Gun elevation seems way too high.

[Gomez Adams]

I'm new to DCS and just bought the F14 Tomcat during the summer sale last week. I've been trying to learn it little by little and just tried the gun tutorial.

The problem I'm having is that the gun seems to fire WAY too high at roughly a 30 degree angle above the aircraft. Here's a screen shot:

So as I'm coming up behind the big aircraft I'm supposed to shoot down, I have to be way below it to actually be able to hit it. The manual says that I should have my gun elevation (right side panel towards the bottom) set at 53, which it is.

Is this normal and something I have to learn to live with or am I doing something horribly wrong?

[DD_Fenrir]

1. The HUD view is disingenuous - the vertical centre of the hud is not pointing down the datum line of the aircraft; you are actually looking somewhat down the nose as this is a carrier aircraft and requires a higher rate of decent, steeper glideslope and therefore higher AOA, all which results in the need for a good view down the nose.

2. The gun is canted 3 degrees above the waterline of the aircraft to assist in air-to-air gunnery; this means you'll need to pull less lead.

3. The cross at the top of the HUD is the armament datum line and the gun stream will cross through this point at a set distance from the aircraft.... what this is however, I cannot recall exactly.

Edited July 24, 2023 by DD_Fenrir

[Gomez Adams]

It's still very, very strange not being able to shoot an aircraft directly in front of you. I have to be a good deal below them to be able to hit them, even when I'm within 500 meters of them. It actually seems as though the bullets should be shooting my own nose off they come out at such an upwards angle.

In other news: the sidewinders work exactly as advertised.

Edited July 24, 2023 by Gomez Adams

[Naquaii]

7 hours ago, Gomez Adams said:

It's still very, very strange not being able to shoot an aircraft directly in front of you. I have to be a good deal below them to be able to hit them, even when I'm within 500 meters of them. It actually seems as though the bullets should be shooting my own nose off they come out at such an upwards angle.

In other news: the sidewinders work exactly as advertised.

 

The gun elevation is correct as to how it should be according to the manuals. The thing you need to remember is that the case you're describing is not something it's designed for primarily. Taking straight ahead shots at a little or not maneuvering target. It's purposefully designed to allow the pilot an easier time to put the bullets on a target in a turning fight as that's the likely use case for the gun.

And yes, this also seems strange at first when strafing as you have to pitch down more than feels right but that's just how it is.

[ricktoberfest]

8 hours ago, Gomez Adams said:

It's still very, very strange not being able to shoot an aircraft directly in front of you. I have to be a good deal below them to be able to hit them, even when I'm within 500 meters of them. It actually seems as though the bullets should be shooting my own nose off they come out at such an upwards angle.

In other news: the sidewinders work exactly as advertised.

 

Just wait till you try the Jf-17. That gun is aimed down for ease of use strafing ground targets. Makes gun dogfights… interesting…

[draconus]

On 7/23/2023 at 8:39 PM, Gomez Adams said:

The problem I'm having is that the gun seems to fire WAY too high at roughly a 30 degree angle above the aircraft

Press F2, zoom out and shoot - does it still look like 30 degrees?

As said, the 3 degrees up elevation is norm for modern fighters. You can't change the gun elevation. The mils you set are just for the piper on the HUD for manual gun A2A mode, please read more here:

https://www.heatblur.se/F-14Manual/weapons.html#m-61-vulcan-six-barreled-gatling-cannon

No, you don't have to fly lower than your target. You can aim from above even vertically down at your target. Just put it in your piper and shot, best done with radar lock. Unless your target is NOE flying heli or fighter there is no problem in aiming but even then there are techniques for that.

Edited July 25, 2023 by draconus

[r4y30n]