Before and After Action - Phantom by Heatblur

[jross]

Now I’m realy committed - started a new thread! If all works out hope to continue this as I go along.

Ok, I’m doing it. I mean I’m really doing it. This time…

Using my little software creation to learn the Phantom.

• Start in 1972, NTTR with a basic syllaus:
  • FAM flights with the occasional FCF (functional check flight)
  • Instrument training
  • Bomb range - scoring from the range controller
  • Air-2-Ground stuff (kill APC’s, tanks, etc) on one of the bombing ranges
  • Low-level nav+ (Sidewinder VR route)
  • Basic Air-to-Air
  • BFM
  • ACM (2v1, 2v2)
  • LFE (Large Force Exercise)

Should take a couple of weeks real time.

Added a feature to turn simple text files into kneeboard pages - so far it helps keep me on course when I carry along a few basic, additional, Learning Objectives; so I don’t get distracted and start chasing butterflies on the more mundane missions.

Then buy the CW Germany map and go to war. Should be able to build the complete campaign in about a month (the process has been streamlined a little).

Or start over and fully learn the Apache using the above (those parts applicabe) then goto war in Syria or Afghanistan.

[chipwich]

That sounds great. Are you releasing the latest version to the public?

[jross]

Maybe. Probably.

I’ve yet to fly a complete campaign (they take from 3 weeks to a few months if you fly them 1 or 2 missions per day). I jump around testing all the different taskings and versions of each - something you can’t do by design with the release build.

It has been functional for a year or so but, well, I wasn’t happy feature-wise. Now I am (mostly). I’ll know more when I get through the Weapons School ‘72 campaign.

Need an installer; I’ve had to learn a lot of things from scratch. Haven’t had time to figure out an installer. I’m sure it’s not a big deal though. Should make the download smaller and easier to update.

ED releasing a FINISHED version of Iraq was going to be the final test but, well, we all know that hasn’t happened yet - the entire system was modeled after that fracas. Right now all you can do is fly “On call” missions from the carrier - there are no allied land bases (or I’ve missed that update?) . While I could do a Desert Storm-like carrier only thing I don’t want to do that. Doesn’t motivate me.

[jross]

PS: Part of it is I really don’t think many people will ‘get it’, or like it.

I don’t care but don’t have the time right now to deal with that; I’m talking about releasing it for full public download, complete with YTube videos and even a website - some ‘home’ for feedback and such.

I mean, the training campaigns (NTTR) do what most people probably do anyway: take off, fly around a bit, refuel, drop bombs, shoot something down. The actual ‘hot’ campaigns are one day (mission) at a time where you are just one ‘cog’ in the big machine - you fly the mission given to you whether you like or not.

To me, this keeps me on my toes as it’s set up so that stuff may happen even on boring On call tasks[1]. Or maybe not. This is realistic. Probably too much so. I wrote the AI to model the mundane too.

[1] There are Good Guys doing their thing on the ground and they may run into trouble (Troops In Contact thing); someone may find an iED; a Bad Guy leader might need ‘servicing’; etc. I can’t predict when this will happen (makes debugging it a challenge, at least til I streamlined that).

Anyway, my Phantom is double-parked…

[chipwich]

No problem. I hope that you have time to let us know how it’s progressing. It was pretty good, the last version that I tried.

[jenrick]

I’ll second @chipwich very interested.

[jross]

Weapons School 1972
January 5 th.
Nevada, NTTR, Nellis AFB
Day 1
F-4E Phantom by Heatblur simualtions. Aka: Work of Art!
FCF (Functional Check flight) - the first one was a FAM flight but had to restart the day. Time, weather, etc is the same.

Report from an audio recorder (my ‘play’ machine doesnt have much installed on it) to include programming notes.

