Campaigns as RIO

[bond672]

Hi all, 

I really want to learn more about fighting as as a RIO. Which of the free campaigns that come with the Tomcat should I play to learn RIO. 

Thanks in advance.

Simon.

[draconus]

How do you imagine it? Start up, taxi and take off jumping between seats, then use IceMan for the rest of the mission and land for yourself? Interesting and fun for a try or two but frustrating experience for a long run. Campaigns are mostly pilot job.

With recent changes to AI BVR you can probably shot down some bombers but fighters will be hard to get and if they get to 20nm you're basically toast.

Best to take on multiplayer with a friend. If you don't have one it's a lot easier to find a pilot than a RIO. If you don't want MP - just practice with Instant Action missions.

[9thHunt]

The Iceman AI is pretty rudimentary, it can't fly a whole mission by itself.

[RustBelt]

This is the hardest thing about trying to learn RIO. You NEED a pilot and most pilots have become so accustomed to Jester that training up a RIO is the last thing anyone wants to do. 
 

Your best bet is finding a squadron looking to train up RIO’s that has a sorted out crew concept so both seats know what the other is doing. 
 

Just being a pickup game RIO with randos can be rough unless both of you are willing to use your words.

[Karon]

5 hours ago, bond672 said:

Hi all, 

I really want to learn more about fighting as as a RIO. Which of the free campaigns that come with the Tomcat should I play to learn RIO. 

Thanks in advance.

Simon.

None, mate. If you are new, start from the avionics and for 95% of the basic scenarios you only need a simple setup in the mission editor. Even something as simple as a race-tracking target whilst you are in active pause makes you see how the angles change, and force you to learn where, when, how the contact disappears, and to take action. For instance, you will see the target moving close to the notch, and you can pause or slow down time and focus on how the vectors appear on the TID AS vs GS, and how the return moves towards the MLC region before disappearing. You will also probably see how the target enters and leaves the ZDF, depending on how you set up the racetrack. You can experiment with different radar modes, see how the symbology changes, and so on.
If you are looking for a place to start your journey, you can hardly go wrong with the bible itself: https://www.heatblur.se/F-14Manual/

Don't get me wrong, you can do all this in a campaign, online, or anywhere you want, but those situations are often complicated and can easily become frustrating. Therefore, I suggest you to start in a simple, controlled environment, get the basics done quickly, and then move on to campaigns and missions. Speaking of which, you can do the piloting stuff yourself (remember to disable Jester), then jump in the backseat. Iceman, besides the granny-speed turn ratio, is a fine pilot, especially now that it can navigate to defined steerpoints.

That being said, the choice is yours, of course. Do what you find more enjoyable.
Good luck, and shout if you need anything