DCS

[dburne]

Oh yeah I will be all over buying the early access of the Apache for sure.

I have been waiting for this since Janes Longbow.

[Gambit21]

1 hour ago, AndyJWest said:

AH-64s have a pilot and a gunner (Or whatever they call them. Probably some obscure TLA), for a reason. I suspect that trying to use it efficiently in single-player mode is going to be difficult.

 

Never been a helo guy, but that will change here I think.

I'm imaging an Apache detachment out of Incirlik tasked with interdicting weapons/missile parts trafficking across the Turkish/Syrian, Syrian/Lebanese borders, as well as supporting operators on the ground tasked with the same thing...and maritime patrol of course.

I'm seeing some dusty FARP's in my mind's eye...

 

Yep

This would be fun indeed.

[simfan2015]

@dburne and orhers...

 

Indeed "Jane's Longbow" was a true revelation in those days !

It was probably extremely easy to het into compared to ... what's coming from ED (at least what is to be expected from this DCS study-sim-module).

I would love something like the original "Jane's Longbow" with the same easy learning curve but with 2021  'DCS-worthy' graphics.

Apache : Air Assault was something like that (easy to get into), but was not really up to the "Jane's Longbow" standards. It has/had rather good 

 graphics (even now in 2021 not that bad) but with *very* limited maps.

No editor, at least not something like the DCS or ARMA3 editors. etc.

There was of course also awesome (in those days) "Enemy Engaged: Apache vs Havoc" that did have a true DC, but surely not/no longer the graphics we come to expect in 2021 (even after applying all the mods, as I did at the time).

I personally think only ED can pull this of ... no other company can risk investing such an effort into a true niche (and by this I mean ... hard to master) product.

But again, as I mentioned earlier, IMHO, the rather hardcore AH-64D mod for ARMA 3 feels great if you can live with the limited scope of the ARMA 3 maps and will probably prove easier to get into than the no-limits-to-keybinding/click-fest effort from ED. 

 

  

Edited March 1, 2021 by simfan2015

[SCG_OpticFlow]

 

[Trooper117]

What a great video... loved it!

[Gambit21]

Good video - but everyone knows the Vietnam theme song is Jumpin Jack Flash or Fortunate Son...nothing against BTO.

 

Mostly just great video though

 

Edit: Just finished it - yeah great job...perfect music!

 

 

Edited March 1, 2021 by Gambit21

[dburne]

Nice video overview of the Rising Squall Campaign for the Hornet.

I have thoroughly enjoyed it, stuck on the last mission right now - it is a tough one.

 

 

4 hours ago, OpticFlow said:

 

 

 

Most awesome and music was fantastic!!

Thanks for sharing!

 

[DD_fruitbat]

8 hours ago, OpticFlow said:

 

 

Saw this over on the DCS forums yesterday, makes me want a Vietnam map even more.

 

Quick sidebar, way back when I was at uni, I read the book 'Chickenhawk' by R Mason, which is a truly fantastic book. A few years later, I went backpacking for the best part of 2 years, and Vietnam was one of the places I had always most wanted to go to. I spent a month travelling down from Hanoi to Saigon in 2000, back when Tourism still wasn't very developed at all, Only the coastal towns and cities were where you were supposed to go, as you could only stay in places 'approved' for western tourists.

 

However, because of that book, and ecliptic mix of an Englishman (me), a Belgium, German and an Austrian, clubbed together and hired a minibus and the driver for 4 days iirc, and went to the central highlands, Plieku where  R Mason was based, and around that area, generally causing problems every time we tried to check in somewhere, as no where was 'western' tourist ready, like we gave a rats. 

 

Was an absolutely stunning area, and something I'll never forget. One of the most beautiful sights I ever saw was during that little trip, because of that book.

[CanadaOne]

20 hours ago, Gambit21 said:

Good video - but everyone knows the Vietnam theme song is Jumpin Jack Flash or Fortunate Son...nothing against BTO.

 

Mostly just great video though

 

Edit: Just finished it - yeah great job...perfect music!

 

 

 

BTO? Bachman Turner Overweight? (Only true Canadians may say that.) I didn't hear BTO.

 

Great video though.  

[II./JG77_Manu*]

On 2/27/2021 at 1:55 PM, dburne said:

Some Apache news.

Early Access available in May.

 

https://www.digitalcombatsimulator.com/en/news/2021-02-26/

I hope by the time of full release, I'll actually have a PC able to run DCS in VR. If there is one aircraft module an absolute must for me, it's this one.

