For me, a couple of things help.
Looking at the pod got me a fill up. Yay!
I plugged in and out of the basket so many times that my girlfriend got jealous
I came back here to thank you all for giving me the strength and patience to persevere and get through this. I got two complete top offs without loosing the basket. I’m not a pro but I can stay on the hose. I will say I got 2 hrs of refueling practice now… Wow! its tough at first.
I then began a routine.
Top Off
Go find the Carrier group (Persian gulf mission has the carrier right close)
Land on the deck (YES full of fuel, I know…)
Ask for 4 Mk 82s on the refuel screen
Go kill some poor tankers…LOL
This is a lot of fun. Thanks Guys!
Hey guys. I split out the two posts on greasing your Warthog gimbal - in case anyone was wondering what happened to them. 
Figured that it would be useful in the Hardware section.
Its exactly that for me. I actually have no problem refuelling with the harrier. But was having problems with the hornet. Because its there in front of me i keep looking at the basket and inducing a PIO.
Tried last night with the 10 degree pitch ladder on the hose just below the pod as per other videos. Concentrated on the pod/pitch ladder only and it was a first time connect. I wasn’t really trying either. So its looking at that basket that kills it for me.
You guys have tips for night time? Is there a refuel light or something?
Not yet I don’t believe. The Su33’s is modeled and it works really well except that the basket is in a shadow for the last 2 feet. The real Hornet has a light and I believe I read here or in the other forum that it will be modeled.
Yeah just tried to refuel after doing touch and goes in total darkness. Finding the S-3 was easy, but it was impossible to see the basket.
Much respect Gunny!
This lighted refueling probe thing got me wondering about the Harrier. Sure enough, it works. If you want a workout try it without NVGs. If using the S-3, flying dead centered on the left engine (but well below) the left engine pod lines you up nicely. It’s a challenge but doable in VR. I can’t imagine doing it on a flat screen.
Well after the second try it is starting to click for me (the first time was a disaster). This used to be one of my favorite things to do in the Warthog and i think that most if not all of the golden rules of refueling in the A-10 apply to the Hornet as well:
Memorize the sight picture. I find that cues that force me to focus on a single spot tend to put me into oscillations while just looking at the entire tanker i am immediately rock solid. The reason i think this is the case is that i can use my entire field of vision to see if I’m building up a deviation from the tanker that i need to correct for, be it speed, pitch, roll, etc.
Do not look at the basket. Ever. Look at the tanker. Use your peripheral vision to connect with the basket, once you catch it, forget about it and focus on your tanker sight picture. Every time i made the mistake to fly off the boom or the basket, mayhem ensued promptly. This is something that takes some real conscious effort (at least for me, because it is not intuitive).
As others have said, stay ahead of your controls. Make a smooth input, then make a smooth counter input. Don’t wait until you can see the result of your input (by that time you have overcontrolled, leading you into a spiral of too big control inputs). E.g. if you are too far back, put your throttle forward, then put it back where it was. Don’t leave it in the forward position, you don’t want to continue to accelerate, you just want to fly a little faster for a short time, then slow back down. That is why you need to correct for your own input. This is a constant process of correction and counter-correction. It’s basically the 3-dimensional form of punch and jab with the rudder when landing a taildragger. If you make a control input and you don’t stop making that input, you will immediately overcontrol.
This part is the one that is most affected by practice, IMHO. Our brains are very adaptable control systems, we just need to feed them good input data (the sight picture) and they will learn to control the jet pretty quick. At some point it becomes second nature.
I guess there are different ways to approach it. I definitely look at the basket during the approach, but once connected then my focus moves onto the tanker.
This!
When I started to ignore the basket, I saw immediate improvement. Yesterday I connected with an S3 (imo the most difficult tanker to refuel from) at the first attempt without ever focusing the basket.
So this is progress. Today was not great but I overslept and had sound problems. Ultimately I ran out of time. However, I put my Oculus on for the first time in weeks and refueling took on a whole new meaning. My new rig behaved but I had to go to work before a good session.
I only look at the basket when I’m lining up on the wing pod. NEVER STARE AT THE BASKET lol
To all who think it should be easier:
Brigadier General Ken Bell might know a thing or two about A2A refueling. He made a few hundred trips to Moth Vietnam in F-105 and Phantoms.
He wrote a book named 100 missions north. In his accounts as a rookie Thud fighter jock he has a few stories on the subject. All are hair raising. He talks about breaking off a probe and ripping off a basket. The sheer mention of refueling on his first combat mission has him sweating.
I have only learned a few things in life.
Today I practiced 30 minutes on the Viking. This is torture. I then went to the KC-130. I managed to make 2 complete fillip. One was w Only 2 hookups. I’m learning to relax in the hookup.
Thanks to everyone on this topic, I was able to get my first top up just a few moments ago.
Here are the tips that helped me:
I have achieved “fuel flow” for all of two seconds.
Thanks for the tips.
That’s great. Practice for 15 mins 2-3 times a week and you will see improvements after a short while.
First practice after all the kind suggestions. Plugged in and stayed in. Maybe 20 seconds then the C130 turned and I fell out.
Any hints on refueling in a turn? Even more of a black art.