My favorite loadout in the game is 6xMavs, TGP, ECM, 2xAIM-9s. The inner 4 pylons would then either carry CBU-97s, -87s, or LGBs/IAMs. For basic armor hunting, I prefer 4xCBU-97s to deal with clustered armor, and use the gun whenever softer targets present themselves. However, I have realized this isn't really mirroring real-world loadouts for a variety of reasons. For instance, Eddie and others have mentioned that CBUs are not used by the A-10 outside of testing and are rarely even loaded on the A-10. Then there's the discussion about Mavericks and their effect on landing gear/paint/TGP and how it's not advised to have more than 4 on.

So, which weapons do the A-10 use the most? What is the most common A-10 loadout for tankbusting? For general CAS? For "I dunno what's gonna happen out there so I'll bring these with me"? I realize that sometimes the loadout will be determined by the mission goals and such, but assuming you are just going up on a general CAS flight and there is no intel about possible enemy forces that the ground guys might encounter, what do you bring?

Looking at some payloads that carry MK-82 on stations 4, 5, 7 and 8 I wonder if there is an option IRL to overcome the limitation that stations 5 and 7 can only ripple pairs. The payload above would only allow the following if I am right:

- ripple 2 pairs (4-8 and 5-7)
- ripple 2 singles (4-8) and drop 1 pair (5-7)

Or is there a way to "bypass" the safety feature? Of course the above counts for every weapon that can be rippled.