Back To Page 3 That leaves us with the subject of release point errors…and, incidentally, the underlying subject of this article. First, a quick explanation of why these errors are the larger of the two. Think of it this way…as you approach your target, you bank left or right to get lined up with it. You may […]
Back To Page 2 Weapon Ballistics Effects Due To Gravity Well folks…remember Sir Isaac Newton? He’s the guy that had the apple fall on his head, or something like that. He didn’t know it, but Sir Isaac has been making life miserable for us air to mud pukes ever since. Here’s the problem in a nutshell. Picture […]
Back To Page 1 Basic Considerations Despite what we usually see in today’s sims, the ability to put our weapon on target is not quite the ‘piece of cake’ that it appears to be. If sim AI realism continues to improve (and there is no reason to expect that it will not), you may well […]
by Andy Bush “Fighter pilots kill them one at a time…attack pilots kill them by the hundreds..” Introduction “Two’s in hot,” you say as you roll into the dive. Pulling your nose to the target, you aim the pipper at the target, mash the ‘pickle’ button, and go on your merry way, confident that you have blown […]
Back To Page 6 As the next flight member begins his dive, the FAC suddenly radios, “Wolf, pull off, jink…Strela!! The FAC is telling the F-4 pilot to randomly fly hard evasive maneuvers (jink). The FAC has seen a streak of smoke climb up towards the F-4. The enemy have fired a portable heat seeking missile […]
Back To Page 5 “Wolf 20, you’ve got gomers in the tree line two clicks west of the big S bend in the north/south road. Target elevation is 500 feet. Light to medium small arm to 23mm. Friendlies are east of the road in the hootches. Run in north to south with an east pull off. Best bail out is anywhere east of the […]
Back To Page 4 The Target Area Nail 12 is the airborne FAC (Forward Air Controller, an OV-10 or O-2), and Button 5 is the radio frequency. This frequency would be printed on the freq card issued for that mission. OV-10 Forward Air Controller With info in hand, the flight leader uses his map […]
Back To Page 3 F-4s In Revetments, Ubon Air Base, Thailand At check in time, the lead radios, “Wolf 20, check”, and each flight member responds in turn, “Two, Three, Four”. Lead sends the flight over to ground control, “Button two and start”. Each aircraft completes engine start and pre-taxi procedures. The flight lead […]
Back To Page 2 RTU F-4, Luke AFB, Arizona Because of this, the flight lead tries to limit the use of the term “standard” in his briefing. With more experienced flight members, he could streamline his briefing by referring to the manner in which routine in-flight tasks and procedures are performed as “standard”, but […]
Back To Page 1 Officer’s Quarters – ‘Hootches’ The day starts early for the pilots and wizzo’s ( abbreviation for ‘weapon system operators’ – WSO)…the four crews leave their hootches(base quarters) at 0600. Some head to the O’Club (Officers Club) for breakfast, while others are content with a cup of coffee and a cigarette. Their first stop is the Tactical […]
by Andy Bush The Phantom Yankee Air Pirates (Author’s Note: In the course of answering questions on my weapons and tactics web site, I had the idea one day of providing an answer in the form of a story. From that has sprung the Wolf 20 series of short stories, each of which is intended […]
