Xavven

Email sent. EDIT: For anyone else on this thread including Slydog486, add me on Steam (username Xavven, picture of an angry orange cat)

I think it's best to make learning the A-10C a journey, not a destination. The manual is hundreds of pages long, and to be frank, that's just the tip of the iceberg. Try some missions where you start in the air, with all your systems ready. Have fun making some gun runs or whatever. Then pick one weapon system and learn it. Keep flying with just those weapons you know. Then later on, decide to learn more about your TGP, or the TAD, or navigation, or landing, or takeoff, or start up, or countermeasures, or the CDU, or the RWR, aerial refueling, etc. Take it in pieces and increase the complexity and resistance in your missions as you go.

It depends. I use the TAD (in normal mode) if I had acquired the target visually outside the cockpit. There's a little green triangle on the inner circle that denotes which direction is north. It's also useful for telling your teammates which direction you're attacking from. I use the TGP if I acquired the target with the TGP. There's a compass rose in the upper right corner.

I forgot to answer your other questions. Firstly, if and when you orbit your targets, do so in a clockwise direction, banked to the right (if your TGP is on the right like it usually is). I usually use Altitude Hold autopilot with a 10 to 30 degree bank angle, depending on the distance I'm orbiting. You'll get a feel for it. In general, I orbit between 5 and 10 miles from the target at 10,000 to 15,000 ft AGL depending on the anti-air threat. At this distance, I can see the targets well enough with my Mk 1 eyeballs, but I'm no so close that I'm overflying the targets, and I'm high enough to be above AAA and IR SAM threats and my TGP doesn't get masked. It's also close enough that you can engage targets fairly quickly if you're called upon to do so. For me, it's the sweet spot. I don't know what real A-10 pilots do, though. Oh well. I personally keep my TAD in normal mode. The only time I use EXP is if I'm trying to hook a target that's been data-linked by a JTAC or flight lead/wingman. As for your last question, are you asking what weapons to use on what targets? In general, I save mavericks for SAMs, AAA, and the more advanced tanks like the T-90 and T-72. Laser guided bombs I use for tank plinking, CBU-97's for convoys or large groups of vehicles. JDAMs for static targets like bridges and buildings, or to kill infantry. Rockets for infantry (they suck on vehicles IMO-- I just use the gun). Lastly, the gun is my favorite weapon by far. It can take out infantry, soft skinned vehicles, and I can take tanks up to T-72s. I'm not very good against T-90s yet, but StrongHarm made a cool tank practice map I've been meaning to practice more on.

It depends on the situation, but I usually orbit the target while sizing up targets, and then opt for a box delivery if I'm using guns, rockets, or unguided bombs. The 476th has a battle book with specific delivery parameters if you want to be truly realistic (and good), but I fly a little more casual (and admittedly I'm not as skilled for it). In general, I start at between 8,000 and 15,000 ft AGL, wait until my slant range is about 2.5 nm and my target is at about my 3 or 9 o'clock, then bank and turn to the target while simultaneously entering a dive. This allows you to pull positive Gs and you can keep your eyes on the target the entire time. This is far and away better than the negative G nose downs while running straight in like the DCS training missions have you do. If I'm employing GBU-12s, then I don't bother with a dive. Depending on the air defense threat, I might be as high as 20,000 ft when I drop my bomb in CCRP mode. Instead of overflying the target, I make a hard turn until my time-to-impact is 16 seconds, then level off so I can self-designate with the laser. The turn allows for faster follow-up attacks because I don't have to fly away (at least not much) to get another bomb run. For Mavericks, yeah, sometimes you have to fly away if you've been orbiting too close, but usually I am able to employ them before I set up a close orbit. And lastly, there are some situations where you can't orbit the target, but rather you have an IP (ingress point) some distance from the target area, and often you have a mission line that you should not cross, usually due to an anti-air threat such as a long-range SAM. In those cases, you should sort targets while orbiting the IP, then run in, deliver, and come back to the IP before re-attack.

You should be avoiding air to air fights as best you can. A Mig-29 can shoot you down from beyond visual range -- you won't see it coming.

Thanks for the info, Eddie! Would the process above work if the crew gave you a new data card to insert first?

Nah, 4 years old thread isn't a necro. Only when it hits *5* years. Could you post a track, please? The CBU-97 takes a bit of time to take effect. Perhaps you aren't waiting long enough?

Wow! This needs to be stickied! Thanks, Gliptal!

My advice: use modifiers if you are on a TM T.Flight joystick. Trust me, I've used that controller for several years. It doesn't have enough buttons on its own to cover the bare minimums to fly and engage targets effectively, those being: Trim (all 4) TMS (all 4) DMS (all 4) Coolie Switch (3) Slew (all 4) China Hat (fore and aft) Gun (both PAC-1 and PAC-2) Pickle Button Master Mode button Pinky Switch CMS (only Z-Axis and fore) By my count, that's 28 functions. If you don't have Track IR, then add another 4 for the ability to look around. The T.Flight has realistically 16 buttons including the hat's 4 positions (it technically has 8 but the diagonals aren't practical to use) and the "Select" and "Start" buttons on the base that you technically have to take your hand off the throttle to press, which is no better than the keyboard TBH. EDIT: I should probably offer a solution too. Here's what I did: Pick 4 buttons to be modifiers (probably the 4 thumb buttons on the throttle). The hat alone is trim, and then the hat with each of the 4 modifiers covers the following: TMS DMS Coolie Switch Slew Trigger = Gun Center striped thumb button on flight stick = pickle (i.e. weapon release) You can figure out the rest

They have 4 missiles per launcher. The mission editor can put as many launchers as s/he wants. In River Raider, there are 4 launchers, so 16 missiles. They reload automatically if there is a Ural-375 truck or warehouse nearby. It takes several minutes, but I'm not sure of the exact reload time for the Buk system. In River Raider, there is no Ural-375 truck nearby, so you can make it waste all its missiles and then ignore it for the rest of the mission. You can't set this explicitly without some lua scripting, which is beyond my mission editing capability. However, many players have reported that the skill level setting of the unit determines how soon it will launch on you. Try Average vs. Excellent and seeing how the behavior changes. Yes. Funny you mention that. I literally just did that 2 weeks ago while practicing RWR triangulation on this map.

