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#3895996 - 01/16/14 06:08 AM My last AAR - DCS A-10C: "GRAD EX"  
Joined: Jan 2001
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BeachAV8R Offline
Lifer
BeachAV8R  Offline
Lifer

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This will be the last AAR I write. I won't say I'm forever retiring from writing them, but I've got a project that's been idling on the back burner for years that I'd like to complete, so by "resigning" from AARs I can officially free myself up to pursue that project. I've loved every minute of doing them - as they not only were a creative outlet for me, but they also let me share my love for PC flight sims with a wide audience for well over a decade. PC flight sims pushed me to pursue a career in aviation - and for that I've always felt I owed it to the genre to give a little back. Thanks for taking the time to read them over the years.

------------------------------------------------------------------------

*Note* - This mission was the final one in our PC Pilot A-10C tutorial series. In the previous ten issues, we covered everything from starting the Warthog and initializing it's systems to basic navigation, basic and advanced weapons, refueling, JTAC, missiles, bombing, tactics, and wingman ops. For me, it was a fun opportunity to throw some light on how complex our combat flight sims have become to our magazine readers who spend a lot of time reveling in the depth and modeling of Microsoft-type flight simulation products. I've had a lot of help along the way - not the least of which was from our own EinsteinEP, and all of the guys over at the DCS Tester's forum, as well as our own forum here at SimHQ. Many thanks to Snoopy for helping me out on technical questions that invariably came up. The GRADEX mission was designed to sort of bring together all of the concepts we wrote about over the past ten issues. The mission is not hard, but it touches on a lot of the basic concepts we tried to cover. A more experienced A-10 pilot could defeat the mission in twenty minutes with one sortie (bomb the bunker - strafe the rest!). A big thank you to Steve "Wrecking Crew" Hutchinson for taking my mission concept and bringing it to life. He added all the great triggers, mission messages, and really fixed the train wreck that was my original mission. Crew and Eno are a huge asset to the community and they really know how to pull it all together.

--------------------------------------------------------------------------





Our graduation mission consists of several phases - each of which will give you the opportunity to practice skills (newly acquired or otherwise) against a variety of targets with relatively light resistance. The briefing is extensive (and has a couple typos I noticed - those are mine!) and should help you out with the backstory. The Cliff's Notes version - a rogue Russian command has taken upon itself to seize and distribute chemical weapons - it is our job to take them out.





For my first sortie, I'm going with a SEAD configuration of two AGM-65Ds and a pair of CBU-103 with a reduced fuel load. The ammo bunker is defended by a known SA-6 site, and light anti-aircraft guns, so I'd like to the maneuverability for this first phase of the mission.



One of the more recent articles talked about shepherding your AI wingman through the mission and using his resources. As such, we've got a wingman that we've loaded with ordnance to use as a flying battlewagon. The plan is to use him sparingly and keep a tight leash on him and keep him out of trouble. His ordnance load is much heavier.



The mission starts cold & dark - just how I like it...



One of the targets in the mission is a cargo plane that is intending to take a load of chemical weapons that is being delivered by a convoy.



Air to air refueling will be available just off the coast if needed..callsign "Arco"...



With the light load my A-10 leaps into the air. I keep the throttle back as I climb to allow my more heavily burdened wingman to catch up...



We head for the IP and climb to around 15,000'. As we get closer the RWR starts to sing as the SA-6 starts its preliminary track on us...







Meanwhile, the VIPs in charge of the chemical weapons transfer are arriving at the ammo depot...



To keep my wingman out of trouble during this initial phase I give him the command to orbit at the second waypoint. While I lose his set of eyes for things like SAMS and recon, he won't be as maneuverable as me when I start dancing with the SA-6 site...





Soon the weapons convoy is on the way to the airport with a shipment. Don't worry - the convoy is crawling so there is no need to rush!



Heading for the ammo depot I start getting my Mavericks warmed up and the TGP slaved to the steerpoint...





Soon I'm in range at around 15 miles out and the SA-6 starts volleying missiles toward me...



The SA-6 is a fantastically fun missile battery to duel with because it isn't very hard to defeat. Plus, the missiles are large, leave a big smoke cloud upon launch, and leave a smoke trail in flight - so they are easy to spot and evade. Putting the radar on the beam is very effective at breaking the lock and they are quite easy to stair-step your way toward as you alternately close the distance then beam as each launch occurs...





Meanwhile the helicopter is landing at the ammo bunker...



As we get close we continue to beam each launch but we are starting to get within their effective range. Missile explosions dot the sky and you have to just hope you are doing enough to keep the SA-6 operator guessing...





