Newbie Question Concerning Ka-50's 2A42 Cannon and the Optical Sight

I am not a newbie with the Ka-50. I usually use the Vikhr missiles. When I use the cannon, I use it in fixed state and use the aiming circle on the HUD.

I do have TrackIR 5 but usually do not use it as it messes up my orientation and brain fog or whatever it is.

I have a need to use TrackIR 5 with the gun and unguided rockets in active combat on the 104th's MP server.

Years ago I had the Microsoft boxed edition of Gunship.

Does the Ka-50's optical sight work similar as to where I look, the gun follows my eye movement where I aim to aim?

You guys suggest any good videos how-to?

Thanks

Press and Hold Shkval uncage button (Keyboard "O" IIRC) .. For sure only in Gimball limits and you need to lase aswell to get a range. But its sometimes usefull against close targets without rangefinding. and can be used against jets sometimes too..By the last example i think i used this method once in 8 years.... :)

:flowers:

ISE

Otherwise it is slaved to the Skval (if switches on the left panel is set correctly, don't remember what they are called) as the Vikha, if you don't want to use head tracking and also want to increase accuracy.

It takes a lot of practice to get used to the HMS sight but once you have it you wont loose it.... you may get worse due to lack of practice but it will come back quickly.

Due to the small screen size of our monitors and the disproportionate movement of track IR head sets to our real head movement, an extreme movement precision is required of your skull.

The HMS sight is fixed over your right eye (right side of monitor image) and it is head movement that controls where the HMS reticule targets and hence the Shkval, laser and kannon follow live and liquid.

There must be no dead zones in the centre screen of the Track IR setup, movement must be free floating left to right, up and down. A slow precise TIr curve in the centre view promotes more accuracy when looking through the HUD. Any jitter or hang at the dead centre of the screen will put you off.

When the shkval uncage button is pressed and held, the shkval and Kannon follow (chase) the HMS sight wherever you move it.

There is a slight delay in the Shkval green targeting ring catching up with the HMS sight but it will catch and level on the centre of the HMS cross hair.

I suggest flying low over a city and either in a straight line or a wide right hand circle. The auto pilots should be in full control so that you can practice moving your head for targeting without needing to fly.

Drop the HMS reticule over your eye and get used to it as you look around.

Place the HMS cross hair over a door, window, deck chair or whatever, then pull and hold the uncage button. The shkval target circle will chase and level on the HMS cross hair, track the target using head movement, compensate for any shkval green circle lag as this is where the bullets go.

learn to offset the green round Shkval target circle especially if there is an error in tracking (cage and uncage to clear tracking errors).

learn to walk fire onto your target with precise head movement. Learn it for the zoom modes you use.

The 1:1 head movement of VR headset will make this Kannon to head tracking super accurate!..... roll on the AH-64!

Yeah the HMS is "awesome" in VR. I was able to kill two Huey's that had the jump on me at once.

I bind the uncage to my pinky button on my hotas. The one where nose wheel steering generally goes on the fast movers. With the laser on and the uncage button held the gun is a very useful weapon ;). There is a pretty significant weakness to this setup though...

It's so fun I tend to find myself moving in early to go guns blazing on the 104'th before I really should. Sometimes even with vikhr's left :)... Because it work for them too with some practice ;) ;) ;).... 800m vikhr shots that track where you look as long as you can keep your head tracking and smooth are SOO MUCH FUN ;). You can even have multiples in the air and move your head between hits. The targets have to be close though.

I use it all the time, cannot believe you don't use it DieHard!

It's also the quickest way to get the TV on target, you just look at where you want the camera to look and hit the uncage button and your on it "quick", then move the camera with mini stick etc.

As mentioned, it's very cool in VR, it's the fast draw weapon, I have it mapped for very easy access, same with the gun command. The Apache would be so cool, being able to fire 110º left and right off the centreline, mmm maybe one day.

I will also add, make sure to setup easy commands to pause Track IR if you need it, I have a modifier button to switch off "pause" the track ir and also have a recenter same button (hat up) no modifier, reset view (hat down) hat forward zoom in (hat back) zoom back, this is all on my (main top 4 way) on my throttle CH gear, not a realistic setup but you need to be able to see the best you can quickly in sim, VR is a game change there, the rez is the let down tho, at the moment! I should also point out, this view setup is the same across all the aircraft in DCS.

