Start up procedure: what am I missing?

[Bower]

Hey guys,

 

Whenever I fly from a cold start I experience a very annoying issue with my HUD ladder. Only when on the ground and rarely in the air will it actually centre on the HUD. Most of the time it is very far to the left or right. Is this normal behaviour? I suspect not as I've just flown a custom-made training mission and the HUD ladder was pretty much centre the entire time. If this is just the effect of wind or something, is there a way to disable it? It makes GAU-8 strafes rather difficult.

[Olgerd]

Hey guys,

 

Whenever I fly from a cold start I experience a very annoying issue with my HUD ladder. Only when on the ground and rarely in the air will it actually centre on the HUD. Most of the time it is very far to the left or right. Is this normal behaviour? I suspect not as I've just flown a custom-made training mission and the HUD ladder was pretty much centre the entire time. If this is just the effect of wind or something, is there a way to disable it? It makes GAU-8 strafes rather difficult.

 

Can you provide a screenshot?

[Chrisakky]

Probably the wind or an imbalance of your payload. Basically like your crabbing all the way through your mission. Start in the sky and make sure what you've described is happening, I'f so, see what side your plane is sliding to, then do a 90 degree turn and see which way again. and then 90 degrees again. I'f the direction changes ; its the wind. I'f not it may be your payload or your HOTAS is set up wrong causing rudder deflexion, or a problem in the sim.

[Bower]

I'll grab a screenshot and try your suggestion Chris.

[Bower]

Sorry for the silly question but how do I take a screenshot? Print screen doesn't work and I can't check my controls in-game.

 

Well Printscreen/SysRq doesn't drop a screenshot in the screenshot directory and it doesn't copy to clipboard like a normal screenshot so I can't provide one. However turning in 90 degrees showed that it is the wind. I managed to get it to centre but only within a narrow angle. I'm surprised that the actual aircraft suffers from this...The ladder is almost sliding off the HUD.

 

How can I disable this effect?

Edited July 11, 2011 by Bower

[Olgerd]

Sorry for the silly question but how do I take a screenshot? Print screen doesn't work and I can't check my controls in-game.

 

Why do you think it does not work? Check C:\Users\<user name>\Saved Games\DCS Warthog\ScreenShots

[Mud]

Printscreen does work, but not in the normal way. It saves the shot in your Saved Games / DCS Warthog / Screenshots folder.

[EtherealN]

Bower, you are experiencing wind. The ladder will align with the TVV (total velocity vector), so if you are flying with a sidewind the ladder will be on the side. This is normal and the indended function of the system.

 

So:

 

If you are flying heading 360, and have wind coming from the west, the ladder will be on the right. If you are flying heading 180, still wind coming from the west, the ladder will be on the left.

 

In a mission with zero wind, the ladder will stay centered. These are rare.

 

Another ladder issue to keep an eye on is, on cold-start, to ensure that you set your nav to EGI instead of the default HARS mode. (Below HSI on front panel.)

[Bower]

Why do you think it does not work? Check C:\Users\<user name>\Saved Games\DCS Warthog\ScreenShots

 

I was looking within the main DCS directory. There's a directory called "Screenshots" so I was looking in there...

 

http://i52.tinypic.com/2uz8mzm.jpg

[EtherealN]

Confirms it Bower, you are looking at wind. Notice the TVV is centered in the ladder.

 

Normal function.

[Olgerd]

It looks for me exactly like what Chrisakky describes. Btw you can check the current wind on the CDU POSINFO page.

[Bower]

:(

 

What's the best way to determine the appropriate direction to make an attack from?

[EtherealN]

:(

 

What's the best way to determine the appropriate direction to make an attack from?

 

Err, that's a sort of different question, and there is no proper response that won't fill a whole manual, but: where there isn't any enemies...

 

But it all depends on your weapon, your target, and so on. If your only weapon is a GAU-8, and your target is a T-80, and your only safe ingress places you on a shot on his front... Don't bother. You'll have to be more specific to get valuable guidance: describe the situation, your target, and your weapons, and we can give you some hints on what to think about.

[Bower]

Well I'm OK at taking out targets with the mavericks and CCRP-mode bombs but I still suck at GAU-8 strafes so some tips for that would be cool. I appreciate that a steep dive onto the target is ideal and I want to begin my firing at 1.7nm and finish up around 1.4 but what's a good altitude to start my decent from? The misaligned ladder really makes it hard for me :(

[Olgerd]

Err, that's a sort of different question, and there is no proper response that won't fill a whole manual, but: where there isn't any enemies...

