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LOMAC/FC: Training Mission #04

Posted By: BeachAV8R

LOMAC/FC: Training Mission #04 - 12/20/06 01:28 AM



Training hop #4 will consist of a long distance cross country flight that will take us across much of the Crimean peninsula and allow us to practice some of the basic skills we’ve learned to this point. More than any other flight simulator I’ve flown the Su-25T in Flaming Cliffs requires a thorough understanding of the avionics and aerodynamic limitations in order to safely navigate the skies. Lack of attention for even the shortest amount of time will have you smearing yourself across the landscape in a spectacular fireball. If these first training missions seem a bit slow paced there is a good reason for it: the Su-25T simply demands a little extra time because the flight fidelity is so good that it does require skill and practice to master (and I’m not so sure I’ll ever reach the ‘master’ level of competence!).

Today we’ll be flying the Crimea Tour mission put together by ‘Brit_Radar_Dude” who borrowed the original concept from ‘Shepski’. Thanks to both of them for putting together this fantastic mission. I’ve slightly altered the mission by changing the default aircraft from the Su-27 to the Su-25T. You can download the mission here: http://www.mudspike.com/lomac/simhq04a.zip

The mission starts at Saki airfield on the west coast and proceeds via nearly 50 waypoints across the peninsula crossing various objects of interest before landing at Kerch-Bagerovo airfield on the east coast.



For this mission we’ll carry a full load of fuel including 4 externally mounted wing tanks and we’ll also tote along a “Mercury” targeting pod to play with if we find the time enroute. With so much fuel we’ll be at 95% of normal takeoff gross weight although I see that there is a red over-gross area that perhaps suggests that over-gross loads might be permitted for combat operations (?).



The training has been paying off as I’ve become more comfortable in the cockpit of the Su-25T and it only takes a couple of minutes to bring the aircraft to life and prepare for departure. A nice touch added by the more competent mission designers are things such as fueling trucks and vehicles moving around the airport.



We start off with 6230 kg of fuel (13,700 lbs!) which just goes to show how large this airplane really is. The maximum takeoff gross weight of the King Air I fly is 12,500 lbs.! I also note down the time (0600) of engine start.



Another nice touch is the “follow me” truck that guides us out to the active runway, taking us through the myriad of taxiways. On the way we pass other aircraft preparing for flight.





Once we are cleared for takeoff I advance the throttles and start lumbering down the runway…and lumbering is the right word for it. At such a high gross weight the effect is dramatic as the acceleration is slow and care must be taken during rotation not to stall the aircraft. It would probably be a good idea to allow the airspeed to build up a bit more before lifting off but keeping an eye on the angle of attack (AOA) gauge will assure you that you won’t stall the wing.



Cont…
Posted By: BeachAV8R

Re: LOMAC/FC: Training Mission #04 - 12/20/06 01:29 AM

Keeping a close eye on the AOA is critical when flying the advanced flight model of the Su-25T and I refer to it more often than in any other aircraft I’ve flown. During high speed banking turns and low speed maneuvers the AOA indicator is one of your best allies against stalling.



This cross country flight is a great way to solidify several concepts that we’ve learned so far, including navigation and use of the autopilot modes and sub-modes as well as keeping proficient with manually flying the aircraft and high-speeds and low level. Once on course I engage the route following autopilot mode (ALT-6) and sit back to take in the sites while keeping a close eye on the autopilot performance. One of the first waypoints we come to is MiG-19 on a pole near one of the motorpools on the base.



Care must be taken when on the autopilot because it will not avoid structures, so unless you are at an altitude where you know you won’t hit anything you should only rely on the autopilot as a tool to supplement your flying instead of replacing your flying.



Passing the Simferopol Train Station you can see how many great targets there might possibly be in future mission scenarios!



We zip past an observatory located high in the mountains:



A railway bridge made famous in many LOMAC movies. Unfortunately I’m not quite as adept as some flyers so I elect to go over it rather than under it!



Passing by the World War II Yak-3 memorial overlooking a town:



After a bit we make it to the city of Sevastopol, which is a large, sprawling city with many landmarks. I was only able to catch a glimpse of a few of the dozen or so landmarks as I circled the city. Site seeing in such a dense area is probably more appropriately done in a helicopter (Ka-50?).



