DCS: Black Shark - Q&A **READ FIRST!**

[EvilBivol-1]

So there is no confusion, let me clarify that the marker rockets modeled in Black Shark for both the player Ka-50 and all other AFAC-capable platforms are smoke rockets, so they can only be used in daytime. At night, you have to rely on illumination, which can only be provided by other AI fixed wing aircraft at this point.

[EvilBivol-1]

Although, now that I think about it, I guess your NVGs would allow you to still see the smoke rockets at night. Will have to do a test to be sure.

[ThunderChief]

Will it make any diffrence to AI aircraft (not your wingmen) if I designate a target with smoke rockets?

[Prophet]

Hey EB, are there any plans in the future to give us the night capable variant of the Ka-50?

[Buren]

Are we going to see the ejection sequence in first person/the pilot's view?

[EvilBivol-1]

Will it make any diffrence to AI aircraft (not your wingmen) if I designate a target with smoke rockets?

No, the AI is not currently programmed to recognize marking rockets. Illumination of the target area, however, does allow AI aircraft without night vision equipment to conduct night operations.

Hey EB, are there any plans in the future to give us the night capable variant of the Ka-50?

FAQ:

Q: Do you plan on modeling more advanced versions of the Ka-50, such as the night-capable Ka-50Sh and the dual-seat Ka-52?

A: Currently, we have no plans to model either the Ka-50Sh or the Ka-52. If either of these aircraft is adopted into service in the future and we are given an opportunity to model them accurately, this might change.

;)

Are we going to see the ejection sequence in first person/the pilot's view?

Yes

[Boberro]

I guess it wasn't asked so, why we have 6 Vikhrs than 8? Why Kamov didn't implement 8 but specially edit it for 6? Is it weight problems?

[Verdungo]

I got a little bored and decided to watch the producer's notes again, but this time more closely. However, there were some things I did not quite understand so here are some questions:

 

1. After the Ka-50's auxiliary power unit was started in the first producer's note, the fuel shutoff valves for left and right engines were enabled at the engine panel. Later, when the left engine was started, the pilot raised the red lever that opens the left engine cutoff valve. What's the point in first enabling the valves and later on opening the valves? Why can't one just simply open and close the valve when needed without having to click those two switches?

 

2. What happens if I try to start the engines without turning on the engine governors? Will the engines get damaged, or will they simply just not start? Respectively, if I am already flying and decide to turn off the governors, what happens then?

 

3. Why is it important to resize the Shkval's targeting cursor to the size of the target? Is it because the Shkval compares the brightness of the area inside the targeting cursor to the area outside the cursor?

 

4. In the sixth producer's note some weapons were introduced, including the 2A42 autocannon and rockets. According to that note, there is a switch in the primary weapon control panel that lets the pilot decide how long the bursts of 2A42 rounds and rockets should be. Since the minimum burst length is 10 rounds, it is not possible to use the 2A42 as a semiautomatic weapon in the Ka-50, right? Is this because of the cannon itself or a designed feature of the Ka-50? Also, is it really not possible to launch less than 10 rockets per burst? Sounds like a waste of ammo to me.

[GGTharos]

That is probably because you think rockets are for sniping with. They're for strafing. Regardless, you can set it to a 'short' burst, which will fire one rocket from each pod.

 

4. In the sixth producer's note some weapons were introduced, including the 2A42 autocannon and rockets. According to that note, there is a switch in the primary weapon control panel that lets the pilot decide how long the bursts of 2A42 rounds and rockets should be. Since the minimum burst length is 10 rounds, it is not possible to use the 2A42 as a semiautomatic weapon in the Ka-50, right? Is this because of the cannon itself or a designed feature of the Ka-50? Also, is it really not possible to launch less than 10 rockets per burst? Sounds like a waste of ammo to me.

[Boberro]

That is probably because you think rockets are for sniping with. They're for strafing. Regardless, you can set it to a 'short' burst, which will fire one rocket from each pod.

 

So 2 rockets is almost sniping :P I mean if we can fire 2 rockets (usually we have two rockets pods) so would it hit exactly that point which I "marker" a dot on HUD?. Let's say I put TD on poor human and fire 2 rockets (in short mode). Will it hit him or near him?

 

Next question: When Vikhr self-explode?. In LO u can fire Vikhr from distance more than 10 km (I tried 11 and futher).

It didn't self-explode if I fired from 11, so it can be use from futher distance. How is it in Ka-50? From what distance I can fire without self-destroy?

