From: asdyp@acad2.alaska.edu
Newsgroups: bit.listserv.games-l
Subject: Re: Falcon 3.0c question ....
Date: 17 Apr 92 03:51:33 GMT
Organization: University of Alaska

In article <2517@keele.keele.ac.uk>, csp55@seq1.keele.ac.uk (THE VAMPIRE) writes:
> 
>   
>   Well ..... 
> 
> 1. Any good joysticks ????? 
> 
>    I have a Quickshot warrior , and it sucks on Falcon 3 ...... 

EWWW!  Get a good stick if you are serious AT ALL about Falcon3.  I have a CH
FlightStick, and it does the job marvelously.  I've seen a good stick made by
Kraft, but I think the FlightStick is much better.  Of course, it helps to have
a second stick (one with friction) to use for throttle/rudder like you would
with Flightsim4.

It goes without mention that the best (yet) is a Thrustmaster FCS, with a
Thrustmaster WCS for your left hand to caress and a set of rudder pedals to
play footsie with.  I guess that would be great if price is no object, but if
it was my money I'd have a 486/33 and a warp-speed SVGA card before I got all
of that.

> 2. Landing with autopilot .... 
> 
>    Is it possible when flying a mission ??? Up till now I havent been 
>  able to survive one so I can return 'home' ....

Sure is possible to land on autopilot.  I don't reccomend doing it unless you
are stricken with palsie or are particularly lazy.  It is just so fulfilling to
make a perfect landing to cap off a beatiful mission.  It's like having a
tumbler of Scotch and a cigarette after great sex.  

BTW - the best hint I can give yo is to learn to fly on padlock.  Select a
target with your radar, but prosecute ALL of your kills on padlock.  You cannot
substitute anything for good SA in a knife fight.

Speaking of knife fights, don't forget that the winner of a knife fight is
often the one that brought a gun to it.  Don't make the mistake of bringing a
knife to a gun fight.  Cockpit view is fine for prosecuting BVR kills, but just
remember that a Frogfoot at 1nm on your six is far more dangerous than a whole
squadron of Fulcrums at 30nm off your nose.  Keep your head up and your eyes on
the outside when there are hostiles in your AO.

While you are getting the hang of padlock flight, practice touch-and-gos in
padlock.  You will find (undocumented) that if your HUD is slaved to ILS when
you enter padlock, your focus will stay on the runway centerline.  This is very
useful for finding your way home after a party.  

>  Any other hints would be appreciated ....

Sure thing Gino.  Don't rely on your wing to tell you when you are reaching
joker status.  You should be performing your own consuption check in flight to
determine your own endurance.  If you are like many rookies you will fall in
love with that stage-5 AB and use it everywhere.  Be careful, because you can
flameout before your mates.  This is very embarassing to explain to the wing
commander.

If you practice nothing else in Red Flag, practice the following:

1) Formation flight with other aircraft.  Set up a racetrack with yourself and a
couple of allied aircraft.  Give the other planes a simple route to follow, and
tell them to loiter at various points.  Make a game out of following them
around and practice simple maneuvers with them.

2) AA Gun kills.  Using the same setup as before, practice gun kills on enemy
(allied) aircraft.  Using the same stick-and-rudder skills you just honed by
flying formation this should be simple.  Graduate to flying guns-only against
progressively tougher groups of ENEMY aitcraft. 

3) RH-missile fishes.  Set up a head on engagement with a pair of Su-27 Flankers
and give them an air superiority loadout.  Kill them with guns after you close
30nm to get to them.  

4) One-vs-many.  Double or triple the number of bogies in the above scenerio
and give yourself some missiles.  Make sure the opposition are set to VET or
ACE (I fly against ACE exclusively) and go for it.  Consider successful
prosecution of a head-on attack on six or more Flankers (ACE) to be graduation
from this block of instruction.

> Thanks
> 
> Gino.

Cadet Gino is dismissed.

_____
David Prentice
asdyp@acad2.alaska.edu