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Two "flight safety" critical features missing in the F15C


MikeMikeJuliet

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Hello to all,

 

In the F-15C there are 2 critical oversights, that both make it cumbersome to operate the plane, and (in the virtual environment) are critical to flight safety when dealing with multiple aircraft operating in close proximity.

 

1: Altimeter pressure setting.

You cannot change the pressure setting at all. This in my opinion is an oversight by the developers. In different stages of flight a different pressure setting is needed (take-off airfield's QNH or QFE setting, possible force-QNH in operation area, QNE for flight level flying and finally landing airfield's QNH or QFE). IF you are not using the same pressure setting with the other aircraft operating in the same area you risk collision, especially IFR.

 

I do believe this is easily fixed by the talented devs at Belsimtek and does probably require a whole 2 lines of code.

 

 

2: Indication for which ILS you are on.

If you happen to fly to any other airfield than the preplanned one, all you are doing is guesswork and approximation to know which ILS you are homing into. Sometimes flying a route the NAV system automatically tunes to the wrong ILS even if it was preplanned. Now if I wasn't aware of the distance I planned in between my last route waypoint and the airfield, I would have no clue if I was landing to the right place.

 

That said think about a mission with multiple aircraft and add in a couple of guys headed to the wrong field... I smell collision potential again. AND an annoyance when you land somewhere you didn't inted.

 

Again I believe this would be rather easily implemented. A live frequency readout, OR a HUD symbol to show the airfield number (as in the Su-25T for example). It might not be 100% accurate HUD symbology compared to the real plane, but it would make it a million times more reasonable to navigate with the aircraft.

 

 

I know the FC3 aircraft are supposed to be simple, sort of "entry level" vehicles to the sim, and that is what I'm getting at here. If we are missing critical items the simulation is too simple and may cause crossings with the more realistic simulations an frustrate pilots on both sides.

 

All this is said with the utmost respect toward the devs. The F-15C is way better than it was when I started playing Lock On around 9 years ago, and I wish we can all enjoy a complete aircraft that is easy to get started with, but still provides sufficient enough system modeling to go together with the rest of DCS World.

 

We could go on and on with features missing and all that, but I feel most of them are just luxury and convenience (taking into account the level of simulation we are expecting here). Sure I'd like TACANs and frequencies and further control over the weapon system and a usable Course knob on the HSI... but the two above I feel are much, much more important (even if they are so small things).

 

 

Enough babble from my end. I hope to see some fixes in the future.

 

Regards!

 

EDIT: If you fly in the Caucasus map for an ILS on Tbilisi-Lochini or Vaziani, there is a serious chance to land on the wrong airfield if you don't know which ILS you are on, because the airfields are very close to eachother and have almost identical runway directions.


Edited by MikeMikeJuliet
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DCS Finland | SF squadron

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Concur on both accounts. Especially since the F-15C doesn't have a RadAlt, having a manual altimeter setting could be useful for DS weather.

 

I also don't mind a slight deviation from reality when it enhances playability and corrects an issue with simplification. In this case, knowing what airfield is dialed up is more important than full-realism (since in real life you'll know by what frequency you dial in), so having a status message saying what field is selected would be a great compromise if people don't want it in the HUD. Also, check my previous recommendation regarding airfield selection. Though this was written before you could cycle backwards through the airfields, the concept remains solid.

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Way better ATC would help a lot as well...something like BMS with active ATC once you're inside 30-miles (flight has to call for inbound first before ATC will put your flight in an approach slot). That AI ATC will direct you all the way in and put you in a holding pattern if other AC are in front of you before you are cleared for final - fairly amazing.

 

Anyhow, hope they work out better AI ATC with the new comms, along with more accurate ILS.

 

Good points made OP.

 

DrDetroit


Edited by DrDetroit
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speaking of flight safety.. how about those nav lights with what.. 360-deg field-of-view??

 

hmmmmmm

 

Way better ATC would help a lot as well...something like BMS with active ATC once you're inside 30-miles (flight has to call for inbound first before ATC will put your flight in an approach slot). That AI ATC will direct you all the way in and put you in a holding pattern if other AC are in front of you before you are cleared for final - fairly amazing.

 

Anyhow, hope they work out better AI ATC with the new comms, along with more accurate ILS.

 

Good points made OP.

 

DrDetroit

 

I agree on both, although they aren't F-15C specific. Improved ATC would help all the players independent of the aircraft they operate... but that is for another thread.

 

I haven't put much attention to the aircraft lighting, I have to admit. Is that the case in the F-15C only or is it a common lighting issue across the whole sim?

 

 

Thanks for the replies, btw.

DCS Finland | SF squadron

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