DCS Academy

Excellent! Thank you DM. Will provide some direction and motivation.

For anyone else downloading and setting up, Gass Pass is between PA62 and PA63 just northwest of Nellis. Could not find it labeled on the NTTR map. Quick Google search found it.

 

Also, here's an NTTR practice mission I put together

 

-- Spawn in at Laughlin, figure out the runway and taxiway markings. Practice flying the pattern, note 16 has a right hand pattern, practice your radio calls

-- See if you can figure out how to get to, and land at HND

-- Spawn "air start" for formation practice and kind of a fun tour though the Death Valley portion of the map (including a run through Star Wars Canyon). Finish at IFP, I'll take a low approach to 16, you can either follow me in or take separation on the downwind

 

Doing those things will help you develop stick skills which should help

 

If you have that licked, and have time to spare, spawn in at Nellis, familiarize yourself with the airfield diagram. Probably worth practicing the visual approach from Dry Lake - Apex, the sloping terrain plays tricks with your eyes. The departure from 21 is a little tricky too, one exercise might be FYTTR departure from 21L, return over Gass Peak, hook right to Apex, practice your left overhead, keep it tight (see here)

Hey Mac, I was on Kef from 84 till 87 ( I extended, it was great duty). I worked in AIMD, cal lab, and worked on all your test sets and many other systems including the aps 115 and difar. I was lucky to also be a collateral duty inspector so I went on a lot of flights (liberty) as the crew loved not having to wait when back on deck for customs, I did it ; )

 

Working on the electronics and liberty looking for subs for 8 hours or so, land in Europe and enjoy a day or 2, then look for subs again for 8 hours otw back to Kef.

 

Flew some there (civilian) and the wind was a mess! Take about a bitch ILS!

 

Anyway, just wanted to say hi and share.

 

O7

Hi Ddaddy!

I was there in 73 when the Edlfell volcano popped up (Heimaey Island, Vestmannaeyjar) and began making a mess there. I did a week long tour there twice. Loved shoveling black pumice off roofs! (Not.) Crazy Jarhead Lieutenant worked us to death. Rode over there and back the first time in a C-47 (had no heat in the cabin!) and a C-130 the second time. I don't think they had ILS there at Keflavik at the time because, I got to watch and listen to a GCA in the C-47 when we returned to Kef.

I was in the AIMD hydraulics lab there, not the AE shop. (Did they still have that electronic lock on their door? I cracked the code one day.) I did some quick repair work on the back door of an Air Force C-130 who had limped in, one day. Tested lots of P-3 brake assemblies, actuators, pumped up tires, sandblasted wheel assemblies and did some wing riveting in that shop. Stood many a watch at the OMD hangar (that huge one that used to hold a B-36.)

I can certainly understand extending a tour there. The summer was wonderful and I got to see Gulfoss, Black Beach, and share some fun time with Icelandic ladies who would put up with me. There were lots of car accidents back then because Iceland had just switched from left side drive to right side drive. The city people made the switch but the rural people visiting the cities still had reactions from driving the old way. I never got up to Akureyri but lots of my buddies did it for the skiing. There were lots of Air Force cargo flights to some northeast station(s?) that I had assumed were radar installations. Got to do some IGDF training out (somewhere) with the Marines. I carried a backpack radio and did nothing but listen to dead air for a couple hours then recall a distant squad to RTB.

Surprisingly, Google Maps has street view there! You can see the AMD hangar from the edge of a roadway. Sure does bring back memories!

Before Keflavik, I was at Pax River for FRAMP training on the P-3A with VP-30. The new "Charlies" had just come out. I understand that P-8's are at Kef now and VP-30 is down at NAS Jacksonville.

Hi Ddaddy!

 

I was in the AIMD hydraulics lab there, not the AE shop. (Did they still have that electronic lock on their door?

 

I can certainly understand extending a tour there.

 

Surprisingly, Google Maps has street view there! You can see the AMD hangar from the edge of a roadway. Sure does bring back memories!

 

Before Keflavik, I was at Pax River for FRAMP training on the P-3A with VP-30. The new "Charlies" had just come out. I understand that P-8's are at Kef now and VP-30 is down at NAS Jacksonville.

The lock was gone but familiar with it as my GF at the time was an AMS (she lived with me in my barracks room for 2.5 of the 3 years : ) A good reason to extend not to mention the 30 days extra leave we were given (60 total in a year so 150 days leave for 3 years : ) And liberty almost any time ya wanted as long as your shop was not backlogged.

I thought they gave up sub searching from Kef but if they still do I'm sure it's P8's now.