Cont…
Posted By: BeachAV8R

Re: LOMAC/FC: Training Mission #04 - 12/20/06 01:29 AM



Nobody out playing soccer today! I was hoping to spot some of those World Cup chicks…



Enroute I toy with the various autopilot modes and (thanks to Dr. Shocker) see that combinations of modes are possible beyond those I reported in my last training report. For instance, here I’ve put myself into Route Following mode (ALT-6) but have overridden the flight planned altitude by manually flying up to a comfortable distance above the ground and engaging Barometric Altitude Hold mode. Now, instead of climbing and descending to follow the pre-flight planned altitudes, the autopilot will still follow the lateral course guidance but the altitude will stay locked at the barometric altitude that I had chosen.


The same technique can be used to apply Radar Altitude Hold mode (ALT-5) while still following the flight planned route. While low-level flight on the autopilot is fun and spectacular to watch, constant attention must be paid to the system because it isn’t without its limitations. Inattention can have dire consequences.



Passing by Khans Palace:



Offshore we pass by another LOMAC film favorite: the Sea Arch. Once again I choose prudence after investing so much time in my mission and pass by conservatively around it instead of attempting to fly through it (not even sure it’s possible in the Su-25T)(there’s a challenge for you guys!).



Passing over the filled in Pivnichno-Krymskyi Canal (spell that one without the reference guide in front of you!):



Soon we are nearing the end of our cross-country flight (I didn’t post pictures of all of the sites so that you all can have a bit of mystery to your flight) and heading off the northeast coast toward some oil platforms. Flying over water is probably the most dangerous low-level task you’ll attempt. What seems deceptively simple is in fact quite difficult if you don’t have some glare from the water or some texturing to see the surface. A particularly dangerous maneuver is high bank angle turns very low to the water since you can easily fall into a slight descent with your loss of the vertical component of lift in the turn and I scared myself quite a few times as I realized the water was coming up to kill me quickly! This is where western HUD concepts I feel are much more useful with their tape type altitude readouts instead of just a digital number display. A graphic is far easier and quicker to interpret than a numeral (in my opinion). Couple the digital altitude display with the fact that the radar altimeter is only accurate during straight and level flight, and you are set up for disaster if you don’t closely monitor your position and sink rate while executing high bank angle maneuvers.

Approaching one of the offshore oil platforms I switched to the Ground Mode on my HUD and turned on my Mercury pod slung under the belly of the aircraft. This won’t be an exhaustive look at the Mercury pod (we’ll cover it later) but it was cool to see the image displayed on IT-23M television monitor (TVM). Using the mini-stick on my throttle I maneuvered the circular targeting (laser) cursor over the fast approaching oil rig and hit the designate button and the target became locked on the TVM.



Cont…
Posted By: BeachAV8R

Re: LOMAC/FC: Training Mission #04 - 12/20/06 01:29 AM

I have to admit I’m itching to get to weapons training now that I’m starting to get more comfortable with flying the –T. I’ve seen so many juicy “targets” in my flight training thus far that I see everything as a potential enemy now.



Changing course once again the waypoints take me past several more oil rigs, one tended by a freighter (that would make a good target too!):



Finally we arrive at the final waypoint and the HUD automatically switches to the Return to Base mode followed quickly by the Landing mode. I’m getting a bit more used to the symbology and sequence of events and the approach to landing at Kerch-Bagerovo is as uneventful as it can get, which is to say that handling of the aircraft is always a tense and fun part of the flying.





After an uneventful landing I do a 180 on the runway and taxi back toward the end to pull of onto the taxiway and I must have been going a little bit too fast and I blow a tire as I round the turn! Darnit..I thought I had finally brought an airplane back without a scratch on it! I’m still able to taxi on the wobbly wheel though and am soon shut down in front of the targets, err..I mean the huge fuel tanker trucks near the base of the tower.





I take a glance at the fuel gauges and see I’m down to 2510 kg so I burned about 3700 kg of fuel during my low-level jaunt around the countryside. Obviously better fuel economy could be realized by cruising at higher altitudes, but the purpose of today’s mission was low-level sightseeing and getting comfortable down in the weeds. The clock indicated 0710 upon landing, so the mission length was approximately 1 hour, 10 minutes.



