air refueling

[joojoo]

Hey to all

 

I do fine with Hornet air refueling Missions but I really struggling with Tomcat, especially with the turbulence fron the Tanker. Any tips?

 

Thank you

[Nexus-6]

Set your wings to "Bomb Mode". Makes it easier.

 

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[electricaltill]

Turn off the HUD, I find it distracting.

[legearre]

Take station left of tanker, really trim her good with wings in bomb mode as said earlier, then go to station

[pimp]

Set your wings to "Bomb Mode". Makes it easier.

 

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Exactly this for me. I tried with wing sweep to Auto and although I was able to refuel, I was all over the place compared to Bomb mode.

[Redliner7]

Bomb mode +1...Don't focus on the basket, it's really throttle sensitive - so use a point of reference on the tanker, trim the plane out like it's in formation and just close in super slowly... And never look at the basket!

 

 

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[Gibo]

Also for me is very difficult to refuel in the F14.

Wath I find helpful is not to try to match the tanker velocity and then go to the contact with little increment but to go to the contact with 2 - 3 kts overspeed and, when there is the contact, slow down; this because I found out that going to the contact with 2 -3 ktn of overspeed give me a lot more stability and so is easier to grab the basket.

Another pratical suggestion to mantain contact;when the contact is ok I found useful to lower the view (LSHF + LCTRL + NUM2) and use as reference the pod from witch the tube originates. In this way you may see immediatly if you are drifting up or down, left or right or if you are too fast or to slow. That for me is much esier then to take reference from the tanker.

Let me know if I've been helpful

[Sam]

First, join the observation area and make sure you're in trim. You can set your wings in bomb or also manual to prevent them from moving. Those 2 steps are key to achieve maximum stability prior to connecting to the basket.

 

Then go to the precontact position, get the basket out, and only focus on the tanker, never look at the basket. Align the probe with the basket only using your peripheral vision.

 

Takes some practice but it gets easier and easier :)

[draconus]

Much of this was already said:

https://forums.eagle.ru/showthread.php?t=233889

 

 

My tip is to go slowly but as straight in as possible. Small correction is ok but any bigger you better back off and line up again. Connection is the hardest part as this means targeting into small basket, to stay connected you have a lot more space to move around.

[jojo]

Good tutorial :smilewink:

 

[SandMartin]

Main rule - Dont look to the basket!! See on the tanker wing only.

[Reflected]

When you guys say "don't look at the basket" you mean before or after plugging in? After, I only look at the tanker, easy. But while plugging in, I have to look at it, otherwise I don't know if I'm in the right position. The easiest way for me is to fly just behind the basket, like 1-2 feet, stabilise, then ease it in with a touch of throttle. Much easier with the Hornet, though.

[Nexus-6]

I don't look at it when I'm approaching. As others have said, I pick a spot on the tanker and use it as a reference. Once I'm actually plugged in, I'll glance at it every few seconds.

 

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[Mr. Big.Biggs]

Spent all day trying. Embarrassed to say I don’t know yet how to put wings in bomb mode. Any help would be appreciated.

Thanks

[Nexus-6]

Spent all day trying. Embarrassed to say I don’t know yet how to put wings in bomb mode. Any help would be appreciated.

Thanks

It's on the throttle.

 

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[MPK]

Move the head position all the way aft in the cockpit during refuelling. The canopy rail no longer blocks the view of the tanker and it becomes as easy as the hornet.

[UWBuRn]

Another point: trim must be adjusted not only when forming up with the tanker but also during refuelling. As the a/c will get heavier you will need to trim it again to compensate.

 

I found out this makes a huge difference: i'm on a CH set, and not trimming properly while refuelling leead to gradually pulling the stick, as it takes a while to refuel you end up being tired of giving much corrections and you will be more likely to loose the basket.

 

The less correction you will do on pitch, the less corrections you will do on the throttles. As soon as you start to be in a steady position with trim you will find out it will not be much different than others a/cs.

