DD_Fenrir

These guys have all played BoX recently... APHill Arthur Artie BadAim BluBear Crash Delta Fenrir FT Jabo Painless Perfesser Sheriff Siddly TOAD Wingflyr We gotta squadron baby!!!!

No takers? 474th FG based at A-78 Florennes, consisting: 428th Fighter Squadron - Callsign: "Geyser"; codes: "F5"; Tail marking: black square 429th Fighter Squadron - Callsign: "Retail", codes: "7Y"; Tail marking: black triangle 430th Fighter Squadron "The Backdoor Gang" - Callsign: "Backdoor", codes: "K6"; Tail marking: black circle With 16 of us we'd be a full squadron... 16 P-38s in one go!

When we starting a P-38 co-op campaign then chaps? 😁

Debrief: Good start last night gents - not to say there's no room for improvement, but plenty to be pleased with. Regards things to work on: 1. RPM - make sure once you are settled in formation in the cruise get the RPM back to the 2200-2500 range otherwise you'll be guzzling much more fuel than your leader. If your leader is on 2400, then aim to be 2450-2500 to give you a little more "bite" and RPM headroom for making the relevant throttle changes in order to catch up if you fall back slightly. 2. Make power changes much sooner than you think when re-joining; the planes decelerate/accelerate much more slowly than you anticipate so it's easy to overshoot, cut-power then end-up falling back too far because you re-apply power too late 3. If you're overshooting consider using lateral separation manoeuvres to try and stay behind your leader - use lateral rather than vertical as you will regain sight of your leader much more easily and will require less power changes and limit the problems outlined in point 2. If you have to use vertical separation, and you have room, go low to maintain visual. Going high causes all sorts of issues! 4. If you can, pull up as far forward on your leader as possible for the purpose of mutual protection - it's easier to check his tail, and just as (if not more!) importantly for him to check yours if you are almost along side.

I'm available tonight for a formation flying practice session. Will be on from 2000BST. DangerDogz server.

For those who've registered an interest I'll point you to here: https://no443sqn.wixsite.com/443squadron/copy-of-advanced-training Take note of the formation diagrams; some good clues as to what they're after. And don't worry if you're not exact, just at least attempt them. And if it's a bit too challenging push out a bit to where you're just mildly uncomfortable! Better a looser stable formation than a risky close. Biggest tips are to: a) trim, trim, trim, trim, TRIM! b) use stick displacements in the millimetric (or lower!) scale, particularly regards pitch c) make 3 small displacements not one big one d) be premature! Anticipate the correction and get it in a little sooner than you might expect - better to make it sooner and be a little too far out than too late and.. *crunch* e) once in a stable(ish) formation get the the rudder trimmed and avoid making formation corrections on the rudder - use small/med-small aileron corrections as the spit rudder is a bit twitchy, unless... f) large power changes affect rudder trim; be aware that if you're overtaking your leader and chop power, the nose will move right. Alternatively if you're falling back and increase throttle the nose will move left. Depending on where you are in the formation that might either push you out from your leader or pull you toward him so get ready to correct with either rudder (small smooth inputs required) or aileron (safer but looks a little sloppier)

FT you are one-in-a-million. Thanks bro!

That was bloody marvellous!

Another unusual Tuesday release for update to Stable Release. Plenty to digest, in particular fixes to the tree shadows and the AI in a No-render dedicated server environment are particular highlights for me:

The ideal is: 2000-2230BST/GMT, arrival and chat 2030 Briefing 2100 in cockpit ~2200 landing & disco 2200-2230 Debrief

