09-04-13 Training Debrief

After the server went down we had an impromtu Falcon session, so I thought I'd put a few things down.

It was tighter than the first training session, although as MJ was on a different PC we obviously had the same issues with sorting out controls. We didn't do a mission brief so I was expecting there to be some formation issues and we didn't have any real set circuit on the range - under normal circumstances there would be a good brief on altitudes, run in and IP location/direction, min alt for release and some deconfliction notes, but it's early days yet.

Take off with bombs on board should be full AB, rotate at ~180 knots, clean up (gear up and trim if necessary) and turn as briefed. Scraping the nozzle on the runway or forgetting to raise your gear will cause problems, and unlike WWII there isn't a selection of aircraft to jump in to if you prang the one you are in, so it's mission over!

The jets are obviously more powerful than what we are used to, so you can use AB to form up on your lead if necessary, just watch your fuel states.

Radar lock can be used to locate your flight, but if you lock on it chirrups in the guys ear, so bear that in mind - the correct call when you hear that chirrup sound (and you can see its an F16 that has locked you up) is 'buddy spike'. Lets the guy locking you know you are locked.

I found when flying with BVT they use A-A TACAN for range rather than locking flight members up - makes sense after you fence in and Master Arm is on, locking is only a step away from releasing a missile at your #1!!

Again a brief would have helped us maintain formation and deconfliction in the circuit, I know speedy got a bit disorientated and lost the range at one point, I think the angry AI shouting of the pilots was due to bomb releases close to other members of the flight.

MJ and myself got bombs off ok, Speedy struggled with the release cue so thats one to practice offline - I've got a clip of a run in I can post up here once it's uploaded.

Once we knocked it off and RTB'd we didn't reform up but went back in in singles - with one eye on the clock I thought it better if we just got back, again under normal circumstances we'd reform before heading back.

I called the tower to get the active runway, MJ hadn't got the tower tuned in and must have not been listening when I called the active runway as 16, so he landed on the opposite side.

Aerobraking is used to slow the jet down, but only works at 13 degrees - you can get your AoA from the gun cross on the hud and where it sits in relation to the 10 degree line - once the wheels are down pull the nose up and you should slow down quicker.

Once you are on the ground, activate Nose Wheel Steering with your handy NWS/MSL STEP button you have mapped on your stick (alternatively use Shift-/)



This mission is only a very simple mission designed to get us working together. Unlike WWII, everything is pre-briefed and a lot less 'seat of your pants' flying is required - if everyone sticks to the script the mission should be accomplished, at least until contact with the enemy throws the plan out of the window, and even then there should be pre-briefed responses to enemy encounters.

Once this mission is nailed, (and we get Si on the case as well!) I'll throw in some enemy threats, so this stuff needs to be automatic so that we can concentrate on dealing with (or avoiding) the enemy and not worry about the simple stuff.

But we are getting there, I counted them all out and I counted them all back again, and considering the experience levels, I think we are not doing badly at all!

Skip19 wrote:Take off with bombs on board should be full AB, rotate at ~180 knots, clean up (gear up and trim if necessary) and turn as briefed. Scraping the nozzle on the runway or forgetting to raise your gear will cause problems, and unlike WWII there isn't a selection of aircraft to jump in to if you prang the one you are in, so it's mission over!

Just did the math, and for a rotation speed of 180, you'd need to be ±2000 lbs above max gross weight.
With a full A-G load (bombs and wingtanks), I tend to aim at 140-155kts for rotate, airborne at 170-180. For a standard AA load (AIM's with wingtanks) is approx. 120-130kts to rotate.

Scraping the nozzle is indeed quite the mission breaker, so on take-off, aim to pull up to about 10° AoA. Once you feel you're coming off the ground, you can increase to 12-13° until 1000ft AGL. Personally, I stay in burner until 500ft AGL or 300kts, whichever comes first.

Skip19 wrote:The jets are obviously more powerful than what we are used to, so you can use AB to form up on your lead if necessary, just watch your fuel states.

In normal ops, AB shouldn't be used to stay or get back in formation.

E.g. yesterday, we used a rejoin after take-off at 5000ft and 350kts. As lead, I'd fly ±330 kts instead, to make it easier for the wingie and element to rejoin. When you instruct mil power, lead will not push 100% RPM, but 96-98%. Once you're on cruise level, you fly approximately M.75 or .80, speeds at which you don't even need to be at full mil, unless you're really heavy (but then you wouldn't fly at those speeds either), so rejoining should still be possible without AB.

Skip19 wrote:I found when flying with BVT they use A-A TACAN for range rather than locking flight members up - makes sense after you fence in and Master Arm is on, locking is only a step away from releasing a missile at your #1!!

As an extra bit of information: AA TACAN needs to be 63 channels apart. If lead sets 1Y, wing needs to set 64Y. 29Y is an often used TACAN (in BMS) to select to find the tanker, because it's an easy combination to remember (tanker 92Y - client 29Y).

Also, as client you will see your own distance to the host. The host, however, will only see the distance to the nearest client. E.g. lead as host; 3 wingmen as client. The 3 wingmen see their distance as 1.2, 1.6 and 2.7; lead will only see 1.2.

Skip19 wrote:Aerobraking is used to slow the jet down, but only works at 13 degrees - you can get your AoA from the gun cross on the hud and where it sits in relation to the 10 degree line - once the wheels are down pull the nose up and you should slow down quicker.

Easier yet, use the AoA Indexer to the left of your HUD.

After touchdown, bring the nosewheel down softly at ±100kts, open speedbrakes to 60° (gear down limits speedbrakes to 43°, until there's WoW = Weight on Wheels), apply wheelbrakes and do not enable NWS before going below 80kts, unless you're at risk of heading off the runway.

Two-point braking is discouraged in bad conditions (contaminated runway conditions, heavy crosswind, tailwind), but be sure not to smash your nose gear on the tarmac at higher speeds.

Skip19 wrote:But we are getting there, I counted them all out and I counted them all back again, and considering the experience levels, I think we are not doing badly at all!

Keep up the good work.