Jump to content

Recommended Posts

Posted

Anyone else have issues seeing the position lights under the belly of the tanker when air to air refuelling in VR. The only way I can see them is if I zoom in! 

Rig: |(CPU)Intel® Core™ i7 Eight Core Processor i7-9700K (3.6GHz) 12MB Cache|ASUS® ROG STRIX Z390-F GAMING|32GB Corsair VENGEANCE RGB PRO DDR4 3200MHz (2 x 16GB)|11GB NVIDIA GEFORCE RTX 2080TI|2TB SEAGATE IRONWOLF PRO 3.5", 7200 RPM 128MB CACHE|1TB INTEL® 660p M.2 NVMe PCIe SSD (upto 1800MB/sR | 1800MB/sW)|CORSAIR 850W RMx SERIES™ MODULAR 80 PLUS® GOLD, ULTRA QUIET|Processor Cooling Corsair H60 Hydro Cooler w/ PCS Ultra Quiet Fans Thermal Paste||RIFT S VR| TM HOTAS A10 Warthog :joystick:

Posted
55 minutes ago, seanpellington said:

Anyone else have issues seeing the position lights under the belly of the tanker when air to air refuelling in VR. The only way I can see them is if I zoom in! 

 

I feel your pain, bro! I admit I have the worst VR headset, using a CV1 and assume it is easier with newer headsets. I can see the elevation indicator alright, but front-aft indicator is impossible to read, because the white lines between the light wash out against the actual light.

 

What I did was record a track of me refuelling and watch it from the outside. When I was in a position where the boom was in the green region and the tanker lights were perfect I jumped back to cockpit view and tried to memorize what it looks like. E.g. the outer engines are right at the edges of my field of view. I then try to reproduce this picture on my next attempts. I realized that I usually was to far in front.

 

It is doable. I actually have more trouble with my controls, the Warthog stick is feels super heavy, too heavy to make precise, minute adjustments.

Posted (edited)

It's not easy to see them in real life, either. In daylight, the lights have been said (by Mower, an actual Viper pilot) to usually be too dim to see. Also, an actual boomer chimed in, saying that "Sorry sir, the lights are full bright" was something he said a lot during his career. 🙂 So it would seem this is as it should be, a better headset would help, but the ultimate problem is that the damn things really are that dim. This is the case with both KC-10 and KC-135.

 

Actual pilots generally fly the sight picture. You need to learn how the tanker looks like when you're in the proper position, and then try to keep it looking just like that. As a bonus, this technique works on all aircraft+tanker combinations, ever (of course, the actual sight picture differs in each case). Director lights are pretty much an USAF-only luxury, everyone else uses baskets, which at best give you only two lights telling you if you're too close or too far.

 

If we ever get a KC-46, it won't have this problem, because lights on that one are LEDs. No shortage of candlepower there. 🙂 

Edited by Dragon1-1
  • Like 2
Posted
1 hour ago, Donglr said:

It is doable. I actually have more trouble with my controls, the Warthog stick is feels super heavy, too heavy to make precise, minute adjustments.

Second that comment.  I have the same issue with the Warthog stick.  I see some folks have recommended getting a lighter Warthog spring.

I am a former USAF pilot and have performed AAR in the F-111, F-100 and A-37.  The control sticks in the real airplanes were nothing like the Warthog in terms of feel and making small, precise control movements.  My first attempts at AAR in DCS were extremely frustrating failures, given that I had done it so easily in real life.  Part of the problem is also the lack of a wide field of peripheral vision that our computer screens create.

Posted

I've actually built a chair-mounted stick gimbals for flying helicopters. 🙂 I've actually attempted to give it a realistic feeling, so it's got some really mighty springs. I'm currently looking into a more fighter-oriented design, as well, this one floor-mounted. 

 

I think the issue is not the force, but how it's applied. With a short throw desk-mounted stick, you rotate the handle, while with a center stick, you move it. You also need to apply considerably force, which noticeably increases the further from center you go, making for a very precise feedback mechanism. I don't know how it is in Warthog, but there is none of that with my CH Fighterstick. I can do AAR with it, but I'm looking for a more realistic DIY solution.

Posted
1 hour ago, Donglr said:

 

I feel your pain, bro! I admit I have the worst VR headset, using a CV1 and assume it is easier with newer headsets. I can see the elevation indicator alright, but front-aft indicator is impossible to read, because the white lines between the light wash out against the actual light

 

It is doable. I actually have more trouble with my controls, the Warthog stick is feels super heavy, too heavy to make precise, minute adjustments.

Yes exactly the same here. I'm also still using a CV1 (Reverb G2 on pre-order due to arrive next week (TM)), and the problem is the lack of contrast and possibly the screen-door effect. I do hope it will be better with the G2: I heard the G2's colours are quite incredible so that should help with contrast.

I don't like the Warthog gimbal either: I'm planning to move to a Virpil setup, but I want to see their T50-CM3 throttle first and that one is not out yet.

Spoiler

Ryzen 7 9800X3D | 96GB G.Skill Ripjaws M5 Neo DDR5-6000 | Asus ProArt RTX 4080 Super | ASUS ROG Strix X870E-E GAMING | Samsung 990Pro 2TB + 990Pro 4TB NMVe | VR: Varjo Aero
VPC MT-50CM2 grip on VPForce Rhino with Z-curve extension | VPC CM3 throttle | VPC CP2 + 3 | FSSB R3L | VPC Rotor TCS Plus base with SharKa-50 grip | Everything mounted on Monstertech MFC-1 | VPC R1-Falcon pedals with damper | Pro Flight Trainer Puma

OpenXR | PD 1.0 | 100% render resolution | DCS graphics settings
Win11 Pro 24H2 - VBS/HAGS/Game Mode ON

 

Posted (edited)

I read recently an article about samper viper that the FLCS in the viper doesn’t need that much correction.

New pilots on the F16 tend to over correct a lot, words along the lines of of you don’t want it to move, don’t move it...

Sampling it’s called, the natural human reaction caused by a want of reassurance...

Edited by danny875
Posted

Monitor quality makes a big difference in being able to see the lights. I noticed a huge improvement when I upgraded earlier this year to a monitor with a brightness rating of 350 cd/m2. That and zooming in helps too.

Posted

Actually, they can be controlled by the boomer when you don't have contact. In this case, however, they've very imprecise, you get a flashing light when you are to move in the corresponding direction, and that's all. This is simulated in DCS, IIRC.

  • Recently Browsing   0 members

    • No registered users viewing this page.
×
×
  • Create New...