Learning this module. Some questions.

[impreza]

Hi all. Im learning this module and I have some question.

Jester work by himself in the radar if u say him "radar auto"? can he lock on the target in this case?

Im looking for info about chaffs and flares. its not clear for me. I supose jester dispense chaffs but I dont know how it works. I know we have to say what program but not the handle of jester.

Every recommendations and tips are welcome and maybe its useful for noobs in this plane. This radar and aa modes blow my mind. 

[draconus]

14 hours ago, impreza said:

Jester work by himself in the radar if u say him "radar auto"? can he lock on the target in this case?

Jester does not lock targets on his own. You have to ask him to lock (STT) the target, enemy (when identified already) or specific contact (depending on range and bearing, can also be datalink contact here). He does IFF by himself and change modes RWS/TWS-Auto. You have to also ask him to change the radar antenna direction if you want the search area other than straight ahead.

14 hours ago, impreza said:

Im looking for info about chaffs and flares. its not clear for me. I supose jester dispense chaffs but I dont know how it works. I know we have to say what program but not the handle of jester.

By default pilot operates flares and Jester does chaff but it can be changed in countermeasures menu. He releases CMs based on programmed triggers like RWR indications and launch smoke visibility.

[The_Tau]

Jester is just radar interface for the pilot. You still have to "babysit" Jester and tell where to look, setting (telling Jester to set) radar azimuth and elevations, like you would with F-18/16 radars 1 man aircraft

[Dragon1-1]

He's a bit more capable than that, actually. Once he acquires contacts in TWS, he will try to keep as many of them as possible within scan zone. You do have to tell him where you want to search in first place, and his way of prioritizing targets isn't always best, but once they're in view, he should operate the radar in a way that makes at least some sense.

[impreza]

Ok, thank u, mates. So... Can we trust in jester to release the chaffs when a missile is coming?. I think its better to learn the rio rol to search or track enemies from far. 

Off topic. I cant take off in the supercarrier module. I see some posts about this in 2024. Is it a current bug? the crew dont react to my requests or salutes. 

Edited March 6 by impreza

[draconus]

10 hours ago, impreza said:

Ok, thank u, mates. So... Can we trust in jester to release the chaffs when a missile is coming?. I think its better to learn the rio rol to search or track enemies from far. 

Off topic. I cant take off in the supercarrier module. I see some posts about this in 2024. Is it a current bug? the crew dont react to my requests or salutes. 

You can't trust the chaff alone. You have to also notch the missile (for ARH) or the aircraft (for SARH). Best is to stay out of the WEZ.

Learning the RIO role is really good for understanding Tomcat's radar/WCS capabilities and limitations.

If you can't launch at night or in Case III conditions you have to use "external lights switch". If not - we need more info or a track.

[Dragon1-1]

12 hours ago, impreza said:

Can we trust in jester to release the chaffs when a missile is coming?

You can, but only for radar missiles, flares are your job (the DLC button will release them). Also, you need to defend against the missile yourself, chaff alone won't get the job done. Notching can work, but it's better to defend the missile kinematically, particularly SARH. Look up the F-pole maneuver, done properly, it'll allow you to defeat a SARH missile while still maintaining your lock.

That also goes for heaters, BTW. You have to cut burners, turn your engines away from the missile and help the flares do their work.

Edited March 6 by Dragon1-1

[AhSoul]

Fairly sure I've had Jester release flares for me in a dogfight?

[impreza]

In the case of the carrier take off I tried night and day and with mods and without them (all lights on). The crew dont react. Ill try this night with F14 and F18 and I will write here but its very similar to many comments about bugs in take off from the last year.

In the issue of missiles I think its very difficult to avoid r-77 in the tomcat. Maybe Fox3 its a hardcore rival for tomcats B.

Edited March 6 by impreza

[draconus]

49 minutes ago, impreza said:

In the issue of missiles I think its very difficult to avoid r-77 in the tomcat. Maybe Fox3 its a hardcore rival for tomcats B.

It isn't because you have much longer stick. If the enemy gets closer and you're not pressing then it's going to be hard.

There were some AI bugs or deck crew bugs or MP bugs but in SP the Tomcat was always launching fine.

[Dragon1-1]

4 hours ago, AhSoul said:

Fairly sure I've had Jester release flares for me in a dogfight?

He'll do it, but not very effectively. You have to spam them more than he does, you can't really rely on him doing so.

1 hour ago, impreza said:

In the issue of missiles I think its very difficult to avoid r-77 in the tomcat. Maybe Fox3 its a hardcore rival for tomcats B.

R-77 is a good missile, but the Phoenix outranges it. Adjust your tactics. You should not expect a "one shot, one kill" fight with anything that can carry the R-77, but it should be quite possible to avoid being launched at. Pay attention to range and the missile timeout counters. Plan to use at least two missiles per target: one to get it to defend, the other to actually kill it (more if fighting human opponents). Also remember to manage your closure by cranking, flying straight at the target after launching, especially at supersonic speeds, is typically a bad idea.

[Ivandrov]

On 3/5/2025 at 6:30 AM, Dragon1-1 said:

He's a bit more capable than that, actually. Once he acquires contacts in TWS, he will try to keep as many of them as possible within scan zone. You do have to tell him where you want to search in first place, and his way of prioritizing targets isn't always best, but once they're in view, he should operate the radar in a way that makes at least some sense.

Not Jester doing that actually. The plane is doing that. TWS Auto will steer the antenna to try and keep the highest priority tracks illuminated and will also switch between 2bar40 and 4bar20 automatically as needed.