It bears mentioning that I think low-level flight in LOMAC is very well done and the sensation of speed is terrific. The ability with TrackIR to lean forward and have the HUD practically fill the screen and observe every little detail though the HUD or lean back in my chair and get a wide-screen perspective of the landscape zipping by is immersive as heck. I have to say I’m completely and totally addicted to the TrackIR now and no sim that I’ve used thus far benefits so greatly from its implementation. The Su-25T is great for low level flight, but with the Advanced Flight Model you definitely have to keep ahead of the game. Just because you yank back on the stick doesn’t mean the –T is going to instantly lurch skyward, it has a good bit of inertia and its huge mass resists abrupt changes in direction. I’m really enjoying the heavy feel that requires constant attention. I can’t say I’ve explored the manual completely yet (getting close!) but I haven’t seen any reference to night/all-weather operations. Is it correct to say that the –T is a bit hampered by low visibility as far as low altitude work goes? I haven’t seen any reference to HUD FLIR mode or anything of that
nature.

Thanks again to “Brit_Radar_Dude” and “Shepski” for the finely crafted mission! Downloadable here: http://www.mudspike.com/lomac/simhq04a.zip

Regards..
BeachAV8R
Posted By: Destructis

Re: LOMAC/FC: Training Mission #04 - 12/20/06 01:37 AM

Another excellent report. I am *trying* to wait until I get my taxes back before getting a Track IR, but you guys are making it difficult.
Posted By: EricJ

Re: LOMAC/FC: Training Mission #04 - 12/20/06 01:38 AM

Great stuff man, though the mission download link isn't working...
Posted By: Shepski

Re: LOMAC/FC: Training Mission #04 - 12/20/06 04:58 AM

Cool to see that mission in your report! Brit added a lot to it and did an excellent job in updating the mission.

The -25T should fit through the arch no problem... I flew the Su-27 through the arch from the coast side... quite a feat at the expense of many a wrecked airframe during the attempts. \:\)

Those oil rigs will serve another purpose in Black Shark... places to land and stretch your virtual legs.
Posted By: BeachAV8R

Re: LOMAC/FC: Training Mission #04 - 12/20/06 05:01 AM

Ah..sorry gents..fixed the mission download link..I put "sim04.zip" instead of the correct link "simhq04.zip"..duh! \:\)

Thanks for the great work on laying the foundation for that mission Shepski...BRD did a nice job putting it all together and updating it.



BeachAV8R
Posted By: EricJ

Re: LOMAC/FC: Training Mission #04 - 12/20/06 05:45 AM

Still man no luck...
Posted By: BeachAV8R

Re: LOMAC/FC: Training Mission #04 - 12/20/06 06:11 AM

Quote:
Originally posted by EricJ:
Still man no luck...
:D I must be hypoxic.. :p I fixed the top link in the first post..but didn't fix the one at the bottom...hehe..now it's fixed..

Must sleep...

BeachAV8R
Posted By: Dondy

Re: LOMAC/FC: Training Mission #04 - 12/20/06 10:49 AM

You Sir, are the main reason why I started flying the Su25-T in LOMAC.
Thanks for the great reports! \:\)
Posted By: Simplex

Re: LOMAC/FC: Training Mission #04 - 12/20/06 01:02 PM

What you are doing here is most impressive Sir.

Very well written and yet most informative. I read in #3 that thomas is going to put it in parts of 5 "lessons" to his page which is awesome. I hope he is reading this as I want to add that it might be beneficial to add the mission files and maybe (if possible) your lomac key-assignments to the bundle? Just a thought for conveniance.

Anyways, great work so far! I'm off for practicing ;\)
Posted By: EricJ

Re: LOMAC/FC: Training Mission #04 - 12/20/06 04:24 PM

Quote:
Originally posted by BeachAV8R:
Quote:
Originally posted by EricJ:
Still man no luck...
:D I must be hypoxic.. :p I fixed the top link in the first post..but didn't fix the one at the bottom...hehe..now it's fixed..

Must sleep...

BeachAV8R
lol no probs man, go sleep! LOMAC isn't going anywhere!

But uh.. now it's I would say Rich's mission for his recording for visual landing in the Su-25T... I double checked and yeah man, wrong mission now...
Posted By: BeachAV8R

Re: LOMAC/FC: Training Mission #04 - 12/20/06 07:35 PM

Quote:
Originally posted by EricJ:
But uh.. now it's I would say Rich's mission for his recording for visual landing in the Su-25T... I double checked and yeah man, wrong mission now...
:D Ok..I think I'm wide awake now. I (hopefully) fixed it up now...and fixed the links up there. Should be: http://www.mudspike.com/lomac/simhq04a.zip The .mis file within is still named simhq04.mis though..but it is the correct mission...

Whew...so much for attention to detail.. :p Thanks for correcting that Eric...