Edited July 17, 2008 by Boberro

[GGTharos]

No, it will not hit exactly that point - rockets have flight path spread :)

But yes, they will hit near the mark. How close depends on angle of firing and distance, as well as relative stability in yaw, pitch etc.

 

In Ka-50 you can fire at the range that the fire control system authorizes you .... period :D

About 6-7km max usually.

Edited July 17, 2008 by GGTharos

[AlphaOneSix]

1. After the Ka-50's auxiliary power unit was started in the first producer's note, the fuel shutoff valves for left and right engines were enabled at the engine panel. Later, when the left engine was started, the pilot raised the red lever that opens the left engine cutoff valve. What's the point in first enabling the valves and later on opening the valves? Why can't one just simply open and close the valve when needed without having to click those two switches?

 

They are two different valves. The first ones that are opened are electrically-operated valves that are between the fuel tanks and the engine. Specifically, they are between the fuel tank and the engine driven fuel pump (this pump is driven by the engine, and therefore runs automatically, not to be confused with your fuel tank boost pumps). The cutoff levers are physically connected to the fuel controls on the engines. The fuel control is a large unit attached to the engine that controls the fuel delivered to the engine. It is rather complex, so I won't talk about how it works here. When you turn on (open) the fuel shutoff valves, you are allowing fuel to be pumped to the engines, but the fuel will not get through the fuel control because your cutoff valves are still off. When you want to turn the engines off, you use the cutoff levers. This stops the flow of fuel into the combustion chamber of the engine. The fuel controls use the fuel not just to feed the engine, but also as an internal lubricant. If you run the fuel control without any fuel in it, it can be damaged easily. If you shut down the engines using the shutoff valves, then the fuel controls would still be running but without fuel (very bad). Finally, if the engine itself or the fuel lines leading to it are damaged and fuel starts leaking, and you need to shut off the fuel flow to that engine immediately, then you'd use the shutoff valves.

 

2. What happens if I try to start the engines without turning on the engine governors? Will the engines get damaged, or will they simply just not start? Respectively, if I am already flying and decide to turn off the governors, what happens then?

 

You can leave the governors off, you just won't have engine governing available to you. If you are already flying, you can turn them off and on and nothing will happen. The governor acts to reduce your engine power in case you try to pull to much power. In other words, if the engine gets too hot, but you keep pulling power, the engine governor will automatically start restricting the fuel flow inside the engine, not allowing any more power to be generated. Without the governor, you could just keep pulling power until the engine just quit on you because you overheated it too much.

 

If I wasn't clear enough or you want something explained further, please just let me know and I'll try to explain as best I can. :)

[EvilBivol-1]

3. Why is it important to resize the Shkval's targeting cursor to the size of the target? Is it because the Shkval compares the brightness of the area inside the targeting cursor to the area outside the cursor?

The Shkval is designed to track contrast. Because any given image will typically consist of many different points of contrast, the targeting box is designed to "tell" the Shkval which specific area of contrast is actually the target it needs to track.

Since the minimum burst length is 10 rounds, it is not possible to use the 2A42 as a semiautomatic weapon in the Ka-50, right? Is this because of the cannon itself or a designed feature of the Ka-50? Also, is it really not possible to launch less than 10 rockets per burst? Sounds like a waste of ammo to me.

It's possible if you let go of the trigger. The burst length is like a cut-off limit. You have to keep holding the trigger down the fire the entire burst length.

[Avimimus]

No, it will not hit exactly that point - rockets have flight path spread :)

But yes, they will hit near the mark. How close depends on angle of firing and distance, as well as relative stability in yaw, pitch etc.

 

Yes, this is why it is a good idea to fire a salvo. By launching several rockets the likelihood that a rocket will hit the desired target increases and the effective range of the pod is increased from a few hundred metres to a couple of kilometres. In addition, the dispersion means that your aim doesn't have to be absolutely perfect.

 

If you ever watch videos of live firings by Hinds you'll see them fire a salvo at near maximum range, watch for effect, then adjust aim and fire a second salvo (if the first barrage didn't have the desired effect). Unguided rockets are really a form of light weight artillery.

 

My question:

According to the video it is possible to fire off a salvo of twelve armed unguided Vikhrs? Er... is this... well... what does it look like?

[GGTharos]

Yes. You can't jettison the vikhr pylon, so if you need to get rid of things that might possibly explode, you fire them off in a rocket-like salvo. The warheads will be unarmed, and the guidance won't be functioning.

