The (re) Making of an A-10C Pilot - Part II

[BeachAV8R]

This morning we will be practicing the procedures we’ll use as we ingress to the target area. This includes setting up the cockpit, sensors, weapons, and defensive countermeasures (which we covered in the previous lesson). Our flight will once again head to the Syph Target & Training Range where we will go through the procedures.

The Maple Flag Missions come with one practice mission, and one full mission. The practice missions generally start airborne, close to the action, to give you a chance to quickly dive in and experience the meat of the mission so that you can practice for the qualification mission. The qualification mission is more like a LOFT (Line Oriented Flight Training) in that it is a full cold start to shutdown mission. These are a significant investment of time (averaging around 45 minutes to an hour) so it is better to nail down the procedures during the practice mission than the evaluation mission.

As usual, the field is a buzz of other activity…

Heading out to sea while getting instructions and guidance on tactics and cockpit setup…

We are using BDU-50 training bombs, but we are also using the TRAIN position of the arming switch and LASER, so we will not be releasing weapons on this sortie…

A little friendly red smoke helps us get the TGP pointing in the right direction. It is worth mentioning that these missions don’t really teach you the basics of weapons and sensor management (as in how to work the TGP) so you will have to do some additional training (the stock missions are pretty good for that)…

Simulated bombs away…! (I know right…a PC simulator, simulating bomb drops on a training mission…

Out of the area…back on the way home…

[smokinhole]

I showed this AAR to my A-10 instructor FO (two tours in Afghanistan in the -C) and he was impressed—but hated your loadout.

[BeachAV8R]

Haha…that’s funny. Yes…not a lot of “boom” factor in that loadout for sure. Looking ahead - Missions #7 - #10 look promising.

[smokinhole]

Oh he understood that it was a training mission. His beef was that in all his years as an instructor he saw the BDU-50 used maybe once. The BDU-33 was far more common but never more than four. (or something like that.) Cool guy. What was really cool (and why I could fess up to my flight sim habit) was that he is a video game fanatic, like nobody I have ever met. He brings a Switch on trips! A buddy gave him a TM Warthog when they were testing it and he put it on Ebay right away. When I told him about DCS his first question was: Does it have an arcade mode?

[BeachAV8R]

That’s really cool. My wife used to know Bob Swain - pilot of the famous “Chopper Popper” A-10 in the Gulf.

It’d be cool to get your friend there into a Rift and into DCS - it’d be neat to see his reaction to that. “This…in an entertainment software package???” Even if he isn’t into the hardcore simming stuff (sounds like he isn’t)…it would be interesting to see what he thinks of VR.

[BeachAV8R]

Last night I flew ATQ-05 - Illumination Flare Employment. For this mission we head to the target range with a load of flares, and our job is to drop a pair on each of three designated target areas.

I really dig the new 2.5.X NVGs…but I’m still hunting around the cockpit, so I turned off deferred shading to allow me the more “classic” DCS NVG look…

As I go through the full startup procedure, some other flights are heading out to do their training…

After about seven or eight minutes (shooting for our top of the hour takeoff time), we are ready to go…

Yeah…there are some banding issues at night…but it doesn’t much matter to me…

I had to brighten some of these images with some post-processing or they’d all be just pitch black nothingness…

Setting up the DSMS for the illumination “bomb” delivery…

Using the TGP to find the pre-briefed target locations…

There they go…!

We proceed to the other two target areas for similar runs…one against fixed vehicles and the other against moving targets…

After the third run we are cleared off the range…

Back on the ramp. I’ve noticed that these missions are far less picky than the Basic Qualifications Missions…if you forget a radio or switch, you aren’t penalized as harshly…which is a good thing for me!

[BeachAV8R]

Back in the saddle for ATQ-06 - Air to Air Gun & Missile. For this mission we’ll be heading back out to the Syph Range to practice with some air-to-air weaponry.

Going through the cold start procedure. I think I’ve done this enough times now that I rarely miss any steps.

At the instructor’s prompting - setting the preset “funnel” selections…

While we are doing our thing, other flights are out doing their thing, providing for a nice atmosphere…

Heading out for the range…

On the way out there are several minutes worth of good tips, instruction, and guidance on lots of air-to-air concepts, as well as the rules for avoiding problems during our time on the range.

Knocking out the G warm up…

Heading inbound toward the range…

The mission designer did a great job of getting the targets to spawn in just prior to reaching the mission waypoints…

I struggled with the A2A modes of the HUD and had to refer to Chuck’s excellent A-10C guide to try to come to grips with it. I don’t know that I’d be very effective in a full on adversary situation…

Following up a missile hit with some brrrrtttt…

Seeing targets with the TGP is pretty cool, and does allow for a good chance at positive ID…

A good mission, fairly straightforward and easy to accomplish!

[BeachAV8R]

Today we finally got to do what all these missions have been leading up to - blowing stuff up with the gun (and rockets). We will head out to four target areas on the Syph Range and engage targets that are in the briefing. Along the way, we’ll receive lots of great information on ground attack from our wingman.

As we get cranked up other flights are going about their training day. Our instructor goes over a few housekeeping items while we are getting set up.

Once all of the other flights have sortied off the base, it is our turn to line up…

Climbing out over the ocean to receive some additional instructions and set up for the run toward the Syph Range…

Instructed to do our G-warmup…

Targets will be easy to find given they are marked with red smoke. There are plenty of other targets scattered around the range however, so we have to make sure we don’t engage the wrong targets!

