Jump to content

Some more personal opinion on f14's refueling and kc135's speed


Recommended Posts

Posted

Just found out recently that f14's control senstivity would differ according to the different air speed, the faster the plane flies, the more senstitive the control would be and vice versa, which clearly reflect the high fedility of the FM, and i also found out f14 is much less sensitive and easier to refuel at low speed like 180knots or below with tanker like kc130, but however, if refeuling with a tanker like kc135 at 280 knots( or 0.7 mach), then the jet is literally unrefuelable because of the horribly sensitive control (personally) cause by the faster air flow which generate more steer force, which make accurate control almost imopssible(i'm using a virpil hotas with no curves), i realized this by repeatedly trying to refuel in kc135 and always fail, so far i i've never made any contact with kc135, but with kc130 at low speed, it suddenly turns possible, so air speed is denfinitely a factor in air to air refueling.

the slower the tanker is, the more refuelable the f14 is.

 

Posted
6 hours ago, Ddg1500 said:

... (i'm using a virpil hotas with no curves) ...

 

 

6 hours ago, bones1014 said:

Do you have any curves set up? ...

I'm guessing no, he doesn't. 🙂

 

  • Like 1

I'm not updating this anymore. It's safe to assume I have all the stuff, and the stuff for the stuff too. 🙂

Posted
On 9/3/2022 at 4:19 PM, Ddg1500 said:

Just found out recently that f14's control senstivity would differ according to the different air speed, the faster the plane flies, the more senstitive the control would be and vice versa, which clearly reflect the high fedility of the FM, and i also found out f14 is much less sensitive and easier to refuel at low speed like 180knots or below with tanker like kc130, but however, if refeuling with a tanker like kc135 at 280 knots( or 0.7 mach), then the jet is literally unrefuelable because of the horribly sensitive control (personally) cause by the faster air flow which generate more steer force, which make accurate control almost imopssible(i'm using a virpil hotas with no curves), i realized this by repeatedly trying to refuel in kc135 and always fail, so far i i've never made any contact with kc135, but with kc130 at low speed, it suddenly turns possible, so air speed is denfinitely a factor in air to air refueling.

the slower the tanker is, the more refuelable the f14 is.

 

I don't use any curves as well and i much more primitive and less precise stick. It's still doable, just takes practice. Don't go directly for the 135. Perfect your skill in the 130 first, until you can refuel without a single disconnect. Then go to the S-3B. Repeat as the above. Only then try the dreaded 135. Some find it easier, due its large size (easer to keep an eye on it, especially formation pointers) and long hose (more leeway when connecting and disconnecting), but i've always found it the most annoying, due to its wing dihedral (more difficult to judge bank angle) and high speed (i fly the A, so at higher altitudes, it's hard to even keep up with the thing). 

Modules: FC3, Mirage 2000C, Harrier AV-8B NA, F-5, AJS-37 Viggen, F-14B, F-14A, Combined Arms, F/A-18C, F-16C, MiG-19P, F-86, MiG-15, FW-190A, Spitfire Mk IX, UH-1 Huey, Su-25, P-51PD, Caucasus map, Nevada map, Persian Gulf map, Marianas map, Syria Map, Super Carrier, Sinai map, Mosquito, P-51, AH-64 Apache, F4U Corsair, WWII Assets Pack

Posted

NATOPS suggests 240knts at 40' wing sweep as optimal.

I actually find the S-3 the most "difficult" in the B as the engines are so powerful you can get too close really quickly even with moderating the throttles.

I still maintain the key is to get trimmed out in the observation position and when moving into final position concentrate on the pod not the drouge.

 

  • Like 1
Posted (edited)
4 hours ago, WinOrLose said:

 

I still maintain the key is to get trimmed out in the observation position and when moving into final position concentrate on the pod not the drouge.

 

Very much so in my book as well, with an added element of adjusting trim as the fuel quantity changes during the refuel process. Otherwise the risk of slipping out due to drop of altitude increases. Lack of tactile feedback amplifies it, so one has to keep an aye for visual cues. 

4 hours ago, WinOrLose said:

 

I actually find the S-3 the most "difficult" in the B as the engines are so powerful you can get too close really quickly even with moderating the throttles.

 

 

Many find this to be so, but not me, i find it very easy (possibly due to the way a approach it) and is in fact my go-to tanker given the chance! 😄
 

 

Edited by captain_dalan
  • Like 1

Modules: FC3, Mirage 2000C, Harrier AV-8B NA, F-5, AJS-37 Viggen, F-14B, F-14A, Combined Arms, F/A-18C, F-16C, MiG-19P, F-86, MiG-15, FW-190A, Spitfire Mk IX, UH-1 Huey, Su-25, P-51PD, Caucasus map, Nevada map, Persian Gulf map, Marianas map, Syria Map, Super Carrier, Sinai map, Mosquito, P-51, AH-64 Apache, F4U Corsair, WWII Assets Pack

Posted

When youre dealing with an aircraft thats too slow, and youre in the powerful B-model, just know that alot of other fighters use air-brake (maybe not fully open, but slightly, for drag) while refueling to dirty up and get more range in your throttle response. its allowable

  • Like 3
Posted

As i changed my throttle power curves a couple of weeks back, i needed to relearn everything precision related (CASE I's, formation, AAR...) from the start. I left the KC-135 in the instant action for last. Took a while, but i kinda got it by the end. Still room from improvement. Refueling at 350 gives you very little throttle travel to work with, even less when you on purpose reduce it!

Last night:
 

 

Modules: FC3, Mirage 2000C, Harrier AV-8B NA, F-5, AJS-37 Viggen, F-14B, F-14A, Combined Arms, F/A-18C, F-16C, MiG-19P, F-86, MiG-15, FW-190A, Spitfire Mk IX, UH-1 Huey, Su-25, P-51PD, Caucasus map, Nevada map, Persian Gulf map, Marianas map, Syria Map, Super Carrier, Sinai map, Mosquito, P-51, AH-64 Apache, F4U Corsair, WWII Assets Pack

Posted
On 9/8/2022 at 12:41 PM, WinOrLose said:

NATOPS suggests 240knts at 40' wing sweep as optimal.

This.

The missions are wrong. Slight deviations are fine but 180 or 350KIAS  are both unrealistic. Having said that Tomcat is totally controllable - no problem with AAR  from KC-135 at 350 even with wings on Auto.

  • Like 1

🖥️ Win10  i7-10700KF  32GB  RTX4070S   🥽 Quest 3   🕹️ T16000M  VPC CDT-VMAX  TFRP   ✈️ FC3  F-14A/B  F-15E   ⚙️ CA   🚢 SC   🌐 NTTR  PG  Syria

  • Recently Browsing   0 members

    • No registered users viewing this page.
×
×
  • Create New...