Air To Air Gunnery – Theory and Application, Part Three Page 6

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Determining Sight Settling Time
Not applicable! Since the sight is a ‘fixed’ reference, ie non-moving, there is no settling time.

Determining The Open Fire Point
The major difficulty in tracking with a fixed sight is getting the lead for target motion right. Since the primary variables of range, closure, and angle off are infinite in number, all we can do is employ an educated guess. By this time it is clear that the amount of required lead is reduced if we can minimize range and angle off. We should try to do that.

We can also get a feel for the lead required by looking at other sim’s sight displays that offer a LCOSS. Use these sim’s reticle position or funnel display to gain an appreciation of open fire points for various turn rates and G loads. You will find that the displacement of the reticle or funnel reference varies directly with G load (turn rate). Here are a couple of screenshots that show the lead points necessary for typical angle off situations.

These pictures give you a feel for where the open fire point is. We then take that ‘mental picture’ and translate it to our fixed sight HUD. Here are two views of typical fixed sight firing points showing the reticle/pipper in similar lead positions.

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