Trying F 14 Love it BUT...

Ok I fly SP as I have very limited time want to Buy the F 14 but in the last trial period and now this I cannot get a target to lock for more than a few moments in a dogfight. Ive tried the SST command. No joy. Ive tried the pilot command high mode. (dont recall actual name but like vertical scan in Hornet) Nothing.

What am I missing?

Any help or jester command/ key bindings I need would be great.

Well, first of all you need to understand the narrowness of locks, if we can call it that. VSL HI or VSL LO can be very effective in a close turning fight, where the bandit will be directly above or below your nose. But the cone is only 10° wide, so a little tilt left and right, and lock will be not possible. If the target is on the + in the hud, then you can use PLM. This is iirc a 5° cone, so the target needs to be more or less on the aircraft's datum line. PAL is a good option for targets ahead on the same plane and somewhere between I would say 2 and 20nm.

Fly a small training round where you have either sidewinders or sparrow selected instead of gun. You will then see the diamond scan over the hud, so you can basically see, where the radar is looking at, and if it "snaps" onto a target it gets locked. That you will lose lock in a turning fight constantly though, is normal. The difference to more modern jets is that each time you do, you need to re-engage either VSL or PLM or PAL to relock the bandit depending on the situation, but it will not auto re-engage. Also, do not try to use Jester closer in than 15nm, 20 even I would say. Also a human RIO cannot do much in these situations, that is what the pilot acquisition modes are for. The radar cone becomes just so narrow, that any maneuvering bandit will traverse it too fast in order to lock him consistantly. Hence you use the submodes, which lock him automatically once he enters the cone. But you need to have him in the cone.

You can check out either the manual or chuck's guide to learn more about the pilot acquisition modes and to get a better idea of the cone they present you with.

Mke,

Thank you. i will try that. Also in the sidewinder training mission jester cant seem to direct me to the targets to get close. I usually need to f10 it an victor in until visual. Anyway to grt him to use the tws to get me close?

Thanks.

Mke,

 

Thank you. i will try that. Also in the sidewinder training mission jester cant seem to direct me to the targets to get close. I usually need to f10 it an victor in until visual. Anyway to grt him to use the tws to get me close?

 

Thanks.

I dont remember quite the setup of the sidewinder training mission, but we had some bug reports about it lately. We will rework the training missions till the next update. In any case you should be able to make him select tws via the jester menu, radar modes, in the bvr section. However, if the range is below 15nm, it will be hard to see him on radar, unless it is pointed straight at the bandit.

I'd ask this question here instead of creating new one. I did not find a training mission for BVR so I watched YouTube videos on it. But what is good mission to practice BVR on? Or do I have to make my own mission?

I’ve used the MiG-28 Furball for that. It’s really supposed to be more of a 2 v Unk dogfight but, if I recall, you’ve got 80 or so miles from the carrier to setup BVR shots.

Ok I fly SP as I have very limited time want to Buy the F 14 but in the last trial period and now this I cannot get a target to lock for more than a few moments in a dogfight. Ive tried the SST command. No joy. Ive tried the pilot command high mode. (dont recall actual name but like vertical scan in Hornet) Nothing.

 

What am I missing?

 

Any help or jester command/ key bindings I need would be great.

Do you mean you have trouble locking a target or maintaining that lock once obtained? Also BVR or WVR?

I figured out how to arm and use the pilot lock modes but at the moment I cannot his anything in TWS A and the AIM 54. I see the blinking signal on the TID see the priority number next to the contact. I fire missile lofts then...... passes right by target. Target does not even notch. Ive seen a dozen videos. Only way I can get a phoenix to hit is to STT lock.

Any help on TWS A.