Is this really as complicated as it looks?

[jomar machado]

If you don't have the time to learn all the innards of a A10C I recomend you the FC3.

It's very friendly and in two weeks I'm enjoying it a lot.

With the help of the mates of this forum I was able to even record a vídeo of my missions.

I work hard all the week and I don't have the time to read and study all the stuff needed to fly an A 10C, so FC3 is an enjoyable alternative for my spare time...

btw:

;)

[ENO]

A few of our A-10C regulars really enjoyed the A-10A... less gizmology to deal with, fewer switches, a LOT quicker off the cold start-

 

Jomar makes a good point... helps you ease into it.

 

Even just unbind your FC3 and A-10C and buy the A-10A module for what... 8 bucks now?

 

Good luck!

[Abburo]

Who here like to bake cookies? Me not! So, markwilliam, this is how you have to proceed to make a gift:

 

1. Buy the product as for you own

2. Go here:

http://www.digitalcombatsimulator.com/en/myserials.php

3. Copy the serial you want to donate.

4. Unbind the product from your account.

5. Send the serial by email to receipient.

[bart]

I love the A10-C.

 

It's an easy aircraft to fly.....but very difficult to fly well. A real challenge. I personally love the complication and realism of it. I've been flying it for quite a while now and I'm still learning, just like it's real life counterparts really.

 

You have to take it one step at a time. Learn the cold start up, then taxi it around, take off and fly it clean first (no weapons), Then slowly start to introduce each weapon one at a time. When you got each one down so you can do it automatically move on to the next. Do this on practice ranges with on one shooting at you!!

 

Once in a combat environment everything happens quickly so your reactions need to be instinctive. That takes time but is VERY rewarding.

 

A10-C is an awesome sim.

 

I've just taken advantage of the DCS sale and gone and got myself an egg beater....the Huey. Now I've NEVER flown rotary wing in my life and it's like learning to fly all over again. I've crashed so many so far I've lost count!!! but it's a challenge and I'm gonna stick with it till I get it down.

 

I think you should invest a bit of time in the A10-C......she's worth it.

 

Good luck and have fun.

[WildBillKelsoe]

you can NOT fly a real one after this..

[Falcon60]

I get what you're saying mark...I own it but haven't done anything but fly the pattern yet. Very generous of you to gift it. Keep me in mind for future gifting :) I also fly fsx and am considering returning to it for other reasons.

[Devrim]

I think this is about "expectation" and "standpoint". That's why suggesting tutorial videos or telling how to learn easily won't work.

 

Sometimes with my all agitation and blood pressure I tell this sim to somebody that I believe they are enthusiasts about simulation world (flying, airborne, aircrafts or helis...), and they response "too detailed, ridiculous!"... ... .. . What can I say?...

[Flagrum]

I think this is about "expectation" and "standpoint". That's why suggesting tutorial videos or telling how to learn easily won't work.

 

Sometimes with my all agitation and blood pressure I tell this sim to somebody that I believe they are enthusiasts about simulation world (flying, airborne, aircrafts or helis...), and they response "too detailed, ridiculous!"... ... .. . What can I say?...

Well, some are born to be fighter pilots ...

 

 

 

... and others are simmers. :o)

[markwilliam]

Yo!! Thanks for all the replies guys. I read all of them. I went ahead and started watching these tutorials. As aggravating as they are because they cannot be rewound or really stopped with any kind of effectiveness when something goes wrong, I'm still trying to give this thing a go.

I have no issues flying the plane or landing, taking off. It's all of the other mumbo jumbo that's a pain in the butt. The weapons system, SOI and all that stuff is where I'm having the problems. You can't just light up the 30mm and go. You have to push any multitude of buttons to get this and that. This is where I'm aggravated.

But....I'll keep plugging where I have the time and see where it goes. My work consumes a fair amount of my life so that's why I said I don't have time to learn this thing. I have already invested 13 hours into it and couldn't use the weapons system if I had to.

