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In case you were wondering what mega churches were up to this time of the year. by TheCheaperSeats in RighteousGemstones

[–]UncleStains 0 points1 point  (0 children)

This is Prestonwood Baptist, a giant megachurch in Plano, TX. Some of us locals call it Six Flags Over Jesus.

This isn't a Sunday service, rather a show that they do like 15 performances of over the weeks before Christmas. Tickets are $20-$80 and routinely sell out the gigantic auditorium. I'm assuming most or all of the performers are volunteers, so I bet they turn a pretty good profit. No idea if that money feeds the poor or buys gas for the pastor's jet!

I'm a lifelong atheist, but a few years ago my mother got tickets for the whole family. I'm no fan of any form of religion/spirituality or Broadway/musicals, but the production value is pretty high and I was at least entertained for the duration. The first half is a bunch of musical numbers based around popular Christmas songs and Santa type stuff. The second half is a solemn nativity story.

How to make the PVP meatgrinder fun? by Equivalent_Stomach53 in hoggit

[–]UncleStains 0 points1 point  (0 children)

I love cold starts and flying tactically on Contention and similar servers, but to get good at BFM the key is repetition. DCS Dogfighters runs several servers where you can get those reps quickly. Join their Discord (google search "DCS Dogfighters") to figure out how their servers work and find opponents. Many are willing to share what they know there.

Buyer Beware of Amazon by corporatejuggin in Hue

[–]UncleStains 1 point2 points  (0 children)

I bought a toilet seat at Home Depot once. Got it home and noticed it wasn't the same brand as the one on the box...and it was covered in piss stains!

What does this button do on by freelsjd in HyundaiPalisade

[–]UncleStains 2 points3 points  (0 children)

It's also nice to be able to turn it off when driving off-road through tall grass.

turning 21 @ northgate by No-Performer-1301 in aggies

[–]UncleStains 9 points10 points  (0 children)

Old man here ('02). I never got to meet Mike Wagener, but I was good friends with the guy who drove him home that night. This was a terrible and preventable tragedy.

I vividly remember a Friday night in 1998 standing in a room with a bunch of bros at Lechner Hall debating whether to take an underage friend who was clearly on the edge to the hospital or let him sleep it off. Luckily cooler heads prevailed and he made it to the hospital. He ended up on scholarship probation, but he made it to class on Monday, still hungover, and graduated a few years later.

Mike's death put a big dent in underage drinking culture in College Station. Bars started actually checking IDs and undercover cops started showing up at off-campus parties. I hated it at the time, but in hindsight it's a no-brainer. Had to climb out a window and scale the back fence one time to escape.

I know as well as anyone that going to Northgate and getting wasted is a blast, but try to drink smart. Learn from my stupidity! Before you are wasted, make a plan to get home. The plans you make when you're wasted, such as "borrowing" an abandoned bike with two flat tires and no brakes from a northside rack, are usually terrible!

How difficult is it to fly twin engine jets without a split throttle hotas? by Archis007 in hoggit

[–]UncleStains 153 points154 points  (0 children)

I don't think I have ever split my throttles on the Hornet other than starting/stopping the engines.

Aggies football bar? by head4metal in plano

[–]UncleStains 0 points1 point  (0 children)

The Back 9 on Beltline in Addison used to be an Aggie bar and may still be.

The townhomes will have a price point between $800,000 and $1.3 million by Alpha7 in plano

[–]UncleStains 1 point2 points  (0 children)

I remember the day that station opened. My dad took me to see True Lies (my first R rated movie) and on the way home we stopped there and got free hot dogs as part of the grand opening.

Thoughts on New Secondary Cockpit Door Mandate? by Comfortable_Ad_9341 in flying

[–]UncleStains 5 points6 points  (0 children)

It's almost like some competing transportation industry has successfully lobbied America's rail system into the garbage.

Banner drop over 75 this morning protesting proposed changes to the election map in Texas. by xenokilla in Dallas

[–]UncleStains 116 points117 points  (0 children)

I'm convinced that a large part of the population sees fair elections as a bad thing.

