Falby Posted June 22, 2020 Share Posted June 22, 2020 If there's only one plane going to the tanker would it still have to go to the observation area or could it go straight to pre-contact? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chain_1 Posted June 22, 2020 Share Posted June 22, 2020 You can go straight to pre-contact if nobody else is there. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Falby Posted June 22, 2020 Author Share Posted June 22, 2020 Thank You. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AG-51_Razor Posted June 23, 2020 Share Posted June 23, 2020 I would advise that you just make a habit of always joining up in the observation position and then moving over to the pre-contact position. If for no other reason than it is the proper thing to do but a better reason is to prevent yourself from a midair collision should you misjudge your approach speed, which is probably why that procedure is a requirement in RL. :thumbup: [sIGPIC][/sIGPIC] Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Emmy Posted June 23, 2020 Share Posted June 23, 2020 Plus, a little extra formation flying never hurts! [sIGPIC][/sIGPIC] http://www.476vfightergroup.com/content.php High Quality Aviation Photography For Personal Enjoyment And Editorial Use. www.crosswindimages.com Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Photon Posted June 23, 2020 Share Posted June 23, 2020 I always go straight for the basket myself. You're not a train, if you misjudge, you're thankfully in 3 dimensions ;) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
randomTOTEN Posted June 23, 2020 Share Posted June 23, 2020 Like others have said, my latest technique is to join up the on the right wing of the tanker. I fence out when I get within the vicinity of the tanker, and the forming up the wing helps with controlling overshoots IMO. Once in a stable observation position, I quickly go heads down to configure for refueling (bring up fuel page, door/probe etc.). Once I'm "fully ready" I clear behind and transition to pre-contact... get my call and go for it. I repeat the process in reverse on the left wing before departing/fence in. Would be interesting to get some RL tips on this, but that seems to be what's working for me. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
plexi Posted June 23, 2020 Share Posted June 23, 2020 I didn't know you could go straight to the right wing. Have always found only the left available if it's just a one ship. Two ship yes. Am i missing something here? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
=Mac= Posted June 23, 2020 Share Posted June 23, 2020 Like others have said, my latest technique is to join up the on the right wing of the tanker. The correct observation area is on the LEFT wing. Heads down, get your drink, spit out the straw, check right, slide back, slide over to the RIGHT wing. Wait for Dash two or say goodbye. The Hornet is best at killing things on the ground. Now, if we could just get a GAU-8 in the nose next to the AN/APG-65, a titanium tub around the pilot, and a couple of J-58 engines in the tail... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
randomTOTEN Posted June 23, 2020 Share Posted June 23, 2020 The correct observation area is on the LEFT wing. Heads down, get your drink, spit out the straw, check right, slide back, slide over to the RIGHT wing. Wait for Dash two or say goodbye. That's not what I'm reading in online NATO documents (ATP-56B), and that's not what's depicted in the DCS A-10's Flight Manual. They all describe a "Quick Flow" procedures at a Right-to-Left deal. Where are you getting this information? And probably more importantly, what Branch and what Aircraft? Looks like you can either join on the wing, or lead can proceed directly to pre-contact. Seems a whole lot of text describing the process, I bet it's different based on conditions/ what is briefed. Seems a lot of planning can go into this procedure. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bradboom Posted June 25, 2020 Share Posted June 25, 2020 That's not what I'm reading in online NATO documents (ATP-56B), and that's not what's depicted in the DCS A-10's Flight Manual. They all describe a "Quick Flow" procedures at a Right-to-Left deal. Where are you getting this information? And probably more importantly, what Branch and what Aircraft? Looks like you can either join on the wing, or lead can proceed directly to pre-contact. Seems a whole lot of text describing the process, I bet it's different based on conditions/ what is briefed. Seems a lot of planning can go into this procedure. Retired USAF boom operator here. Don’t worry about quick flow...that is an expedited method to get fighters on & off the boom in a hurry by having them stack up behind the boom. In fact, at one fighter bade I was assigned to, the fighters pilots didn’t want to do quick flow because they thought it wasn’t safe. Join up on the left wing, slide over to precontact (astern, according to ATP-56B or the US SRD) and transition to the right wing for post AR. Of course, if you are flight lead or single ship, you can proceed direct to precontact. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
randomTOTEN Posted June 25, 2020 Share Posted June 25, 2020 Thanks for the info Brad. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bearfoot Posted June 25, 2020 Share Posted June 25, 2020 I, too, form up on left, refuel, and then go right. In the F-14. And that's what Jester tells me to do as well. Though I don't always listen to him. I actually had to shut him up when learning to tank as his calls were too distracting. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bearfoot Posted June 25, 2020 Share Posted June 25, 2020 Retired USAF boom operator here. Don’t worry about quick flow...that is an expedited method to get fighters on & off the boom in a hurry by having them stack up behind the boom. In fact, at one fighter bade I was assigned to, the fighters pilots didn’t want to do quick flow because they thought it wasn’t safe. Join up on the left wing, slide over to precontact (astern, according to ATP-56B or the US SRD) and transition to the right wing for post AR. Of course, if you are flight lead or single ship, you can proceed direct to precontact. Nice! Thanks for sharing. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ala12Rv-Tundra Posted June 26, 2020 Share Posted June 26, 2020 I move to precontact position in order to set the correct trim for the particular airspeed and conditions, especially with Tomcat, Harrier and Warthog. i5 8400 | 32 Gb RAM | RTX 2080Ti | Virpil Mongoose T-50 base w/ Warthog & Hornet sticks | Warthog throttle | Cougar throttle USB | DIY Collective | Virpil desk mount | VKB T-Rudder Mk IV | Oculus Rift S | Buddy-Fox A-10 UFC | 3x TM MFDs | 2x bass shakers pedal plate| SIMple SIMpit chair | WinWing TakeOff panel | PointCTRL v2 | Andre JetSeat | Winwing Hornet UFC | Winwing Viper ICP FC3 - Warthog - F-5E - Harrier - NTTR - Hornet - Tomcat - Huey - Viper - C-101 - PG - Hip - SuperCarrier - Syria - Warthog II - Hind - South Atlantic - Sinai - Strike Eagle Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Notso Posted June 26, 2020 Share Posted June 26, 2020 (edited) https://community.infiniteflight.com/t/tanker-talk-air-to-air-refueling-procedures/171137 Typically a left to right flow is the norm. But if there are other fighters already on the left, you could bring your formation up to the right side and wait your turn until the other flight was finished. Edited June 26, 2020 by Notso System HW: i9-9900K @5ghz, MSI 11GB RTX-2080-Ti Trio, G-Skill 32GB RAM, Reverb HMD, Steam VR, TM Warthog Hotas Stick & Throttle, TM F/A-18 Stick grip add-on, TM TFRP pedals. SW: 2.5.6 OB Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Andysim212 Posted June 27, 2020 Share Posted June 27, 2020 it can be hard to judge speed and not overtake the tanker if you come from behind. I always try and come from left. Unless you are locking the tanker up with radar that is. You risk frying the refuelers doing that though,. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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