What was your learning process for this aircraft?

When you are ready we have some qualification missions you can try:

http://forums.eagle.ru/showthread.php?t=62992

Definitely do all the tutorials. Some of them, you'll want to do at least a couple of times because they are rather involved. Make practice missions. And read the relevant section of the manual if you find you don't quite understand something. I haven't done this yet but check out the YouTube material out there. And ask questions on the forums.

I am new to DCS World A10C and, therefore, could you please define"relevant section of the manual?"

I am new to DCS World A10C and, therefore, could you please define"relevant section of the manual?"

The section that covers the topics of the training or practice mission.

I would reccomend that you read the whole manual at least once in the beginning. You may not understand everything and can probably not see the relevance of certain parts at first, but that will come with time. At least you will get a basic understanding of what is covered by the manual and it will help you a bit to know where to look to find specific topics later. Then practice (and practice more! :o) and use the manual as reference handbook to learn more about the specific topic at hand.

I'd say get online and find someone to teach you. I learned 10x more from flying with more knowledgeable pilots than just from reading the manual alone.

This

I agree - MP is totally different and is so much demanding (but also teaching you much more). I've flown over 90 hrs in SP before (just a few days ago) trying to play in MP. I thought I mastered the airplane and her systems quite well. But in the heat of action, with lots of people calling their targets, position, asking for your feedback you realy can quickly get lost in the fray. So the learning curve is steeper, but I guess it lets you learn things much faster.

Although some basic knowledge before you start is recommended. At least take offs, landings, and heaving read the manual.

Tutorials, manual, youtube videos, then pick one aspect, practice it and drill it until it becomes comfortable for you. Slowly combine different disciplines together until you are competent enough to fly various missions without having to look things up or make obvious mistakes etc.

When you are ready we have some qualification missions you can try:

 

http://forums.eagle.ru/showthread.php?t=62992

Can also recommend Sabre's missions, absolutely fantastic quality.

I agree - MP is totally different and is so much demanding (but also teaching you much more). So the learning curve is steeper, but I guess it lets you learn things much faster...

 

Although some basic knowledge before you start is recommended. At least take offs, landings, and heaving read the manual.

I have to agree with this in general- though I have to say that while the curve is steeper, so too is the learning potential.

A flight partner announces to you that he is broadcasting a spi. In the forums, or in the manual researching exactly what this means can be a challenge however when you have a person, in the situation you're currently in- often one who knows your situation better than you do- explain it to you point for point... it catches on much more quickly. Quicker still if you have some familiarity with your controls and the aircraft.

Like so many recommend- learn the aircraft in single player... but learn how to use it in MP.

In spite of some of the grotesque snobbery in here from people who have never, EVER sat in an aircraft they profess to know everything about most of the community is very accommodating and are very well aware of how they got started.

There are a number of open servers available that fly with a pretty healthy conglomerate of enthusiasts who are just as anxious to teach / guide as you are to learn. Enable those resources often as it is frequently the fuel that prevents their passion for DCS from burning out!

Ive had some difficulty over the years finding a server that was accommodating for someone who has familiarized themselves reasonably well, but are in need of that MP experience. Like a lot of other people, I don't get alot of flight time in, maybe an hour or more an evening, so that kind of limits your choices of what servers will accommodate you. he last attempt I made I was told I needed to be more active to even post on their site, so I had to scratch that squad for now. I dont know of any other squads in the US, especially on the east coast that will accommodate the random straggler,, so I just keep going into single player myself. If anyone has server suggestions for such circumstance, please advise, thanks

Besides simply, "watched youtube videos and read the manual," in what order did you learn the mechanics and how did you do so? So far I've learned via youtube how to get the aircraft up and running, but I'm not sure where/how to go about it next. Any suggestions or firsthand experience?

Learning by doing. Hop in Crash, crash, crash, crash, crash........

Then start with segments for example, Practice gun runs till you master them and move on to bombs.

Keep the boring stuff for later (Navigation :music_whistling:etc.) That keeps you interested (At least it did it for me). It does require quiet a bit of dry theory tho if you wanna get good, i belive.

The in-depth things come almost by themselfs after a good load of flight hours.

Also setting yourself custom missions up is a realy good way i think, if you wanna learn how to defeat a SA6, put one on the map start in the air and practice till your fingers bleed.

Sticky posts Everywhere, 5x7 cards with more Crap, and a printed copy of the Manual (thx to Wife) To keep in the Shit-house book rack:thumbup: And remember to wash your hands..:megalol:

A flight partner announces to you that he is broadcasting a spi. In the forums, or in the manual researching exactly what this means can be a challenge however when you have a person, in the situation you're currently in- often one who knows your situation better than you do- explain it to you point for point... it catches on much more quickly. Quicker still if you have some familiarity with your controls and the aircraft.

