First single player 'Easy Combat' and the new clouds.

[MoToad]

Just getting back into DCS and retraining in the Hog 2. Question is; how do you play the missions with the cloud cover. If you are Lazing targets do you hover and wait for cloud openings? Seems it could take quite a while. The first 'easy' mission starts just after sunrise. Will the clouds dissipate after a while? Don't know if I have the time or patience to fly for hours. 

[Yurgon]

On 10/27/2021 at 11:00 PM, MoToad said:

how do you play the missions with the cloud cover.

It's a problem that happens in the real world as well.

My take is, try to get below the clouds in a safe manner and then work the situation from there.

Getting below the clouds can hold its own set of problems. What's the highest terrain elevation in your area, and how low are the clouds? Can you safely fly through clouds, or is there a risk of terrain collision? And even if that is not a concern, you don't want to collide with other aircraft in the clouds. So, the safest way is to find an opening in the clouds, descend below them visually, and then work your way to the actual target area. With AWACS or ATC support, you might get cleared through the clouds on instrument flight rules.

Now I don't want to complicate things too much. In DCS, there usually isn't any other traffic, and since ATC and AWACS won't tell you whether it's safe to fly IFR, you can check the map and make a best guess.

Next up, if the clouds are hanging too low and you can't even work the target with the weapons you have, you may be unable to complete the mission. It's up to you of course to decide when that's the case. But I would generally assume that DCS missions will give you a workable environment, even if it's in marginal weather conditions.

On 10/27/2021 at 11:00 PM, MoToad said:

Will the clouds dissipate after a while? Don't know if I have the time or patience to fly for hours. 

I don't think so, at least not right now.

Maybe that's a feature for the future, together with morning fog and other dynamic weather phenomena.

So you should find a way to get below the clouds.

Reading accounts from real life pilots, if the weather is too bad, they actually often had to abort missions, even if they were scheduled to support troops on the ground. At this point in history, aerial warfare still depends a lot on visual target acquisition, especially when we're talking about CAS.

[MoToad]

Thanks for replying. I was thinking no one would. This is, of course, just my stubbornness in wanting to complete the first easy missions after training. I was able to take out the bridge with a 38 but am still having trouble repeating that with making the target spi (not locking on to the bridge for some reason. How do you clear the spi for a retry? Going under these low clouds for that would mean using up valued ordinance to take out the AAA. I can drop down below for the tanks and hit the AA and can direct the wingman to help but he likes to use more than one missle at a time. 

[ASAP]

The SPI can't really be cleared, there is always a SPI. You can just change it between sensors or just move it (i.e. when TGP LOS SPI your SPI is simply whatever is is dead center of the crosshairs). First question is what are you using as your SPI when you drop the bomb?

Based on what you said about not being able to lock on the bridge, I'm making an assuming your talking about TGP LOS SPI.  Which I'd recommend against if you are fighting clouds beneath you. If you are able to see the bridge through a gap in the clouds lase the target and take a mark (TMS right short) and then make last mark SPI (TMS RIGHT LONG). Doing that should give you an accurate set of coordinates to drop on. Just make sure it says MARK in the bottom left of the HUD indicating your markpoint SPI. Now it wont matter if your TGP can see the target or not.

To "clear your SPI" to take another shot like you asked, you'd just give the jet a new target by changing your SPI. In clear air, that could mean slewing your TGP to something else. With the method above you could find another target, lase, take another mark, and make last mark SPI again which would be resetting your SPI to the new mark.

Alternatively you could turn that mark into a steerpoint by hitting the button on the CDU next to the line that has  ##? and you'll turn it into a steerpoint, then you can steer to it and drop with steerpoint SPI (TMS DOWN LONG). I find that easier if theres a chance I'd need to quickly get back to a previously struck target.

Or you can turn the left rotary nob on the AAP to MARK and then you can cycle through your previously taken marks as steerpoints and still drop steerpoint SPI using the mark as a steerpoint.

One other option, for something like a bridge which you know isn't going to go anywhere, punch in the coordinates and elevation that you get from the mission planner into the steerpoint and just drop on that. Just don't forget the elevation. In my experience when you create a steerpoint in the mission planner it sets the elevation to whatever altitude you are flying at instead of the actual MSL elevation of that spot on the ground (which you absolutley need if you're going to accurately place a bomb there). 

The jet gives you a ton of options, pick one that works for you based on time available and desire to mess around with your CDU.

Edited October 31, 2021 by ASAP

[MoToad]

Not familiar with the LOS term. L for Laze? And for the easy missions I believe all steerpoints are spi. The bridge should be spi when I use that steerpoint. When I am able to see it it is. 

 

 

Edited November 1, 2021 by MoToad

[=DISCO=]

LOS = Line of Sight
i.e the TGP being able to see the target through the clouds or at all.

SPI = Sensor Point of Interest
i.e TGP or Maverick seeker head.

Steerpoints are from the flight plan in the A-10, so on the easy missions you can head towards the green or red smoke and then slave your TGP to the target.

As ASAP mentioned, the bridge isn't going anywhere. Drop in CCRP above the cloud layer with the bridge as your steerpoint (think it's like number 4?).

[MoToad]

Got it figured. All in all, the best way to insure accuracy is to find that hole in the clouds.