 

Again...thanks for the replies!

[jimcarrel]

I'm the same as you Mark. I've supported DCS for years by buying every thing they have put out. Choppers are my bag, the A10..... I run traffic patterns and go exploring, but when the bug finally hits me to dig into it more, well, I have it.

[whartsell]

In FSX speak the -10c isnt any harder to learn than PMDG's NGX or the 777. The hard part is the employment of the AC the manuals do a great job of what you should do but not why. Also much more stressful when people are shooting at you

[Dr. Yes]

Actually, you can just hit left windows - home, and whalla!, it starts itself up completely.

 

Weapons aren't that hard after everything starts up. Just highlight the weapon profile on the DSMS page of the MFD ( one press of the button ) and then press the weapons master mode button ( I think its M on the keyboard ) to cycle to what mode you want on the HUD. Most of the profiles automatically bring up the correct mode if I remember right. The only hard ones are CCRP and Mavericks, where you need to set the SPI. That and the Sidewinders, which I always have problems remembering how to cycle to lock on the off the nose target. Gun, dumb bombs, rockets are just putting the crosshair over the target.

Edited December 25, 2013 by Dr. Yes

[markwilliam]

FSX and Xplane are very strait forward and for the most part very easy once you get the hang of them. The P-51 in DCS was somewhat of a challenge and I really enjoyed getting to know it. The P-51 in Xplane is pretty much a cartoon after the DCS plane. And I really think it is funny how both sims tout how their planes are more like their real world counterparts than any others. But the funny thing is that both P-51s handle so differently that you would never think your flying the same kind of plane. And I always wonder which one is more correct. In my opinion I think that the DCS P-51 is much more realistic from the visual standpoint but the Xplane version handles more like I would think a P-51 would fly. But since I have never flown a P-51 I can only speculate this. The A-10C in X plane handles a lot different that the DCS A-10c also. And again....I feel the same way about it.

I have flown in a lot of planes in my day. Small, huge, all sizes of commercial jets and props. And as a boy I lived near Wright Patterson AFB where many of my relatives worked. I use to go into the museum there and could sit in the cockpit of most any kind of plane you can imagine. WPAFB has the largest museum and collection of planes on earth. Everything from the Wright brothers plane "The Kitty Hawk" to the YF22. I have sat in the cockpits of Spitfires, ME109s and even "The Strawberry Bitch". But never flown in any of them. I am a WWII enthusiast. that's why I purchased the P-51.

I have yet to find any servers for DCS that are good P-51 servers. The ones I do find have 200+ pings.

[Dr. Yes]

You should try flying the Cy-25. Its like trying to fly a brick. But yeah, I think DCS did a pretty good job of modeling exactly how the plane actually flies. The A-10 was never really meant for speed or acrobatics. Like the Cy-25, it was meant to get a lot of weapons to a certain point and then make it back home. I've made it back with one rudder shot off and half a wing missing, and still managed to land on the runway. It can take a pounding.

[PFunk1606688187]

I think perhaps you need a tutor if you haven't got the spare time to explore the sim avionics and discover things in a more plodding but progressive manner.

 

In the mean time, these videos really helped me. https://www.youtube.com/user/gerryabbott/videos They cover mostly advanced stuff.

 

The biggest problem with the A-10C is that its a complicated weapons delivery platform. The avionics involve understanding an entire computer system interface. If you don't properly set up a HOTAS to interface with it then all of the elegance of its design which is made for ease of use under stressful situations ie. war, will be lost to you. Beyond this is the fact that employment of weapons is largely based on understanding the weapons, their limitations, and planning along intended parameters how to use them in a given scenario.

 

Basically, the systems serve a purpose, but if you don't know the purpose or how the system function you're not gonna find anything easy. There is a lot of theory that needs to be understood. The manual is good at showing you a lot of the systems, but is HORRIBLE for teaching tactics. It'll tell you how to do something you don't even understand but it won't tell you why you're doing it for when etc.

