Repair issues

[QuiGon]

I fly the DCS Tomcat since its EA release and in all this time I have never been able to perform a successful aircraft repair after recieving battle damage. Because of that I have given up on trying to repair a damaged Tomcat a while ago, hoping this is just something tht needs to be added during EA, but as nothing has changed so far I have decided to do in-depth analyses of the repair issues each time I recieve battle damage and make it back home and report the results here. That means I might add more and more repair issues as I discover them.

 

All my reports on this are based on the following configuration (unless stated otherwise):

- Latest Open Beta

- Multicrew aircraft with pilot and RIO both being clients on the server

- Repairs tested by both crewmembers requesting the repair from the ground crew

- Repairs were being carried out with the aircraft powered down entirely and all the systems being set to its default settings prior to repair.

- After repairs completed the aircraft was started up as a normal cold start, as if it just spawned.

- Tests where being carried out on busy MP servers, whenever the opportunity arrived (meaning non fatal battle damage has been recieved), so track files aren't useful unfortunately.

 

I'll start with these three repair issues:

• RIO radio: The RIO radio went dead after recieving battle damage, resulting in neither the RIO radio frequency display nor the RIO radio display repeater in the pilot pit showing anything anymore. After repairing the aircraft, the radio repeater display in the pilot pit worked again, but the radio display in the RIO pit was still dead.
• INS Alignment: The INS went inoperable after recieving battle damage and the TID went dead. After repair the TID was working again, but the INS refused to start the alignment. New own position coordinates and altitude have been entered by the RIO of course.
• Hydraulics: The combined hydraulic circuit was damaged and leaked, so the pilot used the isolate switch to prevent fluid loss from the landing gear, brakes and such. After repair the combined hydraulic pressure was not restored. The isolate switch has been reset prior to repair.

Edited March 22, 2021 by QuiGon

[draconus]

Just tested one thing yesterday.

Latest OB, NTTR, Tonopah Range, SP, cold start - just pulled the canopy jettison handle, then requested repair. Ground crew confirmed and reported complete after a while. Still no canopy.

[CIChesty]

The F-14 has many problems with repairing unfortunately. 

 

I don't think I've gotten it to work properly a single time in MP. Not sure about SP as I don't do it much.

 

I'm not sure if it requires a certain threshold of damage, or doesn't consider things like popped tires and jammed flaps to be damage in the first place. The ground crew will "Copy" but never actually initiate the repair countdown, and I've tried waiting the 180 seconds anyways just in case it was an issue with the message popping up but nothing happened.

 

Even when it does actually initiate the repair, levitate the plane, and confirm repair completion, I've had the following issues:

 

-Won't replace jettisoned canopy

-Won't fix jammed flaps

-Won't fix flaming engines

-Won't fix popped tires

 

I'm sitting in an F-14 right now with popped rear tires. 

 

-Engines off: "copy" but no repair

-Above + parking brake: "copy" but no repair

-Above + ground power: "copy" but no repair

-Above + ground air: "copy" but no repair

-Above + wheel chocks: "copy" but no repair

 

So now my plane is essentially permanently killed because I landed slightly too heavy and popped my rear tires, and I don't think it would be advisable to take off from an airfield in this state.

 

The MP server I play on doesn't allow tracks so I can't post one unfortunately. I may do some SP testing later to see if the results are the same so I can provide a track file.

[Rinz1er]

Still seeing some of these issues in 2.7 as well. 
 

• Jettisoned Canopy does not get replaced when repaired
• Ejected RIO does not get replaced when repaired(not sure if he would)
• Popped tires/damaged landing gear does not meet the threshold for a repair
• Jammed flaps does not meet the threshold for a repair

Edited April 20, 2021 by Rinz1er
spelling

[Diesel_Thunder]

Had this happen to a friend and I last night flying a mission on the Persian Gulf map. We took an IR missile (no warning and never saw it) during a fight, but stayed airborne. Both our radios went dead, had a Phoenix knocked off the airplane, lost the navigation, IMU, AHRS, and RWR. SAS was out for the most part too. TACAN would only give us range.

 

We opted to fly to to Al Dafra to repair instead of flying over water with no navigation. We landed and shut down the aircraft, waited for the engines to spool down, and called for repair. The repair went fine or so it seemed. The fun started when we went to restart.

 

The forward cockpit had power, and mine (I fly as RIO) had no power. Nothing would power on in the back. Thinking it may have de-synced, I hopped out as spectator and then back in as RIO. The radio had power, but I could not use it. The tape recorder was counting down, but the lights were not lit. The TID, DDD, and AHSI stayed dark no matter what the switch settings were. Countermeasures worked (tested once airborne again). TACAN worked for the forward cockpit, but not mine (on the BDHI). I had no panel lights, gauge lights, or caution/annunciator lights. I also couldn't jettison any weapons or tanks.

 

We also rearmed thinking we could get back in the fight after repair. We asked for 2 Sidewinders and 6 Sparrows, with 4 of the sparrows in the tunnel. We did not ask for but somehow received an empty fuel tank on the right nacelle (station 7), which is how I discovered I could not punch off the tank. I had to set the switch and my pilot used his button under the ACM cover. The Sparrows ended up mounted funny (we had 4 Phoenix in the tunnel on initial start, plu two Sparrows, and 2 Sidewinders). Sparrows on station 3 and 6 looked somewhat normal but clipping the airframe. 4 and 5 were mounted centerline and in tandem behind 3 and 6, and looked real strange.

 

Ended up flying back to the boat, and calling it a night.