"The A-10C Basic Flight Training Qualification campaign puts you in the cockpit of an A-10C Warthog, and tests your ability to fly the aircraft successfully.
Based on real world qualification requirements you will fly 12 performance check rides to execute against pre-defined performance objectives. If successful you will rate a Qualified rating and proceed to the next performance objective.
You will be rated on the following areas and these results will form your final rating:
General knowledge, airmanship and safety.
Pre-takeoff, and takeoff.
Navigation and maneuvers.
Approach, landing and after landing.
Communications and task prioritization.
The campaign covers a number of key areas including Start-Up and Shutdown, Takeoffs and Landings, Traffic Patterns, Basic, Advanced and Aerobatic Maneuvers, Emergencies, Formation Flying and Instrument Flight Plan Navigation.
There are over 2300 voiceovers and over 170 pages of briefing material including the A-10C Amplified Checklist, Maps, Diagrams, and Mission Data cards."
DCS 1.5 only, although I guess it could come to 2.0 next after they merge.
I picked it up. I figure I need to get back up to speed with DCS so that I am fairly proficient when my Rift arrives in late April. Anyway, so far I have not progressed past the startup mission. Miss one thing and its a fail. LOL.I’ll keep plugging away at it though.
Well, I made it through to the shutdown portion of Mission 1… but it is a mad scramble as you only get 2 minutes to complete the shutdown… fail and it’s back to the start again. Just a little bit frustrating.
The voice acting isn’t bad so far. It’s just the voice of the check airman telling what is expected of you.
The first mission doesn’t really teach you anything. The premise here is that you are on a checkride, and so you should already know how to complete the tasks assigned. It gives you something to aim at though. I have never bothered with a cold start before (too much like work IMHO). Having said that, I can see the satisfaction you can get from bringing the aircraft to life.
I ran the start procedures tutorial a few times, and then bought the PC Pilot DCS A10C Special, featuring Chris’ excellent tutorials (including a start tutorial), and then just hammered away at the checkride mission until I finally did everything right - or at least didn’t forget to do any of the required procedures and checks.
For the start, you have to complete the following as a minimum:
Battery Power
Battery Inverter to Standby
Signal Lights Test
Fuel Test
O2 On
O2 Test
T/O Trim Test
Radios On
Boost Pumps On
APU On
APU Gen On
CDU On
EGI On
CICU On
IFFCC to Guns
SAS On
DTS Download All
Cycle Flaps
Pitot Heat test (On then Off)
Flight Plan Selected
CMSP and subsystems (ie MWS, JMR, RWR, DSP) On
JTRS On
CDU NAV selected
EAC Armed
Rad Alt On
Anti-Skid On
Ejection Seat Armed
When you think you are ready to roll you check in with the instructor and at that point, if you missed anything you fail the mission. If all is good then you progress to a Follow Me taxi exercise where you follow a Humvee around the airfield, eventually arriving back at the ramp where you are given two minutes to shut the beast down. For the shutdown, the following items have to be completed:
Anti-Skid OFF
Ejection Seat DISARMED
Pitot Heat OFF
TACAN OFF
ILS OFF
IFFCC OFF
CICU OFF
Right MFCD OFF
Left MFCD OFF
CMSP OFF
Flaps UP
EGI OFF
CDU OFF
Left Engine SHUTDOWN
Right Engine SHUTDOWN
Radios OFF
Battery Inverter OFF
Battery OFF
O2 Supply OFF
At the end of the allotted 2 minuted you are once again assessed. If you missed anything you fail the mission and have to start again.
It was a good learning exercise for me. I had a decent start flow going by the time I finally passed the check.
Now on to takeoff’s and engine failures. It really is starting to sound like work
it’s not my flippin fault I haven’t sat in an A-10 for about 3 years - and now you are trying to pick me up on every flipping tiny fault ! who is this guy jeez - you don’t need a radio to fly this thing LOL
Did I make a BIG mistake in getting the advanced and tactical ones as well!!