Guns on the first target - rockets on the second - and whatever is left for target areas #3 and #4…

Loving the new explosion and debris effects that DCS World 2.5 has brought…

We work our way to each target location. Toward the end, as I’m engaging the moving convoy, I do start to worry a bit about rounds left for the gun, but I get a bit more accurate and miserly with my shots and we go home with several hundred rounds left…

---

Nothing shoots back at us…so I know I’m on easy street with this mission.

We hit our last targets and get cleared off the range and back to base…

One step closer to graduation…!

[BeachAV8R]

Today we move on to ATQ-08 where we drop some bombs on some things and make them blow up. What could be better? I used the ATQ-08 practice mission before flying the evaluation mission, and it was evident that I needed to brush up a bit on my A2G cockpit settings knowledge, so I fired up the original A-10C training mission to get a refresher. And I must say, those original ED A-10C training missions are still fantastic. The voiceovers, the guided button pushing, all of it is very, very well done.

So after getting some of the basic cockpit stuff back into my memory banks, it’s time to fly the evaluation mission.

As usual, we will be out on the Syph Range with marked targets and limited ordnance. In my practice mission, I was not able to kill all of the targets with bombs alone - you only get 4 Mk-82s and 2 CBU-97s. Theoretically, I think it is possible to pass the mission with just bombs, but you’d be hard pressed to kill the entire convoy of vehicles at the CBU-97 target area. But that is OK since the instructions say you are also free to use the GAU-8 to clean up any targets that remain.

Getting my weapons profiles set up while on the ramp and waiting for the EGI to finish aligning…

Off we go…

On the flight out to the range, the instructor reviews some of the weapons we will be using, the range safety parameters, and a few other items that keep the mission interesting…

As we pass the IP, the targets start to pop smoke on the range. It is important to visually ID the targets since there are other targets on the range that are not to be engaged.

The instructions are for a CCIP delivery on the first target area…

I get lucky and the first bomb takes out all three trucks (I was not able to do that reliably in the practice mission)…

The second target area we are instructed to use the CCRP delivery mode…

A nice hit on that target…

Target area three is a cluster of trucks and dealer’s choice on how to engage…

This is what happens if you press too low and break the range rules…(this was on the practice mission)

My first bomb lands well short because it released four seconds early for some reason (it left the rail when I hit the pickle button and I thought it was in CCRP mode…no idea why). The second bomb takes out two of the trucks, so I’ll have to wrap up target area three with the gun…

Target area four is a moving convoy with a mix of light armor and trucks.

I perform a CCRP delivery on the head of the column. The CBU-97 is just a fun weapon to watch work…

The first pass kills four or five vehicles…

The second pass kills another four or so, which leaves me a half a dozen more to clean up with the gun…

Once all the targets are dead, we check off the range and head back to base.

[Kinger]

Just was reading through this thread again today and gazing at all the cool pictures. It really amazes me (as a new pilot to the Hog) just how capable you guys are in the aircraft. I still struggle getting through the easy missions like Georgia Spring without a.) losing a wingman or b.) completing objectives in time for my JTAC not to perish before I get to him.

This past weekend I attempted CCIP bombing for the first time. (Been using CCRP for everything up to this point.) To say I wasn’t good at it would be an understatement and trying to figure out all of the different modes available for that delivery method has my head spinning…

[BeachAV8R]

I’m not real capable in it either. I remember about 50% of what I learn. Like I will struggle to remember how to get into that 3/9 bombing mode or what settings my bombs need to be on the DSMS page. And don’t even get me started on entering coordinates on the CDU. I learned that a year ago and haven’t been back to practice it again. LOL…so good luck there. Sometimes, the gun and CCIP are good enough. But sometimes, they aren’t. Thus, flames, ejections, and death…

I’m enjoying going through the whole Maple Flag regime though…it is a lot of fun and gives me a lot of purpose.

[Kinger]

I think in order to get as far as you have within the Maple Flag missions you can’t be THAT bad

[Kinger]

Oh and the CDU is quite the mystery to me. It’s like learning another language…

[BeachAV8R]

@Kinger

I think in order to get as far as you have within the Maple Flag missions you can’t be THAT bad

Well, compared to some of the videos of the experts I’ve seen on Twitch and stuff…I’m barely mission capable. I’m looking forward to finishing the Maple Flag series because I promised myself that I wouldn’t take on Piercing Fury until I had “graduated” from the course. I’ll be very interested to see how I do against an actual adversary…

[Kinger]

That’s a really good plan of attack honestly. Maybe I should consider doing something similar. To this point I have not even tried any of the real missions outside of the easy stuff on account of I’d prefer not to die

[smokinhole]

You guys needn’t worry about your Hog competence. In two Falcon Weeks the F-18C will be out and by the time you touch the A-10 again next year, this will all be forgotten.

[Kinger]

Trust me, I’ve thought a number of times about purchasing the 18 and abandoning the A-10C when it comes out, but what keeps me from doing it is the sheer number of resources available to help learn the Hog and the fact there is so much content available for game play. I think it will be a while before we see the same thing for the 18 to where a newb like me could actually try to tackle it.

[schurem]

Yellowshirt says: GTFO!

[Kinger]

And my journey into advanced qualification begins. I have a feeling these first two quals are going to take me some time as I’ve never even attempted an in flight refueling before. Yikes!

I’m assuming you just copy the practice mission files to the same location you had placed them in the basic campaign?

[BeachAV8R]

Yes, you can just copy the practice mission files to pretty much whatever directory you like and play them as single missions.

Mine are in:

c:/users/Chris/Saved Games/DCS/Missions/Campaigns/EN

…and I just navigate there from the single mission selection screen…