[note to self: FCF should come AFTER ‘basic training’, not included in the same phase ie; after Free FLight and/or AOR FAM phases. Easy fix]

Early dawn. Sun just a hint. Had to find the flashlight key. Partly cloudy, scattered. For desert maps when the conditions allow it (all based on my 1 week weather course 40+ years ago ) this is a visually stunning effect. Or I thought so until it got annoying, ie; when there’s a dust-up as you’re turning base-to-final (at KINS = short runway for a newb), from the overhead; have no clue what your’re doing; straining to see the numbers; in a slight cross wind…I got kind of busy there.
[my last adjustment to the weather algo helped]

We kicked the tires, time to light fire(s).

By the time I got most of the buttons configured (have just been joyriding in it till now) the sun was up. While waiting for Jester/INS alignment there was time to watch all the goings on; listen to tower do stuff, bread truck roaming around, etc. A brace of Tornados blasted off first. Then some F-5’s and a C-130.

With the canopy up, over the roar of other jets taking off, I hear this whine. It was different. Hmmm. I’m sure I looked silly bobbing around the cockpit (no external views in 1972) to see what the heck that noise is.

It’s…it’s…a ‘tadpole’. A big one. It taxied right by me (had its wings folded too). Sun was behind him. Dropped that [A-6] in there a week or so ago but forgot about it. Never really know when or what is gonna show up. It’s kind of random with theese ‘atmosphere’ AI flights. Takes a simple text edit to add - and DCS providing more of them [1]

I’m uncovering a lot in the Phantom. Got lost - there was no magic, moving, map in the Phantom in 1972 either, so consider the F-10 key to be a Rand McNally simulation: you openning up a paper map on the dashboard. Must navigate. Jester helps. Plus I’ve flown the NTTR alot so I am able to pick out landmarks.

[Need to add a way to ‘hold’ you at a phase, in training]
Hard to guess when someone is ready to move on to the next phase say; Air-to-ground to Air-To-Air (or basic stuff like I’m doing now - not killing my virtual self). In the aviation world the last thing you want to hear is, “you’re being recyled” (or similiar). Since there is no way [yet] to grade the user they will have to “Recyle” themselves; stick with current phase for a while longer.
[I started this but it is incomplete. Mostly UI coding left to do - “two weeks”].

So, arrived over DREAM where the FCF starts. Did some stuff with the stick and rudder - man I REALLY like this MoZa FFB stick. Trimming isn’t such a PITA. I still suck at it but not as bad.

Had too much ham in my fist on one of the first overhead patterns and I felt it. It didn’t feel good (not being a pilot I dont know what it’s supposed to feel like): stick got ‘soft’, or weak, with some unidentified vibrations. Kind of subtle. My guess was: “you’re losing it here buddy”. So I slide the throttles forward and went around. Again.

But before that…
Went to visit a Bombing Range, in R62A/B, or the “Dog Bone” lake complex. Since I wasn’t scheduled for a mission (they can do simple bomb scoring; clear you to blow up stuff; hand you off to a JTAC) thought I’d stop by and say, “Wassup?”. Not much there. They gave me the airspace and went back to browsing the internet, I guess. I selected a clean Phantom so no tumbleweeds were harmed in the production of this sortie.

[the comm’s system needs one more, basic, thing: given a tasking you can work through things with them (range controller, grunt on foot or in a vehicle; etc) via simple radio comms (get VoiceAttack: $10 + VAICOM - you will love it) or F10 commands. But in this case my only option was to request “Off Frequency” which is something you do when you want to do something else - and come back [to them]. Not the case here.

So need something like, “hava a nice day”. “Cancel tasking” not really applicable cos I didn’t have a tasking. It works but it’s not the correct context. Same with “RTB” - but I wasn’t, I was just moving on to something else. RTB tells everyone you are going home which I wasn’t ready to do. This is a simple UI for those without VoiceAttac/VAICOM].

[Need to add what I’ll call “Pattern Work” tasking: it gives you n-airports to visist and beat the pattern up. Should sound right for choppers too. Have similar code for this its just used in another context. Should be simple to add].

Anwway. The beginning of Goal #1 was accomplished. I can see I have a future as a virtual Phantom driver. Oh yeah, after this phase (basic stuff) only 6 more to go. Ha!

Thanks for playing,
JR

[1] Starting add add-ons. Right now only the Community A-4 (flyable) and a skin or two. Each one is another fork in the road to navigate - or trip over.

