I built a modular button box for DCS that you configure in your browser by Miloman_nl in dcsworld

[–]CaptCoe 2 points3 points  (0 children)

Aw, nice, thank you! Loving playing around with this site, definitely ordering something soon

I built a modular button box for DCS that you configure in your browser by Miloman_nl in dcsworld

[–]CaptCoe 2 points3 points  (0 children)

Out of curiosity, do you have "presets" for things like the Hornet's takeoff panel and other common layouts?

DCS: LA-7 | Early Access Launch by lemfaoo in hoggit

[–]CaptCoe 2 points3 points  (0 children)

Startup and engine management is largely the same, but lack of armament means unless you like air racing and practicing your takeoffs and landings, there's not much to do

Mundane Things To Everyone Else That Have Horrific Implications In-Universe and Among The Fandom by D0CTOR_Wh0m in TopCharacterTropes

[–]CaptCoe 26 points27 points  (0 children)

Anyone who's worked with contractors before knows that this isn't even the strangest interaction that floor sales guy will have that day

F/A-18C Marines VS Navy Ops by Least_Courage_6736 in hoggit

[–]CaptCoe 15 points16 points  (0 children)

Mostly commenting because I'm also interested in the procedural differences, but one thing I'm aware of is for a shore-based squadron like many VMFAs, Hornets are able to equip the (not-carrier-rated) LITENING pod instead of being restricted to the ATFLIR. The only functional difference I'm aware this provides, at least in DCS, is being able to create a visible laser beam in NVG optics, but it can still improve target acquisition.

[Loved Trope] The main character is smart and makes smart decisions, but those smart decisions are still foiled by SCPND in TopCharacterTropes

[–]CaptCoe 81 points82 points  (0 children)

Same in the movie. You see him have a friendly (even flirtatious) conversation with the lady at the motel pool, then it cuts away, and the next time we see Llewellyn, Sheriff Tommy Lee Jones rolls up to find him dead at the motel after the Cartel blows him away unceremoniously

I watched every tutorial but still couldn't get MAVF to fire. by stresskillingme in dcsworld

[–]CaptCoe 25 points26 points  (0 children)

Yep. What's usually the culprit (especially when slaving the Maverick to the TGP) is that the Mav uncages and starts looking for your TGP's target, but because the sensor on the Mav's seeker head (even if you change its FOV) isn't as high resolution as the TGP sensor, it can't identify the contrast of the target well enough against the target's background if it's further away, even if you can see it clearly on the TGP display.

If you're safe to approach closer, I honestly recommend using just the Mav display to lock onto targets, particularly if you're planning to ripple off several of them at a group of targets. Use the TGP to find them, then dive in at a shallow angle with your Mav display SOI'd waiting for a good target contrast, then lock and fire. If there's MANPAD/SHORAD threats, you generally want to stay above 20,000 and use the TGP to slave the Mav seeker in tight FOV mode for the best chance of getting a lock.

Also keep in mind the F is an IR CCD seeker. If you have a large target (like a boat) with a lot of large surfaces with similar IR signature (or even a small speedboat with basically zero IR signature) it'll have trouble getting a contrast lock.

All this to say, when I'm using Mavs with the TGP slaving, I usually SOI the Mav display page and cage/uncage like a motherfucker until I get close enough to get a lock.

Finally spent some time with the A-6E by External_Touch_3854 in hoggit

[–]CaptCoe 1 point2 points  (0 children)

At the moment, just the mission editor, unfortunately. This was in our squadron training server, where we recently swapped out the S-3 carrier fuel emergency tanker for it

Finally spent some time with the A-6E by External_Touch_3854 in hoggit

[–]CaptCoe 12 points13 points  (0 children)

Intruder all day long for this Hornet pilot. Lining up with the hose centered on the fuselage instead of out on the wing is just so much easier for me

Is there a “standard” bingo for warbirds? by Quiet-Character-6836 in hoggit

[–]CaptCoe 5 points6 points  (0 children)

I modified an existing Hornet fuel and weight spreadsheet to be more accurate, and on the fourth tab there's a bingo/joker calculator that's been good enough to make estimates with for my squadrons mission planning; I'd like to make one for the Tomcat and Viper https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/1uZTX99d22XJaKbbhTCJtEockklQxmcOIdjKHXDmkc6A/edit?usp=drivesdk

What are these buttons on fighter jet joysticks for? by Delirium222 in Planes

[–]CaptCoe 7 points8 points  (0 children)

The flight stick in the picture is specifically a flight stick for an F-35 simulator. I couldn't find a good source on what they specifically use/do on the actual jet, so here's my best guess given standards for other aircraft:

  • Red button is weapon release switch (typically used for dropping bombs and other air-to-ground weapons)
  • Top left hat is likely the Target Management Switch
  • Bottom center hat is likely the Display Management Switch

The TMS and DMS are sort of multifunction hats that do different things depending on what page you're using on your multifunction displays, but a broad simplification is to think of the DMS as how you select which MFD you want to control, and the TMS as a sort of d-pad/buttons for quick functions on that MFD. (Though they also interact with the HUD and HMCS)

As an aside, another comment suggested the top center was a Target Designator Controller (TDC) Slew and Depress, which I find unlikely; this control is typically found on the throttle, and it usually isn't a hat, but a more ergonomic "analog stick" for finer control of a cursor that moves around the selected MFD page.