Soon we are close enough to slave a Maverick to our TGP and at such a high altitude we get a lock from near maximum range...



Boom! The Maverick is a beautiful weapon!



Cont...



Inline advert (2nd and 3rd post)

#3895998 - 01/16/14 06:09 AM Re: My last AAR - DCS A-10C: "GRAD EX" [Re: BeachAV8R]  
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BeachAV8R Offline
Lifer
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With the radar vehicle out, the launchers are rendered ineffective, so now all we have to worry about are the fixed anti-aircraft sites and any portable IR SAM threats. With the convoy on the move, our first order of business it to use the TGP to scan down the road to find them...



Once we find them, I roll in for a CCRP attack using a cluster bomb...



Pulling off I pop flares and maneuver aggressively toward the ocean and relative safety...



CBUs are great for convoys - particularly soft skinned ones...





With the lead vehicle (a BMP I think?) out of the way, and the convoy far enough away from the ammo bunker to make it somewhat safe - I select my Avenger and make a couple passes against the remaining trucks...









Can't have much more fun than that I tell you...

With the first objective met, I climb offshore and call my wingman to rejoin formation so I can start to use his weapons...



As I circle offshore I take a glance at my fuel gauge to ascertain how much more playtime I have left...



I designate the helicopter that has landed at the ammo bunker and give my wingman the command to engage enemy air. He takes to it like a cat after a mouse...





Slewing the TGP to the nearby airfield, I can see our cargo aircraft idling on the ramp - awaiting the convoy that will never get there. I probably don't have to tell you that this is going to end badly for the An-26. I give the order to my wingman to go after the airfield's air defense units and he quickly ripples off two Mavericks in succession. As soon as his second missile leaves the rail I order him to rejoin to keep him from getting too stupid...





When things start blowing up at an airfield - I say it's time to drive over the UAZ blocking your path...



I put my wingman in a safe orbit again and select my last CBU and roll in on the idling plane...



Did I mention how awesome CBUs are?





Cont...



#3895999 - 01/16/14 06:09 AM Re: My last AAR - DCS A-10C: "GRAD EX" [Re: BeachAV8R]  
Joined: Jan 2001
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BeachAV8R Offline
Lifer
BeachAV8R  Offline
Lifer

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With my fuel getting light I round up my wingman and we plug in the TACAN for the tanker and head offshore. Since I'm fuel critical, I plug in first - and I discover that somehow I still have the A-10C tanking bug that results in an immediate disconnect as soon as the boom connects. Argh! I order my wingman onto the boom - even though I know he might get stuck there and end up flaming out...





I can only hope my wingman is getting fuel (ED - we could use a "request fuel onboard" radio command!) and my fuel low level lights are coming on, so I head back to base to refuel...





While I'm on the ground I try to order my wingman to rejoin - but the only way I can get him off the tanker boom is to order an RTB, quickly followed by a "FLY TO SPI" command to make sure I don't lose him. It works...



While refueling I change my loadout to GBU-31s for the strike against the ammo bunker. A very heavy load...



Soon I'm airborne and I pick up my wingman again. In order to clean up some of the remaining AA around the bunker I order my wingman to engage the air defense threats and I'm depressed when he responds that he is BINGO fuel. I was hoping to use his ordnance for the rest of the mission, but now I'm forced to send him home. I give him the RTB command and now I'm on my own...



I head for the bunker at 15,000' - well above the range of the AA surrounding the site. I pickle off four of the GPS guided bombs and they blow the roof off the bunker. Another mission phase accomplished...





With my two remaining bombs I drop on the clusters of vehicles that are around the ammo bunker hoping for some proximity kills and I get about ten vehicles of various types...



As I depart the area to head back to base one more time to rearm I can see the smoke wafting over the ruins of the site...



Then - something very funny and nearly tragic happens. As I'm about 30 miles from base I put my airplane on PATH hold with a slight nose down pitch intending to descend toward the airport. I get up and go outside to grab some wood from our woodpile to put on our woodstove (gotta keep warm on these missions after all) and I get a little distracted by the outdoor cats. I come back inside, and by now I've forgotten that I haven't paused the sim. As I'm chucking wood on the fire I hear this awful screeching sound and the unmistakable sound of the master warning going off. Oh crap! I've flown the aircraft into the ground on the autopilot!! I leap over the couch to my computer and to my amazement, the airplane has bounced off the ground (it was a shallow pitch dive) and is airborne again with alarms screaming and its rolling over like it's about to split-S into the ground. I shove the stick to the right, stomp on the right rudder, and jam the throttles forward and I can't believe it, but the plane actually starts to come around. I nurse it back to 210 knots and I'm only a couple of miles past the airport so I bank it around and throw out the gear. Only one comes out - and I see I'm missing a rudder.



