Bahger Posted March 7, 2011 Posted March 7, 2011 I find I can be most accurate with CCIP bombing using 10,000ft in the HUD altimeter readout as a starting altitude for the dive. However, I've been practicing against targets at sea-level. Is there any way to display my AGL, as opposed to MSL, altitude in the HUD so that I can maneuver accurately to a 10k reference altitude AGL, i.e. over a ground target that might be a couple of thousand feet above sea level?
bulletproof Posted March 7, 2011 Posted March 7, 2011 Just below the MSL reading is another reading in smaller font with an R beside it for RADAR and that is your AGL.
Bahger Posted March 7, 2011 Author Posted March 7, 2011 Thank you, how could I not have noticed that? Duh.
bulletproof Posted March 7, 2011 Posted March 7, 2011 No worries. Had the same question when I was doing some inland landings. The ground is a few 1000 feet above sea level there and it made for some quick adjustments on approach hehe
bulletproof Posted March 7, 2011 Posted March 7, 2011 Also, forgot to mention since you seem to be at Angels 10 that the radar altitude will not show anything above 5000 feet. After 5000 feet it shows xxxx
recoil17 Posted March 7, 2011 Posted March 7, 2011 Just FYI, you can actually add a radar AGL verticle tape to the hud. It is similar to the magnetic heading tape on the bottom of the HUD. Just switch the IFFCC switch to test, go to DISPLAY MODES, and change RDRALT TAPE to "Y". It only reads 0ft to 1,500ft. "Simultaneous selection of fuel dump and afterburner during high AOA maneuvering may cause fuel to ignite with resulting fuselage damage."
Bahger Posted March 7, 2011 Author Posted March 7, 2011 Hmm, so there is no way to get AGL altitude above 5k, even via the IFCC option? Well, it makes sense, I suppose, difficult to imagine accurate radar altitude output at 10,000ft. In r/l I guess we'd have elevation details on terrain charts.
GGTharos Posted March 7, 2011 Posted March 7, 2011 You can figure out ground altitude difference from MSL by looking at the map and planning your flight accordingly. [sIGPIC][/sIGPIC] Reminder: SAM = Speed Bump :D I used to play flight sims like you, but then I took a slammer to the knee - Yoda
effte Posted March 7, 2011 Posted March 7, 2011 (edited) Yes, there is. Target elevation + 10,000 feet and you'll be at 10,000 AGL... ;) Edit: 10,000 AGL at the target, that is. Radar altitude would screw you up worse than simply flying 10k MSL half of the time anyway. Remember, it is the altitude above ground right where you are at. A mountain will decrease your radalt severely. It is also a lobe, and the highest (i e closest) point within that lobe is what you will get a reading to. Oh, I guess this is yet another argument for putting the waypoints at ground level rather than at flight altitude. ;) Cheers, Fred Edited March 7, 2011 by effte ----- Introduction to UTM/MGRS - Trying to get your head around what trim is, how it works and how to use it? - DCS helos vs the real world.
