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Refueling probe light is VERY dim


MagicSlave

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Why is the refueling probe light so dim in the F-14? It is really frustrating to try and refuel at night because of this... In VR at least I have to crank the gamma up and still I feel all but blind - I'm not exaggerating when I say that it is nearly impossible for me to refuel in moonless night. In the Hornet I don't have this problem, or at least didn't have pre 2.7 when I last flew it. The probe light in the Hornet lights up the tanker and the drogue properly.

 

Is there something wrong at my end or is this a bug with the F-14?

 

(This is in the A if that makes any difference...)

 

Thanks

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17 hours ago, MagicSlave said:

Why is the refueling probe light so dim in the F-14? It is really frustrating to try and refuel at night because of this... In VR at least I have to crank the gamma up and still I feel all but blind - I'm not exaggerating when I say that it is nearly impossible for me to refuel in moonless night. In the Hornet I don't have this problem, or at least didn't have pre 2.7 when I last flew it. The probe light in the Hornet lights up the tanker and the drogue properly.

 

Is there something wrong at my end or is this a bug with the F-14?

 

(This is in the A if that makes any difference...)

 

Thanks

 

I have also noticed that the refueling light only illuminates a basket 3-5 feet away directly in front of the light. Not very useful at all.

 

Unfortunately, I asked Ward Carrol on his youtube video about AAR if that was realistic in the Tomcat, and he said it sounded about right. 😞

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1 hour ago, Callsign JoNay said:

 

I have also noticed that the refueling light only illuminates a basket 3-5 feet away directly in front of the light. Not very useful at all.

 

Unfortunately, I asked Ward Carrol on his youtube video about AAR if that was realistic in the Tomcat, and he said it sounded about right. 😞

In my case the light does not illuminate the basket even this close. If it is really supposed to be that way that you cannot see the basket at moonless night, then I wonder how they do it in real life... Because as far as I know, they are not supposed to use NVGs either. 

 

This together with the fact that the nav lights on the tankers are invisible until under 1 mile makes night time refueling really frustrating experience.. 

 

Maybe I'll just crank up the gamma even more.

 

Sorry for the rant, I just needed to vent, because I failed a long mission just now because my engines died on me on fuel starvation while desperately trying to refuel at night

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Fear the Bones first mission by any chance?  Yeah I find it borderline impossible on an overcast night trying to refuel from an S3, especially after a long loiter time in IFR conditions. 

 

Connecting is tricky, staying connected is an art I've yet to master when I can't even see the tanker im hooked up to (and that's with NVG's).

 

I think I'll knock up a training mission just to practice this situation and see if there's any particular way to set up the NVG's and cockpit.

 

On the plus side we're pushing our training up to the next level 😬

 

 

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24 minutes ago, Wavehopper said:

Fear the Bones first mission by any chance?  Yeah I find it borderline impossible on an overcast night trying to refuel from an S3, especially after a long loiter time in IFR conditions. 

 

Connecting is tricky, staying connected is an art I've yet to master when I can't even see the tanker im hooked up to (and that's with NVG's).

 

I think I'll knock up a training mission just to practice this situation and see if there's any particular way to set up the NVG's and cockpit.

 

On the plus side we're pushing our training up to the next level 😬

 

 

Yeah, that's the one 😅 I just now managed to refuel with gamma at 2.9. Feels good, man. Just to get a ramp strike because last time I flew the Tomcat, there was no burble... This makes one humble, that's for sure. 

 

Anyone have any tips for the correct technique for anticipating the burble? Just DLC or power or both?


Edited by MagicSlave
Corrected grammar
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Nice work, I'll probably have another go at that this evening.

 

Regarding the burble, don't reduce power at the initial float and trust the power setting until you're through it.  I kept cutting power as it went to float up then it drops like a stone.  The TF30's of the A don't respond quickly enough to catch it if you go idle.

 

It also feels way more terrifying at night.  Practice a few 10 mile approaches in the daytime to get familiar with it.

 

I don't think I've ever spent so long in Tacview before analysing my mistakes 😅


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3 hours ago, MagicSlave said:

 

This together with the fact that the nav lights on the tankers are invisible until under 1 mile makes night time refueling really frustrating experience.. 

 

 

Yeah bro, the tanker lighting in this sim is inexcusable. Lights don't even show up until you're close enough for the highest LOD model. And they don't cast enough ambient light to partially illuminate the space around the tanker. Hopefully ED is working on it.

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2 hours ago, Wavehopper said:

Nice work, I'll probably have another go at that this evening.

 

Regarding the burble, don't reduce power at the initial float and trust the power setting until you're through it.  I kept cutting power as it went to float up then it drops like a stone.  The TF30's of the A don't respond quickly enough to catch it if you go idle.

 

It also feels way more terrifying at night.  Practice a few 10 mile approaches in the daytime to get familiar with it.

 

I don't think I've ever spent so long in Tacview before analysing my mistakes 😅

 

Thanks for the advice, I'll try that! I guess I'll have to put some serious practice in before trying this campaign again. Trapping feels whole lot different game now...

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