Another ‘feature’ in DCSGrok, on a whim. The “HOW TO” and “INFO” (not great names but takes just a recompile to change) allow you to call up YouTube videos for the selected platform concerning things that may be helpful. There’s one for DCSGrok too but those are turned off in YT right now.

[Deacon211]

Very cool!

I wish I could find an old flip chart for your low level.

I can’t even find a picture of a flip chart online anymore.

God, I’m old!

[jross]

Ding! Ding! Ding! Wile looking closely at that image you posted I had head-slapper, “why didn’t I put the range [NM] and bearing to/heading [magnetic] to each point on the route - on the map? I’m sure it’s someting I would do naturally (or would be taught) in those cirumstances[1].

Further musings…I already have the math (I think; have so much in there now) and values; the value is s buried in some DCS file for each thatre I believe (I included space on my side). I’ve assumed the value they provide is constant across the entire map. Don’t know.

Oh, and I can now ‘draw’ on the map from DCSGrok - output stuf from there that can be seen on the F10 map when you call it up in flight.

[1] They made us do this kind of thing (mechanically) in my ‘Captains school’ class several years ago. Most people in the class freaked out on this part. Myself and my ‘deskmate’ (2 to a desk) thought it was the only interesting part of the entire course (he was a pilot); we both aced that part and they, half-seriously, thought we had cheated!

[jross]

PS: Looks like you have, as a minimum:

• Heading
• Time
• Distance
• Corrected for wind?

All pre-calculated.

Also, I worked that airspace in the early 90’s. Bagdad MOA the we West of there, AR-something (I forget) east of this section.

[chipwich]

Are the items circled in red landmarks or threats.

JR, your interface is coming along nicely.

[jenrick]

If can find it again, there was a training film about setting up low level routes from the 50’s/60’s that covered route selection, laying out your map etc. I thought I had posted it here on MS, but not having any luck finding it ATM.

[Deacon211]

This is only an image I found…and the only image I found of something like the whole project.

The course to make these was like three days long and was one spray can of glitter and some macaroni away from a grammar school art project.

1. Plot the route points on the chart and connect the centerline of the route.

2. Mark the route boundaries (based off the published route width).

3. Find visually identifiable turn points within the route structure.

4. Connect the turn points taking into account the turn radius of the jet (usually 4G and with a plastic template with holes for different speeds). I think you would also mark the turn point with an open circle so that the course centerline wouldn’t obscure the actual point that you are looking for.

5. Calculate the mag heading, distance, time, and fuel to the next point.

6. Mark the doghouses with (IIRC) heading, distance, time. The bottom boxes might contain fuel expected and the blank one left for actual fuel remaining, but I don’t quite remember.

7. Mark the course centerline with minute tick marks and write the ETA next to intermediate check points that you will encounter along the way.

8. At each turn point on the route draw an arrow with heading and distance to nearest bingo field (you can also draw a second arrow to an emergency field if those two aren’t the same).

9. Now that you have done all that, do it all again in (again IIRC) 5x14in strips. It can contain (ideally) one leg with both waypoints; or it can contain any number of legs with their constituent doghouses and data, but the goal is to not confuse you when you are holding it.

This will take a lot of maps as each waypoint will (probably) need to be on two separate strips.

10. Cut the strips out and fold them in half so that they are in 5x7in segments.

11. Glue the bottom half of the strip to the top half of the previous strip and top half of the strip to the bottom half of the next strip.

The goal is to make a flip book so that you have a full 5x14in panel that you can flip to the next 5x14in panel as needed. One that you can clip on your kneeboard or hold in your left hand and flip with one of your fingers as you fly the route.

12. Glue the whole mess into a 5x14in cut out of a (once common) manila folder.

13. Glue the chart info from the AP-1B onto the back of the folder and (if you wish) your nav log onto the other side.

14. And enjoy!

It’s actually quite a work of art once finished and, arguably, more accurate than the usual mission computer, directly connected lines, chart.

