Fast times at Tomcat High

Hi Spikers:
So its been two weeks and I havent put the thing in the thing. I havent dropped the thing on top of the thing. The rear seat is as of yet to see me in there for more than a minute. Is it just for storage of my luggage?
Its Big like a Tiger and heavy like a Bear. The inside is dirty, smelly and all used up. The HUD is a step above an F-5 with an at times overbearing glow like a sci fi horror show. It provides you just enough info to get you in trouble. Nothing is done for you. Its like the MiG version of a US NAVY fighter. You must do everything yourself or worse yet, ask the GIB (guy in back) to do it for you. Then its overly complicated. Moving wings (is this necessary?) two seats, 60s avionics and tons of aircraft trying to kill you. Radios and Radars and TACAN, OH MY! I spent time looking at Chucks guide and still I was like… Whaaaaat? It takes time to digest the ammount of stuff. Its ALMOST ALL ANALOG. Steam is king and digital works at 8 bps.
So how is Heatblurs brainchild? FANTASTIC! If you were too young for the prequel, then go back and examine Heatblurs first release. The Fishbed broke grounds when released and still is one of the best modules in DCS. Heatblur turned up the heat (i know, cheap) with the Viggen. It was again groundbreaking. Now here is the Tomcat. Its special and different in every sense from the other aircraft. Why do wanna be aviatiors have a soft spot for the weird, the unconventional. Tell us DCS is releasing an F-4 and we are like “I Want to feel that Pain!” We crave these crazy tough modules.
TOMCAT
So what is so fantastic then you might ask. Well you see, the Tomcat falls somewhere between the past and present. It was build by folks who fought in WW2 at the height of the cold war. Aviation’s best was in full swing. Budgets were big, you drove a 7 litter Chrysler and you drank Whiskey with your boss at lunchtime. First of the Teen Series (yes, i made that up) it was post modern using the best the 60’s had. The Tomcat is like nothing that came before or after. Its unique, its fast and its an outstanding fighter in every sense of the word. BVR, its got you covered with enough power out front to microwave bald eagles and find your foe way before he finds you. You can then reach out and touch them with some of the biggest missiles ever carried aloft in the west. What is that you say? You missed a guy and now you must tangle mano a mano? No sweat! Drop your tanks and let Jester fill up the puke bag cos the Tomcat got more swing than the King (thats Elvis to you little minnow). It slices, it dices, it makes julian fries out of smaller adversaries. If you abilities fail you then simply power away and come back in the fight from an advantagious point. Its size belies its agility. The power to extens is always there. And you have possibly the worst gunsight in DCS. Yes, the I-16’s is better. The Seabees need you to get some pesky snipers off thier backs? Again, the Big Cats got you covered in so many ways. It can do subtle precision strikes or light up the night with tons of 500 pounders.
Day One,
Ohhhh you can change the HUD. Neat buttons. Must have been created by a Star Wars prop creator. Learn to change the HUD, check!
What is this TID? I can see the radar in the front? Neat!
Weapons switch Off/Guns/Aim9s/SP for Aim7 at top. Pressing the button at the top cycles between Aim7 and Phycos, I mean Phoenix’s.
Then Simply select a Mode. ATM VSL Lo and PAL seem to fulfill my needs. As long as you have waited for Jester to do his alignment (No worries if you started hot or in air) and you cooled your weapon( its on the dash in front of you duh!) you are good to go.
Like the Thunderbolt, when things get messy you got to keep an eye out for Bingo cos shes a Thirsty Cat.
Learn to land on land before you learn how she floats accross the carrier. Its a very effective lifting body with a gun. That attitude of “Spoiler, we dont need no fancy spoilers!”… Yeah, that will lead to you being overrun by a Nimitz class. Use DLC… its not a luxury.
Lazy mans navigation is my favorite thing. Next to GPS, TACAN was the next best. Does what it says on the box.
It Moves, it Shoots, it communicates. But it is like the Harrier very unique. Getting it right on the Tomcat is one of the most rewarding prizes of DCS. Like an onion I am sweetly, softly peeling the layers of the Kitty. Sorry if I sounded like R. Kelly but it is delicious.
I need to learn to refuel and drop LGBs. The weekend and my new monster await me.

So now let us pray that Mr. Chuck Owl never tires of doing what he does. He is a great fountain of knowledge. The hobby would not be the same without him. His guides are fun and informative gems. Thanks for what you do Chuck Owl.
If you can drop him a little patronage. Heaven knows he has earned it.

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This is the only thing I have to contradict. In my oppinion the Tomcat has the best gun/gunsight combo of any western fighter in DCS. It is fantastic and deadly!