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_________________________CH_PRODUCTS

I use Capt Crunch's well thought out Ka-50 profile for the Fighterstick, Pro Throttle and Pro Pedals. I asked his permission to use it when I 1st got started with BS1 .

He has TIR5 Pause & Re-Center and TS3 mapped within the program.

http://www.ch-hangar.com/

http://www.ch-hangar.com/forum/index.php?/files/

http://www.ch-hangar.com/forum/index.php?/files/file/131-dcs-blackshark/

I use this profile with the CH Control Manager version 4.52 . (There IS a newer version.)

-+-

TrackIR 5 throws me. Difficult to hold my head steady with fine tuned moves is why I quit using it. I did a cerebral hemorrhage at age 50, 16 years ago. But I will force myself around the disability and try to use the gun optics system. Since Blue Flag has been around, ground attack air combat in MP is real fun and some of the other servers are copying Ciribob's style of gaming in DCS.

Thanks for your comments.

 

It's also the quickest way to get the TV on target, you just look at where you want the camera to look and hit the uncage button and your on it "quick", then move the camera with mini stick etc.

 

As mentioned, it's very cool in VR, it's the fast draw weapon, I have it mapped for very easy access, same with the gun command. The Apache would be so cool, being able to fire 110º left and right off the centreline, mmm maybe one day.

 

This! ... and +1 about the Apache mention. :thumbup:

Sounds like you need to invest some time adjusting your TrackIR curves. Add some deadzones and smoothing. My TrackIR works like a charm, but I spent two days for fine-tuning the curves.

The HMS is awesome. I always use it, for every target. After that your TV is in the close vicinity of the target and you only need to make small adjustments to lock it, super fast.

The gun also works well with the TV, since it automatically adjusts such that you hit the target you have locked. So you don't need to bother maneuvering around to place some piper on the target. Just lock, be in range, be in horizontal limits of the gun and squeeze the trigger.

____________TRACK_IR_5___FINE-TUNING

https://forums.eagle.ru/showthread.php?p=1064986&highlight=TIR5+curves#post1064986

Here is an old vid I did when playing around, track IR adjustment while in sim.

For the Kamov, your track IR curves should be restricted to slow and accurate movement around the central HUD. left/right is just for looking around and searching for targets so you can apply a steeper less accurate curve outside the central/forward cockpit area. But it should also be noted that when a target is seen to your left/right of flight path, dropping the HMS on target and uncaging on target will lock the target into the computer and offer a rough shkval targeting position once you rotate the airframe and bring weapons bare.

Once you get used to tracking targets in a straight line or a gentle automated turn, coming to an auto hover very low and in amongst buildings is interesting. Release the directional AP and offset your pedal to start spinning the kamov.

Free Track doors and windows on the buildings as they spin by..... walk the fire. You are starting to control movement whilst concentrating head movement during a very disorienting experience...... it will get worse when you live control the Kamov!

Once in combat and when it gets tight and nasty, the APs pitch and altitude are your greatest friends, they will never be able to compensate for the violent low level tight Kannon Kombat scenario, but they will at least work in the right direction.

Roll and direction APs are seriously not required in such unavoidable circumstances.

Each and every AP should be on your Hotas.

No dead zones should exist in you IR curvature, smoothing is a must but dead zones are for the dead.

Jet or fly forward plane boys have nothing to offer in this conversation. (period). This is weapon to target... movable turrets only.

Jet boys just do not know intimate air support.... they will look at you with a glazed look in their eyes when such stuff is discussed.

I use the HMS all the time in VR, but I rarely aim off of it directly. Most often, I'm using it to quickly slave the Shkval into the "ballpark" on the ground, and then fine-tuning via hotas.

I use the HMS all the time in VR, but I rarely aim off of it directly. Most often, I'm using it to quickly slave the Shkval into the "ballpark" on the ground, and then fine-tuning via hotas.

I just do not get this MustanGrande, you got supreme 1:1 scale precision targeting instrument and you do not use it?

You should be working hard for the arrival of the AH-64A (D).... because that will be a serious mind f!*k in VR!

Never used it much with TiR but I should really give it another try in VR with 1:1 ratio. :doh:

I just do not get this MustanGrande, you got supreme 1:1 scale precision targeting instrument and you do not use it?

You should be working hard for the arrival of the AH-64A (D).... because that will be a serious mind f!*k in VR!

Well, there are a couple of problems with it.

Firstly, the HMS doesn't actually coincide with your line of sight. It sits quite high in your view. So, you end up looking upward in your field of view, trying to get the HMS on-target.

Secondly, you have to hold a button down to keep your systems slaving towards the HMS, which can be a bit cumbersome. It's really set up as a cuing system, rather than a sight.

And thirdly, it has no magnification. The KA-50 isn't (generally) employed as a strafing, guns-blazing sort of aircraft. Most of its engagements involve finding a ridge/building/other cover to hide behind, while it lobs Vihkr missiles and cannon fire into the target area from several miles away.

In that sort of usage, the HMS isn't really optimal, as even a minute change in your head position can result in dozens if not hundreds of feet of distance in the target area. Not that that matters. VR really doesn't have the resolution to pick out ground targets at that sort of distance anyway!

But it's perfect for saying "I want to attack the east end of the runway." You look there, hit your slew button, and the Auto-Turn-To-Target function pivots the Shark around to point the nose at your mark. The Shkval centers in on your point, and your intended targets are generally within its field of view, allowing you to engage them with minimal searching.

Essentially, its usability as an actual real-time sight is... questionable. Not saying it can't be done, but it's rather cumbersome.

As a tool for rapidly acquiring targets with your sensors, and drastically cutting down search time, though? It's invaluable.

Well, there are a couple of problems with it.

Firstly, the HMS doesn't actually coincide with your line of sight. It sits quite high in your view. So, you end up looking upward in your field of view, trying to get the HMS on-target.

 

Secondly, you have to hold a button down to keep your systems slaving towards the HMS, which can be a bit cumbersome. It's really set up as a cuing system, rather than a sight.

 

And thirdly, it has no magnification. The KA-50 isn't (generally) employed as a strafing, guns-blazing sort of aircraft. Most of its engagements involve finding a ridge/building/other cover to hide behind, while it lobs Vihkr missiles and cannon fire into the target area from several miles away.

 

In that sort of usage, the HMS isn't really optimal, as even a minute change in your head position can result in dozens if not hundreds of feet of distance in the target area. Not that that matters. VR really doesn't have the resolution to pick out ground targets at that sort of distance anyway!

 

But it's perfect for saying "I want to attack the east end of the runway." You look there, hit your slew button, and the Auto-Turn-To-Target function pivots the Shark around to point the nose at your mark. The Shkval centers in on your point, and your intended targets are generally within its field of view, allowing you to engage them with minimal searching.

 

Essentially, its usability as an actual real-time sight is... questionable. Not saying it can't be done, but it's rather cumbersome.

 

As a tool for rapidly acquiring targets with your sensors, and drastically cutting down search time, though? It's invaluable.

I only do this mostly when playing around, or cleaning house;), camp site with trucks and tents etc. Fly sideways at 100 feet or so, check for trees!, no auto turn, blast everything as it comes by, if your sideways speeds is correct (Not to fast) you can still pivot around keeping the gun in the box/ range. It's fun, give it a go!

Also MustanGrande, you can re-position the Helmet Ring sight down, works for both Tir, and Rift.:)

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MustanGrande - I'm not going to tell you what to do but...

Using the HMS in VR absolutely transforms the capability of the KA-50. As soon as you take down the real air defenses you can go guns blazing mode and really wreck face in a HURRY with the KA50. Get comfortable with holding the un-cage button and switching back and forth between weapon systems. I recommend setting up a mission with just maybe 20-30 fuel trucks placed randomly in an area without too many trees. Start a couple Km out at say 150 rubles headed towards the group and just lay waste to them as quick as possible with the HMS and gun.

This significantly increases the lethality of the Black-Shark. Just make sure to get the AA down first :).

I'll give it a try!

+1 to using TIR for ‘live’ aiming of the cannon. I have to assume this mode must have been intended for use as such as an option.

I also agree with the 1:1 TrackIR curve. I set mine up in this way up until the left and right vertical canopy frame and vertically between the top and bottom frames (basically inside the forward view canopy frames. Outside of this zone I smoothly ramp up the tracking rate to comfortably look back either side around 135 degrees and 90 degrees up and down. The 1:1 zone need not be greater than this due to the cannon gimbal limits.

I’ve not used it so for long but already find the cannon far more flexible in running fights. Practice and it becomes very accurate. I’d highly recommend persevering at it.