Distance to tanker in feet
-
Hi pilots,
I’m currently flying the air refueling training mission.
If I’ll go by the book (the manual) its says:
Over 2 nm = 100 kts overtake and to decrease 10 kts every 1000 ft closure.I have two questions:
1. How can I tell the distance in feet?
2. Do you really follow this rule? Or maybe you are just using your eyes to guide you.Thank you.
-
I mostly use my eyes. Generally, 100kts until you’re within 2nm, and then start bleeding speed at a rate that will put you near the tanker’s tail with 1-2kts of overtake. 2nm is 12000ft, you can round that to 10000ft, so that it’s 10kts per 0.1nm, but don’t worry too much about the exact numbers. Rejoin, by itself, does not require much precision, so don’t treat it like a precision maneuver, as long as the end result is you behind the tanker at a speed close enough not to overshoot, you’re good.
-
What I typically do is to approach the tanker not from directly behind, but from his 8 o’clock position.
So, generally approaching him with cruise speed (100+ kts of overtake) until Im at about 1-2nm out, then kicking out to a very wide echelon left-ish position.With this approach, I’m nicely sliding into the “waiting line position” on the tankers left side, other human players can easily acquire visual on me, and (most of all)
I can nicely judge my close-up speed because the tanker moves horizontally on my right side canopy, instead of just growing bigger on my windscreen.
Especially the closure judgment based on the “growing bigger” part often is impaired by smart scaling, resulting in overshoots.Rejoining from the left works a lot better for me, I rarely overshoot now, even when in a hurry.
-
Thank you for the replies guys.
-
Hi pilots,
I’m currently flying the air refueling training mission.
If I’ll go by the book (the manual) its says:
Over 2 nm = 100 kts overtake and to decrease 10 kts every 1000 ft closure.I have two questions:
1. How can I tell the distance in feet?
2. Do you really follow this rule? Or maybe you are just using your eyes to guide you.Thank you.
In the beginning, I’d recommend using the A-A TACAN to see the distance to the tanker on your DED in NM. 1 NM is equals approximately 6000 ft.
-
Back in the day, a 1/2 mile radio check was mandatory. I’m assuming it’s still in effect. That being said, I approach the tanker with it bugged/locked on radar. I bleed off speed depending on the distance readout. When the distance in the HUD shows approximately 1/2 mile, I snooze the radar and proceed visually.