What Is The Difficulty Level Of The F-16?

[Ercoupe]

I know that may sound like a stupid question. I've gotten proficient in the A-10c and can start 'er up and get all systems cranked up pretty quickly...but it took me a while to finally get there. I didn't think I'd pick up another complex jet. But, the F-16....geeez! I'm having a hard time resisting. Is there a lot more to learn?

[Viking 1-1]

If you are "good" on the A10c, you will be good on the Viper as well. Once you understood all the complex systems of the A10 it is easier to transfer that knowledge to another jet.

 

I started with the A10 as well, and the Viper is not as complex as the Warthog, at least at the moment.

[some1]

The F16 Systems are a bit more streamlined and easier to operate than in the Hog. At the same time, the fundamentals are the same, so it won't feel completely alien.

 

That being said, there are no proper training missions and the manual is rather basic, so you'll have to rely on other sources.

[QuiGon]

The good thing about the Viper is, that its HOTAS is quite similar to the A-10C. It uses the same stick with the same switches and also uses the SOI functionality. It doesn't use the SPI functionality of the A-10C though, so in the Viper SOI and SPI are the same thing so to speak.

 

You will have to learn all the A-A stuff though (radar!), which the A-10C doesn't have (besides basic Sidewinder functionality).

[Lace]

The Viper is a doddle compared with the A-10C IMHO.

 

 

Some systems may get more complicated as they are fleshed-out through EA, but I think it is generally a lot more intuitive. I would actually go as far as to say it is the easiest to fly and fight of any of the high-fidelity modules that I own.

[Emmy]

Having flown almost nothing but the A-10C for about the last two years in a really solid squadron, I'm finding the transition to the Viper to be relatively painless in terms of operation.

 

Much, much, much to learn though to effectively fight in the jet!

 

 

Did I mention that things happen a lot faster? LOL

[Fri13]

Difficult comes that in A-10C you fly in safe air environment and you really don't have horry to anywhere. But in F-16C you will be engaged faster, rapidly, you need to have far greater situational awareness and vertical space operation.

 

And in future when you start to do SEAD, you will have far more intense times than with A-10C.

 

As with F-16C, you don't need to touch to A-A part so much if not wanted, so your future task would be with A-G radar and trying to find a green dot from all other hundreds of green dots, that would be a target. So your somewhat capable low visibility (clouds and mist) tasking is different from low light operations.

 

What comes to avionics etc. It should be very simple after A-10C.

I would say that A-10C was designed for someone who needs to wait hours on station and play with targeting pod.

But F-16C was designed for seconds tier day time fighter pilot, who got fancy targeting systems to hit quickly to wanted building or bridge and then return to base.

[Ercoupe]

You are steering towards the Viper, boys. The "wait hours on station playing with targeting pods," is good. That is time consuming in the hog, and I have often paused it, so I could have time to set myself up correctly. In one mission, myself and a wingman went after a large group of armored vehicles. I told him to engage targets, and I hadn't yet fired a shot and this guy is saying, "Target destroyed, target, destroyed, target destroyed!" He got 26 of them before I had fired a single maverick!

But, anyway, I'm thinking that the F-16 is what I'm going to say when my wife says, "So, what do you want for Christmas?'

[Ercoupe]

Hmm...I'm reading the bug reports. That HUD and TGP alignment problem sounds like a major issue. Sounds as though navigating and using AG ordnance will be frustrating. I want this, but not if I'm going to be agravated every time I fly it. Hopefully they can fix this stuff soon.

[Emmy]

Hmm...I'm reading the bug reports. That HUD and TGP alignment problem sounds like a major issue. Sounds as though navigating and using AG ordnance will be frustrating. I want this, but not if I'm going to be agravated every time I fly it. Hopefully they can fix this stuff soon.

 

If you’re going to allow WIP issues to sway your choice for long-term enjoyment, then I respectfully suggest you opt out on the Viper / Open Beta.