Ah, the marine barracks, great bar on the first deck, we'd watch sports and have fights there! Ah the times! Oh, and the chow hall was the best one I ever ate at, the Icelandic Cod was the best I ever ate btw.

The best part was working on all the diverse electronics being a cal lab tech including 3.5 years at Cecil with new F18's at the time. I got to know all the systems pretty well an was called on to help in many shops.

Well to keep from hijacking this thread completely, I may sign up for the Academy but right now I've just been practicing with the F5 and P51-3. I do the canned missions and practice formation flying (iterate practicing! and only about 35 hours total so far). Picked up the 339 based on this thread and it's really an easy AC to fly compared with the other 2 I fly but really wish it had more systems active. I do like the cockpit instruments, they are the best placed of the other 2 I fly imo.

I want to get the F18 and PG on sale atm but I know I'm not ready for it (to fly correctly).

Semper Fi and Happy New Year everyone : )

I'm going to spend some quality time to cross train into the C101. I've flown it before, but that was a couple years ago. I've been happy with the Hornet since it came out.

I am seriously considering joining the fight to get into the DCS Academy but I want a good fit into the C101 first. I'll check out their Discord in a few weeks.

Girlfriend in the barracks WITH you? Well, sure wish we had THAT when I was there. And, yes, the chow hall had some great chow and a pretty Icelandic girl serving.

I can’t say enough good things about these guys and the program they run. The time I spent with the instructors was some of my best ever in DCS. I do think you guys (Radial, Blacley) are wise to get up to speed with SRS, discord, the mods, some multiplayer familiarity (I had none) etc prior to joining. I know a big mistake I made was joining and then trying to get all that stuff figured out (along with my Reverb HMD breaking and putting me out of commission for 10 days). I ran out of time to train and missed the 21 day deadline for my first solo and got booted. Really regretting it and now just waiting and hoping I can get readmitted. Take home message is these guys are amazing though and I for the first time in 7-8 years of DCS actually felt like I was learning and not just playing and winging it. Cheers, Jason

I’m not a part of the dcs academy yet I hope to take the course as soon as my equipment is ready. I must have missed a downloadable syllabus I saw blocks of text where each section was posted. I would like a downloadable version so I can have an organized one.

@dDaddy...hey... Mac was my IP and I flew his wing some when we were flying the Harrier and Hornet with VMFA 251... honestly great to fly with and learn from. That was some fun training and flying we did there Mac. <S>

Ummm....Canyon Runs in vr

@dDaddy...hey... Mac was my IP and I flew his wing some when we were flying the Harrier and Hornet with VMFA 251... honestly great to fly with and learn from. That was some fun training and flying we did there Mac. <S>

 

Ummm....Canyon Runs in vr

I never meet a Marine I didn't like/respect. Most dedicated hard working folks I had the privilege to serve with :thumbup:

I waffled about a bit on which aircraft to use for Phase 1. Going with the C-101EB. Spending time getting it airworthy. Also setting up the suggested spawn sites and flights Delta Mike suggested.

I have about 40 hours in the A10c and another 10 or so in the F18C. Time to do this right.

A different feel flying the C-101EB without the MFD to see your position. Learning to use the F10 map and Tacan to find my way around. Starting to do some basic turns about a point, level changes, working toward to short trip south and back.

Each time I take it up it smooths out just a bit more. I have two Cougar MFD's and am programming them for snap and map view. It will take some time but will be worth it once done.

P.S. Your location sounds like a nice place.

I'm going to spend some quality time to cross train into the C101. I've flown it before, but that was a couple years ago. I've been happy with the Hornet since it came out.

 

I am seriously considering joining the fight to get into the DCS Academy but I want a good fit into the C101 first. I'll check out their Discord in a few weeks.

 

^Its definitely a good idea to familiarize yourself with instrumentation, figure out what the hsi, rmi and flight director are telling you. But don't forget to get your head outside the cockpit sometimes. :) Try it with a map, compass and stop watch

This may have been asked earlier but how is the instructor going about getting visibility over what the trainee is doing? Is there anything you’re using for that or just talking to each other as it unfolds? I’m also interested in whether VR is being widely used and how most people might be integrating checklists or cheat sheets?

^Its definitely a good idea to familiarize yourself with instrumentation, figure out what the hsi, rmi and flight director are telling you. But don't forget to get your head outside the cockpit sometimes. :) Try it with a map, compass and stop watch

Sure! On top of an overcast, compass heading, timer, RTB and drop back down to see if you're still on the same planet that you left from. Then, watch Tacview to see the surprise unfold. A fun project!

