Vihkir flight path

[Prophet_169th]

Not sure if this is a bug, probably just a factor of manufacturing.

 

But I have noticed, that a good many of my Vihkirs that come out of the tube, make a larger spiral than some. I fly nice and level, so not sure what causes it. Sometimes nice tight spiral, sometimes they go real wide, and dont come close to hitting.

 

Also noticed, with the texture set to winter and temp to -10C, that the laser cools much quicker. Nice feature!

[GGTharos]

Maybe they fail to 'settle' in the beam?

[Kula66]

Is missile reliability modelled in LO? Say 40% of your Sparrows fail randomly?

[Gazehound]

I have often wondered if you need to fly rock steady, or point the bore of the missile at the target to get high pk at shorter ranges, or if its simply chance. I favour the bore-line theory, with a bit of luck thrown in.

You can get 100% hits from max range, so they always settle, and as you get nearer the pK drops off, as they have less time to adjust. Generally if the motor burns out it will always hit.

[Prophet_169th]

Yeah, at max range its not that much of a problem. Because even the ones that go wide, will settle on the beam.

 

I usually will launch 2 vihkirs in a row. Sometimes both fly OK, sometimes only 1, and sometimes none fly OK. Kinda odd.

[Force_Feedback]

The question remains if ED got the right amount of ratations and control corrections right, after seeing the ka-50 video, in which it uses a Vikhr to take out a bmp at like 1.5 km makes me doubt it, especially because the missile flew in a straight line almost instantly (and not a sinus-like flightpath).

 

Also, I miss the proximity fuse for aerial targets, which is able to detonate the missile when it comes within 5m of the target, 5m is also considered the leathal blast radius, only direct hits score a kill in lomac.

 

A book I have on Soviet ATGMs states that it takes the Vikhr to reach 8km in 21 seconds and 4km in 11 seconds, don't know if it's that way in lomac, but the again, the launch speed is not given in the book :(.

[Kula66]

Have you seen the Vikhinaction video ... the missile does 2 loops in about 4 seconds ... The missiles in LO seem to be more smokey than the ones in that video ...

[GGTharos]

The question remains if ED got the right amount of ratations and control corrections right, after seeing the ka-50 video, in which it uses a Vikhr to take out a bmp at like 1.5 km makes me doubt it, especially because the missile flew in a straight line almost instantly (and not a sinus-like flightpath).

 

Which version of the Vikhr? AFAIK, there are several.

 

Also, I miss the proximity fuse for aerial targets, which is able to detonate the missile when it comes within 5m of the target, 5m is also considered the leathal blast radius, only direct hits score a kill in lomac.

 

A reasonable but inadequate compromize for the Vikhr's uber-tracking capability against aerial targets in LOMAC. It's doign better than AAMs!

 

A book I have on Soviet ATGMs states that it takes the Vikhr to reach 8km in 21 seconds and 4km in 11 seconds, don't know if it's that way in lomac, but the again, the launch speed is not given in the book :(.

 

Wait for the WAFM in 1.2 before going that route. ;)

[Force_Feedback]

Still needs a proximity fuse, and only in A-A mode, so not in a2g, to add to the confusion, and needs to go a bit easy on the smoke, lol, it smokes like its launched at 20km :p

 

One thing I find confusing is that the laser guidance of the Vikhr is considered extremely low-powered, yet the Shkval system gets hot very quickly, or is it using 2 lasers, one for rangefinding (the hot one) and one for missile guidance (the low powered one)?

[GGTharos]

Smoke is the same for all missiles for now, I don't think they'll touch this for the time being. As for the prox fuze, like I said ... wait for WAFM :)

 

Concerning lasers:

The physics and operation of lasers are such that you must 'pump' a laser with another energy source (typically a flash lamp of some sort, or another laser - which is itself pumped by a flash lamp) and the efficiency of this can be lower that 10%. You can see that you'll get loads of heat as a byproduct ... especially given that it's an old device.

 

As for 'low powered', I'm pretty sure it's /quite/ high-pwered compared to anything you can buy at the local electronics store. They might say 'low powered' but it'll blind you just the same. Consider that a little red laser pointer has a good chance of blinding you in a short period of time, and if it's flashed in your eye for just a moment, it's painful, even though it technically doesn't hurt you for that short exposure.

