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F14 TRAINIGS CAMPAIGN


Germane

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Hey Reflected, 

First of all, let me say that I own your Zone 5 campaign and I love it. For me it is the best campaign in DCS. Simply because it is so authentic.

My biggest wish would be a F14 training campaign from you. Where you learn all the real procedures. Similar to the A-10 BFT- or L-39 Kursant campaign.

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9 hours ago, Germane said:

Hey Reflected, 

First of all, let me say that I own your Zone 5 campaign and I love it. For me it is the best campaign in DCS. Simply because it is so authentic.

My biggest wish would be a F14 training campaign from you. Where you learn all the real procedures. Similar to the A-10 BFT- or L-39 Kursant campaign.

I'm working on one with Paco Chierici 😉 It will be a DCS 'Speed & Angels'

If you mean a campaign that takes people by the hand, who are totally new to the F-14 and shows them what button does what, then this campaign is NOT what you're after.

If, however, you'd like to go through a realistic Tomcat RAG and learn from real life pilots, then it will be the ultimate Tomcat experience.

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vor 6 Stunden schrieb Reflected:

I'm working on one with Paco Chierici 😉 It will be a DCS 'Speed & Angels'

If you mean a campaign that takes people by the hand, who are totally new to the F-14 and shows them what button does what, then this campaign is NOT what you're after.

If, however, you'd like to go through a realistic Tomcat RAG and learn from real life pilots, then it will be the ultimate Tomcat experience.

Uhhhh, that sounds great! 

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  • 1 month later...

Hi! 

Just saw this topic and got really excited. Just watched Speed & Angels as well as their reunion on youtube. Would love some more details on this when you're ready, Reflected. Haven't started flying the F-14 yet, but seems like I have quite the "career" to look forward to with all these amazing campaigns. 

Cheers!

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  • 2 weeks later...

I love the idea, currently going through BD's Iron Flag (based on A-10C conversion training from the A), which is similar in concept. It does hold your hand a little at the start, with regards to checklists and so on, but it extremely detailed and really fun, including covering functionality that you wouldn't normally use. Not sure how a RAG would do it, but there's no much need for basic handholding that Iron Flag does in the F-14, anyway, what with its pilot-side systems being rather simple and Jester being able to help with startup checks, if needed. One nice thing it does is not only explain what buttons do, it explains why they do it, and when you might want to press them. It goes a long way toward understanding the aircraft.

I hope it'll someday be possible to do a RIO training campaign. Right now, you either fly or try to wear both hats, which isn't very realistic. Maybe one day Iceman will be good enough to sit in the front seat for the whole mission.

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43 minutes ago, Dragon1-1 said:

I love the idea, currently going through BD's Iron Flag (based on A-10C conversion training from the A), which is similar in concept. It does hold your hand a little at the start, with regards to checklists and so on, but it extremely detailed and really fun, including covering functionality that you wouldn't normally use. Not sure how a RAG would do it, but there's no much need for basic handholding that Iron Flag does in the F-14, anyway, what with its pilot-side systems being rather simple and Jester being able to help with startup checks, if needed. One nice thing it does is not only explain what buttons do, it explains why they do it, and when you might want to press them. It goes a long way toward understanding the aircraft.

I hope it'll someday be possible to do a RIO training campaign. Right now, you either fly or try to wear both hats, which isn't very realistic. Maybe one day Iceman will be good enough to sit in the front seat for the whole mission.

I just finished Iron Flag, and while I absolutely loved it, I realized that Speed & Angels will be quite different. The Tomcat's systems are nowhere near as complex as an A-10. Also, at the RAG you learned the NATOPS inside out in the classroom, on the ground, while not burning expensive jet fuel. So instead, Paco focused on recreating the kind of missions that were actually flown IRL and you'll learn how to fly the Tomcat effectively in combat, and how to become a lethal fleet pilot. And I assure you there's so much to learn, I had no idea how much I didn't know. I'm afraid to call it a 'training' campaign, because those who are looking for a 'NATOPS audiobook' - á la DCS training missions - will be disappointed. It will be much more than that ,though.

Like IRL, the campaign will expect you to be familiar with the switchology by the time you climb into the cockpit. Let me give you an example: IRL a RAG instructor wouldn't go through how the wingsweep hatswitch works on the throttle. If you don't already know that on your familiarization flight, you have no place to be there. On the other hand: do you know how to do a loop? I mean properly. Not like my grandma, burners on and pull until you are flying level again. I sure didn't know, but there are so many details to pay attention to. And this is 'just' a loop. The least complex stuff covered in the training. Paco made me sweat and work harder than ever during the familiarization flight doing 'simple' stuff. Then you'll get into formations, section tactics and maneuvers, AAR, intercepts, A2G, A2A, Quals, just to name a few challenges.


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30 minutes ago, Lt_Jaeger said:

Will all the formation and tactic stuff work with the strange acting AI we have to work with? 

Yes it will, I really stretched the DCS AI to the edge of its limitations, but I made it work. This being said, there's not much room left for error, in case the player doesn't pay attention to the exercise and doesn't do what's briefed. But I've come up with crazy workarounds to make the missions AI proof and as player proof as possible, tested them a hundred times and I'm quite happy with how they work out.

