Alignment without Engine Start

Hey guys. I was just wondering if there is any way to align before starting the motors. I've noticed that I can do it on ground electric power, but then when I switch to pilot seat and start the motors, Jester starts it again from ground zero.

Has anyone come up with a way to get around this? I'm not a fan of wasting fuel on the tarmac if not needed.

Thanks!

The engines shouldn't be started with the WCS switch in any position other than OFF, and Jester has been trained to respect this ;-) . The only reason to align the INS with the engines off is to store the alignment for a future ASH alignment - what is BTW fully doable with our F-14.

Interesting. So maybe, align, store heading, then start?

Interesting. So maybe, align, store heading, then start?

you could... but at that point youve wasted 45 secs to just turn on the displays a second time while the pilot just sits there waiting.

You can refuel the "wasted" fuel towards end of alignment or after the startup... just call the ground crew and refuel & rearm menu.

Yeah...but...realism. I guess the most realistic method would just be the way its currently implemented :)

for this matter, i,ve always wondered how they did it on alert 5?

do they electronically start up the aircraft with the ground power and do all the electronic work and leave it on?

does the ground air cart provide cooling for the wcs?

doesnt make sense that they have to spool the engines just to align ins

for this matter, i,ve always wondered how they did it on alert 5?

 

do they electronically start up the aircraft with the ground power and do all the electronic work and leave it on?

 

does the ground air cart provide cooling for the wcs?

 

doesnt make sense that they have to spool the engines just to align ins

We started the engines, set and stored the alignment, did OBC, prepped and tuned missiles, shut down, topped off the fuel, and sat there for hours, listening to our Sony Walkman tape cassettes, punctuated with a loud zap every six seconds or so as the ship's radars swept by our jets.

Some guys sat on bubble wrap, but it was prohibited and had to be thrown over the side before closing the canopy. Anyone guess why?

Some guys sat on bubble wrap, but it was prohibited and had to be thrown over the side before closing the canopy. Anyone guess why?

Expansion due to pressure change resulted in them popping, which maybe people thought was a malfunction (electrical failure?) or gunfire? Or it interfered with the ejection process by placing your head closer to the canopy/not being properly seated?

Expansion due to pressure change resulted in them popping, which maybe people thought was a malfunction (electrical failure?) or gunfire? Or it interfered with the ejection process by placing your head closer to the canopy/not being properly seated?

Any sort of cushion increased the distance the seat had to accelerate before impacting the pilots legs, which could theoretically break your femurs. The integrated cushion was very thin, and very uncomfortable.

The point of doing this is the tomcat doesn't slide around on deck until you start the engines. when you have a deck full of tomcats its the only way to make sure you don't have any sliding mishaps.... DCS.....

The point of doing this is the tomcat doesn't slide around on deck until you start the engines. when you have a deck full of tomcats its the only way to make sure you don't have any sliding mishaps.... DCS.....

Need to model tie down chains.

Need to model tie down chains.

Look at you thinking ED would implement useful features into their game.

We started the engines, set and stored the alignment, did OBC, prepped and tuned missiles, shut down, topped off the fuel, and sat there for hours, listening to our Sony Walkman tape cassettes, punctuated with a loud zap every six seconds or so as the ship's radars swept by our jets.

 

Some guys sat on bubble wrap, but it was prohibited and had to be thrown over the side before closing the canopy. Anyone guess why?

Thank you for your reply and thank you for your service to your Country!

It's an honor to hear an reply from a real-cat driver!

I;ve always wondered, why the tomcat wasn't designed to have her avionics preped without engines running.

also, out of curiousity, if you flew the B(Upgrade) and D cats, do they handle very differently from the older cats (digital vs analogue sas)... pardon me if this has been asked before

I;ve always wondered, why the tomcat wasn't designed to have her avionics preped without engines running.

Engines running and bleed air flow were necessary for the system's cooling to be effective. I'm not sure that at the time it would have been possible to design and build it otherwise.

Engineeringly, it seems easily dooable, running an extra bleed line from the starter-cart to the WCS or a ground aided-cooling system,

Airliners around that time could... but i am not sure about fighters... maybe fuel spent < weight saved...

Engineeringly, it seems easily dooable, running an extra bleed line from the starter-cart to the WCS or a ground aided-cooling system,

 

Airliners around that time could... but i am not sure about fighters... maybe fuel spent < weight saved...

Probably the weight was among the problems. And for a naval fighter, a ground-aided cooling system means a couple more things on the deck, which is already a crowded area. A couple more things to do for ground crews as well.

The F-14s equipment cooling part of the ECS can be run by ground equipment. I don't know whether it was used much (or at all the carrier).