 

The Sue's laser is probably a couple orders of magnitude more powerful (but may be 'eye safe' - note, murphy's laws apply)

[Force_Feedback]

True, about the lamps, I forgot, lol.

 

But I meant low as in not detectable by laser illumination sensors, oh well, according to the book, don't know about the real life Shkval-V.

 

 

BTW, what was the link for that Ka-50 video that blasted a BMP and a truck for some Arabs? <--- Never mind, found it, on our all-time favorite site :p

[Prophet_169th]

Smoke is the same for all missiles for now, I don't think they'll touch this for the time being. As for the prox fuze, like I said ... wait for WAFM :)

 

Concerning lasers:

The physics and operation of lasers are such that you must 'pump' a laser with another energy source (typically a flash lamp of some sort, or another laser - which is itself pumped by a flash lamp) and the efficiency of this can be lower that 10%. You can see that you'll get loads of heat as a byproduct ... especially given that it's an old device.

 

As for 'low powered', I'm pretty sure it's /quite/ high-pwered compared to anything you can buy at the local electronics store. They might say 'low powered' but it'll blind you just the same. Consider that a little red laser pointer has a good chance of blinding you in a short period of time, and if it's flashed in your eye for just a moment, it's painful, even though it technically doesn't hurt you for that short exposure.

 

The Sue's laser is probably a couple orders of magnitude more powerful (but may be 'eye safe' - note, murphy's laws apply)

 

I have worked with a few laser systems, small home stuff and commercial excimer lasers. IR is easier to get than UV, but for the power needed to get a good beam out to the range that it does, and get it in a small package in the nose of the Su25T, its gonna get real hot I am sure.

 

And no laser is eye safe.

[Force_Feedback]

And no laser is eye safe.

 

I've heard about plans to develop a projection system, that used lasers, to project images directly on the retina, so you could "see" a screen hanging in front of you so to speak. The article mentioned some wavelangth range in which the laser would not damage your eyes, I just forgot what it was.

 

And judging by the video, the first spirals of the Vikhr were about the size of the cockpit and a bit of the rotorhead (so like 3-4 meters in height), while in lockon its twice the height of the su-25t, and the su-25t is travelling 10 times faster than the ka-50 (about 500kph). I guess it's a WAFM thing then.

[EvilBivol-1]

I think I remember reading that the current Vihr model does sprial and smoke too much. I believe they will address this in 1.2, but nothing confirmed yet.

[Prophet_169th]

That is very possible Force. But it would have to be really, really low power.

 

The problem with laser light isnt the power, is the fact that it is coherent.

 

Most real light we see is many times diffracted, the wavelengths are a mingle, and the angles are all a mingle. Not so with laser, and it doesnt take much to damage the eye, since it has an optical gain of like 100-1000?

[Sealpup]

And no laser is eye safe.

 

It's worth noting that IR lasers of ANY power are automagically in the catagory of 'non eye-safe'. Visable lasers can be 'eye-safe' because, since the eye can see the beam, some kind of reflex will be able to protect the eye (blinking, glancing away, etc.). IR lasers do not register to the eye, and it will not try to protect itself. So, the only indication you have something is wrong is discomfort in the eye (Going on experience from exposure to IR illuminators, it feels like your eyeball is swelling. Not a nice feeling, and a laser is likely worse.), or blindness.

[GGTharos]

That's incorrect.

 

An 'eye-safe' laser is one whose frequency is blocked by the gel in your eyeball. In addition, the power most also be low enough to not heat said gel up, otherwise ... you get the idea.

 

In any case, the only eye safe lasers I've encountered are indeed IR ones. Usually the average and peak power is fairly low, and the pulse short.

[Prophet_169th]

I do not know of any laser that is blocked by the eye 'gel'.

 

An IR laser will focus on the back of the retina, and like Hyena pointed out, there is no reflex and damage is quick. Now it may have low power and short pulse, but thats only going to make an accidental glance safe.

 

UV will focus on the lens and front of eye, depending on wavelength. I believe they use an excimer 193nm laser for the new eye surgery.

 

We use 248 and 193nm lasers at my work, they have continuous burst at 4KHz, and lots of power. We have fun sometimes burning things if we can get away with it.

 

With the nature of lasers you should consider all unsafe. They may be below government safety limits, but come on, I wouldnt take their word for it. Eyes are fragile, be careful with lasers =)