@rmax:

How different are the military approach plates?

Each nation uses a slightly different page layout. US military uses a format standardized with the US FAA, previously known as NOS now called NOCA or AeroNav. As a civilian light airplane pilot I use the same charts as a US military guy, albeit in digital format via a product called ForeFlight. You can find PDF versions here. Most US airlines now use an Electronic Flight Bag with digital plates. Most US airlines use Jeppesen plates that have something called a briefing strip across the top. IMO the briefing strip simply provides a more logical organization of the approach information.

FWIW the Luftwaffe published a small volume of local VFR traffic patterns for all airfields in Germany. The US did not. Guys in my squadron in Germany like to stop for gas at Luftwaffe bases and grab one.

@Fox3TwoShip:

So I tested the first “bug” in the jet a couple days ago and this is how it worked. One thing I did notice, however, is that the steering line should be lined up with the TD container when the FPM is centered on the steering line no matter what the winds are. When you have the FPM displaced left of the steering line, the steering line is left of the TD container. When you have the FPM displaced right of the steering line, the steering line is right of the TD container.

Juvat?

@Fish44:

Had not seen them before now. They look very well made. And if it protects me health for a few years, then they are worth it.

My surgically repaired R shoulder is grateful for these mounts.

If you moved from the desk to those, what did you do with your monitor/s, how much did you have to move them if any?

I did not have to re-arrange anything.

FYI once the order ships, it takes between 2-3 weeks to arrive. They ship via DHL, package goes to Frankfurt and is handed off to the US Postal Service. Then it gets put on a boat (USPS tracking will only show it having been scanned in Frankfurt but NOT in transit) and if you opt for text alerts you will know when it gets off the boat in NJ. But between the handoff in Frankfurt and it getting scanned in NJ, the USPS is unable to provide ANY tracking info. That can be disconcerting, but I queried the MonsterTech guys and they provided the transit time.

Add in shipping and handling…$240 to the States. FWIW they’re examples of superb German craftsmanship.

@Fish44:

I just got a dose ‘Olecranon bursitis’ on my stick hand, after a few hours in the sim. Dident really notice it during flying, but woke up with it. Unfortunately i have my stick and throttle on the desk, and did not have any protection for the elbow directly against the desk. I’m guessing, resting it on a wrist pad, or something similar would prevented it.

Have you considered MonsterTech table mounts? I have them, and I place the joystick between my knees so I can rest my elbow on my thigh.

My alibi is that it has been 28 years since my last AAR. But I could feel the connection most of the time.

Why? A little background. The airplane’s crew chief would periodically lube the receiver hardware (don’t recall the frequency). However it was not uncommon for the receiver hardware to fail to latch on to the boom. If that happened the boomer would send you back to pre-contact and have you cycle your IFR door. If the problem persisted, the boomer might “stab” the boom into the receptacle to get it to latch. So ISTR some boomers’ technique to smoothly stab you on their first try. I don’t think it’s my imagination that I heard a very quiet “ka-thunk” (two syllables) in the F-16 but I definitely heard and felt it in the RF-4C. I remember refueling from the backseat and knowing the boom had contact by the feel and the “ka-thunk” (couldn’t see the director lights while backseat refueling, but could see them if the guy in front was.) And as an aside, I can say with complete confidence that until I had a dozen or 30 AAR hookups in the RF-4, I was always squeezing the shit out of stick grip. Then one day a very cool WSO says, “Hey mind if I try.” WSOs were NOT permitted to refuel. I gave him the jet and he smoothly drove in, took a thousand pounds, disconnected, slid back to pre-contact, said “Thanks, your aerospace training device” all the while humming. And magically it was like ALL the self-inflicted pressure was gone, even with all the trimming while on the boom and often having to put one throttle in minimum burner and the opposite less than Mil to stay on the boom. In comparison refueling the F-16 was an absolute piece of cake.