 

Again, this is when a tutor helps, or friends who know.

 

But I'll be honest, if you think FSX is easier, you must not have flown a PMDG before. Using the Boeing FSC to create a realistic flight plan and then flying it following VATSIM instructions... about as hard as anything I've ever done in DCS, thats for sure.

[Fuzzy_bear]

I First flew the A10c about 6-8 months after buying it. I just jumped in and flew around... I got the weapons and cannon armed by simply reading what the switch labels in the cockpit. I'm not very good at flying it and I don't know what 75% of the systems do but I'm having a blast just flying around and shooting stuff. I'd say a HOTAS is a must regardless of what sim you like(unless you fly those boring buses in fsx and just do the direct gps thing) I've now been pottering around in the A10c for about 3 months... I can find targets i can drop bombs I can use mavericks... and i still don't know the basics like starting the engines...

[K2mil]

Is this really as complicated as it looks?

 

For me it's first year of flying that bird. Let me tell you does it look complicated and complex... Yeah it does ... And it's a journey to master it. For me to overcome it I started to do some research on the plane. Watch some documentaries, read some articles and most important learned how big of a role A10C played and became a game changer as CAS for USA. When "we" clicked I took it further.

 

 

 

Next reading the DCS manual.. It put me into a zone of feeling like in school again...except its a fly school now, And during that time I would watch the "Jets" series a documentary story of Canadian Super hornet drivers.... That where obtaining hands on training to become a fighter jets pilots.

 

 

 

After that I find out that my logitech 3d joystick would not do any good if I want to step up my game...

 

Later I started invest money into HOTAS ruder pedals FIP TRACK Ir Modifying my desk headphones Vac Software ...

 

 

 

Tutorials from you tube a key element to learn. Users like great Gerry Abbott, from his videos you not only learn how to A to Z a10 but he will explain how to configure your software correctly as well. Matt Wagner the producer has some great tutorials videos as well and actually he is a great narrator I wish he would get involved into the tutorials.

 

 

 

So... If you don't find passion for it it may be not for you. The good news are that you don't really have to go that far DCS offers so called game mode where everything is simplified and ready to go.

 

 

 

But if you go DCS sim mode it's rewarding at the end... And worth every penny spent on it,

 

 

 

Good luck to all

 

Edited December 25, 2013 by K2mil

[chardly38]

I learn better and faster watching videos. This page has been the best for me

http://en.wiki.eagle.ru/wiki/DCS_A-10C_Guides,_Tutorials_and_Reference_Documents ( Training Videos and MY Laptop)

The A10-c is alot to learn and worth it if you enjoy this sim.

[Hamblue]

The worst mistake people make is trying to learn everything the same time.

First learn to start the plane properly and get it off the ground.

Then learn basic maneuvers including landing (which is very easy)

Then go shoot some stuff with the GAU-8 (easiest weapon to learn)

 

After that pick one item and practice it until it's second nature.

Don't try anything else until you get proficient in the previous item.

 

This will take months, but if you take it a little at a time you'll be loving it before long.

You can also fly FC3 and others and just dedicate a half hour to hour at a time in the A-10C until the light bulb goes off. After that you'll be hooked.

Good Luck :pilotfly:

[camsr]

markw, like everyone said, the learning curve is steep and requires dedication.

The weapons systems are not easy to figure out, but the DCS tutorials in the game do help. Make note of what systems are being used for what weapons, like the GBU-12 and the laser, or the GBU-38 and the GPS/SPI. Study one weapon at a time and practice using it. Then you should have an easy time switching between them with confidence. The HOTAS system is a vital part of the aircraft's enployment, because the SPI is where everything happens. Take some time to practice locating and relocating the SPI, using the China Hat and the TMS system. When you have the SPI going where you want it when you want it, start learning about markpoints and flight plans.

