Help/advice navigational/INS drift in the F-14

[MIghtymoo]

I have to start by saying that the F-14 in DCS is a truly awesome plane.

 

Myself, I am somewhere between a casual and semi-serious simmer.

 

One thing that is a big problem for me is the huge INS drift in the F-14. Also it is difficult and tedious to reallign when you are flying alone.

The INS-drift affects practically everything from navigation and HUD to bombing and landing. Which destroy the fun for me.

 

Before you attack me and say that is how it is IRL, remember that I am a simmer who like to fly some missions and just have a good time. I don't have tons of time to fly everyday.

 

I am close to changing to another plane with either GPS/INS or no INS. As I said I love the F-14 on all other areas. I want to love the F-14 all the way 

 

Questions

 

1. Anyone feeling the same way?
2. What is your best advise to reduse the issue with INS drift?

 

@Razbam: I wish there would be added an option in the settings to reduce/remove INS drift, for the not so hardcore simmers.

 

Other creative feedback is also appreciated 

 

Edited April 16, 2021 by MIghtymoo

[Saber2243]

Unless you are flying 3hour+ flights consistently or pulling over 6.5Gs, the drift shouldn't be large enough to be noticable most of the time. In your average 2 hour flight, you might get a drift of .1 minute lat and long. It's only when you pull lots of Gs you drift the INS significantly.

 

 

EDIT: also the TA AN fix takes about 30s if you have connection to a TACAN station, so hop in the backseat and do it really quick if it's an issue in single player.

Edited April 16, 2021 by Saber2243

[MIghtymoo]

So basically be careful pulling high G's will make sure the INS-drift is not affecting weapons deployment etc on shorter <1 hour missions?

[Karon]

5 hours ago, MIghtymoo said:

I have to start by saying that the F-14 in DCS is a truly awesome plane.

 

Myself, I am somewhere between a casual and semi-serious simmer.

 

One thing that is a big problem for me is the huge INS drift in the F-14. Also it is difficult and tedious to reallign when you are flying alone.

The INS-drift affects practically everything from navigation and HUD to bombing and landing. Which destroy the fun for me.

 

Before you attack me and say that is how it is IRL, remember that I am a simmer who like to fly some missions and just have a good time. I don't have tons of time to fly everyday.

 

I am close to changing to another plane with either GPS/INS or no INS. As I said I love the F-14 on all other areas. I want to love the F-14 all the way 

 

Questions

 

1. Anyone feeling the same way?
2. What is your best advise to reduse the issue with INS drift?

 

@Razbam: I wish there would be added an option in the settings to reduce/remove INS drift, for the not so hardcore simmers.

 

Other creative feedback is also appreciated 

 

 

 

RAZBAM? That's why you are having issues, HB devs are offended and sabotaged your INS

 

Jokes aside, I haven't noticed any unusual drift issue since HB fixed the one induced by lag right after the launch of the EA. As a matter of fact, the last mission I flew was almost 4 hours and the drift was minimal and entirely as expected.

You are probably causing the drift in some way, probably not respecting the G limits for a prolonged period. Moreover, if you keep pulling you can not only cause a drift, but actually damage the avionics. Btw, there's a plethora of ways to fixing the INS, some take just a bunch of seconds.

 

Finally, if you are not interested in this kind of issue, try with Game mode or perhaps setting your aircraft as indestructible. I'm sure if this prevents this type of damages, but I guess it should.

[MIghtymoo]

Quote

 Karon:

RAZBAM? That's why you are having issues, HB devs are offended and sabotaged your INS

 I must have had a brain fart. 

No wonder my INS was so wonky...Sorry, Heatblur! 

 

Will fly her some more and be a little gentler/smoother and not pull so hard on the G's to see if that helps.
It is sometimes hard to feel how many G's you are pulling. Guess it comes down to experience.

 

• Is 6.5G the recommended limit, or should I stay even lower?
• Will general vibrations affect the INS? 

 

I don't want to give up this awesome bird.

 

Edited April 16, 2021 by MIghtymoo

[MIghtymoo]

Did a mission now with focus on smooth flying and not pull to many G's and all seem to be working very well. 

 

Thanks for the help!

 

PS: I would guess the INS alignment goes out the windows in a dogfight? 

Edited April 16, 2021 by MIghtymoo

[Saber2243]

6 hours ago, MIghtymoo said:

 I must have had a brain fart. 

No wonder my INS was so wonky...Sorry, Heatblur! 

 

Will fly her some more and be a little gentler/smoother and not pull so hard on the G's to see if that helps.
It is sometimes hard to feel how many G's you are pulling. Guess it comes down to experience.

 

• Is 6.5G the recommended limit, or should I stay even lower?
• Will general vibrations affect the INS? 

 

I don't want to give up this awesome bird.

 

 

 

 

I am moving into shaky territory here but I have made general observations:

 

6.5 seems to be fairly safe from an INS perspective, 8Gs tends to drift the INS by a noticeable amount but it remains functional, 10Gs routinely either drifts the INS a ton or breaks it entirely

 

The rate of onset of Gs makes a difference, sudden hard pulls are much more damaging to the INS than gradual G onset