Steerpoints should have ground elevation automatically.

[ASAP]

When creating a steerpoint either on the mission planner, or by punching the coordinates into the CDU the steerpoint should default to 0 feet AGL. The real jet has DTED data and associates a coordinate with the MSL elevation automatically, and facilitates getting sensors into the target area faster.

Yes I know you can manually input the elevation from the 9 line, but you shouldn't have to (unless its BOC CAS obvioulsy). 

[MasterNomis]

This is how it works in DCS A-10C.

Steerpoint (Initial point) in mission planner has always 0 AGL. In mission planner when you create waypoints and set 0 MSL it will goes 0 AGL anyway.

In CDU when you create new waypoint or markpoint from coordinates your elevation is set 0 AGL.

 

 

[Swift.]

There is a limit though, I think if you try and enter a waypoint beyond 250NM from initial position it doesnt take the elevation automatically.

[jaylw314]

In the Mission Editor, the waypoint altitude is arbitrary and needs to be manually set

In the cockpit, creating waypoints always seems to result in the elevation automatically being set to 0 AGL.  I've never seen it do otherwise.  I can't test it now, but are you entering waypoints before the EGI is aligned and selected?  Are you happening to copy waypoint zero (INIT POS) when you are making a new waypoint?

[SJBMX]

4 hours ago, Swiftwin9s said:

There is a limit though, I think if you try and enter a waypoint beyond 250NM from initial position it doesnt take the elevation automatically.

Same if you create a waypoint too early during alignment. I can't remember the exact point at which elevations begin to appear automatically, though.

[Yurgon]

On 11/17/2021 at 12:52 AM, ASAP said:

When creating a steerpoint either on the mission planner, or by punching the coordinates into the CDU the steerpoint should default to 0 feet AGL.

In the Mission Editor, waypoints have a default elevation (6000 and a few feet); however, when setting consecutive waypoints, the new ones will inherit elevation from the previous one. As long as the terrain elevation doesn't descend between two waypoints, you can manually adjust your first new waypoint to 0 feet (the ME will then set it to whatever the terrain elevation is), and then the next waypoints will have the same elevation (or higher, in rising terrain). Just make sure to double check, in case the terrain is lower than for the previous waypoints.

It's not exactly what you're asking for, but in many cases mission designers will want to create a flight plan with proper waypoint altitudes for climb, cruise, approach and so on. So defaulting all new waypoints to 0 AGL would be a pain for many mission designers.

[Frederf]

The ME flight plan obviously has to have flight plan altitudes for the AI flight plan. But just because waypoint 6 has flight altitude "20,000" doesn't mean the A-10 has to initialize with the elevation of waypoint 6 at 20,000. The Mirage for example does it right. Put it in ME whatever flight alt, doesn't matter, airplane always initializes surface elevation in the avionics.

[jaylw314]

2 hours ago, Frederf said:

The ME flight plan obviously has to have flight plan altitudes for the AI flight plan. But just because waypoint 6 has flight altitude "20,000" doesn't mean the A-10 has to initialize with the elevation of waypoint 6 at 20,000. The Mirage for example does it right. Put it in ME whatever flight alt, doesn't matter, airplane always initializes surface elevation in the avionics.

That doesn't sound great?  The A-10C displays waypoint altitude visually on the HUD and HMCS, and if flight waypoints were on the ground, you wouldn't be able to see them when you're at altitude.  It also would mean a headache if you wanted to use vertical navigation (not that I ever do)...

[ASAP]

10 hours ago, Frederf said:

The ME flight plan obviously has to have flight plan altitudes for the AI flight plan. But just because waypoint 6 has flight altitude "20,000" doesn't mean the A-10 has to initialize with the elevation of waypoint 6 at 20,000. The Mirage for example does it right. Put it in ME whatever flight alt, doesn't matter, airplane always initializes surface elevation in the avionics.

My original post wasn't very well worded. ^ This is exactly the behaviour that I was saying the A-10 needs. In the jet there is no real reason to have the waypoint floating in the sky thousands of feet above the ground. If the player should be flying at 10 thousand feet, put that in the brief, or have the scripted ATC clear them to that altitude.

 

7 hours ago, jaylw314 said:

That doesn't sound great?  The A-10C displays waypoint altitude visually on the HUD and HMCS, and if flight waypoints were on the ground, you wouldn't be able to see them when you're at altitude.  It also would mean a headache if you wanted to use vertical navigation (not that I ever do)...

I guess it gets into the debate of what makes sense for a simulator for the masses vs whats more realistic. Maybe there should be an option in the settings for the behaviour that Frederf was talking about. IRL the A-10C is not authorized terminal RNAV/VNAV procedures. They always have their waypoints at 0 AGL. Waypoints at altitude is more of a DCS thing (at least for the A-10). I get it for DCS, it makes things a lot simpler for people to follow flight plans since in game ATC and JTACS can't manage everyone's altitudes, and the AI obviously need it.  IRL hawg pilots know what altitude to fly at either because they are being vectored or controlled, or its part of their mission planning/local procedures.  The hud already provides a steering cue at the bottom of the HUD which is all you need to steer to it. Yes, they'd see the steering container at some point fly under their nose, but that doesn't really matter. The point being stabilized on the ground gives them an exact piece of terrain to fly over.

[Frederf]

9 hours ago, jaylw314 said:

That doesn't sound great?  The A-10C displays waypoint altitude visually on the HUD and HMCS, and if flight waypoints were on the ground, you wouldn't be able to see them when you're at altitude.  It also would mean a headache if you wanted to use vertical navigation (not that I ever do)...

You're not supposed to have floating waypoints, at least in the tactical environment. Ideally the elevation figure would be ground-snapped by default with option to override. This would allow rare points-in-the-sky IFR approach or other non-grounded waypoints. Ideally-ideally we have full DTC control and can type any value into any field so the DTC loads what we want regardless of the ME plan.

I figure the cases of not having ground-snapped waypoints is so rare that it must be default behavior and if needed the user can manually adjust in-cockpit if needed. With no option the waypoints should initialize at ground surface. With a binary checkbox-type option the waypoints should initialize at ground surface unless the checkbox is ticked which initializes to flight plan altitude. With maximum flexibility the default is surface with the optional ability to specify an arbitrary value, flight plan or otherwise.

[ASAP]

On 11/17/2021 at 12:39 PM, MasterNomis said:

In CDU when you create new waypoint or markpoint from coordinates your elevation is set 0 AGL.

You're right, I just went back and tried it and coordinate ranging worked the way I'd expect. Im not sure what was going on the other day when I tried it. I might have missed a switch or something that was screwing that up.

As far as the mission planning goes, I agree it can be done. And I get why its necessary to have altitudes for waypoints so the AI can follow it. To ammend exaclty what my wishlist request is: they should make the A-10 like the mirage is apparently is already and in the jet the steerpoints should be clamped to 0 feet AGL, regardless of what was put in the mission planning tool.