Training Range Varieties - Request Feature
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The feature request is the use of adding a variety of interesting arrangements of targets , strafing and objects types to training range layouts. In either open land and along mountain top or valley terrain across all theaters. Either as mods or developed into as terrain choices, something like the below videos after digging around, so post your thoughts if any interested.
This would add challenging circumstances to training rather than just Korea open KOTAR range available.
Added some images as an idea to help
I am not sure if it can be done but would be great to have a variety offering many situations where angles of approach and levels of difficulties differ for many types of weapons and systems to be used. Open for a discussion?
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Hi Reaperdog1,
This is only a very small step in the direction you’ve described, but I did something like this for learning how to use WDP (Weapon Delivery Planner) to plan popup attacks.
I took the LGB training mission, and turned it into a single-ship training mission to drop Mk82 dumb bombs on the red transport crane at the Pupo-Ri naval base, with no enemy opposition. [Edit: It’s actually a two-ship. I must have found a way to remove my wingman in an earlier version I made, perhaps in the 4.35 days. I think I didn’t get around to removing the wingman when I made the 4.36 version.]
I copied the LGB training mission files to my desktop, gave them new names, and changed the “.trn” extension (for one of the files) to “.tac”, and then saved the renamed files into my Campaign folder.
Now, when I want to run this homemade training mission, I start the sim, click on Tactical Engagement, and then on Saved, and I see “Pupo_Ri_popup” as one of the TEs I can fly.
Here is a Google Drive folder with those files:
https://drive.google.com/drive/folders/1WI380KEW2Lw2S2JbMx4qyuecRvqByzTm?usp=sharing
I don’t know much about sharing Google Drive folders; hopefully you can download those files if you want.
Here are some more things I do in order to make that mission work:
I set up the Popup page in WDP with the parameters shown in this image:
https://drive.google.com/file/d/1YPNogYQmurJjo2QU_Opbgxp1k1nDcgky/view?usp=sharing
I set the SMS weapon settings like this, so that all four Mk-82’s come off my jet at once:
https://drive.google.com/file/d/1vrF5tpcLFbWk3D9bRuMnlcXjPnYn8mjb/view?usp=sharing
I also set Master Arm to ARM in WDP before saving the DTC.
While I’m still in 2D, before stepping to the 3D jet, I select the red transport crane as STPT 7, a target steerpoint.
Once I spawn into the aircraft, things happen fairly quickly, since I’m already inbound over the water towards the crane. I make sure I’m at about 570 or 580 feet above the water. I steer to the right a bit before centering my steering on the TD box, so that the diamond, the square, and the circle (which are all at about 570 feet MSL) are superimposed on top of each other. This puts me on the intended run-in course to the target.
I pass the VRP between 8.5 and 9 nm from the target (say around 8.8 nm), and hit the PUP point at about 4.3 nm from the target.
Having all four Mk-82s come off at once increases my chance of actually destroying that pesky red crane.
The reason I did all this is because I had trouble learning WDP and popup attacks at KOTAR. I found that the HUD symbology for computed popup attacks isn’t well designed for lumpy, mountainous terrain like the terrain around KOTAR. I kept getting VRP and PUP symbols that were either underground or too high. So I decided to try and make a mission that came in over the water, to give myself a nice, level surface, above which the VRP, PUP, and OA2 points appear to float like little glowy, geometric balloons.
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Fantastic - nice. Although not what I was requesting to be exact but helpful to first post and the very reason why a variety of Training Ranges is needed in each Theater for types of approach profiles and tactics using various F-16 systems as illustrated in first post. Thanks though for effort, point proven!