BeachAV8R
Posted By: Joe

Re: LOMAC/FC: Training Mission #04 - 12/20/06 09:16 PM

Beach,

Are you having any problems with keeping the Su-25T at sufficient altitude? Since there's no velocity vector it is hard to tell when you're going up and when you're going down, and for whatever reason I find that in the -T I go down when it looks like I'm flying level.

I jsut can't break the bad habit, which means whenever I fly the -T manually I get dangerously close to the ground way too often. I ask no because perhap you would have seen this issue on a 70-minute flight and dealt with it.
Posted By: Dr. Shocker

Re: LOMAC/FC: Training Mission #04 - 12/20/06 10:00 PM

Get used to using your VVI (Vertical Velocity Indicator). The 25T at high speed flies with 5 degrees of AoA, at 400kph it's closer to 10.
Posted By: BeachAV8R

Re: LOMAC/FC: Training Mission #04 - 12/20/06 10:32 PM

Quote:
Originally posted by Joe:
Are you having any problems with keeping the Su-25T at sufficient altitude? Since there's no velocity vector it is hard to tell when you're going up and when you're going down, and for whatever reason I find that in the -T I go down when it looks like I'm flying level.

I jsut can't break the bad habit, which means whenever I fly the -T manually I get dangerously close to the ground way too often. I ask no because perhap you would have seen this issue on a 70-minute flight and dealt with it.
Oh yeah..I get the same problem as you although I'm getting better at it with each flight. Keeping an eye on the vertical speed readout is the key..just to the right of the horizontal horizon line. When trying to maintain level flight I try to keep trimming to keep it showing + or - 1 or so. Without a real velocity trend graphic display on the HUD (although the arrow indexer does move up and down..sliding up and down on the right side of the HUD) or a tape that shows you relative motion..it is taking awhile to get used to the pure digital numbers readout. Where it is most lethal is over water...there I can find myself creeping down without any clue..and the terrain warning audible usually sounds way too late to prevent a collision.

Sure is a handful...

BeachAV8R
Posted By: EricJ

Re: LOMAC/FC: Training Mission #04 - 12/20/06 11:49 PM

Quote:
Originally posted by Joe:
Beach,

Are you having any problems with keeping the Su-25T at sufficient altitude? Since there's no velocity vector it is hard to tell when you're going up and when you're going down, and for whatever reason I find that in the -T I go down when it looks like I'm flying level.

I jsut can't break the bad habit, which means whenever I fly the -T manually I get dangerously close to the ground way too often. I ask no because perhap you would have seen this issue on a 70-minute flight and dealt with it.
I think it's the cockpit position or just the view config, as I tend to feel the same way as well, along with the A-10. But then again, Russians don't have a "floating" VV that Western HUDs do:




Which in some cases I prefer, and sometimes don't, given past experience with games like EF2000, and the A-10 and F-15C in Lock On. With the Russian system, flying becomes more feeling than depending soleley on electronics to tell you where your plane is going, such as a tight low-level turn, where you might belly flop if you're running low on energy, forcing you to yank the stick and pray you don't belly flop into the ground, wall, etc.

And thanks BeachAV8R, the mission works now \:D , I flew it earlier and must say it's a nice mission, though my first time flying it.
Posted By: BeachAV8R

Re: LOMAC/FC: Training Mission #04 - 12/21/06 12:26 AM

Yeah..the other major difference between the Russian display and the western style is that the turn indicator (the thing your yellow arrow is sort of pointing at (the cross type roll indicator)) moves around inside of the HUD (rolls left and right) while the pitch ladder/horizon line stays static. In western aircraft..the whole pitch ladder moves while the reference (either a little W and/or a velocity vector) stay in the horizontal plane. It takes some time to get used to the difference..for sure!

Interesting discussion...

BeachAV8R
Posted By: Mo1974

Re: LOMAC/FC: Training Mission #04 - 12/21/06 08:43 AM

Thanks for doing these missions BeachAV8R - I just got LOMAC and am learning the A10, which sounds like it might be a bit more forgiving.
Anyway, keep the missions coming!
Posted By: Groove

Re: LOMAC/FC: Training Mission #04 - 12/21/06 11:55 AM

Great AAR !

Beach, you cant rise your weight into the red zone of the weight band. Even not with a combat loadout.
Posted By: BeachAV8R

Re: LOMAC/FC: Training Mission #04 - 12/21/06 06:21 PM

Quote:
Originally posted by Groove:
Beach, you cant rise your weight into the red zone of the weight band. Even not with a combat loadout.
Ah..ok..that answers that question. The way that little bar looks it sorta seemed like you might be able to push the weight into a the red and be "warned" but still be able to continue. I didn't test it out though..thanks for the clarification!

