Aligning GAU with target - any tips?

[Nealius]

Practice, or being able to calculate on the fly how far out you need to start your turn from ____ feet altitude? :p

[Eddie]

Indeed, developing the ability to visualise the attack and plan it on the fly is what will ultimately allow you do do it "properly".

 

I will say that it is nowhere near as difficult as it first seems, the first step is to actually start planning you attacks in the first place. Know what dive angle you want to attack at, know what distance you will fire, and from what direction, know your egress direction etc. etc. etc.

 

It's not the whole story of course, this weapon delivery stuff is complex, especially to those who are new to it. Those videos on the 476th youtube are actually accompanied by 200 pages of documentation, 3-4 hours of theory instruction in TS, and 10-20 hours (on average) of flight instruction. And that is for pilots with 200+ MP flight hours. You won't get it overnight, it won't come easily, but by recognising that you're not doing it "right" the first step to getting better is made.

 

It's always difficult answering questions like these on the forum, because it is such a complex subject, and I can't write a 5000 word post every time.

[Nealius]

Of course it would also be nice to have access to real weapons employment documentation but that's verbotten for good reason.

 

Weapons delivery for me has always been a bit of common sense plus wingin' it, with my only true precision flying being with SIDs and STARs.

 

Are your instruction documents only available to members of the 476th? I would join, but DCS is a side-gig for me right now and I'm already dedicated to one virtual squadron with Falcon BMS.

Edited March 12, 2013 by Nealius

[WildBillKelsoe]

Awesome processing effect on that video. What is it? The only two ways I could tell it wasn't real were a) the clouds and b) the HUD data tilting when in a turn.

 

Thanks. It's a mix of Gaussian blur and brightness and contrast, along with some cine blue effect. Soft used is serif movie plus x5.

 

nice one. Is it better to go upside down, pull on the stick and then level off and track the gun cross towards the target?

 

If you've practiced homing with that tech, and you're comfy with it, then ya. I personally find it hard to aim without HUD GBL. Either ways I'm sure somebody will pop in from 476th or 74th and jaw drop all of us Kadets.

[StrongHarm]

I like to use a wingtip to gauge distance and direction to target, plus having beam on the target makes you a harder target for defenses. Once I get in position, I like to roll to the target to bleed off some speed. I personally start my ingress with the target 1.5nm beam on right wing. If you start your run in further out than that they seem to get a bead on you every time. After my first run in I bring the nose up 45degrees and to the left and let it drop naturally when I lose energy (using rudder a bit to coax it and confuse enemy targeting). You'll see Warthog pilots do this IRL as egress on two axes makes you a harder target. I then make each run from a different direction to force them to reorient.

 

My TankBusting101 mission has guided voice instruction, visual references, and groups of aggressive and non-aggressive tanks to practice against. Practicing in this mission has improved my GAU skills by several orders of magnitude.

 

Train and analyze - Sweat now or bleed later.

 

 

More info:

 

 

I've created a mission (attached) that I hope will help everyone to bust tanks more effeciently. I know it has for me! If you need to repeat any instructions or tips, you can do it in your F10 'Other' Radio Menu. Try to follow the waypoints as it shows you how to use your MK1 eyeball and get a beam on the target properly.

 

There are a few bonus suprises if you kill all four groups.

 

If you make fun of my voice overs it will hurt my feelings... not everyone can be Matt frickin' Wagner! :)

 

 

 

Edit: Added a multiplayer version

 

Welcome to Tank Busting Practice!

You'll have two groups of non-aggressive T80 Main Battle Tanks moving up the runways at waypoint 3.

They'll be moving very slowly on a south-north track. They will not disperse.

Once you kill those they'll be replaced by two groups of AGGRESSIVE T80s which will disperse under fire.

Smoke marks the 1.5nm run in point off the east and west runways;

red/orange at 5k and white at 3k.

Take off and you'll receive further instructions in the air.

Please follow all waypoints until initial attack.

 

NOTES:

If you want to continue the mission after death, be sure to have Permit Crash Recover set in your options.

You may also want to add unlimited fuel/ammo in options while training.

If you're having trouble hearing radio calls, turn your World and In Cockpit audio levels down in options.

To review tips and messages, use your F10 radio menu.

 

IP Inbound

You're 10nm from target.

Some things to remember when tankbusting with the GAU-8:

1. Alignment is important.. use the smoke as a run in reference

2. Engage your PAC and don't fight it, let it fly you in

3. Slant should be at least 15+, the more the better.. if you can still pull out comfortably that is...

4. Don't let your speed drop too much, PAC isn't as effective and you're making yourself a target

5. Practice getting beam, or a wing, on the target and rolling in at 1.5nm.. marked by smoke

6. On egress, practice velocity on both axes to avoid retaliatory fire

7. If it doesn’t look good then wave-off and go around for another try

8. Practice fire discipline. Use as little ammo as possible on each run

 

POST RUN-IN REMINDERS:

Consider:

1. Roll-In aspect----------(target off wing)

2. Slant---------------------(-15 to -30)

3. Speed-------------------(270+)

4. PAC----------------------(Let it fly)

5. Range-------------------(fire at .7 to .4nm)

6. Wave off ---------------(if it's not pretty turn away)

7. Ammo-------------------(as little rounds as possible for effect)

8. Egress-------------------(up and across)

The smoke is just a reference at 5k and 3k. Try different altitudes and see what works.

Roll around to the smoke and give it another try! Take your time! Review and analyze!

 

Congrats!

You've killed all tanks!

Try different tactics and perfect your technique. Get surgical!

Can you kill them all in one weapons load?

That's no more than 71 rounds per tank!

 

Mission End

 

 

 

[WildBillKelsoe]

once the TVV line to target gets perpendicular to the ladder, rudder and hard roll to level.

[StrongHarm]

I've created a new version of Tankbusting101 specifically for NTTR/DCS2.0.

 

You can find it in user files:

https://www.digitalcombatsimulator.com/en/files/1839687/

 

I like to use a wingtip to gauge distance and direction to target, plus having beam on the target makes you a harder target for defenses. Once I get in position, I like to roll to the target to bleed off some speed. I personally start my ingress with the target 1.5nm beam on right wing. If you start your run in further out than that they seem to get a bead on you every time. After my first run in I bring the nose up 45degrees and to the left and let it drop naturally when I lose energy (using rudder a bit to coax it and confuse enemy targeting). You'll see Warthog pilots do this IRL as egress on two axes makes you a harder target. I then make each run from a different direction to force them to reorient.

 

My TankBusting101 mission has guided voice instruction, visual references, and groups of aggressive and non-aggressive tanks to practice against. Practicing in this mission has improved my GAU skills by several orders of magnitude.

 

Train and analyze - Sweat now or bleed later.

 

 

More info: