Aireal Refueling
-
Thanks Wolf I’ll try it and see if it works. It just seems from 4.32/4.33 AR has changed, from pre-contact to hookup seem way harder. I’ve tried throttle curve adjustments on the warthog but no change. Do you think it could be the graphic drivers causing a problem?
If you have unusually low frame rates I imagine it could make things more difficult.
AAR has changed from 4.32 to 4.33. Finding the right contact position is a little harder. Staying in the ‘box’ is harder …… more small control inputs to hold position … that is where the feeling of being ‘locked in’ in 4.32 happened.
-
Agave_Blue I see, is there a box of acceptance for pre- contact around the boom and if so how large of range is the lateral and vertical pocket?
-
Agave_Blue I see, is there a box of acceptance for pre- contact around the boom and if so how large of range is the lateral and vertical pocket?
Put your nose in the boom and stabilize speed you will get contact clearance
-
Agave_Blue I see, is there a box of acceptance for pre- contact around the boom and if so how large of range is the lateral and vertical pocket?
I meant in contact.
Pre-contact …. put your gun cross on the tip of the boom. Fly forward slowly. Stabilize with the boom just forward of your windscreen.
I have not noticed any difference in pre-contact position in 4.32 v 4.33.
-
Just because I didn’t see you mention it, fuel door must be open or you will never be cleared to contact position.
I’ve forgotten this step once or twice myself and seen others do the same. The question is always the same, “what’s the matter with that idiot boomer”. LOL
-
Roger that
-
AAR in the Viper is a snap given time, but I can’t get a grip on it in the Hornet.
-
mower in the hornet, the trick is to not look at the boom. focus on the lights.
-
mower in the hornet, the trick is to not look at the boom. focus on the lights.
Lol i do the exact opposite, try putting the seat alignment cross (top right corner of the HUD) on the boom (use this like you would the gun cross on the viper Mower. This is how we teach the guys just getting into the hornet amd its yet to fail me yet, once connected i fly the colors on the boom rather then craning my head around the canopy rail to see the tanker lights.
Sent from my SM-G920W8 using Tapatalk
-
I set my view up so i can see the lights.
-
Real nice. But with a RL KC-10 I think the Hornet pilot ignores the lights and just flies form on the basket with the probe - as seen in this pic of a hose/drogue equipped KC-10, the Operator has no ability to steer the hose - it just free flies.
http://media.defenceindustrydaily.com/images/AIR_KC-10_Drogues_F-18C_Nimitz_lg.jpg
In this pic things seem particularly stretched out, but bottom line is that it’s up to the Hornet driver not to hit the basket too hard and set up a whip wave in the hose…which can rip the probe right out of the nose of the jet - seen the aftermath of that, in RL. Do that and you’re really…
-
I too am battling refueling. But i am getting closer will nail it one day. Wondering if getting track ir will help
-
It is indeed tough I can’t hold speed or altitude. The tanker keeps going up and down and I end up crashing into it
-
TrackIR definitely helps.
I don’t know exactly how to put it in words but AAR is flying formation with the tanker. And flying formation is helped immeasurably by looking at the tanker, really looking at it as a whole. I used to just see the tanker or parts of the tanker. Yup, it’s there and I’m under it, but that isn’t good enough. When you really, truly watch the tanker you can sense very small relative motion. When something is perfectly still it has a certain look to it. If a giant granite boulder or house slowly moved a few centimeters per second it would be perceptible. Buildings and big rocks aren’t supposed to move.
That’s the kind of motion perception that helps a lot in AAR, seeing movements on the scale of cm per second. The HUD and airspeed gauge are nowhere near as precise as your monkey brain really watching the other airplane. Look for tiny motions near the tanker and watch for when you genuinely become still as a rock. It looks a certain way. Don’t be satisfied with kinda sorta slowly drifting around back there. Look for those tiny motions and frozen stops and always work to correct them (calmly smoothly).
-
I’ve found it to be the opposite. I use TrackIR but I disable it and use the fixed “3” view once I’m in the vicinity. When the “view” does not move, it’s easier to notice if the tanker is drifting and I can adjust for it. With TrackIR on, that “drift” may just be due to my head movement and I don’t really need to move the jet. With TrackIR off, any drift is between the two aircraft and needs to be addressed.
-
I’ve found it to be the opposite. I use TrackIR but I disable it and use the fixed “3” view once I’m in the vicinity. When the “view” does not move, it’s easier to notice if the tanker is drifting and I can adjust for it. With TrackIR on, that “drift” may just be due to my head movement and I don’t really need to move the jet. With TrackIR off, any drift is between the two aircraft and needs to be addressed.
I have found a similar thing with formation in general, although Ive also found that its much more pronounced with 6DOF than 3DOF trackers (EDTracker is much more stable a platform as a result of its limited freedom).
I am curious how significant (if at all) this effect is with VR?
-
I am curious how significant (if at all) this effect is with VR?
Not sure but would think the depth of perception that the 3D view brings would help more.
FWIW I still use 6DOF TrackIR when refueling, but I have a big center dead spot due to my triple screen setup (which I think helps too).
It’s been linked in another AAR thread that and can’t remember who did but in general this manual is pretty good for formation flight basics:
-
Snake, any chance of getting your TIR profile? I’ve been experimenting with putting a deadzone as well and would love to see what you’ve done.
-
Hey Ice, sorry I haven’t forgotten you, I just wasn’t able to get on my sim computer last night. Hopefully tonight.
In general, I do like the extra DOFs TIR provides but I have my forward and back set to the more natural translation than FOV angle which IIRC is an option. FOV is set to my X65 throttle scroll wheel. The night before last I ran a couple AARs and found that with my new chair that has a headrest that by using it I can pretty much cancel out the extra DOFs movement and be a little more comfortable to boot, but still have them for later in the mission to look around things (like HUD frame) or get close up on a switch if need be.
One other thing if you run a high closure rate up to the tanker, keep your smart scaling setting in mind. I’m in general a believer in smart scaling to make up for lack of visual detail that comes from lower monitor DPI. But I had mine set to about 1.3nm to have it turn off at max gun range, but it caused me to not perceive my closure rate as well (and others have mentioned that before too). I’m upping the setting to about 2nm for now.
-
Here are some tips from my experience refueling. Hope it helps.
- Use the Bingo DED page (LIST -> 2) to monitor the state of the refueling without having to look all the way down
- Don’t try to be perfect green all the time. This can end in overcontrolling and make things harder. Green-yellow is perfectly fine. Start correcting when the light goes yellow only.
- Don’t focus on the director lights. Look at the body of the tanker to feel how are you moving relative to it.
- Use the throttle in advance (or proactively, or whatever its called). If you have to move forward, advance the throttle slightly. When you start moving forward, put the throttle back on the position where it was.
- Don’t rely solely on the director lighs, as they just get their info from the vertical angle and extension of the boom, not the real position of the receiving plane. For example, if you are low, the boom can be extended too, so the lights will tell you you have to go forward and up. If you do that, you will end at altitude but too far forward. Instead, if you just climb a bit, the boom will retract too and the lights will go green.