Of course, once you have an INS, who even cares about that stuff…just follow the (generally green) line!

[Deacon211]

I posted that at some point, but it was actually somewhat less complicated than what I was taught circa 1990.

It’s still a very good video!

[jenrick]

Found it!

Low Level Air Navigation

Low Level Air Navigation

Can’t find the second part ATM, but I’ll do some more looking around as I have time.

I’d actually pay money for an app/mod that takes your ME flight plan, creates those charts, and sticks them in the kneeboard automatically.

[jross]

Awesome!

@Deacon211

Find visually identifiable turn points within the route structure.

I’ve mulled this bit over before. Without access to the terrain database directly (there’s a way of course but it’s not known to me, or even public) allowing me to find things like “towers” I have to rely on churning through it another way. Parsing all that is a small project all by itself. I’m talking map-wide here. Doing it for, say, the Sidewinder route I have defined (R2508) can be done ‘manually’, though not a ton of features along that route (maybe some day they will update the Nevada+ map.

My system defines high-level, corse, items like “small lake” or “big lake” (bridges are easy to extract), etc. I label them “POI” - points of interest. A matter of stuffing them in the map when I render the route for the user. I kind of have this for finding targets along the above mentioned route already (a little geom/trig). A target and a ‘large pond’ to the code are at an abstract level “things” that can be included as is.

@Deacon211

Calculate the mag heading, distance, time, and fuel to the next point.

Fuel would be an issue as things are. A TODO list item that would take some digging for.

@Deacon211

This will take a lot of maps as each waypoint

Yeah, only have one map (without a lot of extra work/time): F10 map. Will require you to zoom in. I could put each waypoint into a kneeboard but don’l have a VFR sectional to use as the background (only vectors and text would be there). And it would be a lot of pages potentially.

DCS does this automatically but I find it only slightly useful: just WP circles with lines connecting them to the previous/next one. A little helpful - I actually used this recently when I got, ahem, locationally deficient for a few minutes

Hmm.

Pretty sure I have the tools already to do a simplified version of your description. The ‘doghouse’s’ will of course be oriented North-South since you can’t rotate the map but no biggie there I’d think.

[jross]

Hey, that’s cool. I’m going to include a link to it in DSCGrok (I mention this feature above) - AND…

I’ve plugged in a way to transer ‘drawings’ in DCSGrok to the DCS F-10 map. Actually the primative tools are there but the structure isnt, yet.

[jross]

@jenrick

I’d actually pay money for an app/mod that takes your ME flight plan, creates those charts, and sticks them in the kneeboard automatically.

As mentione above I can ‘draw’ images that them become kneeboard pages but I don’t have the charts. One day I’m going to find the time to see how to extract the sectinonal map from DCS. Has to be a way. I’ve always assumed those files were ‘locked’ or encrypted somehow. But again Haven’t had time to root around in there.

[Deacon211]

I wish I had one to show you but they have apparently passed from existence…like so many internet things.

Which is just, strange.

Honestly, I just mention it in this thread because it is so much more like how you would fly a low level in the era before moving maps and INS.

What you are describing for the knee board is what we might have called an, “amoeba map”…basically taking that first map that we did all our initial calculations on, cutting it down to a foldable size, and stuffing it under your knee.

This wasn’t so much a, “where am I going?” map as it was a, “Crap, we need to divert; what direction was that field again?” map. Primary nav was turned over to INS, the map became a overview and a reference.

Truly, making this strip chart would be a (fun?) arts and crafts project to Cosplay (for lack of a better term) how you would have flown it IRL.

Without maps (usually JOGAIRs) you could use Skyvector for sectionals, edited via some painting program, then printed, hopefully at the same scale, and glued together into a flip chart.

It would absolutely be a craft project that would drain the color ink from your printer…but you would have made yourself a genuine cold war era strip map!

[jross]

They had something similar, a primative version, for cars IIRC. “Trip Tic’s” or something like that. Lemme see…

Ok, AI comes through. They were call TripTik’s:

Was for the more ‘refined’ driver. I just had a road map on the steering wheel. Or a navagtor (girl friend).