 

Jane's AH-64D Longbow was my first full-price computer game. My parents have been strictly against any types of war/fighting games, but I reveled so much about this game for a loong time, that they actually got it for me for christmas.

I ended up never playing it, because my PC (old, discarded PC of dad's office) wasn't able to run it in any way and later on I got a Playstation. But I still spent like at least 50 hours on the handbook (being 8 years old, I guess I wasn't an ordinary child). 

 

So flying this bird in DCS quality and high-res VR is probably a good consolation for missing out on it sooner ?

[dburne]

14 minutes ago, II./JG77_Manu* said:

I hope by the time of full release, I'll actually have a PC able to run DCS in VR. If there is one aircraft module an absolute must for me, it's this one.

 

Jane's AH-64D Longbow was my first full-price computer game. My parents have been strictly against any types of war/fighting games, but I reveled so much about this game for a loong time, that they actually got it for me for christmas.

I ended up never playing it, because my PC (old, discarded PC of dad's office) wasn't able to run it in any way and later on I got a Playstation. But I still spent like at least 50 hours on the handbook (being 8 years old, I guess I wasn't an ordinary child). 

 

So flying this bird in DCS quality and high-res VR is probably a good consolation for missing out on it sooner ?

 

Yeah you missed a treat, Janes Longbow was awesome. I spent many hours in  both 1 and 2.

But yeah the real treat is coming with this one. In VR is going to be so awesome.

Edited March 2, 2021 by dburne

[Gambit21]

2 hours ago, CanadaOne said:

 

BTO? Bachman Turner Overweight? (Only true Canadians may say that.) I didn't hear BTO.

 

Great video though.  

 

Steppenwolf - don’t know why I said BTO.

[CanadaOne]

2 hours ago, Gambit21 said:

 

Steppenwolf - don’t know why I said BTO.

 

The Canadian in you screaming to get out. 

[Gambit21]

11 minutes ago, CanadaOne said:

 

The Canadian in you screaming to get out. 

 

You mean get oot?

[RedKestrel]

1 hour ago, Gambit21 said:

 

You mean get oot?

I don't often get oot and aboot these d'ehs. 
/sorry

[Gambit21]

10 minutes ago, RedKestrel said:

I don't often get oot and aboot these d'ehs. 
/sorry

 

It’s funny, I absolutely cannot hear most regional Canadaian accents until the word ‘out’ is spoken. To my ears it’s the only giveaway.

[RedKestrel]

5 minutes ago, Gambit21 said:

 

It’s funny, I absolutely cannot hear most regional Canadaian accents until the word ‘out’ is spoken. To my ears it’s the only giveaway.

I often wonder what the 'tells' are when I'm speaking. I guess its the same everywhere - 'it's everyone else that has the accent, I'm the one speaking normally!'
 

[Bremspropeller]

Take-off in Incirlik AB on a secret TARPS-mission across Syria.

 

Desert Cat.

 

Low over the Westbank.

 

Seems like they're into growing groceries.

 

Approaching Ramat David AB.

 

At 5000ft heading towards Haifa.

 

I like the low light.

 

Turning final onto runway 09 at Ramat David.

[dburne]

Well now that I have both Rising Squall and Serpent's Head campaigns for the Hornet under my belt, I have now begun Serpent's Head 2 campaign for the Hornet.

Looking like it will be a nice challenge for me as well and a nice extension of the original Serpent's Head campaign by picking up where my pilot left off.

 

So nice to finally be flying combat in campaigns and kind of sorta know what I am actually doing now with the Hornet.

This is what it is all about for me, flying single player campaigns in whatever flight sim I happen to be doing at the time.

That is why I so love both the Career and PWCG in IL-2.

 

Edited March 4, 2021 by dburne

[scram77]

4 hours ago, dburne said:

Well now that I have both Rising Squall and Serpent's Head campaigns for the Hornet under my belt, I have now begun Serpent's Head 2 campaign for the Hornet.

Looking like it will be a nice challenge for me as well and a nice extension of the original Serpent's Head campaign by picking up where my pilot left off.

 

So nice to finally be flying combat in campaigns and kind of sorta know what I am actually doing now with the Hornet.

This is what it is all about for me, flying single player campaigns in whatever flight sim I happen to be doing at the time.

That is why I so love both the Career and PWCG in IL-2.

 

What would you say would be the best campaign to start off in the hornet then?

[dburne]

5 hours ago, scram77 said:

What would you say would be the best campaign to start off in the hornet then?

 

Of the ones I have done so far I would say Rising Squall.

[dburne]

Started on The Serpents Head 2 Campaign for the Hornet, three missions in.

