Night time air defences & lables

[L4key]

I am having difficulty at night getting in position to hit targets in time for the illumination flares to be dropped. Normal A-B flight time is ok but the trouble is I can’t go A-B because of about four ZSU23 emplacements en-route. With only 12 or so mins to get to the IP I have not the time to take them out (definitely not at night!) or to fly round them and still be at the target area for lights on.

 

If anyone has any general tips on this that would be appreciated. It’s recently happened on the second campaign, about mission 14 but it has happened on a couple of other night sorties.

 

Another thing; I play with labels on, being only a part time player and pretty rubbish I have to. I got to thinking how on earth do you good players manage at night without labels??? It must be impossible, the first thing you’d know about a gun battery or SAM in your route would be when it lit you up surely?

 

Anyway – any tips would be useful. Thx

[STP Dragon]

You are fireing the new unguided illumniation rockets?

[L4key]

You are fireing the new unguided illumniation rockets?

 

 

I wasn't, thems being new and all. I dare say it's an alternative method now, but not in the spirit of the mission as designed originally. What did people do before without illumination rockets?

 

Also - another question now seeing as you've mentioned it Dragon, so I don't have to trial and error it, whats the range of an illumination rocket? - Do you just aim into the night sky above the target, or at the target?

[STP Dragon]

Do you just aim into the night sky above the target, or at the target?

I never played SP (only to test my selfmade missions).

So I don't know the behaviour of this mission.

 

Also I have the german version so I have to wait for the german patch before I can test the new illumination rockets.

But I'm interested in how to use it and if they working, because I plan to use it for my missions.

As written in the readme the illumination starts after 17sec after launch of the missile. So I prefer to shoot it into the sky, not at the enemy. ;)

As high as possible so the illumination have a long way to the ground.

 

Would be nice if somebody can test this.

[L4key]

17 seconds? Can someone work out how far out you need to be to illuminate a target if you fire over it at say + 5 degree pitch? Some complex speed & trajectory calcs required methinks!

 

I'm a kartoffelkopf so I won't be able to do it. ;)

[STP Dragon]

I gess the rockets have ca. the same speed as the Vikhr's.

A Vikhr need ca. 15-20 sec to hit a target about 10Km.

If you shoot into the sky I gess you have to be 7-8 Km away.

So please test it. I'm curious about it.

[STP Dragon]

I took a look in the manual:

 

The Vikhr needs 14 sec for 6 km.

(remember the time displayed on your HUD is + 6 sec)

 

The S8 (explosive) have a speed of 610 m/s. (I assume it is the same for illumination)

So in 17 sec it will fly 10370 m -> 10,37 Km

If you shoot it 10° into the sky...

 

Gegenkathete:1.801

Ankathete:10.212

Hypotenuse:10.37

Winkel:10

Sinus:0.174, Cosinus:0.985, Tangens:0.176

 

You have to be 10.212 Km away and the illumination will have 1.8 Km to the ground.

Edited August 12, 2009 by =STP= Dragon

[L4key]

Show off! :thumbup:

 

Does that give me enough time to then fly to, say 5k and hover again, switch on HMS, target designate, fire (oops forgot damn master arm :doh:) set master arm, fire, boom?

 

I realise I am being incredibly lazy and taking advantage of your goodwill, not to mention your mathematical genius but it's a consideration the (very) average player will need to know!

[STP Dragon]

If you switch to manual mode you can launch the Vikhr also at 10 Km....

I hit targets at abount 11.3 Km. So 10 Km are no problem.

Also you can fire the illumination rocket higher then 10°.... ;)

At 25° there are only 9,39841 Km. :)

 

Calculator