As for the HUD itself, it is a weapon aiming device. I turn it on and off together with the Master Arm. Flying and landing is purely no-HUD for me, as it is simply not needed. I think in fact the flight-path-marker is a destraction during carrier landings that tends to command all attention (which should be on ball-lineup-AOA instead).

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I have to agree. That thing is like a laser!

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Bet. I will try again. Bet im using it wrong. Diving into Chucks guide now

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From tail on? Yes, probably. For deflection shooting? Nothing better. Walk the pipper through the target and you will hit.

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I tend to be quite accurate with it. but of course ymmv.

As a flight instrument it’s utterly lacking. Worse than useless in landing. Like MBot, HUD and master arm get toggled in the same sweep.

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Went back to the gunsight and had a good time with it. Lazer Beam is the best way to describe it after all. So, I got that part done. I was not using it correctly. I can still use the declutter function, so that is next.
Thank You fellas!

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Im trying to get launched. I cant get them to shoot me off the SuperCarrier and the regular carrier w the same result. No launch.
I line up. I pull up then I wait. Once the crew tells me to kneel, I drop the front. I am then told to move forward. He then tells me to rev up. I give my salute and he signals for the cat to shoot me off. Now nothing happened. I tried to you tube it and I dont know what im missing.

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Did you un-kneel and raise the launchbar?

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You have to hit the left shift U in the tomcat AFAIK. If you salute via the radio menu it won’t launch. Kind of wonky but that’s what worked for me.

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It works either way for me but I’m in the habit of Shift+U so I just do that anyways.

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I’ve got it mapped to my stick buttons at the base. Hook up on one with a modifier to launch

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Thank you all for your advice. I didn’t unkneel and raise the launch bar. So I cant launch cos I’m not under tension. I will map salute to my throttle. It will feel more natural.
Can’t wait to get home.

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Didn’t need but only to salute. Once I stop using the comms menu I was good. Now on my throttle

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Got in a fight. Missiles not coming off the rail because idiot boy didn’t cool / turn on missiles. 2 minutes of turning and close to burning w only a gun for self defense. Missiles finnally came on line and I lived through it. Let my mistake be a lesson to u Grasshopper. You’re in the stink, you turn missiles on!!!

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Another lesson learned. Do not release the brake or the Alignment will stop.

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Ha…this happens in one of the Citations I fly. The standby attitude indicator has to align for 180 seconds…if you move at all, it resets and you have to wait another three minutes. People who move with 2 seconds to go are whipped with rubber hoses at the end of the day.

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Hahahaha, I think I waited patiently for about 8 minutes. I got so sleepy I went to bed… Next day I found the answer. You would not think that moving a tiny bit would make a difference… WOW! We used to be glad just to be in the right grid square… Now its all done to within a meter.

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If there is a fault with this module, for me, it is the old dated and hard to read pit. While the weathering is well done and gives one the feeling of being out at sea with the elements, it does not lend itself to learning. My blind butt cant read most of it so I rely on learning where things are at. I wish for an option for an un-weathered pit. Maybe the A will feature this.
As for the rest of it… WOW, just… WOW! The onion is being peeled slowly and I am enjoying every layer slowly. Startup is easy to learn if you give yourself a little time. The takeoff is very satisfying with power to spare. Letting your left hand enjoy the AB too much leads to running out of go-go juice at the wrong times. The little I have done with Navigation is easy. Tell Jester where you want to go and it appears by magic on the HSI. The module is incredibly well laid out. The kneeboard is rich with information. Fighting in the Tomcat is unlike any other aircraft. You know you are in a behemoth of an airplane yet you have the power of the Sun at your fingertips. Jester is calling out the bandit when you cant see him. He helps you deliver missiles to cockpits far away and keeps your SA going during knife fights. He is an incredible asset. Took me a while to get used to him.
You have speed and maneuverability on your side. I began by fighting MiG-19, Su-17 then '21 and now MiG-29s. The Tomcat is very capable and fun. Make no mistake though, you don’t just show up and win. You must learn to keep it fast and know when and where to extend. Get rid of Phoenixes before you tangle. Then use the Sparrows and Winders. If you can get a gun kill. The gun has become so easy to use. But you never run out of missiles.
At first I wanted to give up on this module but now I am hooked. I thought the F-15E would not be for me and I began to resent the two seater thing. Now I have come to terms with it and i really enjoy it.

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I’ve been using the clean cockpit mod. Applies to pilot and RIO. Easy to install and use. It goes in your saved games folder. Change the mod folder “default” to something like clean cockpit. In the game options under F-14 Special select your new cockpit.

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