It picked up right where the first one left off, we had decimated the insurgents and their leader The Snake.  I was assigned to fly to a base to perform in an air show, so I take off from the Stennis and head on out there.

I start my routine with some cuban eights, then all of a sudden there are a couple planes coming in - Russian SU 27's.

They attack the airfield killing several civilians.  I only have guns as my Hornet was stripped for the airshow. I manage to take care of both of them with my guns, and am then ordered back to the Stennis. 

 

Reports are coming in from all around, this was not the only attack by them. And more disturbingly included in the reports is the news The Snake had actually escaped and was not killed in that last mission. Not much rest, orders given to cold start on the Stennis and get airborne  asap for some strikes.

I think I am in for some rough times ahead...

 

Flew another mission, lots of action - I got to use Mavericks, HARMS,  a Mk 83b bomb, and even an AIM 9x to shoot down a plane.

And the great thing I did not have to reference any material to use these weapons- good times!

[Bremspropeller]

 

 

 

[Hoots]

8 hours ago, dburne said:

Started on The Serpents Head 2 Campaign for the Hornet, three missions in.

It picked up right where the first one left off, we had decimated the insurgents and their leader The Snake.  I was assigned to fly to a base to perform in an air show, so I take off from the Stennis and head on out there.

I start my routine with some cuban eights, then all of a sudden there are a couple planes coming in - Russian SU 27's.

They attack the airfield killing several civilians.  I only have guns as my Hornet was stripped for the airshow. I manage to take care of both of them with my guns, and am then ordered back to the Stennis. 

 

Reports are coming in from all around, this was not the only attack by them. And more disturbingly included in the reports is the news The Snake had actually escaped and was not killed in that last mission. Not much rest, orders given to cold start on the Stennis and get airborne  asap for some strikes.

I think I am in for some rough times ahead...

 

Flew another mission, lots of action - I got to use Mavericks, HARMS,  a Mk 83b bomb, and even an AIM 9x to shoot down a plane.

And the great thing I did not have to reference any material to use these weapons- good times!

Blimey! You’re putting me to shame

[THERION]

8 hours ago, dburne said:

Started on The Serpents Head 2 Campaign for the Hornet, three missions in.

It picked up right where the first one left off, we had decimated the insurgents and their leader The Snake.  I was assigned to fly to a base to perform in an air show, so I take off from the Stennis and head on out there.

I start my routine with some cuban eights, then all of a sudden there are a couple planes coming in - Russian SU 27's.

They attack the airfield killing several civilians.  I only have guns as my Hornet was stripped for the airshow. I manage to take care of both of them with my guns, and am then ordered back to the Stennis. 

 

Reading the description of this mission, it reminds me exactly of those missions I've flown in "Strike Commander" over 25! years ago.

Does anyone remember too?

[dburne]

It should be a very interesting day today.

0700 and we have been called to the flightline on the deck of the Stennis.

Seems we had a chopper go down, and they made a crash landing and survived. However insurgents are closing in on them, and we are tasked with taking off immediately and going to help them out. Armed with some IR guided Mavericks, couple of sidewinders and guns.

Plus there is a heavy mist down low, and mission success also requires a successful trap on the Stennis upon return depending totally on Tacan and ILCS.

This should be a very good test for my skills at this time.

 

[dburne]

Mission 4 of Serpents Head 2 was a great success.

Fantastic mission, got to destroy some insurgent trucks headed to the chopper crash site where our guys were waiting to be lifted out.

4 IR guided Mavs took care of the 4 trucks heading in. I then had to fly to Kobuletti to take on some needed fuel along with something else that was classified, in bad weather then return to the Stennis to land on the carrier in a bad mist using ILCS and Tacan. I overflew the first attempt but successfully trapped on the second. The deck was pretty slick.

I loved this mission plus had a surprise thrown in there for good measure which was very cool.

 

Really enjoying this campaign.

[dburne]

Oh boy Mission 5 of Serpents Head 2 is going to be a real test of my current abilities:

 

To complete this mission, you will need to be able to
Cold-Start the Aircraft / Take off and land on the
Stennis in overcast poor weather conditions / Receive
“precise” coordinates in the air and form a new way
point. ( Note: for VR users F10 option to reshow
coordinates on screen for an additional two minutes) /
Use AGM154C JSOW Missiles / Use AIM120B air to air
missiles / Use AIM9X air to air missiles / Possibly use
gun in air to air mode / Receive and use Tacan to locate
Stennis and Air to Air Tanker / Possibly carry out an air
to air refuel by day in good conditions / Radio Stennis
on approach / Use ILS landing system in poor overcast
weather conditions whilst also utilising runway heading.

