Yeah I know this is necroposting, but I’ve just become consistently proficient with tanking in the Tomcat, and here are some recommendations I use:
Set the HUD to enroute mode, then move the seat down so that the heading tape is in-line with the piece of metal sticking out on the right prison bar.
Set the wings to 55 degree/manual to take the maneuvering flaps out of the equation. This prevents uncommanded changes in lift and also reduces the momentum associated with the fully-forward wings.
When at pre-contact, line up the basket with the HUD waterline. This is the only time to eyeball the basket. Trim to hold altitude at matching airspeed. You can also use Autopilot-altitude hold to trim up, then release autopilot. Remember: if you ain’t cheatin’, you ain’t tryin’ hard enough!
Line the refueling pod up with the right 1/3 of the right side of the pitch ladder.
Use slight rudder and very slight pitch changes to move the aircraft relative to the refueling pod.
When you move forward to contact, the top of the refueling pod should touch the top of the canopy rail. This is where moving the seat down really makes a difference.
While holding station, keep the canopy rail between the wing root and the tail of the tanker (closer to the wing root if all else is equal).
This pic is to illustrate what I mean by putting the heading tape level with the metal piece. As I had to use both hands to get an ALT+PrintScreen, this is not a good example of station keeping. I’m actually high, slightly left, and behind.
Another thing: I’ve found that once I’m on the basket, I find it useful to trim down 1 or 2 increments. I’m not sure why this is, except possibly to trim out the unconscious desire to climb as I’m looking up at the tanker.
Now that I’ve succesfully put my thing in a thing a couple of times, I have a question for those ‘in the know’.
It seems to me that the thing that’s put into the thing is not held in place but for the forces of drag and being pushed in. There’s no latching or anything apparent (in DCS). Is that realistic? Is the ‘dragging’ that’s spoke of in fighter/tanker operations purely figurative and do the fighter pilots need to keep station until transfer complete, or does the thing latch onto the thing until transfer complete and either receiver or tanker press an unlatch button? If not, why is there a “A/R disconnect” button on my HOTAS?
To me it would seem very handy if the thing latches on with a mild force, allowing the hose/boom to drag the fighter in position and the pilot to relax a little. But I can see some downsides to it as well, such as huge assymetric forces on carefully balanced out airframes that do not take kindly to being dragged by their ears.
On the topic of AAR, I noticed something in the Hornet that I found with the Harrier as well: I find refueling from a Hercules much easier than the KC-135. I’m not sure if it is because the straight wing gives an easier sight picture, or the lower speed, or because the Herc doesn’t have wake turbulence / wingtip vortexes modelled?
Does this seem familiar to anyone or is it just me?
I’ve noticed the same with baskets: the bigger the tanker, the easier it is to tank. The S-2 is substantially harder, or I perceive it to be, than the Herc. This perception has been consistent across the Harrier, Tomcat and Hornet.
Lately I have been tanking my harrier from the KC-130 a bunch. Feels almost easy.
So I got cocky and tried an F-14. Not so easy! I tend to start a porpoising motion in the tomcat. Even when I put a curve on the stick, I tended to bounce up and down.
There’s a pitch moment to throttle movement that kicks my posterior.
Have you set the wing sweep to the fixed “bombing mode”? I found that helped a lot when refuelling from the KC-135 at least.
Maybe the slow speed of the C-130 just makes it harder for the Tomcat. I find that most fast jets feel a lot more stable and responsive at high speed (300 knots+)
The Tomcat does not like to fly slow, and this is compounded when you swing the wings back to 55. The KC-130 is the easiest plane from which to refuel because of its sight picture, but make sure it’s going as fast as it can (i.e. 300kts or so).
When slow, the Tomcat is very sluggish, and the PIO you get is likely due to trying to catch up to the controls.
When you’re that slow, throttle movements are amplified, especially if you’re flying the B with the F-110 engine.
Anytime you make more than a minor throttle adjustment, you need to trim one or 2 taps on the trim hat. The Tomcat is a lot like a warbird in this respect.
If you can tank on the KC-135 MPRS, the sight picture is tougher (as are the wingtip vortices), but you are faster so your adjustments tend to be smoother and more responsive.
In addition to the notes by @Freak and @HomeFries, Make sure that you are flying comfortably on the tankers left wing, trimmed out with wing sweep at 55° (bombing mode) before approaching the basket. Use minimal throttle movements to keep the pitching moment under control. Even in the A this is essential, more so in the B.
This was after a couple month of flying other stuff (mostly F-16 and Apache) and my first approach was waaaaayyy too fast. After losing contact I fell back, retrimmed and did a much better approach. Still a little fast but much more controlled, retrimming helped a lot:
I been trying off an S-3. On my very first stab I took the basket, but after it slipped off I never managed to regain it. Perhas the thing was slow. That makes sense. S-3 should be able to easily make 300 to 350 knots, right?
I just a go with the A-4. Now that was by far the easiest refuelling I ever did. Stuck it in, sucked on it till full and flew away, easy peasy piggy greasy.
The Tomcat is tough because the canopy bow gets in the way. Seeing the basket is not at all important. But seeing the tanker is. This is why the Harrier is so pleasant despite the funky probe location. It rewards you with a great view of the gas station.
The new S-3 looks really nice. I remember @BeachAV8R correctly complaining about the rough, low detail model we’ve been living with for years. Now corrected!
I’m actually high, slightly left, and behind.