That was some fun training and flying we did there Mac. <S>

 

Ummm....Canyon Runs in vr

Absolutely! Great times we had, eh? You know, I still have the video edit of that Canyon Run from Batumi we did. I think I can post it in YouTube if you want to download it.

<S> MegOhm!

This may have been asked earlier but how is the instructor going about getting visibility over what the trainee is doing? Is there anything you’re using for that or just talking to each other as it unfolds? I’m also interested in whether VR is being widely used and how most people might be integrating checklists or cheat sheets?

Probably by watching what the ac is doing. When I was a msf instructor that’s how we could tell if the rider was braking or acceleratorating

Ok, I see. It would be good if DCS could consider an instructor panel not only to implement various faults like they have IRL but also a screen to monitor the trainee switch selections and instrumentation. A quarter of our time in a full flight sim these days is spent just doing what we call manoeuvre based sequences where the instructor will give you V1 cuts, rejected takeoffs, various instrument approaches and go arounds etc, but the whole premise is that they can see what you’re seeing so that they can monitor your tolerances to determine either your competency or your training requirements.

You could even actually have a pointer linked to the VR focal pointer to see where they’re looking.

I can’t say enough good things about these guys and the program they run. The time I spent with the instructors was some of my best ever in DCS. I do think you guys (Radial, Blacley) are wise to get up to speed with SRS, discord, the mods, some multiplayer familiarity (I had none) etc prior to joining. I know a big mistake I made was joining and then trying to get all that stuff figured out (along with my Reverb HMD breaking and putting me out of commission for 10 days). I ran out of time to train and missed the 21 day deadline for my first solo and got booted. Really regretting it and now just waiting and hoping I can get readmitted. Take home message is these guys are amazing though and I for the first time in 7-8 years of DCS actually felt like I was learning and not just playing and winging it. Cheers, Jason

So if you're brand new to DCS, sounds like you'd recommend maybe going through the C101 tutorials and familiarizing with discord (no idea what that is yet) etc. before signing up? I'm assembling a PC (finished tomorrow) and I already purchased the C101 and F-5 (and A-10C because hey...a sale is a sale) along with the PG and NTTR maps in anticipation of enrolling in DCSA. :D

^ See, you did fine! Yeah get DCS up and running. If you're brand-brand-new, please consider making the C-101 your first module. Yeah it's kinda slow. You'll see the beauty of that soon enough, things happen REAL quick sometimes and it's nice to have a little extra time to sort things out. It's a well behaved plane, helpful for learning a stabilized approach right out the gate. And all the systems work, so you you'll be working it out all the way through Phase 1 of the curriculum. Finally, you'll save yourself some misery by only having to familiarize yourself, and maintain competency in one aircraft. Do the in-game tutorials to familiarize yourself with operation, and take it for a spin to make sure your controls are mapped. Pay special attention to brakes (which is tricky if you don't have rudder pedals -- you'll quickly see the beauty of that, too), trim, and flaps.

If you don't have a joystick yet, I would strongly recommend the T16000 set. The stick is excellent, the throttle is very functional, and the pedals are adequate. Great value for the $. I finally invested in a Warthog joystick but I still can't get away from the throttle and pedals -- definitely got my money's worth out of that one.

Differently-abled people who don't use pedals might not like the twist grip, it's a little awkward and I hear it breaks easily, but the slap-paddle on the throttle works like a charm for rudder control. Post any questions about how to set up the brakes.

DCS Academy news:

- We have several new instructors

- A couple of our star cadets have been invited to be early-phase instructors. One is focused on naval aviation, another is offering European time zone slots. All are fine gents and good teachers.

- We also have some advanced instructors either active or in the pipeline. So we have some really advanced capabilities now in A2A, ATC, AIC, and RIO.

- We are starting to spool up our REDFOR program, so those who are dying to get into a Yak, L39 and JF-17, stay tuned!

Slots open up every Saturday night. Be advised, the reason for that is we purge every Saturday morning. You don't have to quit your day job -- in fact 90% of this is self-paced, learning on your own and with the other cadets -- but you do have to maintain proficiency and you do need to kind of move things along to make room for the new cadets.

One question that comes up early and often: how do I do two things (or four, or twenty) at once?

Your first lesson on landing will probably sound something like this: "What's pattern altitude check your speed make the call turn turn TURN make the call what's your altitude dirty up slow down don't break the flaps you're plummeting speed you're drifting to the inside when do you turn base altitude altitude you're plummeting see that road over there follow that no that one turn turn make the call TURN altitude EASY let go of the rudder come left EASY are you high or low no you're low power POWER go around throttle throttle throttle give it all ya got are your flaps up is the brake in I didn't think so what's your climb speed what's it supposed to be turn turn turn turn make the call watch your altitude" etc etc etc

Good times!

