nice ideas! Will definitely try them out. Thanks a lot for sharing! :thumbup:

[JoeLu62]

Thank you for sharing!

[Griffon26]

Ill try that out too!

 

Thanks for sharing

[Slazi]

TrackIr (or something like it) and not being zoomed in or too focused on my instruments usually helps.

[Frostie]

One of the key acknowledgements in building SA that is so easily missed is as soon as contact is made immediately mentally log the bearing. As a solo pilot this split moment is one of the main issues where SA is either gained or lost.

[BitMaster]

One of the key acknowledgements in building SA that is so easily missed is as soon as contact is made immediately mentally log the bearing. As a solo pilot this split moment is one of the main issues where SA is either gained or lost.

 

 

A: Disciplin yourself to follow the protocol

 

B: Never fight in anger if you want to RTB

 

 

Stay cool and plan ahead, stay ahead of what happens and have a plan-b ready at all times.

 

 

Whenever I don't follow those 2 above it ends with a parachute if I am lucky.

 

 

SA grows slow, is hard to maintain and can be lost in a split second. A very precious odd indeed

 

 

 

Bit

[davos]

Look at the layout of the land and use landmarks. E.g enemy is on that side of the river, safe zone is by the mountains. Look out the window as much as you can. When you go into a target area have a safe exit route/direction planned and have a regular mental check where you are in relation to that exit. Know how you are going to attack something before you do it. Attack it and then exit. Be patient.

[WildBillKelsoe]

In fighters, pilots usually scan ground in sectors, starting with forward quarters to wing, then wings to tail (this is from Dan Hampton's book). Also scan the sky by dividing it to sectors, each sector 2-3 seconds, then rinse and repeat. Keep in mind that maneuvering can cause loss of spatial orientation and lead to loss of SA.

 

Remember, if everything seems OK, there is something wrong.

[ghostdog688]

To echo many of the sentiments here, turn off the sensors and use your eyes first. Make constant use of visual references. Trying to shoot something on the ground? Place the symbology/sight on the patch of land where the contacts are, and look at the ground. See that building/tree/river/field/hedge/etc etc? Mental note it and shoot with reference to that.

[CASoldier2014]

And remember.. Try to look outside as much as possible and not at your instruments :)

[gcharrie]

[*]Navigate to that waypoint by flying along the radial from your take-off airport. Not directly to steer-point.

 

Could you elaborate about this point ?

Do you mean you just have to try to estimate your position without any instrument ? only vfr or with compas or using only radio beacon ?

 

Thanks

 

 

Guillaume

[BitMaster]

I think what atsmith6 means is this:

 

Instead of flying dead center to your target, strictly staying ON THE LINE printed on your ABRIS, MFD or Pilots's Map you should fly PARALLEL to it and NOT hit the target dead center, ending up in a full blown AAA and SAM scenario. Fly alongside your path, maybe 8-15km away and "WATCH" what's going on DOWN THERE as you approach your target area. If you don't see anything your are on the wrong side of it, circle around while you always watch to stay at least 8km away to not trigger short and medium range missiles. Circle and look until you know what to expect when turning in.

 

When you turn in, know what you want to do and stick to that.

 

Targets of opportunity can be tricky as they misguide you like Sirens in the Sea or Loreley, none survived their honey pots haha.

 

No, serious, stay away from the main battle area until you are very sure what goes on down there, then engage with a plan and don't overdo it, you want to RTB and come back for more :)

 

 

Bit

[gcharrie]

Thanks bitMaster for your explanation.

 

I will try to do all this during my next training sessions :-)

 

 

Guillaume

[Addewang]

1: Navigation awareness: after you get airborne and have stabilized stop what you're doing one moment and watch outside. Watch ahead, sides and back and create a mental 3x3 map of your surroundings and note anything significant including mountains. Example: I'm in centre. Empty plains ahead and right, mountains left with big mountain directly left and plains back, Ultima-style.

^##

^@#

^##

Every now and then do this again. If your navigation busts find the mountain going south and when you are at the big mountain airbase is east.

 

During flight planning it can also be a good idea to note for example that you're supposed to fly 227 across three rivers but not a fourth and then turn. Count mountains, water etcetera.

 

2: A-G spotting: note the surroundings of your enemy. Edge of city, or in middle of N-shaped green-yellow field. When looking away note what you see as you turn. Example my enemy is at the edge of the woods to my right and if I want to turn to see them I should see three other small woods then stop turning and see them directly below a cloud in the distance.

 

3: A-A spotting. If he's nowhere he's on your six.

[BitMaster]

yes indeed, you will be thankful to yourself if you remember by eye sight only where you are and know how to find home WITHOUT Abris or alike MFD helpers.

 

It also makes a difference on how high you can set your terrain and overall graphics quality

as I know first hand on how much my SA in that specific manner improved just by having better visual quality and resolution. It gets very difficult with LOW settings

as details and objects disappear so quick and come back so late that you can hardly navigate by those, aka set your bombrun according to those.

 

TIR is a great tool as well. I only have it for a couple weeks now and it wouldnt want to miss it. Whenever I pause TIR for some reason and fly the "old" way I fell like "locked" and "not allowed to" kind of feeling. ....and it really helps to get a good view around in no time, following another AC or flying formation is also so much easier as you dont have to fiddle with the Coolie Hat switch permanently, which also distracts and adds load to the pilot, one of the downspiral additives one should eliminate if possible.

 

SA has many facettes and quickly turns it's side.

 

Also, as a side note. Actual Fighter Pilots fly at the peak time of the day, it's their job to be awake and ready for that and they are of a certain age only as well.

We, the arm chair pilots league, usually fly when we get home from work, dirty & tired, kids hanging on your leg and kitchen command giving you orders, somewhere in between we play DCS, only a few are young, single, rich, time at hand and dont miss life if they play DCS 8h a day. Most cant dedicate their lives to DCS and have to find their way.

 

I hardly ever get to DCS fresh and awake, its usually after a long day and often enough I would still like to but just fell to exhausted to do it.

 

My SA 95% depends on how relaxed, well slept, fit etc. I am as I know my body well and I also know that my brain power and speed degrades when I am anything but not fit, well slept etc... SA is by a big part depending on present physical and mental fitness.

 

You usually wont be the winner of a furball with 8 Jets after a 12h day and kids & wife.

On a sunday morning this might look totally different.

 

Bit