Airborn Target Locking Logic

[ericinexile]

After getting my butt handed to me on a platter on 159th's King of the Hill mission (awsome!), I decided to practice locking airborn targets using Jetrangers as drones (poor saps). I'm improving but I haven't really given myself a good grasp of the criteria for a skhval lock. I find that if I designate a piece of sky close to my adversary and then move the HMS over him, there is a fair chance of a lock. (This is with the laser off, just to keep the discussion simple.) My question is, how long after tapping "designate" will the target gates "look" for a target to acquire? Also, what target gate size results in the best chance of getting an easy lock? Personally, I find that a gate size 1 step below the dashed box works well for a medium distance/sized target.