Looks like a port from a phone game!
It is in the training missions I get messed up. I have no problem switching between attack modes (AA/AG), caging uncaging missiles, switching between hardpoints. Thatās all fine. But like in the AMRAAM training mission they want you to do some other stuffā¦ switching the right-hand MFD to some other kind of targeting mode, slewing (I think is the term) to highlight and box a target, and doing some other stuff. Thatās where I run into trouble. And like with guns. You can switch between boresight mode and funnel mode etc. I know I can click a bunch of stuff on the MFD to do that, but I need to be able to do that with my joystick and Iām not sure what thatās called, so I donāt know how to cycle those modes with my stick. Can you fill me in?
Stuff thatās done on the mfd is there for a reason. You rarely need to touch those buttons in the heat of combat. And quietly flying along, you can use a mouse, trackball or point ctrl unit to punch them.
I have never switched gun modes on the hornet, the default pipper is perfect to my needs.
You should have a mini stick on your throttle bound to TDC (target designator controller) which is used for cursor control in the jet. Use a hat on the stick to switch which display is controlled by it. A small dot in the upper right corner of the mfd will indicate when itās the one being used.
This seems wildly inconvenient and obtuse. But it also makes that you can do a LOT of things without ever taking your hands off the HOTAS, which is the point.
Can anyone recommend an inexpensive throttle to pair with my existing Thrustmaster T.16000M that I purchased a few years ago and still works great? Just canāt justify buying a complete new HOTAS setup when I already have half of one. My budget is under $50 (USD). Iām not hardcore about flight combat sims but it would be nice to have a functional HOTAS that I didnāt pay an arm and a leg for (the T.16000M was something like $30 when I bought it on sale from B&H Photo a few years agoā¦ now they typically retail for over $100, I think).
Your best bet with the T.16000M is the TWCS throttle; but itās $109 and currently hard to find at retail price.
I donāt know of any $50 throttlesā¦ Pre-MSFS/Covid Iād say pick up an old used CH Throttle but nowadays people are even gouging on those. Sadly I tossed an old Saitek throttle because the joystick wasnāt working about a year ago. Little did I know that would someday have value for folks.
If you canāt go $100-ish for the TWCS, your best bet is going to be watching used, or if you know someone with a 3D printer, you can make your own using an Arduino and 3D-printed parts for about $50.
By the way, a while ago I watched a video and Falcon 4 BMS is still around and seemingly doing surprisingly well. They really have improved a lot compared to what I saw a few years back. I only fiddled with it a little bit, the only annoyance being thereās no shortcut to the MFDs, so you have to move the mouse and zoom to look at one. Even the old 2d pit is gone. Thereās some way to set up custom views, but itās extremely complex and requires editing files in a not accessible wayā¦
I just checked and they released a major new version just before Christmas, hereās the changelog:
Itās a 2.3Gb file that unpacks to 9Gb, still requires a falcon4.exe laying around to actually install.
The documentation manuals in particular seem excellent.
This might just mean VR is in the future as well š
That is the exact first thing I thought of when I saw this.
Oh myā¦ I can only get so rigidā¦
That dynamic campaign in VRā¦ yeah thatās a real taint tickler there
Iām writing down all my joystick button assignments as I canāt remember them allā¦ is there a way I can view them in VR? Like upload it to my kneepad in DCS?
Also whatās CCW/CW stand for and should I have them assigned to my hotas?
Clockwise, counterclockwise? I dunno tbhā¦ context?
I learned playing jet hotas by first settting the thing up blindly following the guide. Then I took the interactive training combined with multiple excursions to the options screen. You push a button oe a hat in the controls screen, it tells you what its bound to unless free. This is how I take my inflight reminders of what did that button do again?
Yes there is a way to get a random pdf onto ypur kneeboard but itās a hassle.
But for getting a procedure down, the interactive training followed by a simple, short exercise mission is best imo. For many things there are quick missions under the instant action tab. The mission editor is worth getting to know too.
Say i want to learn agm-65 maverick. I set up a single jet, armed with as many missiles as possible. Ten miles away twenty trucks. Voila, have at it.
I keep forgetting that I can go to options and use the joystick and itāll take me to its binding. Thanks!
The CW and CCW are in relation to the MFDās. I re-did all my bindings based on the guide you linked last night, and it already feels 100% better.
And funny thing. I had a dream after that that I was in an F18 and had all Mavericks instead of sidewinders, and was launching them at planes anyways hoping one might somehow hit. Even though it was a dream I still couldnāt manage to make them do something theyāre totally not designed for lol.
Well, I have shot a helicopter with a mav onceā¦ ;)
I think those would be the brightness knobs, or maybe contrast? I donāt remember which ones the Bug has, exactly.
shakes fist in rotorhead
Using a Maverick for a laser-guided bombās job!
OMG I just remembered the rest of that dream. I was flying with your Friday night group @schurem . I was supposed to be flying CAP but I couldnāt figure out how to load air-to-air missiles. Everyone was getting irritated waiting on me so I chose the best option I could out of all the A/G options - the Mavericks. I knew I looked like a moron with 12 Mavericks loaded for an A/A job, so I was desperate, no frantic, to redeem myself. Here it was, the one job I could maybe handleā¦ A/A tasks, and I was flying around with a bunch of fat missiles. I thought if I could make just 1 kill while everyone in the group died, itād still be OK.
Welp, you would would have fit right in ;-) Last friday we mostly did urban helicopter combat. Gun armed Gazelles and Hueys in downtown Dubai. It was hilarious fun. Most often we do guns-only BFM. Either way, loading missiles often is not what fight club is about. It could be tho! Flying with someone on comms who sees what youāre seeing and explains is a fun and effective way to learn.
Whatās BFM?
Basic Fighter Maneuvers. Airplane Jiu Jitsu. The art and science of meeting another fighter aircraft and then driving it in such a way that you can shoot him, while making sure they canāt shoot you.
Modern missiles take most of the fun out of it, an AIM-9X can be shot over the shoulder even! No fun at all. But a guns-only dogfight is about the most fun thing you can do with an airplane. Takes some real skill to do it in a machine like the F-14.