Sorry I missed last nights Dogz DCS eve chaps, but I had been invited to partake in a Multiplayer campaign for the Spitfire Mk.IX on the Normandy Map and thought I'd check it out, partially cos it's something I have always wished to do but also because I could see an opportunity for more Dogz to get involved if they so desired. Wiggy of 443 Sqn chased me down after seeing some of my YouTube content, and having had a chat he's happy to extend the invitation to the wider Dogz. Here's Wiggy's overview: I played Mission 6 as Red 2, winging the Squadron Leader. We were dive-bombing a bridge near Carentan, having taken off from Funtingdon in England and flown at wave-top height in formation (which we changed using signals only) cross-channel in the early evening sun, climbing to Angels 8 about two thirds the way across, and hitting the French coast - all without having to use comms! We switched formation from finger four to line astern as we ran into target and commenced our attack dives with 3-second separation; we all dive bombed the target, and whilst were all close, no-one actually hit the bridge - darn! AAA was pretty intense and on our egress and climb-out we bumped into a flight of 109s and had a proper scrap! I was hanging on to Red 1's tail as best I could through a series of gyrations when someone called I had a bandit sizing me up; a 109 was converging from my 7 and I had to break hard to avoid a volley of lead that passed a little too close aft of my rudder! Fortunately, White 1 was on him and clobbered him as he overshot me. As I tried to regain a visual on Red 1 I spotted an aircraft at 9 low that was set to pass under me and as it closed I was able to ID it as a bandit. I performed a hard split-S rolling on the way down to drop on his 6 and as he pulled up and left gave him a good deflection burst; he was under my nose so couldn't see the results and as I relaxed the turn to re-acquire him, he appeared undamaged. So I re-saddled up as he levelled and then broke right, with me cutting inside and pulling in closer for a better shot. My next burst clobbered him properly and down he went! After that I found a Spit to join with (turned out to be White 1) and the skies seemed to have cleared so we managed to get everybody reformed and cruised back across the Channel basking in the golden light of a setting sun. Prior to landing we switched into echelon formation and ran into break in sections; it was getting pretty dark by then so landing was not as easy at it could have been but we all made it down safe and ambled back to our respective dispersals and shut down. Phew! If the sound of this floats your boat, have a wander over to the 443 website and have a peruse: https://no443sqn.wixsite.com/443squadron Some interesting documentation over there too that is relevant outside of the campaign environment so worth a shuftie... So, to summarise: No icons/labels F2 own a/c only view proficient formation keeping required (doesn't have to be Blue Angels but you will need to maintain a reasonably consistent position) No F10 map icons so navigation can be challenging if you're not experienced and get separated and have forgotten the cardinal headings to get home. However, provided you can stay within the vicinity of your flight lead, they'll do the work for you. Un-mission related comms chatter to a minimum. What is required: OpenBeta (there are ways to switch your install to this version - and back again - if you only have Stable) Spitfire LF.IX Module Normandy Map Module WW2 Asset Pack Module A freeware WW2 Units ModPack (available from 443 Sqn) Simple Radio Standalone 1.6.1.0 Discord - similar to Teamspeak used for pre-flight meet, Briefings & Debrief Missions are run on Thursdays if sufficient people are available to make it worthwhile. Whether we do this every week... I dunno. I still get a hankering for AVTUR and would miss my Tomcat too much I fear! Plus I wanna be available as the Dogz DCS Guru to those Dogz not wishing to partake in the campaign. We can discuss this aspect further going forward. If you want to take part but are concerned about your proficiency then Wiggy runs an OTU training course to help bring you up to speed, and I of course will happily jump on our DCS server and assist anyone who wants to finesse any aspect of their flying that they may feel is not quite up to the levels demanded by the campaign on any evening after 2230 BST/GMT. Let me know your thoughts chaps.

As it rightly should. I knew there was a reason I liked you Arthur.

Looks pretty interesting, however... Note that these features are part of a separate paid addon module and will not be replacing/enhancing the current carriers we use in game.

Some nice F-14 Skins I picked up: https://www.digitalcombatsimulator.com/en/files/3305925/ https://www.digitalcombatsimulator.com/en/files/3305797/ P-51 skins for those who don't have yet: https://www.digitalcombatsimulator.com/en/files/2828272/ https://www.digitalcombatsimulator.com/en/files/2421733/ https://www.digitalcombatsimulator.com/en/files/2421585/

Two things: 1. A-4E Mod is updated to version 1.31. Changelog: Available here: https://github.com/heclak/community-a4e-c/releases/ 2. A pdf version of the original (real) "Tactical Pocket Guide for the Douglas A-4 Aircraft" with bomb tables for optimum settings for various weapons is avaible here: http://aviationarchives.blogspot.com/2016/10/douglas-4ta-4-skyhawk-tactical-pocket.html Someone's tested out the data against the DCS Skyhawk and apparently, it works!

Hi Chaps, Any help on this issue would be gratefully recieved. Got this warning after an attempted update: https://support.microsoft.com/en-us/help/4514156/updating-to-windows-10-version-1903-on-devices-with-certain-versions-o So hit the Intel driver link at the bottom: https://downloadcenter.intel.com/download/28656/Intel-Rapid-Storage-Technology-Intel-RST-User-Interface-and-Driver However I've no idea which applies to my hardware. Any ideas?