The whole airplane is very wobbly as I come around and slide it onto the runway. The rudders and steering can't keep me on the runway with the mains missing, so I end up sliding off into the grass. When I come to a stop, the engines are still running and I'm alive!



To my surprise, when I call the ground crew for a repair - they actually do it! I always thought you had to be either on the ramp or the runway to get repaired. So after the obligatory 180 second wait - they jack me up and fix me. But when they let me back down, my rudder break off again and the nosewheel collapses as well...



But who cares! I start the engines up and jam the throttles forward and I plow my way through the grass onto the runway. There, I order another repair, and this time I'm fully back in business!



I load up for the last phase of the mission - the strike against the artillery site. For this I have AGM-65Ds and some CBU-97...



Cont...



#3896000 - 01/16/14 06:10 AM Re: My last AAR - DCS A-10C: "GRAD EX" [Re: BeachAV8R]  
Joined: Jan 2001
Posts: 24,314
BeachAV8R Offline
Lifer
BeachAV8R  Offline
Lifer

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Posts: 24,314
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In keeping with the theme of reviewing all of the topics we had covered in the previous issues, this attack will be JTAC directed so I contact Pointer 1-1 as I approach the area and start taking down the info..



JTACs baffled me for the longest time, but after practicing with them I've begun to have a pretty good grasp on the process and the directions. Here I'm flying a bit to the northeast until I get a bearing to the TGP SPI that matches the requested inbound heading the JTAC has requested (160 - 170)..



The JTAC isn't all that bright though since he doesn't have me take out the nearby ZSUs with my Mavericks first. Instead - he concentrates on the primary mission - the elimination of the artillery. He asks for CBU-97 and when I spot the smoke and call it in sight he clears me in hot...





The wind is howling out of the north which ends up pushing my pattern of parachute borne skeets to the south. I get a few hits on the first pass and the JTAC reauthorizes a second, then third attack. I gradually get the wind figured out and soon the skeets are drifting right onto the target area...









Mission accomplished! Whew - 3 hours and 40 minutes worth of flying! Yeah - I was taking my time and really demonstrating concepts - but that was a fun mission anyway.





I enjoyed writing the series for PC Pilot and hope to have some more DCS content to write for the magazine at some point in the near future (how excited would I be to write F-18C tutorials??)..

Thanks again to Wrecking Crew for the awesome tweaking of the mission .

Here is a download link for the mission for anyone who wants to give it a whirl: PC Pilot GRAD-EX

BeachAV8R



#3896004 - 01/16/14 06:21 AM Re: My last AAR - DCS A-10C: "GRAD EX" [Re: BeachAV8R]  
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wheelsup_cavu Offline
Lifer
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Lifer

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Corona, California
I for one am going to miss your AAR'S Beach.

Good luck with your future project. thumbsup


Wheels


Cheers wave
Wheelsup_cavu

Mission4Today (Campaigns, Missions, and Skins for IL-2)
Planes of Fame Air Museum | March Field Air Museum | Palm Springs Air Museum
#3896010 - 01/16/14 07:00 AM Re: My last AAR - DCS A-10C: "GRAD EX" [Re: BeachAV8R]  
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Magnum Offline
Lifer
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Lifer

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Another fine one.

#3896027 - 01/16/14 08:29 AM Re: My last AAR - DCS A-10C: "GRAD EX" [Re: BeachAV8R]  
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Smithcorp Offline
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Originally Posted By: BeachAV8R
This will be the last AAR I write.


Terrible pity. You write damn good AARs Beach!

Last edited by Smithcorp; 01/16/14 08:31 AM.
#3896068 - 01/16/14 11:38 AM Re: My last AAR - DCS A-10C: "GRAD EX" [Re: BeachAV8R]  
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corsaire31 Offline
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Thanks for your great AAR's over the time. Writing a pilot's daily blog myself (in french and english), I know how much time it takes and I understand after a while you want to do something else !
I will miss them.


Gigabyte Z87P-D3 - CPU I5 4670 Haswell @ 3.6Ghz - 8 Go Ram - GPU HD 7850 2Go OC - SSD Samsung 128Go - HD 2 x WD Black 1 To - 27" Iiyama Pro Lite - Logitech Extreme 3D Pro - Saitek Pro Flight Yoke - Rudder Pedals - Quadrant - Cessna Trim Wheel - Track IR 5 - Logitech G35 headset ... and a big coffee maker !
Flying in FSX/Air Hauler, Wings over Flanders Fields, Rise of Flight, IL2 1946 Hsfx, Condor soaring.
#3896080 - 01/16/14 11:54 AM Re: My last AAR - DCS A-10C: "GRAD EX" [Re: Smithcorp]  
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Gibsonm Offline
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Originally Posted By: Smithcorp
Originally Posted By: BeachAV8R
This will be the last AAR I write.