It looks pretty much like a rocket salvo, at slightly lower frequency.

[nemises]

^^ allthough according to the vid you can choose to arm them before jettison...wonder if they dumbfire as accurately as Rockets..

[RedTiger]

Are these rockets that are mounted to helicopters and CAS aircraft intended more for vehicles, anti-personel, or both? Avimimus' statement about them being artillery seems like a no-brainer now. I ask because after playing with rockets in a number of different aircraft and flight sims, I'm starting to wonder why you'd ever want to use them against vehicles.

 

Maybe I just suck at using them, but a salvo of 10 from 2 pods that can carry 12 each seems like a waste for 1 vehicle. Unless these things are supposed to be much more widely spaced and much more powerful than how they're usually represented, even vehicles that are close together (think LOMAC's CBU-friendly road columns) still seem too far apart. The most vehicles I've ever hit on a run where I used all 24 rockets has been 3. Maybe thats considered an acceptable ratio. This is in the Su-25T. Maybe a helicopter is easier?

[GGTharos]

This is because you're playing a sim. What you're saying is like saying artillery is a waste.

 

You use rockets to attack a bunch of targets. A single vehicle is a great candidate for the gun; a bunch of light targets relatively close together are a good rocket target.

 

Further, even if this type of bombardment may potentially have 'low Pk', the psychological effects - which aren't simulated in LO, are probably tremendous.

 

In addition, rockets are cheap; most sims don't manage to model them properly since they're more concerned with 'hard kills'.

 

Are these rockets that are mounted to helicopters and CAS aircraft intended more for vehicles, anti-personel, or both? Avimimus' statement about them being artillery seems like a no-brainer now. I ask because after playing with rockets in a number of different aircraft and flight sims, I'm starting to wonder why you'd ever want to use them against vehicles.

 

Maybe I just suck at using them, but a salvo of 10 from 2 pods that can carry 12 each seems like a waste for 1 vehicle. Unless these things are supposed to be much more widely spaced and much more powerful than how they're usually represented, even vehicles that are close together (think LOMAC's CBU-friendly road columns) still seem too far apart. The most vehicles I've ever hit on a run where I used all 24 rockets has been 3. Maybe thats considered an acceptable ratio. This is in the Su-25T. Maybe a helicopter is easier?

[AlphaOneSix]

^^ allthough according to the vid you can choose to arm them before jettison...wonder if they dumbfire as accurately as Rockets..

 

You can arm them before you jettison them. To say that they are inaccurate is an understatement. It more like they shoot out a few hundred meters then drop like rocks.

[AlphaOneSix]

The most vehicles I've ever hit on a run where I used all 24 rockets has been 3. Maybe thats considered an acceptable ratio. This is in the Su-25T. Maybe a helicopter is easier?

 

This sounds like a pretty good ratio as far as I'm concerned. Like GG said, rockets are cheap, and are meant to be used as aerial artillery.

[ThunderChief]

How great is the diffrence in flight characteristics between light helicopter (50% fuel only) and combat load (100% fuel, Vikhr, S8 )?

[RedTiger]

This is because you're playing a sim. What you're saying is like saying artillery is a waste.

 

This is true, I agree...

 

You use rockets to attack a bunch of targets. A single vehicle is a great candidate for the gun; a bunch of light targets relatively close together are a good rocket target.

 

Further, even if this type of bombardment may potentially have 'low Pk', the psychological effects - which aren't simulated in LO, are probably tremendous.

 

...so will there be bunches of light targets, like infantry in foxholes? LOMAC, not surprisingly, doesn't really model this much. I've launched a volley of rockets at Mr. Ski Mask MANPAD Guy, he survived, shot me down...didn't even flinch! :O

[GGTharos]

Yeah, infantry in foxholes (not terribly effective against those unless you have some sort of fuzed warhead) or light vehicles (jeeps, trucks, maybe tents and some other stuff).

 

...so will there be bunches of light targets, like infantry in foxholes? LOMAC, not surprisingly, doesn't really model this much. I've launched a volley of rockets at Mr. Ski Mask MANPAD Guy, he survived, shot me down...didn't even flinch! :O

[Canada]

Is there a quick replay system in Black Shark ? And can you move the camera around easily ?

[AlphaOneSix]

Yes, there is a replay function. I'm not sure what you mean by "quick" though. You can't watch the replay until you quit the mission. It saves as a file also (a small one), so you can show others.