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2 hours ago, Reflected said:

Like IRL, the campaign will expect you to be familiar with the switchology by the time you climb into the cockpit. Let me give you an example: IRL a RAG instructor wouldn't go through how the wingsweep hatswitch works on the throttle. If you don't already know that on your familiarization flight, you have no place to be there.

Call it an "advanced training campaign, then". 🙂 HB's training missions are actually quite good, and with much fewer systems to learn (for the pilot, at least, all the fun stuff is in the back 🙂), there really isn't that much to dissect the way Iron Flag does. For most of the switches on the pilot side, all you need to know about what they do is written out on the label. In fact, the most elaborate system you deal with as a pilot is Jester.

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On 3/30/2022 at 8:50 PM, Reflected said:

If, however, you'd like to go through a realistic Tomcat RAG and learn from real life pilots, then it will be the ultimate Tomcat experience.

Just wanted to say this sounds amazing and will definitely take advantage of it when it's released.  I'm still working my way through the F14 but having the chance to learn the proper techniques, from a RAG perspective, is exactly what I was hoping for.  Thanks Reflected and Paco!  ...and Germane for asking!

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On 5/15/2022 at 12:48 PM, Reflected said:

I just finished Iron Flag, and while I absolutely loved it, I realized that Speed & Angels will be quite different. The Tomcat's systems are nowhere near as complex as an A-10. Also, at the RAG you learned the NATOPS inside out in the classroom, on the ground, while not burning expensive jet fuel. So instead, Paco focused on recreating the kind of missions that were actually flown IRL and you'll learn how to fly the Tomcat effectively in combat, and how to become a lethal fleet pilot. And I assure you there's so much to learn, I had no idea how much I didn't know. I'm afraid to call it a 'training' campaign, because those who are looking for a 'NATOPS audiobook' - á la DCS training missions - will be disappointed. It will be much more than that ,though.

Like IRL, the campaign will expect you to be familiar with the switchology by the time you climb into the cockpit. Let me give you an example: IRL a RAG instructor wouldn't go through how the wingsweep hatswitch works on the throttle. If you don't already know that on your familiarization flight, you have no place to be there. On the other hand: do you know how to do a loop? I mean properly. Not like my grandma, burners on and pull until you are flying level again. I sure didn't know, but there are so many details to pay attention to. And this is 'just' a loop. The least complex stuff covered in the training. Paco made me sweat and work harder than ever during the familiarization flight doing 'simple' stuff. Then you'll get into formations, section tactics and maneuvers, AAR, intercepts, A2G, A2A, Quals, just to name a few challenges.

 

Sounds like the ultimate Speed & Angels experience! You are really checking off a lot of bucket list items for a lot of us aspiring virtual Tomcat pilots. 

Any chance we could know which map it is set on? Think they were down in Key West as well as Nevada for the RAG in Speed & Angels. Seems Marianas and NTTR are both good fits for this. 😉

Keep up the great work! 😃

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I have a request: have someone bring out "you think up there, you're dead" line from Top Gun, and have a veteran IP shut him down with something like "you better learn to think fast". 🙂 I love Top Gun, but one thing that annoys me about it is the idea that the best pilots basically fly by feel. They think ahead first (gameplan), then they think really damn fast. Back in WWII, there was some accommodation for "muscle" pilots who could beat down the enemy largely by superior physical conditioning and skillful, aggressive maneuvering, but after the advent of the E-M theory, this sort of thing no longer works very well. I don't know how it was back then, but at least from what I've gathered from what real pilots say, the "use your instincts" attitude wouldn't get very far these days. 

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2 hours ago, Dragon1-1 said:

I have a request: have someone bring out "you think up there, you're dead" line from Top Gun, and have a veteran IP shut him down with something like "you better learn to think fast". 🙂 I love Top Gun, but one thing that annoys me about it is the idea that the best pilots basically fly by feel. They think ahead first (gameplan), then they think really damn fast. Back in WWII, there was some accommodation for "muscle" pilots who could beat down the enemy largely by superior physical conditioning and skillful, aggressive maneuvering, but after the advent of the E-M theory, this sort of thing no longer works very well. I don't know how it was back then, but at least from what I've gathered from what real pilots say, the "use your instincts" attitude wouldn't get very far these days. 

Not gonna use movie quotes in this one, but S&A will be a great lesson to everyone who thinks they can fly by feel. There's a whole lot of thinking that has to be involved if you want to complete the missions.

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1 hour ago, Reflected said:

Not gonna use movie quotes in this one, but S&A will be a great lesson to everyone who thinks they can fly by feel. There's a whole lot of thinking that has to be involved if you want to complete the missions.

What matters for me is that the notion that you can fly without thinking is completely demolished. Snarky comments on nuggets who think they're the next incarnation of Frank Luke (and who think that they'd let anyone who flies like Luke near a modern aircraft in the 80s...) optional, but welcome. 🙂 

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58 minutes ago, Reflected said:

You haven't even played the campaign. Most of it will be over open water.

Ya thats my point  lets hope Marianas gets some good optimization because your campaigns are awesome.  Even out in open water Marianas has issues in vr

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