Air to Air Refueling the A-10C

"in theory" being the operative term here. :music_whistling:

 

That's exactly how it should be, but the DCS boom operator actually chases your nose, yet never connects on his own. You actually have to fly the receptacle into the boom in order to get a connection.

 

After any disconnect, just like 9echo says, you need to cycle the refueling system, which can be confirmed by the Refuel Status Light showing "READY" on the right HUD frame again.

 

And don't worry: it takes a lot of practice to get good at this. ;)

Yeah it will be the reset which I omitted. Thanks to both of you.

This stuff is hard, but substantially easier in VR :)

Refueling

Wow, the most frustrated I have ever been is trying to tank this pig :helpsmilie::mad::helpsmilie:

I have only connected once after about 10 hours of trying.....sigh..:cry:

It seems like I am right behind the tanker, matched speed but the boom just doesn't want to go in. Is there any trigger I am missing possibly? I try to get as trimmed as possible but my old X52 just won't stay as steady as i want, perhaps that might be the issue, or i just plain suck (most likely) :doh::doh:

It seems like I am right behind the tanker, matched speed but the boom just doesn't want to go in.

Make sure you announce "Ready pre-contact" to the tanker just a little aft of the refueling area, and that the response is "Cleared contact". Otherwise, the boom will just float through your jet and never connect.

If you've done that, there are many small tricks, but ultimately it all comes down to practice, practice and more practice.

As said before, the boom will not connect itself to your jet (although it should, when you're within parameters), so you have to very gently catch up with it and make contact yourself.

Some pilots trim the jet a bit nose down, so that they always have to apply a little back-pressure for level flight. That can help when overcontrolling, or when you tend to oscillate nose up and down all the time.

Others "stir" the stick. Just enough so you know you're doing it, but in a way that no one could tell from the outside.

A good stick certainly helps, and I've heard repeatedly that VR is also a big bonus because of the proper depth perception that is lacking on a 2D screen. But people have managed to do it on small screens with crappy sticks, so it's certainly possible either way. ;)

I'd love to try VR, but don't think 9er domestic will allow me...LOL

I'll keep on trying, certainly takes all my concentration to get near the boom, just can't get that last finishing touch i guess....

Thanks for the reply

So yeah, it was the reset. Once I reset the refueling system after disconnect., no issues reconnecting and I have to say it is much easier to reconnect thanks to the AI boom. Topped the tank in a few tries.

@VWJ: Great stuff!

I feel your pain!! But I did it, finally!

I had fits with AAR too and I'm still not a pro at it, but was able to get on the tanker.

All of the previous posts have very good tips and they do work.

What worked for was:

1. Get the joystick curves setup to where you find them most comfortable. It was important for me to have a small dead zone at the neutral position of the joystick (2 to 3 on the curve). Then set up the responsiveness by adjusting your slopes. Move the stick around to see if this is something you like.

2. Make a practice mission in the MISSION BUILDER. It's pretty easy to do and does not take much time to create and debug. Put your HOG a few miles behind the tanker and setup your altitude and speeds like a typical AAR; 15,000 ft @ 180 knots.

3. One thing I do to give myself as much view out of the windshield is lower my seat all the way to the stops. This gives me the greatest field of view to see the tanker and the boom.

4. TRIM, TRIM, TRIM, TRIM, and TRIM again. This is the most important thing of all. If you don't have the bird trimmed out properly, it will be like riding a bucking bronco when you try to get on the boom. Be mindful that this is a delicate process. As the aircraft speed changes, the trim characteristics will change as well. So it is important to do everything SLOWLY and let go of the stick from time to time to see if you need to trim more.

5. Disconnect the throttles (if you have a TM Warthog Throttle) so you can move them independently. This helped me a lot to control my speed to get on the boom. When the FE says "Walk the throttles" that is what he means. Use the throttles in unison to get close to the boom, but when you are ready to get on the boom. Use only (1) throttle at a time. This will make your changes in speed far more controllable. Be mindful to move very small adjustments with the throttle and stick. VERY SMALL! Don't horse it or you will end up being far off the boom or WORSE!

6. I try to be high enough that boom is at a more shallow angle. This way, I can use the tanker and boom better as a reference. It also helps me to minimize stick inputs and hold myself in-place with the throttles (mostly).

7. MAKE SURE YOU HAVE A READY LIGHT or everything will be in VAIN. Hit that pinky button (on a Thrustmaster Warthog stick) of whatever you have the READY/NWS bound to.

8. Here's where I diverge from a lot of folks. I have a hard time not looking at the boom and flying off the tanker. First of all, I can't see the position lights on the belly of the tanker very well and even if I could, I don't know what they mean.

I will make contact and use the color code on the boomer to hold position while watching the tanker in my periphery. The A-10C engine adjustments are not immediate so you need to anticipate the lag and make small ones when you do with only 1 throttle.

9. At this point it is just trying to maintain position which is not an easy thing to do. I have found that once I am on the boom that both throttle and stick adjustments are needed to stay in position. AGAIN, everything needs to be in micro-adjustments.

10. Use that practice mission and PRACTICE, PRACTICE, PRACTICE! Happy tanking!

OK I can connect time after time. But I can never STAY connected for more than a few seconds. "You're taking fuel" and then the disconnect occurs. Seems like ANY move I make to stay even with the tankser once connection occurs causes an almost immediate disconnect. So my question is, who the heck do you STAY connected.

I matched speed but the boom just doesn't want to go in. Is there any trigger I am missing possibly? I try to get as trimmed as possible but my old X52 just won't stay as steady as i want, perhaps that might be the issue. 

On 12/18/2020 at 3:59 PM, justonaki said:

I matched speed but the boom just doesn't want to go in. Is there any trigger I am missing possibly? I try to get as trimmed as possible but my old X52 just won't stay as steady as i want, perhaps that might be the issue. blender.onl audacity.vip gimp.cc

 

Make sure you press NWS if you disconnect to allow the boom to reconnect. I press this button a lot when i was learning how to AAR consistently in the A10. Don't forget to tell tanker "ready pre-contact" otherwise the game won't move the boom to your aircraft too.