 

Like so many recommend- learn the aircraft in single player... but learn how to use it in MP.

To complement this great point I would say that the single most important thing for being prepared for having a more knowledgeable partner teach you is having your control scheme totally prepared and memorized. Any time I've tried to teach someone to use the A-10C I had to make sure he had his controls mapped, all his hotas commands understood, so that when I told him I was broadcasting SPI the things I needed him to do were instructions based on HOTAS commands with explanation of what it meant in the context.

Basically if you don't know what the basic HOTAS commands are or don't have them mapped by memory to your stick then you won't learn anything, you'll just spend the whole time trying to figure out what button he wanted you to press. Being in the pit will then be an exercise in frustration because he won't remember the default key map probably and he can't tell you what you mapped it to on your joystick.

Making sure you know your HOTAS commands and have all the other essentials mapped or memorized means you're speaking the same language and things go smoothly that way. At that point it then just becomes context and repetition til proficiency. You don't need to know everything that DMS Up or TMS Left Long does in every context, you just need to know how to do it on command so that your teacher can explain to you. Then as you learn he won't have to say things like "Set your TAD as SOI with Coolie Left Long then use the Slew to put the cursor on my SPI and press TMS Up Short", it'll be instead be him saying "Hook my SPI".

Read manual. Hop in and mess around. Read manual again. Come here an ask questions. Get told to RTFM. Read manual. Hop in and mess around. Repeat ad nauseam.

I have had a quite mess of early campaign missions, training, the quickstart, early campaign missions, instant action, missions and being through parts of the various manuals.

In the end here’s what I wish I had done:

0) Upgrade to DCS World. Not a world (get the gist?) of difference but you can’t spin the camera Exorcist style anymore and the graphics get a small upgrade.

1) Play the training missions.

2) Write notes on how to start up and shut down in accordance with the training.

(Note: both checklists in the flight manual have some important omissions)

2) Understand the quickstart guide.

3) Try the stand-alone mission Hideout. Watch Hideout videos online in case you get stuck somewhere.

4) Start going through the DCS User Manual, A-10C Warthog Flight Manual and the controls menu. Discover commands such as the very useful kneeboard.

5) Do the training missions, Hideout and first instant action mission as many times as you have to then start the campaign.

Also if you’re not dying to get into the campaign immediately (don’t expect it to be as detailed as Hideout anyways) it would be cool to complete Sabre’s flight qualification campaign (costs $10-15 bucks extra) first to earn your wings.

I still haven’t tried Sabre’s campaign but I should get to it soon.

Hideout is a very detailed starting mission that’s quite slow and there’s basically only one dangerous enemy to worry about. It has the detail of a campaign mission plus some extra briefing, nice detail while you taxi, conversations during the mission, other aircraft support and area and altitude barriers.

I came to DCS A-10C with no experience in flight sims other than RoF, which is great stick and rudder stuff but there aren't many systems or instruments. I did already have a HOTAS and TrackIR which helps immensely. If you are serious about flight sims, and you must be if you have A-10C, consider investing in this gear. It makes the learning process much easier.

I begin all sims with HOTAS mapping. For the A-10C or any other, start by mapping all the buttons to closely duplicate those on the bird. Develop consistent "finger memory"

The manual covers everything in good order, go through it all page by page and make sure you understand before proceeding too much. Active learning is better than passive. There's a good Active Pause Mode where you can pause mid flight and learn along with the guide.

I already learned almost all in Flaming Cliffs, the afm in Su-25T made transition to basic A-10C flying smoother.

But the best process of learning the rest was buying the Warthog Hotas.

Just focus on one weapon in a mission, and learn to make simple training missions yourself in editor.

The more advanced stuff, search for it on Youtube.

The learning curve sped up for me when I joined a friendly multiplayer group (Ragtag Air Corps). The more experienced members were great help and the desire to contribute to the mission motivated me to study/practice.

What I did was sit in the parking lot and went from left to right learning each part of the cockpit first this is the same thing I have always done in every sim. The DCS Manual is probably very close to the original. I have a real P51D manual and the DCS is almost exact even down to some of the pics showing how to use instruments like the landing gear lights panel is dead on the real one so I would not be surprised if the DCS A10C manual is not almost exact.

Next go through the startup to takeoff until you have it memorized. Step by step process there is no sense jumping into the air right away if you do not know what the things in the cockpit does first.