Simpler cockpit manamagement?

[BattleAxes Skinner]

Hi there guys, just starting to teach myself this bafflingly beautiful bird...but am kinda getting lost with the very first training mission of start-up itself...the learning curve is just toooooo steeep...or maybe am just daft...but either ways; is there a way to drastically reduce the cockpit mgmt bit like in the FC3 aircraft?

[cichlidfan]

No.

[AnnaNass]

Hi there guys, just starting to teach myself this bafflingly beautiful bird...but am kinda getting lost with the very first training mission of start-up itself...the learning curve is just toooooo steeep...or maybe am just daft...but either ways; is there a way to drastically reduce the cockpit mgmt bit like in the FC3 aircraft?

 

No, otherwise it would be a game plane like F-15 and co and not a simulator plane. For people who only want to play there are many FC planes and people who want to virtually fly have to read the POH for hours :D

But that is the difference: F-15 and co are AceCombat level and Mig-21 and co are DCS level and it is absolutely usual that the DCS level needs knowledge.

 

So don't give up and keep learning to fly and not to play ;)

[zaelu]

Use autostart. Usually is Windows+Home.

 

Take it easy. Small steps. First fly the plane in airstart if it is more comfortable for you. All setup... ready to fight. Then add difficulty as you feel.

[TaxmanTom]

Use autostart. Usually is Windows+Home.

 

Take it easy. Small steps. First fly the plane in airstart if it is more comfortable for you. All setup... ready to fight. Then add difficulty as you feel.

 

Definitely this.

 

English cockpit would probably help a lot too.

 

Just take small steps and with the interactive training have a piece of paper ready. Pause to read the messages at your own pace, then write down the switches that need flicking.

 

After you've made your list you can then hop a cold start and see if you wrote it down correctly. If you did, woohoo. If it doesn't work, fiddle around to try and make it work or just go through the training again.

 

Just take your time with it, don't rush things :)

[scaflight]

The short answer was offered above. No, no way.

 

To me, the Mig's baffling array of ergonomically hostile design choices makes controlling it something of a battle. Learning how to in the first place is definitely something that needs doing piecemeal. Compared to the A-10C however, the Fishbed's systems are easy and not very interconnected, so you very quickly get past the initial WTF-threshold.

 

My personal preference has been to 1) memorize and understand the startup procedure, and then 2) reduce the most useful procedures to just a few clicks on the joystick. I mean, you can -definitely- reduce the cockpit workload, if moving functions to a HOTAS qualifies as doing that.

 

 

For 1), I dry-rehearsed the startup based on just images. To this day I count the switches as I go through, so I know the extinguisher is #6, fuel pumps #10-12, etc. The first time I played the Mig, I could pull off a cold start without a hitch. Not necessarily able to troubleshoot any unforeseen issue, but fortunately our aircraft are always perfect on mission start.

 

I by no means pretend that this is a checklist-ready startup, but it's worked for me so far.

 

Regarding 2), I think we all try to find a compromise between making things easier, and making things realistic. As I have the SAU (autopilot) modes mapped to my stick just as the model does, it's kinda realistic. But I also use the weapon selector knob, with IR/SAR, left-right movement of the knob, etc, assigned to the HOTAS left coolie. That's not very realistic, but you ****ing go ahead and switch to IR missiles after you're in the merge, trackIR bouncing all over ;)

[Golo]

... But I also use the weapon selector knob, with IR/SAR, left-right movement of the knob, etc, assigned to the HOTAS left coolie. That's not very realistic, but you ****ing go ahead and switch to IR missiles after you're in the merge, trackIR bouncing all over ;)

 

Yea, that one is a pain in a... its also a bug, its not how it works in a real aircraft, it has been in a bugtracker for some time now.

Its a things like that that make operating of the systems more difficult than they should.

[cro_mig_21]

Man, once you learn all the switches and what they do, starting up the beast will be a pleasure on it's on believe me :).

[MiG21bisFishbedL]

The MiG is a very simple aircraft and it won't take you too long to learn.

 

Take your time and get into the flow of it. You can have her spooled up and ready for a scramble in about 30 seconds. Do yourself a solid and check out the tutorials. You'll be combat ready real quick. DCS is no where near as hard as some people make it out to be. It might seem daunting, but with a good tutorial it's so much easier.

 

My best advice:

 

1.) Run the tutorial.

2.) Practice a little, no way around it. You need to develop muscle memory for the Fishbed.