GGTharos Posted March 7, 2011 Posted March 7, 2011 No, it isn't. You can get elevation at any moment using either the TAD or by marking your target. [sIGPIC][/sIGPIC] Reminder: SAM = Speed Bump :D I used to play flight sims like you, but then I took a slammer to the knee - Yoda
Bahger Posted March 7, 2011 Author Posted March 7, 2011 (edited) Edit: Oops, posted below before reading Tharos' helpful post. So I can get an elevation readout by placing the TAD cursor over a spot, with TAD as SOI, presumably? I assume this shows up in all the fine data on the TAD screen when an object is superimposed with the cursor? Where does elevation show when marking a target? Well, you can't always know what target elevation is, especially with non-prebriefed targets such as those you might get from JTAC. I will settle for this as an imprecise art and attempt to "eyeball" dumb bombing targets, adjusting my airspeed/dive angle for altitude "on the fly". As ever, practice makes perfect... As for the waypoint altitude debate, I'm responsible for opening that can o'worms. Using ground-level markpoints for targets is the solution, I believe, in spite of a slightly increased pilot workload, especially as it means that, by setting WPs at altitude as nav markers, not target markers, I can playtest all missions in the ME using AI only. Returning to the subject of the thread however...even WPs placed at ground level, or MPs that are ground-level by default, do not contain any info re. MSL atltitude from which an AGL calculation can be made...unless I am mistaken. Edited March 7, 2011 by Bahger
GGTharos Posted March 7, 2011 Posted March 7, 2011 Edit: Oops, posted below before reading Tharos' helpful post. So I can get an elevation readout by placing the TAD cursor over a spot, with TAD as SOI, presumably? I assume this shows up in all the fine data on the TAD screen when an object is superimposed with the cursor? Where does elevation show when marking a target? Have a look on it, I don't recall - I tend to look at it while flying and I always forget where it is when not looking. :/ Well, you can't always know what target elevation is, especially with non-prebriefed targets such as those you might get from JTAC. I will settle for this as an imprecise art and attempt to "eyeball" dumb bombing targets, adjusting my airspeed/dive angle for altitude "on the fly". As ever, practice makes perfect... You can mark them with TGP or HUD marker and get the elevation from the markpoint. Also you can prepare and know the average elevation of terrain within the area you're CAS'ing about from your briefing. As for the waypoint altitude debate, I'm responsible for opening that can o'worms. Using ground-level markpoints for targets is the solution, I believe, in spite of a slightly increased pilot workload, especially as it means that, by setting WPs at altitude as nav markers, not target markers, I can playtest all missions in the ME using AI only. Returning to the subject of the thread however...even WPs placed at ground level, or MPs that are ground-level by default, do not contain any info re. MSL atltitude from which an AGL calculation can be made...unless I am mistaken. I think they do. I could be wrong, but I'm pretty sure the CDU contains such information. Even on your HUD I believe the elevation of your steerpoint is displayed somewhere or other, be it at the steerpoint itself or beside its nav info. [sIGPIC][/sIGPIC] Reminder: SAM = Speed Bump :D I used to play flight sims like you, but then I took a slammer to the knee - Yoda
Conure Posted March 7, 2011 Posted March 7, 2011 Have a look on it, I don't recall - I tend to look at it while flying and I always forget where it is when not looking. :/ You can mark them with TGP or HUD marker and get the elevation from the markpoint. Also you can prepare and know the average elevation of terrain within the area you're CAS'ing about from your briefing. I think they do. I could be wrong, but I'm pretty sure the CDU contains such information. Even on your HUD I believe the elevation of your steerpoint is displayed somewhere or other, be it at the steerpoint itself or beside its nav info. Guys, sorry about the stupid question but I've been really inundated with information lately and am still confused about things. Elevation makes sense, but if the elevation is say, 300 feet, then according to barometric altitude when I reach 300 feet I'm on the ground? If I use radar altitude for all my approaches (which I do), then does elevation become irrelevant? Thanks Intel i7 6700k, Asus GTX1070, 16gb DDR4 @ 3200mhz, CH Fighterstick, CH Pro Throttle, CH Pro Rudder Pedals, Samsung Evo 850 SSD @ 500GB * 2, TrackIR 5 and 27" monitor running at 2560 * 1440, Windows 10.
GGTharos Posted March 7, 2011 Posted March 7, 2011 When your radalt fails. ;) Do all approaches with baro, radalt might cause you issues (in RL at least) where there might be hills or valleys on the approach path. [sIGPIC][/sIGPIC] Reminder: SAM = Speed Bump :D I used to play flight sims like you, but then I took a slammer to the knee - Yoda
nomdeplume Posted March 8, 2011 Posted March 8, 2011 If you're carrying a TGP, I believe it shows your altitude above the stored terrain level at your position in the upper right corner.
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