No, it's not a happy day because DCS just announced officially the UH-1H module for World. Yes, yes, it's a Huey, an iconic bird, a plane of fame...blah blah blah. Will I buy it and fly it? Yes of course even though I still believe it's a complete waste of development time and energy as, just like the P-51, it has no place in the sim's current configuration. You want to make the case for future regions and OPFOR object libraries? Great. So why not wait until there is a region for SE Asia before building a Vietnam-era UH-1? Or a WWII region and object library before building a P-51? To continue pumping out these museum pieces for a sim that only provides a modern battlefield right now makes absolutely no sense. Especially when you take into account that there are some really gorgeous models already in the game begging for a cockpit and flight model. I mean, could you imagine the reception an F-16 or Tornado would get? Or if you seriously wanted to produce a top-notch helicopter, one need only look at the AI models already in game to choose a beauty that would have fit right in. But alas...
My ranting aside, it is a happy day for one very specific reason regarding the announcement of the UH-1. It's the little line in the announcement that reads as follows:
"The UH-1H will also be the first DCS aircraft to offer multiple player positions, including pilot, co-pilot, and door gunner."
This means that DCS:Holy Grail has been found. As we move forward from this point, the possibilities abound from the lowly 2-seat trainer affording the noob an opportunity to have the more experienced aviator fly with and help them make adjustments as needed on the fly to aircraft like the F-15E allowing for shared workload between pilot and WSO, or...dare I say? (Dare, dare!) The Apache with both pilot and Co-pilot/Gunner stations. So like I said, it really is a happy day. No one will ever be able to talk me off my position on the rationale behind making the H-model Huey, but I sure am grateful they did.
Friday, October 5, 2012
From what they just showed in the latest DCS World promo, the next DCS aircraft is going to be the UH-1 Huey. Now, I love the Huey. I think everyone loves the Huey. But why on God's green Earth would you make one for this sim????? This is almost as bad as them making the P-51. And it's not even a modernized UH-1Y or Griffon. It's an old H model by the looks of it. I hate to say it, but what a complete waste of development time and energy. A "Whiskey" Snake I could understand. A Lynx, Blackhawk, Chinook, or Kiowa would fit. Hell an Mi-8 would make sense. But a Vietnam-era UH-1 in a sim set in the Caucuses????? DCS seriously needs to rethink the name of their group. I think ADD is much more fitting as it's now obvious these guys have their heads pulling in five different directions all at the same time. I'm sure it will be a great module. I'm sure I'll buy and fly the holy shit out of it. I just wish these guys would get their heads screwed back on straight with a clear vision of purpose for this series. Anyway, here's the video. Great scenes of a P-51 engaging a 23mm mounted on a Ural. How's that for realism!
It's wonderful to see how the DCS brand seems to be gathering steam. Ever since they took the "Red Pill" and opened up the software to 3rd party development, the DCS world (pun intended) has been ever growing. Not a day goes by there isn't some announcement about a new DCS project in development. As it stands now, the following aircraft are under development by 3rd parties:
IRIS F-15E Strike Eagle
IRIS F-14(x) Tomcat
IRIS BD-5 Microjet (Why I ask myself...why???)
IRIS F-22 Raptor
IRIS T-38
IRIS (Unnamed Turboprop Trainers)
RAZBAM AV-8B Harrier
RAZBAM T-2 Buckeye (Again....WHY????)
RAZBAM F-15E Strike Eagle (Johnny Come Lately if you ask me...should put resources into something else)
RAZBAM Mirage 2000? (As yet unconfirmed)
DCS: MiG-21 Bis
VEAW DCS: BAE Hawk
VEAW DCS: Eurofighter Typhoon
DCS: MiG-21Bis
There are also a number of unconfirmed projects floating around out there. The rumor mill has a Spanish development group working on a Mirage F.1 and an Italian group working on an F-104 Starfighter. Although in the very very very early stages, there are also ongoing posts in the DCS forums regarding a freeware (nice to see) Gazelle helicopter and an F/A-18E Super Hornet.