3.) Come to terms with what the Fishbed is; it's a low tech, unfussy, and very easily grasped light fighter. It does not have a search radar, it does not have BVR, but it climbs well and has loads of character. It's also fast. There's no such thing as slow in the Fishbed. You have to accept that and learn to deal with it. You're going to be setting up your approaches at 420km/h, flying them at 360km/h, and touching down at 320km/h. MiG don't do slow, MiG do fast!

4.) Climbing turn is your best friend in a dogfight with comparable aircraft.

Edited August 9, 2016 by MiG21bisFishbedL

[Charly_Owl]

What I recommend is that you go by very small steps. This guide http://forums.eagle.ru/showthread.php?t=143397 breaks down most things in smaller, easy-to-digest (and full of pictures) segments.

 

I recommend that you try a start-up procedure in the MiG-21 at least 5 times. The more you do it, the more you will remember it instinctively, just like starting a car. Write down your own notes (or use mine, see previous link) if you need reminders of what switches are where and in roughly what order you need to do things.

 

A trick I can give you to remember how an aircraft start-up is to UNDERSTAND what you need to get an aircraft started. In order to start an aircraft like the MiG-21, you need:

 

1) An external power source and a battery and inverters, which are used to power most electrical systems

2) Fuel pumps to transfer the fuel to your engines

3) Something to start the main engine with (an APU (Auxiliary Power Unit), which is basically a small engine, is used as a starter to build up air pressure and power for the main aircraft engine)

4) Fire extinguishers (in case engine catches fire)

5) Throttle needs to be set at MIN, so just enough fuel will be allowed to start the engine (too much will most likely drown it and prevent a good start)

6) A starter switch, which will trigger engine ignition

 

The rest of the switches are mostly for accessory systems (like navigation), for aircraft lights, the flight recorder, etc. When you are doing a start-up procedure, always ask yourself: "Why am I doing this? Why is this switch important?" Usually, the answer is simpler than you'd think.

 

When I discover a new aircraft, I always ask myself these questions, which helps me a lot in regards to remembering the procedure.

1) Do I have electrical power?

2) Do I have fuel sent to my engine?

3) What do I use to start the engine? (external air pressure? APU? A german clown using a hand crank for an inertial starter?)

 

At the moment, forget about the weapons. Forget about the navigation. Just concentrate on starting up the aircraft, takeoff and land. Once you have that understood and mastered, the rest is usually a piece of cake. For any question you have, you will always find a guy in here who has the answer for you.

 

I've said it a thousand times, and I'll say it again: there is no such thing as a stupid question.

Edited August 9, 2016 by Charly_Owl

[Kobymaru]

Honestly, compared to other Birds like Ka-50 or the ridiculous A-10, the Mig-21 is incredibly easy.

 

I found the learning curve (for operating it) being rather flat and most of all short, because Mig-21 has limited capabilities and simple procedures.

 

The learning curve for combat effectiveness or even multiplayer viability.... Now that is a very different topic.

[Sokol1_br]

For fast startup I use this kneeboard page, so is just matter of follow numbers. ;)

 

https://s24.postimg.org/m6f6jkxqd/0_Startup_sequence0.jpg

 

Other is ignore "what if" procedures in those "realistic ramp starter list" - things like check fuel level/pressure, this don't have real use, because never fail, the virtual and invisible ground crew never forget to fill tanks. :)

I do only what the GAME need. ;)

[scaflight]

For fast startup I use this kneeboard page, so is just matter of follow numbers. ;)

 

https://s24.postimg.org/m6f6jkxqd/0_Startup_sequence0.jpg

 

Other is ignore "what if" procedures in those "realistic ramp starter list" - things like check fuel level/pressure, this don't have real use, because never fail, the virtual and invisible ground crew never forget to fill tanks. :)

I do only what the GAME need. ;)

 

It's 2016 and people still use red text on green background. Jesus weeping christ.

[Spectrum Legacy]

It's 2016 and people still use red text on green background. Jesus weeping christ.

 

You know, it might be by design this time... It appears as if the background matches the colour of the cockpit and red says cccp like nothing else. You can always look elsewhere if you don't like though.

[Sokol1_br]

It's 2016 and people still use red text on green background. Jesus weeping christ.

 

It's a 1960's... "design". ;)

[cichlidfan]

That pseudo cyrillic font is far more annoying than the color choice.