[edit] Regarding a two syllable sound, I suppose that might have been a result of the boom making contact with the fuselage spine (RF-4) or IFR door (F-16) and then sliding into the receptacle. It was quite common to find rub marks around the IFR door where the boom had made contact. So if the boomer simply stabbed/plugged you cleanly it would just be “thunk.”

Don’t take my word for the feel and sound in the F-16, see what Fox3TwoShip says.

@jhook:

But for those who love doggie style, there is the dance!

Forgive my ignorance, but I feel like I’m in the Monty Python RAF banter sketch.

@eliot323:

RhoBee
Thanks for posting these articles. They are great!

You’re welcome. I always sought out the FWR issues that had articles on air-to-air. The OOP, RoB, and Jink article was pretty significant in 1980 because the F-4 was still the backbone of the Tactical Air Force, and remembering NOT to give up against the Gomers motivated me when I flew against them. The mindset back then basically assumed you were going to get to the merge (except for F-15 guys who just knew that every AIM-7 shot was a kill). F-16 guys joked about the F-15s guys and their AIM-7M calling it the “I wish you were dead missile.” For a Jurassic era F-16 guy like myself, we wanted to survive to the merge and then we’d kill the bandit with an AIM-9 or the gun. In the last couple years from talking with co-workers (airline guys) that were also recent or current F-16 guys (Air National Guard or Reserves), the current mindset is something like, “if a bandit gets to the merge…you effed up big time.” Current technology from sensors to data sharing to missile Pk is that good. Which in turn allows for improved tactics making something like visual mutual support a non-issue because your wingman might be 5 NMs away (and you both have your radars in STBY). So…these article are for simmers like me who like getting to the merge and smile at the absolute beauty of the flow and geometry of air-to-air.

Cheers mate.

There are some very good suggestions here, depending on whether you’re having problems with BVR engagements or merged fights. Watching Pete Bonanni’s “Art of the Kill,” as eurybaric suggested is worthwhile. Attached are a handful of Fighter Weapons Review articles from the Jurassic era you might enjoy. I’ve shared a few of these via PM with some guys, but I rescanned those. The really big PDF (Turning Room and Turning Circles) is because my puny all-in-one scanner forced me to make a JPEG of the first page in order to get into a PDF.

The first one was written by an Aggressor pilot, a guy who would be my last Sqdn CO, ‘Lurch’ Gorman (the F-16 cockpit was very snug for him). A couple are written by F-15 FWS IPs (Larry New was a prolific contributor).

@Stevie:

…much, much earlier design approach. As with anything, things get learned as you go. Besides - in the real jet you can likely feel it if the boards are out…and you don’t have to look. We sim-ers don’t get that feedback.

In the F-4 you could feel if the speedbrakes/boards were all the way out and you were going fast, but not at traffic pattern speeds. Same with the F-16.

Had a squadron mate leading a two ship to the range, they took 20 seconds spacing on takeoff due to the weather (less than 500 foot ceiling), flew 8 NM trail enroute to and on an IR route (a military training route that is flown with an IFR clearance from ATC, rather than VFR). At the end of the low level flown single ship at 480 knots simulating a nuclear mission, Lead called #2 to rejoin to see if Lead had a fuel leak because his fuel had become increasingly less than #2’s fuel. #2 rejoined, says there’s no fuel leak, and asks, “Hey is there a reason your gear is down?” I kid you NOT…Lead never raised his gear and never noticed a difference except for the fuel numbers. The gear doors were fine. One smart ass in our squadron penciled in a new line to our Ladies’ Aid (Inflight Guide) page of low level fuel flow numbers for 480 KGS, Gear Down, CL tank, 2 TERs. “Harsh, but fair!”

Back in the Jurassic era we referred to flying the F-16 as the “magic carpet ride.” The jet sounds and feels the same at pretty much every airspeed and configuration. However another bud had his left LEF fail to a 90 degree up (and then rip off the jet as he regained control) at 480 knots and 500 feet. He felt that…