First successful Maverick launch. Did I do it right?

[Vampyr]

I just got the A-10C, and it's been quite the learning curve getting the hang of this thing coming from FC3. I finally managed to launch a Maverick after following the steps outlined in this thread, however I'm not sure if I'm doing it right.

 

After designating an SPI and slaving the Maverick to it, I can't launch the Maverick right away because it doesn't seem to have locked on to its target. What I had to do was make the Maverick my SOI and slew it left/right until it locked itself, and only then was I able to launch. Did I do something wrong?

 

I've attached a track hoping someone could take a look and give me some pointers. It's less than 5 minutes long.

a10c_maverick.trk

[Fred00]

After you have slaved the Maverick to your SPI you should do a TMS forward short. The Maverick will then attempt to lock onto the target.

[cthulhu68]

Keep in mind the Maverick lock distance depends a lot on how much the target stands out from background. On snow or in lightly colored field you get quicker lock than grassy terrain where targets blend in more.

The 65D (IR) usually locks 6 or 7 miles away. 65H (CCD) usually less than 5 miles. Just keep pressing TMS fwd short until you see the crosshair start jiggling.

[Vampyr]

Alright, so switching to MAV SOI and then pressing TMS forward short until lock is what I was missing. This time I managed to kill 2/3 targets in one pass.

 

The 65D does seem to perform better than the 65H. I just thought that IR may not work as well during summer daytime due to ambient heat, but apparently that isn't the case.

[P.Carrasco =Keep Flying=]

Hi, wellcome to A-10C family!

The 65H you Will use at nigth our bad weather!

There is other way to launch the Mavericks, i dont remeber It s we use only one 64D our 64H the "Force Corelate" i think This is the name, u can use the Mavericks from 10miles but only some times It hit the target need a Lot tranning to master This skill. I particulary not use this.

[Dav IRL]

Hi, wellcome to A-10C family!

The 65H you Will use at nigth our bad weather!

There is other way to launch the Mavericks, i dont remeber It s we use only one 64D our 64H the "Force Corelate" i think This is the name, u can use the Mavericks from 10miles but only some times It hit the target need a Lot tranning to master This skill. I particulary not use this.

 

No, The 'h' variant is for day time only the 'd' is for night.

[Shadow KT]

Isn't the H only used for desert terrains ?

[P.Carrasco =Keep Flying=]

Oh, sure! Sorry i swap the letters! >.<

[P.Carrasco =Keep Flying=]

Mavericks:

A/B - Electro Optical

H/J/K - Charge Coupled Device (ccd)

D/F/G - Infrared Homing

E/L - Laser Guidance

 

A - Frist Mav Basic

B - Zooming Lock

C - Laser Guided, canceled moved to "E"

D - Imaging Infrared wich doubled the practical firing distance And allowed for use at night and bad weather.

E - Laser designator guidance for fortified installations and heavier penetrating blast fragmentation.

F - Infrared guidance optimized for tracking ships.

G - Imaging Infrared, software modification enables the pilot track larger targets And have heavier penetrator warhead.

H - Charge Coupled Device (ccd) seeker, better for desert environment.

J - New ccd seeker - top secret.

K - 65G upgraded with ccd seeker

E2/L - Laser guided, can engage small,fast moving And maneuvering targets on Land And Sea.

 

Now i can't swap the letters XD

Edited December 28, 2017 by Chacina

[nessuno0505]

So if I select a SPI with the TGP set as SOI, then do china hat forward long (slave all to spi), have I to set mav as SOI and then press TMS forward short to obtain a lock? Because usually I set mav as SOI and then move the cross until I obtain a lock. So I can do a TMS forward short instead of moving the cross, and I should lock automatically my target, is this correct?

[Yurgon]

So if I select a SPI with the TGP set as SOI, then do china hat forward long (slave all to spi), have I to set mav as SOI and then press TMS forward short to obtain a lock?

 

That is absolutely correct.

 

The Mav will try to lock on to anything with sufficient contrast while slewing, so you didn't do anything wrong. But when slaving the seeker to your SPI, it should be right on top of the target, and slewing it might actually lock something else instead, depending on the proximity of targets. So TMS Up Short with Mav as SOI just means you don't need to slew it, and you can repeat the button press until the missile locks without having to reverse slew direction all the time.

[Kang]

Yes, that is correct. By the way, if the targets aren't clustered too close and I don't run the risk of locking onto something I don't want to, I often do as you did and just 'wiggle' the Mav a little. While less precise this gives me a little feedback on the Mav being active. The 'TMS forward short' just doesn't do anything at all if you don't lock.

[Vampyr]

How many launches do you guys usually manage in one pass? I can only manage one launch because by the time I've gotten a lock and launched on a target, I'm too close to the next target to switch back to TGP and go through the entire process again.

 

It seems that the only way around it is to bypass TGP after the first launch and slew the next Maverick manually until lock.

Edited December 31, 2017 by Vampyr

[Kang]

Depends largely on the target area, i'd say. If the targets are somewhat concealed that's about par for the course. If the targets are a group of tanks parked in an open field, that can easily be a sextuple strike. If they are visible enough in the Mav-Seeker picture and you don't need to double-check what exactly each target is, there really is no need to go back and forth with the TGP.

[Vampyr]

When I have MAV as SOI, how do I ground stabilize and zoom in/out?

[Frederf]

China hat, a tap in the forward direction toggles between wide and narrow field of view.

 

Grounding can be triggered by TMS down (or is it right?). It's one of the TMS directions other than up. It'll also auto ground stabilize when you stop slewing and it fails to lock on to anything in a couple seconds.

[Yurgon]

Grounding can be triggered by TMS down (or is it right?).

 

TMS Down Short is correct. :thumbup:

[KamiraHusky]

If during orbit and target spotting there is time and no threats to deal with immediately, I'll usually mark targets with markpoints (TMS right short), set nav mode to Mark and then use the marks as SPI, that way I can fly my approach with the first target/mark locked, rifle, set HUD to SOI, DMS up to move to mark B, set as SOI&SPI, slave all, rifle, repeat.

 

It sounds complex, but when you get the thoughts in order and do it a few times it becomes quite an easy process.

[Yurgon]

It sounds complex, but when you get the thoughts in order and do it a few times it becomes quite an easy process.

 

Yup, also works very well with JDAMs :)

 

For this procedure, it might be useful to map the steerpoint rocker from the UFC to something on the keyboard. It isn't exactly HOTAS then, but I find switching the waypoint without changing the SOI makes the workflow a little more fluid.

[Hansolo]

How many launches do you guys usually manage in one pass? I can only manage one launch because by the time I've gotten a lock and launched on a target, I'm too close to the next target to switch back to TGP and go through the entire process again.

 

It seems that the only way around it is to bypass TGP after the first launch and slew the next Maverick manually until lock.

 

If you want to RIFLE off more AGM in one pass don't use the TGP. Here is an example from one of our flights where FROSTY 6-2 RIFLE's off 4xAGM in one pass, 1h25m10s into the recording.

 

 

NOTE! Here the TGP is not used. Just use the wagon wheel in the HUD to slew to the vicinity of the targets and then gain a lock from AGM seeker. What can't seen in the clip is that AGM is on right MFCD on a second monitor.

 

Cheers

Hans