[Dr. Yes]

Still looking for that reverse gear.

[doveman]

I think it's ideal if you have a second screen, so that you can watch videos on one and have DCS running on the other and actually do what you're being taught in the video. I find if I just watch a video it's too much to remember when I try and do it later but doing it alongside the video seems to help it go in a bit better.

 

Same as if I just read the manual, I wouldn't be able to remember most of it when I went to fly hours later or the next day.

[PFunk1606688187]

In the end I found it impossible to not have something tangible on hand as a reference while learning, or when re-learning. I wrote out in ink a composite of the HOTAS button/SOI index that is present on pages 88-92 of the A-10C manual pdf. These are an essential reference to the use of the HOTAS while learning.

 

I wouldn't have been able to learn nearly as quickly without it by my side. Even if you have a second monitor that can display the PDF, the one in the manual is not very useful for quick reference as all the information is broken up over 4 pages. Instead what you need is a single sheet which compiles all of the possible HOTAS functions based on the SOI you're interacting with, in spreadsheet format.

 

Learning to use the HOTAS fluidly is core to being effective and a better reference than whats in the manual is essential to effective learning.

 

In the end when I was learning the A-10 I wrote out lots of things, but the only things I ever used regularly in my self-directed indoc were a written out start-up procedure/flow and a copy of what I've described above.

[lanmancz]

It's not as hard as it looks. You can be flying around, shooting mavs and dropping clusters in a couple of hours. Personally what I do when I buy new DCS module (got 'em all and they're all worth it!) is that I open mission editor, create empty mission, put my new toy on empty airfield and learn cold start by watching some youtube videos. It becomes second nature after few times you do it and you will also learn a little how the aircraft works in the process (if you're interested what's some gizmo for exactly you can check the manual - you surely don't have to read everything from start to end - just find stuff that you want to learn about - it all comes together after a while). Then I learn to taxi, takeoff, fly around a bit, land - the basic stuff - still within the empty mission. Then I put some evil enemy trucks a couple of miles outside the airport and learn how to use various weapons again by watching youtube tutorials. This is not a problem to learn during one weekend. The basics are pretty simple. Then the real fun begins - while you are having fun flying around, blowing stuff up you can then go deeper, learn more by reading manuals, watching some advanced tutorials and even reading these forums - lots of interesting stuff you can read around here. But you don't need to understand every CDU page and know every RL procedure just to have some fun with the hog (but in the long run you surely need to have the interest to learn - this is a sim after all - that's why we love it). As I said - the basics are not that hard to learn - the real trick is then the proper flying and learning to use the thing effectively.

 

PS: Actually the first thing you should do (and yes it's a bit tedious) is to setup your hotas controls. I have pretty crappy throttle and stick but I use this utility called JoyToKey which allows me to remap 3 buttons on my throttle to act as CTRL, ALT and SHIFT (so I effectively have 4x more buttons available to map) so then I can setup all the necessary hotas functions by combining these modifiers with the buttons and hat that I have on my stick. Works great - using this method I have everyhing I need mappend to my throttle and stick so I actually only rarely have to take my hands off and use keyboard - pretty much only for radios (or when I want to mess with CDU or so I use mouse). There are also 2 PDF files that you can download that show exactly what each hotas fuction does in every context - its quite helpful to get the hotas set properly - but be prepared that you will most probably redo it several times until you find the sweet spot that fits you the best (but in upcoming 1.2.7 patch it should be finally possible to do this while in game so doing this will be much more comfortable than it is now) :

http://forums.eagle.ru/attachment.php?attachmentid=64637&d=1334059478

Edited December 28, 2013 by lanmancz

[Home Fries]

Most difficult thing to learn is the different HOTAS buttons/hats and what they do in what mode. Print out pages 86-93 in the manual and keep it handy; don't be afraid to pause or active pause while you find what you're supposed to do. In time the muscle memory will take over and you'll be fine.