I only use EXP mode when I'm trying to look at a specific area of the map and want it to hold still so I can do whatever it is I wanted to at that point on the map. At least for me, it's not very good for building situational awareness. The majority of the time I'm using the regular moving map mode, and you should get used to finding the little green triangle in the inner circle that points North to help orient you.

You are correct. AI wingmen do not need you to broadcast your SPI, but in multiplayer you'll have to broadcast or I won't know what the heck your target is. Of course, there are other ways to get a (non-AI) human player to find your target. You can send the target to a specific wingman over data link; you can describe the target area and talk them onto it; you can lase the target and your buddy can use LSS on the TGP; you can use the IR pointer at night in conjunction with NVGs; or you can just give coordinates.

I second this. A HOTAS, any HOTAS, is a must obviously, but get head tracking before you upgrade your HOTAS or buy pedals. Seriously. I went from having an OK time to having an AMAZING time when I got my TrackIR.

You're correct. Force correlate is only on the G, H, and K in DCS. I would love to have a maverick with semi-active laser guidance, though. I wonder if a true 12nm shot could be achieved with that. That, and laser guided hydra rockets. http://www.defenseindustrydaily.com/apkws-ii-hellfire-jr-hydra-rockets-enter-sdd-phase-02193/ Okay, and while we're at it, I'd love a HMCS. But that's for another thread. Oh well.

Alright, with the AGM-65D, I can outrange SA-8 (Osa), SA-15 (Tor), and SA-19 (Tunguska) without force correlate from medium altitude (15000 AGL). SA-11 (Buk) still outranges me, but there's no surprise there, and obviously an SA-10 does as well.

Oh wow, you are completely right. I just switched from the H to the D, and the lock on range is much better. No more issues with the Osa. I'm going to fly against a Tor and then a Tunguska next. Wish me luck.

Hm, well I might have answered my own question. I just bombed it with a GBU-38 from 25000 ft.

After the last patch, in 1.5.3, I'm finding that my mavericks don't lock on until much shorter distances. While approaching a lone SA-8 (Osa), my AGM-65H was not locking onto it at a distance of about 6.5 nm (this was in the caucuses map). By that time, I had 2 SAM launches coming my way. I can kill it with force-correlate, but I've often heard repeated on this forum that DCS modeled that to have an unrealistically high accuracy. So I'm wondering now, is there a realistic way for an A-10C to destroy an SA-8? Or are we supposed to call in SEAD and wait on the sidelines? Is using an AGM-65K with force-correlate a realistic option?

This one is nice too: DCS A-10C finding RWR threat by triangulation with the CDU

Alright, I did some more testing. It's pretty hard to see a target from 8nm out at 10,000' AGL to begin with, but assuming you know where they are already, I can get an AGM-65D to lock on using the HUD to lock at between 7nm and 8nm and fire. This is without a TGP entirely, but at that range I prefer to confirm my target through the Maverick seeker feed on my right MFCD before launch. I ended up with a decent hit ratio (only 4 tests but hit 3 out of 4). StrongHarm is right. At long ranges, there's no hurry and you're better off using the TGP, setting a SPI, and slaving to SPI. This is my primary method of engagement with the Maverick, which is a standoff weapon suited to standoff ranges. The HUD method becomes more useful when you're providing CAS and you don't have time to get your TGP on target. I will never forget a CAS mission I was playing where my convoy came under surprise attack very suddenly by enemy armor and I was 4nm away. Fumbling with the controls, I wasted a pass and came off dry because I was trying to employ a Maverick heads-down on the MFCD. We took heavy losses. This is what prompted me to learn the HUD method to begin with. When I'm heads down, my flying interferes with my slewing. With the HUD, my brain is much better able to handle the combination of flying and slewing to acquire targets. Now I can get 3 missiles off on a good pass from 4.5 nm away. I love a good gun run, but I have never managed to kill 3 or more tanks in one pass with anything else but a CBU-97 (also a great choice in that situation, though).

Well, I set the targets on the abandoned airfield north of Batumi, so the contrast was really good. I'll see what I can get on a more practical background.

Yes. Worked for me just now.

For me, the fastest way to get a maverick downrange if you first spot a target out the cockpit window with your Mk-1 Eyeball is the following: Select your hud and switch to a maverick profile Set right MFCD to MAV Make right MFCD SOI Aim your aircraft at the target. See the wagon wheel on the hud? That's your maverick. Use a combination of slewing and flying to place the wagon wheel on the target and it will lock on. You can double-check that it's got your target by glancing at the right MFCD, but I've gotten to the point that I can tell just by HUD symbology alone. Using this methodology, I can get a maverick on target just about as fast as I could shoot it with the gun.

The CBU-87 uses a linear charge to blow open the outer casing above the ground, releasing 200 submunitions (not all of them are modeled in DCS though). I'm guessing you're watching the CBU-87 with the F6 view. The F6 view doesn't follow any of the bomblets to the ground, so you only see the explosion in the air. Try watching the fireworks from your TGP instead, or just look out the cockpit window.