I also rarely use pedals in positioning, but use stick for small heading changes instead. I get the principle behind only doing one axis at a time, but in practice feet on the floor works better for me.
I think your headspace plays a big part too - have to keep breathing, stay relaxed and calm, wiggle your toes. If I find myself frustrated or overcorrecting and noticing that it’s starting to get to me, I fan the airbrakes for a second or two, drop 10 meters behind and just fly formation for a moment to ‘reset’ before trying again. It doesn’t matter if you run out of fuel and have to restart the mission.
One trick I used in the Eurofighter Military Air force simulator ( used this long ass description to give that some context- that is) was to use one throttle only once I was close enough to require superior precision.
With the Hornet having engines just as close to each other as the Eurofighter I think you’ll also not have any unwanted yaw problems.
Once you do it once, it’ll be forever easier.
I agree with this but would like to add an exception.
At the last few yards, a quick “jab” to the basket often works. I find trying to inch forward to connect to be monumentally stressful and often the intention of being so precise leads to over correction.
If you can play the throttle well like others mentioned, jab the basket (throttle down immediately and let the little boost of power roll you in) and then ease into maintain the new position.
The hose allows fore and aft movement, so don’t be afraid to use some of it.
Separate reply for another point unrelated to my first.
Working with the stick - center zone isn’t really your friend. Every correction requires pushing past the center zone, which take more effort than the rest of the range of motion.
I have two solutions:
One is two trim it away. Trim so that you make a your level flying point off center, this makes it easier to make minor corrections when you don’t fight the initial spring force of a centering mechanism.
Two only works for the bug - because it does have fly by wire - and you can make use of this. For minor corrections, quickly bump the stick (small deflection) - don’t hold it. The bump will offset your pitch or roll and the FBW system will maintain the correction. I find with the bug that continuous input = continuous change to velocity vector. If you don’t already, a small curve on the axis will make sure the bump method doesn’t have excessive input.
Thanks for all the tips, guys - I’ve been reading over them and will be making more attempts again later.
I think I should also clarify that I wasn’t actually attempting to refuel, but was just working on holding position with the tanker, trying to get the sight picture, and working on building muscle memory for the tiny control corrections needed to fly formation. I’m finding I’m fighting my way through the wake on my approach to the tanker (I’m getting better at slowing the closure rate before this happens), and have a hard time getting into position or holding it astern of the tanker. Is there a preferred method to approaching the tanker, i.e. from above, below, the side, etc? And when in position behind, how do people avoid getting bounced all over the place?
It would probably be quickest to fly an MP session with someone who can refuel to show you the ropes. I could do it but my DSL is so slow that I can’t host.
A tip my CO on USS GUAM provided about coming along side for underway replenishment, which essentially is the same thing as arial refuting but in 2 dimensions. I think it applies well enough here.
“Coming along side is like having a hard on. If you play with it too much, you will lose it.”
This is the right approach. Being comfortable with formation flying basics is a prerequisite for AAR - to practice the basket part, one has to be able to fly wing first.
When I started working on my refueling in the Harrier, I did a few evenings of rejoin and cross-under practice with the tanker, which got me warmed up for close formation flying before worrying about the basket.
Cross-under
The cross-under is used to move flight members from one side of the flight leader to the other.
Cross-unders are accomplished in three stages that with proficiency become one fluid movement. The three stages are: 1. Down and back 2. Across 3. Forward and up
First, reduce power slightly to start moving down and straight back. Move to a position below #1 to stay out of the wingtip vortices and prop wash. Once you have nose/tail clearance with #1, add power to hold position. Anticipate the power increase to prevent falling too far behind. To move across, change your heading only one or two degrees. Roll into a few degrees of bank (less than five), and then roll right out. This will give you the heading change you need to drift smoothly across. Do not stay in a bank, as your heading will continue to diverge from #1. Fly wings level to the other side. Add power as you move across to prevent falling behind #1—you are flying a slightly longer flight path than #1. When you have wingtip clearance, return to #1’s heading. Add more power to move up and forward into the normal fingertip position. Most students initially fall behind during cross-unders. Think of the maneuver as having one slight power reduction followed by three big power additions. To fly good cross-unders, you must anticipate each power change and make the smallest possible changes in pitch and bank. Cross-unders may be performed in turns when you are proficient. Use caution to stay clear of wingtip vortices and prop wash. Do not fly directly under #1. Always maintain nose/tail separation. One final point to remember as you become proficient: The cross-under is not a race to the opposite side, it is a deliberate, controlled and precise repositioning of your aircraft.
wiggle your toes whenever you get into that whack-a-mole bad state of focus. Learned to do that from someone who took it off Keith rozenkranz’ book. No kidding, it helps.
What also works for me personally is stepping it up : perfect formation flying on the tanker wingtip on turns. For me this is much harder than putting the thing in the thing, and doing something harder than refueling makes the latter seem easy so you can be relaxed about it. In the end its all in your head.
I don’t know if I ever gotten back to this thread, but getting the stick properly center mounted and extended by 10cm made a world of difference. That and wiggling the toes.
Wedge Antilles (Red 2) : That’s impossible! Even for a computer. Luke : It’s not impossible. I used to bullseye womp rats in my T-16 back home, they’re not much bigger than two meters.