Reality is, you can only do two things at once if one of those things is so over-learned and automatic that it can be done without any conscious attention. In your first lesson, you'll likely realize you don't have any of those.

The answer is, to alternate. If you have four things to do, don't get stuck on one. Always be shifting your attention from one to another.

One thing will typically have priority, and when you are in visual conditions, the like-duh-obvious priority is, be looking outside the window. The real horizon works much better than the artificial horizon, that's why it's so fun flying around on a nice day. Eventually you'll see that you can judge altitude and distance in the pattern. If you have VR you can even judge your sink rate. Glance at the "minute hand" on the altimeter frequently, just a glance is all you need. Occasionally glance at the speed indicator.

How to divide your attention depends on what you're up to, and how smart you are. On downwind, it'll be like runway-speed-runway-altitude-speed-runway-altitude-runway-altitude-runway-speed-runway-altitude. What makes that smart is, you entered the pattern at the right altitude and speed, so you don't have to fix anything, all you have to do is maintain. On final, you focus your attention on the end of the runway and use peripheral vision to determine alignment, distance from threshold and sink rate. What makes that smart is, you flew a stabilized approach starting on the downwind so there's really not much work to do on final.

This comes up over and over and over. You think you got it all down then you start IFR training -- you'll feel like you're juggling monkeys sometimes. You get that down and next thing you know you're in a complex dynamic battlespace and haven't even got your flight joined up properly and Magic is already in your ear about a bunch of bogeys that just popped up at bull's 340 40 miles aspect hot and you've gotta get your flight fenced in kicked out and ready to fight rikki-tik. Which is where we are going with this.

Take her for a spin, make sure your controls are mapped how you like em. Be familiar with your aircraft, do some in-game tutorials. Spend some time flying around, and while you're at it, try keeping your eyes outside the cockpit. It's a beautiful world out there. Most of the time.

You say you open up applications on a Saturday night. Which time zone is that in. I’m in Australia and I’m hoping we can find some instructors that will be close enough to that Timezone.

Also, should you lose recency, what do you require to revalidate?

Oh yes we have helicopter training

Could you expand on this?

Thank you.

Interested in this as well Will be purchasing the C-101 this weekend. I have been mainly flying and learning the systems of the F-18 and Huey. I have decent pit and good PC, just need people to learn more from. I'll keep an eye out on Discord and have subscribed to this forum. Thanks for your time doing this. I know many of us need the help!

My Pit: Corsair 780T Case, MSI Meg Godlike MoBo, I9-9900k, GeForce 2080 X Trio, 64 GB Corsair Ram, Corsair 150I Triple Fan Cooler, 980 Evo 1 TB SSD, Intel 660P 1 TB SSD, 6 corsair LL120 Fans, VKB Gunfighter MCG Pro, Virpil Rudder pedals, TM Warthog throttle and Oculus Rift S.

Will the announced @redfor classes utilize the Yak-52 and or the L-39? In that case where do i sign up:) Thank you for offering this, i truly believe it means alot to a lot of people and help make the DCS community even better than it already is.

Will the announced @redfor classes utilize the Yak-52 and or the L-39? In that case where do i sign up:) Thank you for offering this, i truly believe it means alot to a lot of people and help make the DCS community even better than it already is.

Both. Yak-52 is already in the server, curriculum is in progress

AIC is an ongoing process (that curriculum preceded the academy) and in the future we are hoping to have red flag style exercises so there will be plenty to do, plus I imagine from an academic viewpoint it should be really interesting to see how a realistic implementation of Eastern Bloc doctrine plays out. Too bad we don't have more full fidelity Eastern Bloc modules, but it'll be really cool to see the JF17 in action

You say you open up applications on a Saturday night. Which time zone is that in. I’m in Australia and I’m hoping we can find some instructors that will be close enough to that Timezone.

 

Also, should you lose recency, what do you require to revalidate?

We have people all over the world, including Oz. Keep an eye on the discord for announcements.

You have to really try to time out of the program, like you have to completely disappear for a long time. Which people do. Our thing is, instructor time, and more specifically instructor energy is a precious commodity as you can well imagine. We have to manage that talent carefully. I will say, the management leads from the front, you won't see any of the instructors dropping off the face of the earth; we expect the same from the cadets

Could you expand on this?

Thank you.

We have a dedicated chopper instructor, who gets rave reviews. Swing by the discord and check it out