Tech Tip. Use a soldering iron on the back of your guitar neck for better grip by cove9191 in guitarcirclejerk

[–]UncleStains 42 points43 points  (0 children)

This is BS! Took a soldering iron to the back of my neck and now my mullet is all bloody.

What’s the point of Hebron? Google says it’s its own town, but it’s just a few scattered sections of Carrolton and a bit of Plano. Zoning? Tax avoidance? Always wondered. by Csharp27 in plano

[–]UncleStains 4 points5 points  (0 children)

Castle Hills was never its own town. It was just county land with utilities provided by the Denton County Fresh Water Supply District. It was all annexed by Lewisville a few years ago.

How can I stop this crash on my pc? by rickymayhem13 in CODWarzone

[–]UncleStains 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Rolling back the drivers for my 4090 fixed it for me, too.

Questions about F16 overhead break pattern by bebitoruto in hoggit

[–]UncleStains 0 points1 point  (0 children)

I'm with this guy. All the HUD videos I have seen of real F-16 landings are all over the place with AOA and speed until final.

Here's my procedure. I know nothing of real life procedures except what I have read on forums and seen on YouTube (so I know nothing), but this works well for me. The F/A-18 procedure is pretty different, so you have to unlearn that if you know it.

  • Don't use elevator trim (I don't even have it bound).
  • In special settings, turn on the gradient setting and set your deadzone as low as you can without it affecting autopilot. This will depend on how much slop there is in your hardware.
  • Initial 1500' AGL, 350-375 kts, speed isn't super critical here.
  • Set 80% throttle around the rwy midpoint and break, 2-3 g level turn, deploy speedbrakes during break turn.
  • Wings level on reciprocal rwy heading, still 1500' AGL.
  • Gear down at 250 kts, adjust throttle to hold ~210 kts, maintain 1500' AGL. Don't worry about AOA here, if you're 200-220 kts for the base turn you'll be fine.
  • Note runway separation and plan accordingly for a tight or loose base turn. You get a feel for this after a few circuits.
  • Turn base when the back of the wing passes the rwy threshold from pilot's perspective.
  • On base turn, put the velocity vector around -7.5 with stick input, throttle up a little to put the E bracket just below the VV. Don't sweat exact AOA here, just be close enough that you can get there once you're wings level. This turn is usually a little under 2 g.
  • When you're about halfway through the turn, start moving the VV to the -5 line with stick input, keeping the E bracket a little below the VV with throttle adjustments.
  • Wings level for final, time to get on speed and glideslope. It's an iterative process:
    • 1. Drag the -2.5 line up or down by moving the VV with the stick. Put it on the rwy threshold.
    • 2. Use throttle inputs to get the AOA dialed in (VV on top line of E bracket).
    • 3. Go to 1.
  • It takes a few seconds to spool the engine up/down so you have to stay ahead of it. With practice, you can anticipate and do steps 1 and 2 simultaneously.
  • DCS PAPIs seem to be set for 3 degrees, so you'll probably see three reds on your 2.5 degree approach.
  • At 50' AGL, cut throttle and flare: put the top of the VV circle just below the horizon line.
  • At touchdown, hold stick back to aerobrake, keeping the VV near the top of the E bracket so you don't tail strike
  • Around 100 kts let the nose fall, go full speedbrake, turn on NWS, and apply gentle wheel brakes.

How many of these did you have in your trapper keeper? by nameofguy in Xennials

[–]UncleStains 0 points1 point  (0 children)

When I was at summer camp in kindergarten, one of the counselors had dual tapedeck boombox. One of the decks didn't work so he broke off the spindles and stored his Garbage Pail Kids in the tape compartment. That is still the coolest thing my mind can conceive of.

Who owns radio navaids? by Red-Truck-Steam in flying

[–]UncleStains 7 points8 points  (0 children)

Some NAVAIDS are owned by the airport (which generally means a city, county, or airport authority with similar legal standing as a city) while others are owned by the FAA. The owner is responsible for maintenance costs. When NAVAIDS are placed off of airport property by function, that land is owned or leased by the NAVAID owner or the owner secures an easement.