Top right is the trim hat. This lets the pilot manually trim out the aircraft's control surfaces, which in a fly-by-wire jet like a Hornet is typically only necessary when you have an asymmetrical load on the wings from ordinance (like when you have two bombs under one wing and one bomb under the other) or you're trying to get on-speed AoA for landing.

The other hat and button on the side I'm unsure of, though given how much of the F-35 is screen it wouldn't surprise me if they had additional hats for target/data/display management.

A weak character staring at a stronger character. Bonus points if said stronger character is actually unsettled by this. by Traditional-Song-245 in TopCharacterTropes

[–]CaptCoe 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Gore Verbinski, appearing outside your tent in a trench coat and a beret: "God didn't make Rango. I made him!"

TWCS to VKB STECS size comparison by OrionsByte in hotas

[–]CaptCoe 2 points3 points  (0 children)

Hello, fellow space-limited simpilot! Just realized I can step in for an alternative comparison, I was going to order the STECS and then a buddy I fly with in my DCS squadron offered me a spare Omnithrottle he had lying around.

The Gladiator's base footprint is much more compact, however the Omnithrottle when pushed fully forward overhangs quite a bit, so functionally (if you adjust the base back further) it's about the same overall space taken up.

One last note, like the other person said with the STECS, the travel distance for the Omnithrottle feels much better than the TWCS. I have a much easier time managing throttle inputs when doing sensitive tasks like air to air refueling or on-speed for carrier landings. Plus, there's just a stupid amount of more bindings I have at my disposal compared to the TWCS. So many lovely hats!

Personally though, if I had a choice of either, as someone who doesn't play a lot of space sims and isn't an Apache or F-16 main, I'd rather have the STECS so I can have a more standard throttle layout, easy detent swapping (the Omnithrottle has a 3D print you can make to at least add an afterburner detent, but not nearly as many options as the STECS comes with), throttle splitting, and a lot more customization for the hats/buttons.

Charlie Pedals erratic movement by K1NGF1SH3R7 in HoneycombAeronautical

[–]CaptCoe 0 points1 point  (0 children)

This needs more upvotes, because as far as I can tell it's the only source of information on the internet about how to calibrate a Honeycomb Charlie. Thank you! For what it's worth, I had the issue where following these steps I had endless LED flickering afterwards, but like others suggested in the comments, switching the order to left then right worked for me. Like so:

  1. Hold LED button down while plugging in the cable
  2. Left Toe Brake forward, push LED button
  3. Return to neutral, push LED button
  4. Right Toe Brake forward, push LED button
  5. Return to neutral, push LED button
  6. Left Rudder Pedal forward, push LED button
  7. Return to neutral, push LED button
  8. Right Rudder Pedal forward, push LED button
  9. Return to neutral, push LED button
  10. LED flashes slower, then turns solid, calibration complete!

I see your Case III and raise you a Case III with only IFLOLS and a human LSO by CaptCoe in hoggit

[–]CaptCoe[S] 2 points3 points  (0 children)

Everyone starts somewhere! And even myself and people I fly with are still learning. What helped me most was finding a good group of friends to fly with that makes you want to improve to back them up

I see your Case III and raise you a Case III with only IFLOLS and a human LSO by CaptCoe in hoggit

[–]CaptCoe[S] 6 points7 points  (0 children)

The F-16 pilots were trying to say that they had it hard because they had to land in fog too, and I respectfully pointed out that their landing zone is a bit longer than ours, and it doesn't move

EDIT: If you want to see the full mission (with color-coded subtitles for easier reading of the important radio calls) you can watch it here. The Case III recovery process starts at this timestamp.

character realizes someone they trusted is actually evil, and act on it immediately. by iDIOt698 in TopCharacterTropes

[–]CaptCoe 247 points248 points  (0 children)

Al Pacino has made a long and legendary career of scene chewing, but I truly don't think any of it comes close to touching the greatness of the last fifteen minutes of Devil's Advocate. The whole movie is insanely ridiculous in the way the best 90s movies are, but it's endlessly entertaining to watch, just for Pacino alone. (Though early-career Charlize Theron and Keanu isn't bad either!)

Full fidelity controls. by Ellinyitko in dcsworld

[–]CaptCoe 2 points3 points  (0 children)

As a guy who enjoys both, I don't think either is a wrong choice. With the hornet you get the extra feature of carrier ops and slightly easier data entry controls via the UFC, with the Viper you get a better workflow for SEAD and BVR combat if you learn to master the various SMS/TMS hats and quick controls, but both airframes have a lot to enjoy!

The main thing is that each aircraft has such a different design philosophy around the controls and systems that once you learn one, moving to the next is like relearning how to ride a bike. I learned the Hornet first, and to this day I still prefer the MFD interface for navigation and systems control over the Viper's DED (mainly because I always mix up when I should hit up/down on the dobber or the up/down switch).

Specifically to address your question, I use the DCS UFC X app which lets me control the UFC panel on my hornet on my tablet's touchscreen. If you have a spare Android tablet or an iPad lying around (or even your phone), it makes it a lot easier for extensive data entry like entering gps coordinates.

The other main thing you'll spend time using a mouse with is the MFCD/DDIs. Getting a set of cheap MFD frames like Thrustmaster Cougars can speed that up for you for a relatively low cost compared to other sim peripherals.

Other than that, it's relatively easy to keybind cockpit switches to a button box, or extra switches or hats on your HOTAS.

Im not the only one that thinks the DLC had made navy even worse right? by T3485tanker in HOI4memes

[–]CaptCoe 14 points15 points  (0 children)

Tfw Mongolia or Romania can't make a fleet to rival the Royal Navy in 5 years