[veenee]

I find it easier with air brake out.

[joojoo]

Ok guys, I saw all of your comments. Tried to go in bomb but its difficult as well. Please tell me what to you mean by well trimming? what is the right trimming? nose up/down? I also want to ask if the autopilot must be on or off or it doesn't make any difference?

 

Thanx

[Nexus-6]

https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Trim_tab
Edited January 19, 2020 by Nexus-6

[statrekmike]

Ok guys, I saw all of your comments. Tried to go in bomb but its difficult as well. Please tell me what to you mean by well trimming? what is the right trimming? nose up/down? I also want to ask if the autopilot must be on or off or it doesn't make any difference?

 

Thanx

 

Bomb mode won't really make it "easy" overall, it will just make the process more manageable as there will be fewer variables to deal with. You will still need to be able to maintain very fine control over the stick and throttle.

 

In regards to trim, it is important to understand that there is never any one specific amount of trim you should apply. The idea is to trim the aircraft in such a way that you don't need to exert a lot of stick pressure to keep it stable. If you notice the nose wants to climb, add a TOUCH of trim to ease that up a bit. If the nose wants to go down, add a TOUCH of trim to deal with that. It is all about very, very fine amounts of trim. It is all about subtle, careful inputs. You really should be thinking in single "clicks" of the trim hat switch at a time.

 

When it comes to autopilot, you really, really should not use that. Some will say that it works great but it will only make the process harder in a couple of key ways.

 

1.) Some mission makers are not always going to give you a stable set of tanker speeds. Using auto-throttle in these cases will only make things harder and more frustrating.

 

2.) Using autopilot to stabilize the plane during refueling may work for a bit but when that tanker turns, the autopilot isn't going to turn with it. Doing it manually will allow you to keep up with any maneuvers the tanker makes without losing connection.

 

Overall, make sure that you learn how to do it properly before you start messing around with autopilot during refueling. It isn't easy and it does get frustrating at times but I promise that with a meaningful amount of effort and practice, it WILL suddenly "click" and you will feel so great. Don't try to shortcut around that process because any shortcut taken will inevitably make things harder for you down the line.

 

The biggest thing that I have found when it comes to refueling is getting to the point where you don't need to know how fast the tanker is going to keep a good formation with it. If you find yourself asking "how fast is the tanker going?" while constantly overshooting or falling behind, you need to take a step back and work on using your eyes to judge closure rates. This can be tricky and will demand a lot of you at first but it is a key part of the process. It is not unlike formation flying with another Tomcat on your wing. If you have to constantly "speed check" with your buddy because you keep falling behind or pushing too far ahead, you need to work on actually paying attention less to the airspeed indicators and paying more attention to how your wingman's aircraft looks in relation to you.

 

Another thing. As I said before, it is all about small, subtle inputs on both the stick and throttle. There is NEVER going to be a magic place where you don't need to touch the stick or throttle. You will ALWAYS be applying inputs to keep in position. It can be stressful, muscle tensing work but being able to know just how much input to apply is absolutely key. If you are heavy-handed on the stick or throttle, you will need to practice until that is no longer the case.

 

I have always felt that refueling is kinda the "final boss" of learning to fly in DCS. Before you start doing serious refueling attempts or even put some measure of effort into good formation flying, it is likely that many will feel pretty good about their flying when they are dogfighting or flying to and from a bombing target. Even dogfighting isn't exactly demanding in terms of precision. This is why a lot of other wise good DCS players will find refueling so frustrating. it REQUIRES a level of precision that bombing, dogfighting, and normal cruising just don't.

 

There is no magic bullet solution that you will find in a few minutes of youtube tutorials. The only way to really get to the point where you can refuel is to practice, practice, and more practice. It will be frustrating. You will fail a lot. Still, it will eventually click if you put serious effort into it. I promise that when it does click, you will feel a great sense of accomplishment.