Regards..
BeachAV8R
Posted By: BritRadarDude

Re: LOMAC/FC: Training Mission #04 - 12/22/06 05:05 PM

BeachAV8R - another great mission report, have really enjoyed reading all of them. This one was a pleasant surprise as you based it on the Crimea Tour I did a while ago.

Thanks for the kind words from yourself and Shepski - it was mostly good fun splitting Shepski's original map tour into the Crimea Tour and Caucasus Tour and update / add to the existing waypoints, only occasionally was it a hassle to hunt down real life photos and details for the accompanying background information pack.

In honour of its Canadian roots, I had Berkoutskaia (a CheckSix regular and all-round top bloke) do a French translation of the Crimea Tour to put on the CheckSix site which seems to have been popular.

I did the Tours approx 18 months ago, nevertheless 3 years on from the original Lockon release they still seem popular - about 100 D/L's a month, over 5600 total - I guess this shows that we have a small but steady stream of Lockon n00bs, which puts paid to suggestions from some quarters that Lockon/FC is dead and buried.
Posted By: BeachAV8R

Re: LOMAC/FC: Training Mission #04 - 12/22/06 05:32 PM

Thanks BRD (and Shepski of course) - I had a great time on that mission. What is really cool is reaching each waypoint then looking around trying to figure out what the "cookie" is at that location. I really liked the big train station and the oil rigs; I can't help but see them as targets in some future mission! :p

I agree..LOMAC/FC certainly isn't dead. In fact..with the latest little surge of activity I'm hoping more people get into the mission editor and start coming up with exciting and challenges missions (particularly since I like to fly them!). Obviously the possibilities are infinite...

Thanks again for your time and for the great contributions!



Regards..
BeachAV8R
Posted By: EricJ

Re: LOMAC/FC: Training Mission #04 - 12/22/06 08:20 PM

I have this itch to recreate BrzI's old mission where you fly through the poles. It's similar to what Rich had for "poles", which were static S-300PS radar systems. It was setup so that each was a target, but with FC it's doable as another compettition, too bad the Russian Air Force Staff College faded out..
Posted By: BeachAV8R

Re: LOMAC/FC: Training Mission #04 - 12/22/06 10:08 PM

\:D The Red Bull Su-25T Air Racing circuit... \:D

BeachAV8R
Posted By: Shepski

Re: LOMAC/FC: Training Mission #04 - 12/22/06 11:29 PM

Quote:
Originally posted by EricJ:
too bad the Russian Air Force Staff College faded out..
Do you mean HMASP from Flanker 1.5 days? http://hem.bredband.net/b133051/hmasp/standings.htm

I used to be known as "Stinger" \:\) What a great competition that was with some excellent missions!! Wonder how many of those guys are still flying sims.

Can't believe so much of the site is still online!
Posted By: EricJ

Re: LOMAC/FC: Training Mission #04 - 12/23/06 12:35 AM

I remember man, I used to be known as Flanker562 (guess I need to put that in my sig these days..) but no, the one BrzI had, the one AirTito seemed to dominate (well he is a serving AF pilot) that we did many a wild missions for Flanker 2.51, but he stopped after Lock On (I think that's the reason why anyways) came out. I guess it was just lack of interest. I'll see if I can't redo the mission though, after I tour the Caucascus though, I found Brit_Radar_Dude's mission so I want to give that a go.

Though I agree, is it still going on? or if I'm reading the date string it was last updated in '98?
Posted By: RSoro01

Re: LOMAC/FC: Training Mission #04 - 12/23/06 03:25 AM

Quote:
Originally posted by EricJ:
[QB] ...I guess it was just lack of interest. ...
IIRC, it was partly that interest was falling off but also that missions were more difficult to craft. The AI was much less well behaved than in V1.5.

Rich
Posted By: EricJ

Re: LOMAC/FC: Training Mission #04 - 12/23/06 04:18 AM

Ahh well, I guess I can make the mission and just relese it "for fun" then...
Posted By: FlashHeart

Re: LOMAC/FC: Training Mission #04 - 02/22/07 01:19 PM

Hi Beach

thanx for these missions and reports - I've been enjoying them alot.

What cracked me up was, whilst following the 'follow me' truck (I used to drive one of those...) as you are approaching the Clank on the left, the jeep does a smart 90 degree left turn and stops.

The follow me has to take drastic action to avoid hitting it..... I wasn't so quick!! \:D

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