[Ercoupe]

I'm not big on early access. But, this is a jet I'm having a hard time waiting for. I can accept some issues, but if it's something that makes it very difficult to fly missions with it, I'd rather wait.

Are you enjoying this module the way it is? Can you fight in it?

[Eldur]

The main difficulty is that it needs an ultra high resolution screen/HMD and some eagle eyes to operate.

[QuiGon]

Hmm...I'm reading the bug reports. That HUD and TGP alignment problem sounds like a major issue. Sounds as though navigating and using AG ordnance will be frustrating. I want this, but not if I'm going to be agravated every time I fly it. Hopefully they can fix this stuff soon.

It's still very much WIP and a lot of functions are either missing or not working correctly yet. ED is hard at work though and updates come very regularly, but it's a lot to do still.

[Ercoupe]

"The main difficulty is that it needs an ultra high resolution screen/HMD and some eagle eyes to operate."

 

More than other planes? Why is that?

[statrekmike]

Since it is a pretty big deal overall, I do think it is important to be honest about where the F-16 module is at this moment. Eagle Dynamics tried a somewhat new thing by releasing it in a very early access state (even compared to previous early access releases like the Hornet). This means that quite a few sensors, systems, and weapons are either not implemented at all or not fully implemented. This is not to say that these systems will not be implemented as that is only a matter of time but if you want something that you can really dig into like the A-10C, you are going to hit A LOT of functionality gaps. This will obviously bother some more than others depending on what they want out of DCS. For me personally, this means that while I was quick to pre-order the module, I was also quite quick to leave it in my virtual hanger so it can collect virtual dust while I focus on other, more complete modules. Eventually it will be at a state where I dust it off and start making missions for it but it is not really at that point right now (at least for me).

 

As far as its difficulty level? At this particular moment and in its rather incomplete state, you could probably sit down and learn all the systems it has to offer in a afternoon of meaningful study/practice. It's fly by wire system makes for a easy flying experience and its limited systems and basic weapons selection makes for quick learning.

 

All that being said, when the module is complete and has all its sensors, systems, and weapons, it will probably be a similar learning experience to the A-10C when you really dig into it via the manual and other meaningfully detailed documentation. Since you have put time into learning the A-10C, I think you will find that a lot of the same logic will carry over to the F-16. Many of the concepts that guide the A-10C's systems arrangement and development will be visible as you learn the Viper. As such, you would not be starting from square-one. You will already know how a lot of it works on a conceptual level and learning the specifics won't be too difficult as long as you are willing to put in some degree of meaningful effort to do so.

[RampantCoyote]

The current state of the Viper is finally a bit further along than the Hornet was at release... took it a month, but most of the core functionality is there, as well as first-pass TWS radar, LITENING pod, etc. Eventually, there will be a lot to know, but based on my recollection of things like Falcon 4.0, etc., it won't be quite as complex as the A-10C, or even the F/A-18. The startup process, in particular, is cake compared to either of those aircraft.

 

The advantage of getting this module *NOW* is that you won't have quite as overwhelming a learning curve. There's still plenty to learn, don't get me wrong, but you can probably keep up with development on your learning stages. :) At least that's the way I look at it.

 

And as people have stated, there is a lot of commonality between the A-10C and the F-16. So you should have no problems.

[BuzzU]

Eventually, there will be a lot to know, but based on my recollection of things like Falcon 4.0, etc., it won't be quite as complex as the A-10C, or even the F/A-18. The startup process, in particular, is cake compared to either of those aircraft.

 

Are you sure? Are you doing a proper startup or skipping a lot of it?

 

[RampantCoyote]

Are you sure? Are you doing a proper startup or skipping a lot of it?

 

 

Define "sure" :) I was going by the cold start procedure in the original release of the manual. Admittedly, I've done it a lot less since the INS calibration time was added.

[Archaic]

I fly almost exclusively online and the F16 is very capable and functional even in its current state. You might not be able to use HARMs, and LGBs are a big buggy, but A/A is great and CCIP/RP is what most pilots had until the mid 90s anyways.