 

Edited March 5, 2021 by dburne

[dburne]

Mission 6 of Serpents Head 2 was another challenge.

Night mission - 1:00 am at takeoff. Had to fly fast to the combat area, troops were advancing on our guys.

Pretty heavy wind.

I got them with a HARM first to take out a SAM site, then three Mavericks to take care of the advancing troops.

Then had to fly to Kutaisi to get refueled so I could make it back to Stennis - landing and takeoff in heavy cross wind. Then back to Stennis for another challenging carrier trap.

I made it though, whew!

Four more missions to go in this campaign, they are definitely not getting any easier. I am having a blast though!

 

[unlikely_spider]

@dburne I'm proud of myself for completing my first mission requiring a Case 3 recovery, though in the F-14. Fun stuff, at least after the landing ?

I practiced it a lot in Instant Action before tackling the mission, for fear of wasting an hour of work in the mission (Earnest Will campaign).

This stuff is all new to me, being a vintage aviator foremost. 3 wire landings are a rare occasion for me.

 

[dburne]

6 minutes ago, unlikely_spider said:

@dburne I'm proud of myself for completing my first mission requiring a Case 3 recovery, though in the F-14. Fun stuff, at least after the landing ?

I practiced it a lot in Instant Action before tackling the mission, for fear of wasting an hour of work in the mission (Earnest Will campaign).

This stuff is all new to me, being a vintage aviator foremost. 3 wire landings are a rare occasion for me.

 

 

Yeah congrats!

I can't tell you how many hours I spent in the Hornet just practicing stuff before I embarked on a campaign.

It was a lot. 

[DD_fruitbat]

More new cloud pics,

 

 

 

Edited March 12, 2021 by DD_fruitbat

[Archie]

When are they due for release. I think those clouds and the Mossie would just about do for me, with the occasional F14 trip.

[DD_fruitbat]

1 hour ago, Archie said:

When are they due for release. I think those clouds and the Mossie would just about do for me, with the occasional F14 trip.

 

End of the month, as it stands.

[DD_fruitbat]

So have finally, after a couple of rather half hearted vague forays, actually learnt the Harrier after having it for 6 months or so. 

 

 

Once the mystery of the SSS switches was unravelled, it actually wasn't as difficult transitioning as my first impressions had suggested.

 

Its a fun plane, and having laser guided rockets on another plane other than the A10 is always a plus!

 

Using IR Mav's to hunt tanks,

 

 

The endless fun of laser guided rockets,

 

 

And genuinely my first attempt at landing on the carrier, I'd had a few goes a plonking it down on big concrete aprons a few times before obviously,

 

 

 

Good fun.

 

 

[dburne]

Nice!

Yeah the laser guided Mavs are my favorite in the Hornet also.

[DD_Arthur]

The Harrier is still my fave DCS aircraft.  Always a thrill in VR too.  The cockpit simply comes alive!

[SYN_Vander]

Harrier is my favourite as well. If only we had the sea harrier  

 

Landed here yesterday after one try. Training does pay off...

 

 

 

Edited March 13, 2021 by SYN_Vander

[Tyberan]

I've been flying the harrier as well, its a neat little plane. Doing a vert landing on the tarawa is just awesome

 

it is possible to use LMAV's against moving targets, i tried this last night and couldnt get it to lock onto a target. 

Edited March 14, 2021 by Tyberan

[DD_fruitbat]

9 hours ago, Tyberan said:

I've been flying the harrier as well, its a neat little plane. Doing a vert landing on the tarawa is just awesome

 

it is possible to use LMAV's against moving targets, i tried this last night and couldnt get it to lock onto a target. 

 

Yes, I have just tried them to see.

 

 

The biggest problem is getting a decent point track on the target. In the vid above, (you'll have to forgive the few active pauses, as I had quickly changed an existing mission I had and spawned way to close to set everything up properly), I had to re jig my position to get the telegraph poles and cables away from the line of sight to get a good point track.

 

Remember to go to white hot or black hot to get the point track, as its much better than the TV. Once you have the point track, fire laser, SSS depress twice to un soi the Tpod, from the stores page on the other MFD select the LMAV, press uncage to uncage the seeker head to start searching for the the laser, remember to be in air to ground mode, as I did in the above vid when it wouldn't fire, and once its found the laser (will probably have to point the nose at the target to get it in gimbal limits), fire away. 

 

Edited March 14, 2021 by DD_fruitbat