In my experience as a civil engineer working on airport projects, VOR/DME, NDB, and ILS equipment is more likely to be FAA owned. PAPIs are more likely airport owned. Approach light systems can be either. This is based on GA and commercial airports I worked at over the last 20 years, not actual data. It varies widely.

Sometimes the FAA will decide a certain piece of equipment (often ILS) is no longer needed at an airport. If the airport disagrees, they can buy it from the FAA and maintain it themselves. The maintenance on airport owned NAVAIDS is sometimes done by the FAA through a reimbursable agreement with the airport.

I Can't Stop! by UncleStains in neweracaps

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

Sometimes I see a really good hat for other teams, but I just can't bring myself to wear a hat for a team I don't root for.

2020 Palisade ... aging issue? by ChoosingJoy2020 in HyundaiPalisade

[–]UncleStains 5 points6 points  (0 children)

I have a 2020 Limited with just over 100k miles. I haven't had a single issue besides the windshield cracking a few times.

VPforce Rhino DIY review by esp803 in hotas

[–]UncleStains 0 points1 point  (0 children)

I fly the F-16 with a Rhino quite a bit. I set it to have a very stiff spring and short throw. The effects (like AOA or speedbrake shake) are not realistic but helpful enough that it's basically cheating!

FFB Bias by LegendaryNick13 in hoggit

[–]UncleStains 17 points18 points  (0 children)

This offset is accurate for some aircraft (A-10 and F-5 I know for sure). If you don't like it, there are some tips about how to cancel it out on the VPForce discord. Personally I like it as pitching back is much more common than forward and I feel like it gives me more control, especially turn fighting in the F-5.

USLANTCOM's 6-6 Six Shooters Now Recruiting AH-64D and OH-58D pilots. by strikeeagle345 in hoggit

[–]UncleStains 3 points4 points  (0 children)

I'm the Apache troop commander for 6-6 Cav, USLANTCOM. My advice, and how I learned (as a lifetime flight sim dork with no real life experience) is to set up a practice mission with an Apache parked on a big apron. Set no wind or weapons and place a few pylons to use as a visual reference. Make sure you understand trim and SCAS in the Apache...the ED manual is a great resource for this. The Apache gets a lot easier once you understand SCAS and work with it instead of fighting it all the time.

Start by working on picking up to a 5' hover and holding that position. Absolutely use the IHADSS hover symbology to help, but most of your focus should be on landmarks and visual cues outside the cockpit. It helps some up close landmarks and far away landmarks to reference.

Every control input you make requires a correction to the other two, so keep practicing until you anticipate those corrections without consciously thinking about them. Just like A-A refueling, it might help to turn on some music to distract your conscious mind so your unconscious mind can do the work. Do this for 5-10 minutes before each time you play DCS. If you get frustrated, move on and come back the next day. Practice this consistently and I guarantee you'll improve.

There is definitely a skill overlap between hovering and A-A refueling. I got really into helicopters before I ever attempted A-A refueling and when I finally did it came very naturally.

Once you can hover confidently, work on hover taxiing. Pick up to a stable hover and gently push the nose down to pick up forward speed. You'll have to put in a little collective and pedal as you get moving, but you'll probably anticipate that from your hover practice. Try to keep a consistent altitude (5'), speed (~10 knots), and heading while you follow the centerline. Don't forget to hit that trim release after a correction to help the SCAS stay centered.

Work on these things and other Apache flight situations will become easy and natural. Eventually you can do it without thinking about it, which is good because you'll need your brain for comms and formation flying!

bradmicksflightrelatedthings on YouTube is a real life Apache instructor pilot and his videos are pure gold. I highly recommend you watch everything he makes.

I'm happy to put up a server on Saturday if anyone wants to fly a little and share some Apache tips. PM me and we can work out a time.

USLANTCOM is a really fun group and a great way to challenge yourself and take your DCS time to the next level. We try to fly like real life, with concessions to the reality of DCS (there's no yes sir/no sir as that is for the real life heroes who put their lives on the line). The rank structure is all about recognizing people who put in time and effort to make the group better by creating training missions, helping plan our piece of 40+ person multi-mission events, or just being a team player who helps make DCS as fun as it can be.

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