 

But it all depends on your weapon, your target, and so on. If your only weapon is a GAU-8, and your target is a T-80, and your only safe ingress places you on a shot on his front... Don't bother. You'll have to be more specific to get valuable guidance: describe the situation, your target, and your weapons, and we can give you some hints on what to think about.

 

Or if the tactical situation allows this, just to make attack runs aligning the aircraft with the wind direction.

[159th_Viper]

:(

 

What's the best way to determine the appropriate direction to make an attack from?

 

From above........always from above from about 10 000ft on a GAU run.

[EtherealN]

Or if the tactical situation allows this, just to make attack runs aligning the aircraft with the wind direction.

 

Aye, if the tactical situation permits CCRP/CCIP delivery of dumb munitions, this is definitely a very valuable point in order to maximize accuracy. I'm a bit of a chauvinist for missiles so I didn't fully consider this. Слова благодарности моему другу.

[GGTharos]

You aren't going to dent a tank at those ranges. It's 0.7-0.4nm, not 1.7-1.4.

 

Set up an attack run with a 30deg dive from 2nm, place the pipper on target, stabilize it with PAC, then pull the trigger all the way and gun for 1-2sec at 0.7nm, and break away. Don't sit there to watch the fireworks, and don't overfly the target.

 

Well I'm OK at taking out targets with the mavericks and CCRP-mode bombs but I still suck at GAU-8 strafes so some tips for that would be cool. I appreciate that a steep dive onto the target is ideal and I want to begin my firing at 1.7nm and finish up around 1.4 but what's a good altitude to start my decent from? The misaligned ladder really makes it hard for me :(

[Bower]

OK thanks a lot :) I'm having a play in a user-made weapons training mission and experiencing some good results.

 

What exactly do you mean by stabilise it with PAC though?

[EtherealN]

The gun trigger on the "real thing" has two stages, PAC-1 and PAC-2. So when you start pressing the trigger, you enter PAC-1 and the plane will stabilize you onto whatever you are aiming at - but not fire the gun. Depress the trigger far enough into second stage and you'll enter PAC-2, where the gun will fire and the systems will attempt to autocorrect for the recoil.

 

You can find this function on some HOTAS units, like the Saitek x52 and TM Warthog. (And most likely more, but those are the ones I've used.)

[VMFA117_Poko]

First stage of stick trigger before second stage wich is a gun shot. First you have to set switch on AHCP.

 

GUN/PAC Switch to ARM possition on Armament HUD Control Panel (AHCP - next right from Master Arm). The GUN/PAC switch enables the gun with or without Precision Attitude Control (PAC) assist. PAC automatically adjusts aircraft pitch and yaw control inputs such that gun rounds fall in a tighter grouping around the aim point, rather than being impacted lengthwise along the aircraft’s line of travel when firing. This switch has three positions:

 ARM position (Up). Enables both the gun to be fired, and PAC will be active when the gun is fired.

 SAFE position (Middle). Disables the gun from being fired.

 GUNARM position (Down). The gun may be fired, but PAC assist will be disabled.

Selecting the gun and placing the switch in either ARM or GUNARM will result in a ―RDY‖ weapon status indication on the HUD.

 

(Manual page 107)

[Bower]

Well with the GUN/PAC switch in the top position (ARM) I experience very stable recoil anyway so I guess stabilising is just automatic (that is, I don't need to press a key to lock it in place, it just starts when I start firing).

 

Well thanks again for the tips. Tank busting is going pretty well although my wing has snapped a few times from the ridiculous speed I generate in my decent :D

[EtherealN]

Firing always actiuvates PAC-2 (assuming PAC switch is on). The point with PAC-1 is to get stable before firing, allowing you to "lock on" befoer commiting to your fires.

[GGTharos]

So don't throw the stick so hard ... :P Practice doing a few turns at those speeds in free flight so you get used to how far you should pull the stick.

 

Well thanks again for the tips. Tank busting is going pretty well although my wing has snapped a few times from the ridiculous speed I generate in my decent :D

[Nu-NRG]

Don't sit there to watch the fireworks,

Listen to the wise words! Or this happens:

 

 

Yes, the white smoke + the flying debris is what was left of my aircraft when I target asphyxiated.:doh: