tips for flying

just about to get the A10c, as I have been getting used to the a first (FC3).

I love the plane but find it very difficult to get used to, slow speed for attacks and pulling out.

I have been taking the advice of never overflying your target, a bit hard when ccip..ing!

do you recommend buying the training cert missions to get more familiar with the HOG?

are are there any good tips from experienced pilots?

thanks for replys/help

Training campaigns are useful yeah but they could frustrate a beginner quite easily. Going through the manual and practicing what you've learned on a simple practice mission would be better at the beginning IMO.

A10A wont get you ready for the A10C. Flight manual and youtube tutorial videos are the ones that will teach you the aircraft. Aircraft itself is not hard to learn, it just takes a lot of time.

The "training" campaigns we have currently are more tests than lessons. Basically they are kinda like taking an exam at school and they are pretty tough. On the other hand they will give you a precise idea of what you need to learn to master the aircraft. I would recommend checking them out but once you are already familiar with the aircraft and its systems.

As far as not overflying the target, you don't want to stick to this advice too hard. Yes, it's better to not overfly the target if you can but sometimes you simply have no choice.

just about to get the A10c, as I have been getting used to the a first (FC3).

I love the plane but find it very difficult to get used to, slow speed for attacks and pulling out.

I have been taking the advice of never overflying your target, a bit hard when ccip..ing!

do you recommend buying the training cert missions to get more familiar with the HOG?

are are there any good tips from experienced pilots?

thanks for replys/help

The reason you don't overfly you target is to avoid being vulnerable to ground fire. It's also standard practice to launch countermeasures during an attack run.

As CCIP requires you to fly over your target, there's really no point in avoiding it. In a high threat environment i wouldn't be bombing in CCIP anyway.

Use your TGP to take out AA threats from a distance with Mavericks and go high altitude and take out targets with LGBs.

In terms of flying the A-10c is one of the easiest to handle stable platforms we have in DCS.

What aspect exactly are you finding difficult?

The training campaigns are worth it, but you need to train for the mission content beforehand in order to pass them.

The A-10C is 100 times better than his counterpart of FC3, but it's also much more difficult to learn, especially regarding avionics. The hard part is not to fly him, but to properly use all his systems.

I agree with the other guys regarding the training campaigns (Maple Flag ones): they are of a very high quality level, but also quite difficult. I suggest to practice with easy single missions (like "sitting ducks").

Also I never CCIP AAA units: it's a sort of suicide. That's what maverics or CCRP bombing from high altitude are good for. I usually use CCIP bombing or GAU strife on unarmored vehicles (but I'm not a pro...).

yea, thanks for all guys, the hardest thing on the "a" I think is target selection, the mfd isn't as good as the "c", I have a few other modules so not new to flying just gotta get used to the seemingly lack of power in the hog, its quite a different beast to get used too, looking forward to the more technical stuff though

are are there any good tips from experienced pilots?

Take your time, and don't expect to be a pro in just a few days... weeks... months. ;)

The depth of the systems modelling is simply amazing. Depending on how much you study and how deep you want to go, this module will be a rewarding experience for years to come.

Like the others said, the A-10C is fairly easy to fly, but its slow speed and under-powered engines means you have to think ahead a bit more than in a fast jet where you could always just hit full AB. In return, you get excellent loitering times and can spend a lot of time helping the guys on the ground or killing targets of opportunity. The avionics are a great tool-set in order to help the pilot perform the mission at hand, and I think the A-10C is pretty much the best CAS platform there is (in DCS, as well as IRL ;)).

The Hawg is a very forgiving and user-friendly jet. The best advice I can give is to read manuals and be thorough. Conform to checklists and commit to learning the aircraft inside and out.

You mentioned a concern with a lack of power. Many DCS pilots choose to carry six mavericks and six GBU-12s on TERs, as well as their other weapons, oh, and full fuel. Unless you're facing a small army of stationary, defenseless cereal boxes, this practice is hilariously impractical. You're slow, won't be going anywhere in a hurry, and the obscene weight and drag added by carrying such a massive payload will render you unable to maneuver with any sense of urgency. Instead, look to the real-world payloads for inspiration. Carry only two Mavericks, and at most four GBUs. Do not carry anywhere near full fuel, simply take what you need and a sufficient reserve. You will notice that with a conservative payload, you will hit almost 280 knots in cruise at full power and you'll be able to turn on a dime. All those extra weapons ard fuel is just not worth it. The A-10s primary tool of destruction is the gun, anyhow. The gun is crazy effective and is capable of destroying countless targets if deployed correctly. Learn to use that thing like a pro.

That's the best advice I can give.

I would add do not get overwhelmed.

There are alot of systems in the Hog but they can be learned in time.

IE: you do not need to know how to use your TAD to fight but it will help big time once you learn it.

I am still learning after yrs of flying this beast.

for instance after learning the auto lase script I finally dived into the LSS. Wow it was easy and makes finding tgts stupid easy if they are lased.

Also I found once some operations become second nature you can peal another layer off and learn more.

Mark points confused me for ever but it was because I did not know how to use the TAD except for navigation and waypoints now I love mark points and use them all the time for tgts etc.

On overloading and fuel I totally agree.

The only time I would carry a unrealistic load out with 6 mavs etc. would be during "Through the inferno" SP or some other SP mission with tons of tgts.

Or else you will be taking off, engaging a few passes and then its time to land and rearm. You spend more time on the tarmac getting rearmed/refueled than you do flying/fighting. And if you have a long flight to the engagement area it gets kinda boring fast. But in MP or Coop no need for the extra weight/Drag.

Good luck and have fun

Thanks, I think your right on one thing, I seem to overload on weapons, which doesn't help at all, been taking less today and it is a marked difference, do you recomend the air brake on for dives, to slow and steady her? I learn systems pretty quick, so looking forward to them :)

I personally hardly ever use the airbrake outside of enroute flight. I mostly use it during descents enroute to and from the airport. In a combat environment, there is little reason to use it.

Many guys like to use it as a divebrake when they're making a gun run from steep angles, but this practice should be avoided. The logic behind it is sound; You want to increase your trigger time on target, so decrease the closure rate to the target. But remember that while using the gun, you are especially vulnerable to ground fire because you are going to fly in a highly predictable straight line until you stop firing. The longer you have to shoot, the longer the enemy has to shoot back at you. With the GAU-8's power and accuracy, you generally don't need a long trigger time anyway. However for your enemy, that extra trigger time can mean more small arms hits to your aircraft.

And there's also the break. After you're done firing, you want to immediately break away from the target area as to not soak up any incoming ground fire. You want this break to be urgent, and you want to be highly maneuverable going into the break. Thus, you want a higher airspeed. (280-330 knots is awesome and will give you all the room you need.)

To conclude, for combat, you have little reason to use it because there aren't really situations that justify it's need. For gun runs, minimize the enemy's trigger time and make sure you have all the energy you need and then some for the break; keep to high airspeed.

P.S

If you extend the airbrake while rolling, your roll rate will increase quite substantially. Try it out sometime. This can have it's own uses.... ;)

Moreover using air-brake disengages PAC during gun runs. Setting the engines to idle is more than enough for the slow hog during steep dives.

ah yea good points thanks, I suppose the PAC is already stabilising so shouldn't need the extra time on target any way, am I right in saying PAC on for hard targets and PAC of if I want to strafe?

appreciate the pre buy help guys :) is the I take it huge manual ever available as a hard copy? or is that just a print shop job