Ok Mick. It's very situation dependant. RWS (Range While Search) Mode Has longest detection range Has widest/tallest search areas available to the radar Only directly provides bearing & range to a contact (altitude can be worked out roughly by antenna elevation but that's more an intermediate level skill) Cannot ID contacts as friendly/unknown/hostile (in F-14) Cannot generate a track so target aspect/heading unknown Cannot be used to launch/guide weapons Best situation to use: Cruisin' , looking for something interesting. (Generally not a good idea to be in midst dogfight... but never say never!) TWS (Track While Scan) Mode Has shorter detection range than RWS Search areas available to the radar are more limited so as to maintain a contact update of under 2 seconds (needed for tracking functionality) Provides bearing, range & now altitude to a contact Can generate a track of contact(s) so target aspect/heading now is known Can ID contacts as friendly/unknown/hostile Can track multiple targets whilst maintaining scan of surrounding area to improve Situational Awareness (SA) Can be used to simultaneous launch/guide multiple Fox-3 type (Active Radar Homing (ARH); AIM-54 Phoenix, AIM-120 AMRAAM and R-77) weapons Cannot guide Fox-1 type (Semi-Active Radar Homing (SARH); AIM-7 Sparrow, Matra Super 530 and R-27R/ER) weapons Best situations to use: Found something interesting, could be bad guys, let's find out! Is bad guys! Let's engage Beyond Visual Range (BVR) with multiple badass boom-sticks! STT (Single Target Track) Mode Has similar range restriction as TWS Used to lock the radar antenna to Track a Single Target - hence Single Target Track (STT) Cannot track multiple targets simultaneously Cannot maintain scan of surrounding area to improve Situational Awareness (SA) during track of target Can be used to launch guide all A2A weapon types, however... Primarily designed to guide Fox-1 type (Semi-Active Radar Homing (SARH); AIM-7 Sparrow, Matra Super 530 and R-27R/ER) weapons Best situations to use: Run out of Phoenixes! Bad guys still inbound! Pick the most dangerous and lock him up for a Sparrow shot! Approaching a furball at BVR distance and want to help my mates out without accidentally shooting one of them down. Want to target a specific bogey for a BVR Phoenix shot to avoid my wingman and I shooting two missiles at the same target In the F-14 all these BVR modes have to be asked for from your RIO; if you have a breather in back then ask him nicely over TS; if Jester is back there then you request the various modes via his Menu. For those flying the single seater a/c, you will have the means to choose these yourself as pilot. As for symbology (F-14 specific): Unknown Unknown sensor track in RWS, TWS and STT modes. Hostile Track in TWS and STT modes designated as hostile by RIO. Friend Track in TWS and STT modes designated as friendly by RIO. Home base Waypoint representing home base, carrier or airfield. Waypoint WCS navigational waypoint, supplanted by number indicating waypoint 1, 2 or 3. Altitude Numerics When altitude numerics are selected for display a number on the left side of the tracks indicate track altitude to nearest ten thousands of feet. The number four as an examples indicate an altitude between 35,000 and 45,000 feet. Available on radar and data link tracks. Firing Order Numerics Indicates AIM-54 phoenix target prioritization (1 to 6) in WCS when in the TWS mode. Next missile launch will target track with number 1 and remove the number from that track to advance the other 5 track numbers one step to prepare for next launch. Mandatory attack selection on a target forces the WCS to always include that target in the prioritization. Next launch selection automatically sets hooked target as number one in the prioritization queue. Time-to-Impact (TTI) After AIM-54 launch the firing order number on a track is replaced with the TTI or time-to-impact indication, showing WCS calculated time until missile intercepts the target track. When the AIM-54 active command is sent the TTI numbers flash to indicate this. Velocity Vector Velocity vector emanating from center dot of tracks when velocity vector display is selected. Vector direction represents track heading and length represents track speed so that the max indicated speed (1 800 knots) is 1.5 inches on the TID. In TID ground stabilized mode the vector direction represents track true heading and the vector length represents track ground speed. In TID aircraft stabilized and attack modes the vector direction represents track relative heading (to own aircraft) and the vector length represents track speed relative to own aircraft.

As a visual aid as to what the Bar search pattern looks like: Note that, depending on the aircraft radar, that 1 bar search pattern is only 2-3° tall... not very much!

Ok gents, first thanks for attending. Second, for some reason the plan to record the session for eventual upload did not go to plan; tech issues, got to do some more figuring out with shadowplay and VR to get the format and sound working properly. Third, we only managed to cover the Beyond Visual Range (BVR) aspects of radar use - in hindsight, I was perhaps a little optimistic of covering all those options in an hour, but no great loss, we'll cover the Within Visual Range (WVR)/Air Combat Manoeuvering (ACM) modes next time. To summarise, we looked at: RWS (Range While Search) Mode TWS/LTWS (Track While Scan/Latent Track While Scan) Mode STT (Single Target Track) Mode If you have any further questions or require clarifications, then please put them in this thread. I will address them as promptly as I can. Lastly, I would welcome any feedback you guys have; ultimately these sessions are designed to help you - if you aren't learning something then then I'm doing something wrong, so please say what I can do to improve the situation. Cheers guys. Fen

Ladies, gents and those of a non-binary gender persuasion, This coming Monday July 29th at 2230BST, I will be hosting the first of my After-hours DCS Training Sessions, starting with Radar Modes, to give you guys a better understanding of what they are for, when to use them and what limitations they have. Primarily for F-14, F-15 & F/A-18 though some of content will be applicable to MiG-29, Su27/33, J-11 and M2000c and to a lesser extent the F-5. I will create a specific mission for this task which I send to FT and ask him very politely if you would mind loading to our DCS server for hosting for the occasion. I will endeavor to record the session for upload to youtube for those wanting but unable to attend to benefit. What you need to do before you start is at the very least be familiar your particular key mappings/cockpit switchology for (and assign if necessary) RWS (Range While Search) Mode (F-15C & F/A18C) TWS/LTWS (Track While Scan/Latent Track While Scan) Mode (F-15C & F/A18C) STT (Single Target Track) Mode - often noted as lock target PAL (Pilot Automatic Lock) Mode (F-14 only) Pilot Lock On Mode/Boresight (F-14 only) VSL (Vertical Acquisition) Modes

A Japanese 3.7l V6 vs an American 5.0l V8? Lol! Think you've lost that competition before Dad runs out of fuel trying to get to the Start line!

So for the benefit of those who didn't get to Flying Legends this year...