Terrible pity. You write damn good AARs Beach!


I'm not an aviator or a DCS fan, but I appreciate the work needed and enjoy them when I do read them.

Good luck with the new challenge.


Mark (}-:
LTCOL RAAC
IAW the Defence Communication Manual 2016, Chapter 3, paragraphs 3.28 - 3.30 - The views expressed are mine alone and do not reflect the views of the Department of Defence.
#3896086 - 01/16/14 12:16 PM Re: My last AAR - DCS A-10C: "GRAD EX" [Re: BeachAV8R]  
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Lucky Offline
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Always a pleasure to read your AAR's Chris. You've given a lot to this community and I thank you.


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#3896089 - 01/16/14 12:42 PM Re: My last AAR - DCS A-10C: "GRAD EX" [Re: BeachAV8R]  
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Para_Bellum Offline
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Great AAR and pics!


Sad to hear you won't be doing any more AARs. Well, we can always hope. wink


"...late afternoon the Air Tasking Order came in [and] we found the A-10 part and we said, "We are going where!? We are doing what!?"

Capt. Todd Sheehy, Hog pilot, on receiving orders during Operation Desert Storm

#3896100 - 01/16/14 01:12 PM Re: My last AAR - DCS A-10C: "GRAD EX" [Re: BeachAV8R]  
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Hi Chris,

I have always enjoyed your AARs and contributions to SimHQ way back when you had those Falcon4 AARs from years ago.

Clear skies and fair winds for your future endeavours. My best to you, Marisa and Kai.

#3896155 - 01/16/14 02:32 PM Re: My last AAR - DCS A-10C: "GRAD EX" [Re: BeachAV8R]  
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You always have set the standard Beach. Going to miss them. Good luck in your new endeavor.

#3896360 - 01/16/14 07:25 PM Re: My last AAR - DCS A-10C: "GRAD EX" [Re: BeachAV8R]  
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Wrecking Crew Offline
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Great write up, Beach!

---

And, thank you -- it was my pleasure.

Wrecking Crew

#3896383 - 01/16/14 07:44 PM Re: My last AAR - DCS A-10C: "GRAD EX" [Re: BeachAV8R]  
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MigBuster Offline
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Brilliant - the CO might not be as impressed about you leaving the jet unattended in mid air...........


'Crashing and Burning since 1987'
#3896435 - 01/16/14 09:23 PM Re: My last AAR - DCS A-10C: "GRAD EX" [Re: BeachAV8R]  
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Awesome story BeachAV8R. tomcat



"Trust me I know what I'm doing" Detective Sledge Hammer
#3896487 - 01/16/14 11:14 PM Re: My last AAR - DCS A-10C: "GRAD EX" [Re: BeachAV8R]  
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Great write up Beach. I've always enjoyed not only your tutorials covering different sims, published in PC Pilot and here. Ashamedly, I have not always taken even a moment to comment on all of your posted AARs or others for that matter, but have always enjoyed your blending of many elements to make it more realistic.

I hope this is only a short break, or relatively short and that you are able to truly put your maximum energies into whatever the next project may hold for you. Best of luck and I truly hope this means you're still going to let us know how it's going.


Laptop:
Alienware M17 R3
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#3896524 - 01/17/14 12:27 AM Re: My last AAR - DCS A-10C: "GRAD EX" [Re: BeachAV8R]  
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BeachAV8R Offline
Lifer
BeachAV8R  Offline
Lifer

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KCLT
Thanks guys.. I'll be around still, just not going to put the time resource into AARs for a while.

thumbsup

BeachAV8R



#3896531 - 01/17/14 12:33 AM Re: My last AAR - DCS A-10C: "GRAD EX" [Re: BeachAV8R]  
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DaveP63 Online cool
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Beach if you wrote an AAR on using a porta potty, I'd read it.


i5-4460@3.2ghz, 16GB Ram, Gigabyte GTX1050Ti 4GB, 2TB HDD, 500GB SDD
#3896728 - 01/17/14 09:27 AM Re: My last AAR - DCS A-10C: "GRAD EX" [Re: BeachAV8R]  
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In Al Pacino voice: ...and just when I thought I could pull him into writing Steel Beasts AARs, he leaps out!
wink


Good luck with your new project, whatever it may be!

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