Virtual Patriots L-39
So, it appears the future for DCS is burning brighter than ever. I do believe that once the long awaited Nevada region is released with the new EDGE scenery engine we will most likely see yet another increase in DCS development. This time it will be new regions in which to fly. These are exciting times boys and girls!
Thursday, September 6, 2012
So I figure we open the blog up with the topic of coordinating actions between the A-10 and the Ka-50 drivers. Of course the DCS: Politburo decided to adhere to strict realism when creating the two aircraft, and in doing so did not give them a common datalink network. Yes this is realistic. However, it just isn't practical when you have pilots in a multiplayer environment flying on the same side wanting to share information with each other. So being the ever resourceful aviators that we are, we improvise, adapt, and overcome.
So what do we have at our disposal, how do we use it, and what are the limitations? Well, the big ticket item we have is the radio/Teamspeak. The next are our on-board moving map and targeting displays. Lastly, we have the "F10" map. So how do we use them to our advantage? Let's say we have an enemy column sighted by the Ka-50 pilot who is maintaining a concealed observation position. Overhead beyond the enemy threat envelope is our A-10 pilot flying along fat, dumb, and happy at say Angels 17.
Now the Ka-50 driver needs to get the A-10 guy's eyes pointed in the right direction. First thing he needs to know is a rough position of the enemy force. Notice I said "rough position". Understanding each other's capabilities is paramount. The Ka-50 pilot needs to know that the A-10C has some very good optical sensors on board, and that getting those sensors pointed at the general area of a known target is usually good enough. The A-10 pilot can then make a quick survey, and more likely than not, detect and sort the targets. Therefore, the location data must be passed along in a format manageable by the A-10 pilot. Unfortunately the default Lat/Lon in decimal format displayed on the Ka-50 ABRIS is not good data for the A-10 pilot. It is therefore necessary for the Ka-50 pilot to adapt his gear for the task at hand. In the ABRIS Setup menu is an option for Lat/Lon format. Prior to lift each mission where coordination will be expected, Ka-50 pilots should always verify they are displaying Lat/Lon in standard not decimal format. The A-10 pilot has the ability to set his cockpit displays and enter targeting data using the standard format. Once both airmen are on the same page, coordination is fairly simple. The Ka-50 pilot does a "Target Store" on the ABRIS, and verifies the standard format Lat/Lon of the target. He then calls up the A-10 pilot on Teamspeak and passes on the targeting grid along with any other pertinent information. The A-10 pilot has enough information now to successfully enter the grid into his nav computer and place his targeting pod in the vicinity of the target.
This also works the other way. Say an A-10 pilot spots a target the Ka-50 should prosecute. Again, using the standard Lat/Lon format, the A-10 pilot calls up the Ka-50 pilot and passes along the data. Unfortunately for the Ka-50 pilot, he does not have the luxury of simply plugging in the numbers exactly. He has one of two options. The first option is to keep a calculator handy with the decimal conversion formula handy so as to convert the standard Lat/Lon to decimal format prior to entering the data into the PVI. It can be done, but....what a pain in the arse. Option number two is to basically just move the ABRIS cursor until it is in the neighborhood of the required coordinates, mark the position, and go from there. Depending on threat environment, the Ka-50 pilot could also request a smoke mark on or near the target from the A-10 if it's available. A third option for coordinating both ways is to use MGRS grids on the F10 map and a plain-english talk-on from there. The in-cockpit map displays on both the Ka-50 and the A-10C are detailed enough to allow for a talk-on via the F10 map to a known landmark, and then for the pilots to switch back into the cockpit and locate it on the displayed moving map. Again, once the pilots have their eyes pointed in the right direction, locating the enemy should be fairly straightforward from there. This method may be preferred when passing data from the A-10 crews to the Ka-50 crews as it might actually be quicker for the helicopter pilot to get his eyes on target via talk-on to a landmark either visible or on the ABRIS map.
To recap,
Ka-50 pilots should always set the ABRIS to display Standard Lat/Lon
Don't be anal about the target coordinates, just get the other pilot looking in the neighborhood of where the target is located
All participating airmen need to agree as to which forms of coordination will be used prior to the mission start.
A plain-english talk-on using the F10 map may be the best way to coordinate A-10 to Ka-50.
