DCS: F-15C - Radar Tutorial and Finding Targets

The F-15's AN/APG-63 radar can give you a major edge in DCS. However, all those modes and symbology can be confusing to a new player. Ever wonder what all those modes do? This video is for you!
The F-15's AN/APG-63 gives the Eagle it's main advantage of first look, first shot. To make sure those sneaky Flankers don't get close to you and hit you with IR missiles, you'll need to practice using this very powerful tool in conjunction with your AMRAAM's. This guide is intended to help you do just that.
You can also read this excellent article by Mudspike that will get you pretty well squared away: www.mudspike.com/dcs-f-15c-com...

[@Shinobi117]

5 years old and such a cool video. You did awesome here man. Tysm

[@Zilch79]

Thanks, man!

[@emperorofthegreatunknown4394]

You have the best F-15C tutorials by far.

[@Zilch79]

Emperor of the Great Unknown That's quite a compliment! Thanks so much, I'm glad you're enjoying them.

[@Pixelon_]

agreed

[@Zilch79]

:) Thank you!

[@Pixelon_]

@@Zilch79 do you have a tutorial on evading missiles?

[@Zilch79]

I do, somewhat. Lemme try to dig it up. It's just about evading SARH missiles in the Mirage. kzbin.info/www/bejne/iIq7c3t6Z6yVp9k That may help a bit. It's not a really dedicated evasion video but I do show how to dodge Sparrows a bit.

[@ItsChumpkilla]

decided to get flaming cliffs 3, because of the F-15C, and this is by far the best tutorial/guide series I have found. Thanks m8.

[@heckpupper9532]

Hey Zilch, great videos mate. After flying mostly WW2 stuff and the Fishbed I've finally decided to give the fastmovers a go every now and then, and these tutorials helped me a lot. Cheers.

[@chuckwagon7860]

Hi Zilch, I've recently introduced my neighbor to DCS and he was having quite a hard time understanding the concept of radar functionality. I've explained the best I could, based on my experience servicing the Bendix RDR 160 weather radar back when I was an avionics tech and my experience with DCS and BMS. So I began looking for the best explanation of military radars I could find to forward to him, and my search ended here. YOU NAILED IT! He's now got it and forwarded this video to a few friends as well. FABULOUS WORK, FRIEND! Blessings to you!

[@Zilch79]

"Chuckwagon" Awesome! I'm really flattered that these are helping so many people. I didn't expect that much positive reaction when I did these videos.

[@thomaszhang3101]

I wish my neighbors love aviation as much as your’s does :(

[@jwdeepsky]

Wow finally someone who actually shows how to use the damn plane

[@Zilch79]

Glad to help!

[@ricardomascorro509]

Well, done. Very helpful. Just getting back into DCS. Your videos will make it easier and more enjoyable to play. Thanks.

[@loydman734]

Can't tell you how much more clear you made some of my biggest frustrations in the game with this video! Definitely gonna check out some of your other ones. Fantastic job bro.

[@Zilch79]

+Loydman Thanks! Glad to hear!

[@rohanpaliwal5726]

I see no reason for a Thumbs down for any one !!! Well done it's going to be very helpful for any upcoming F15 pilots in DCS...

[@Zilch79]

+Acor Vids Thanks, I appreciate that! I only mention the thumbs down thing because I get them every so often. It's just a part of KZbin's baggage, so I expect as much. I'm just hoping that in the future, the downvotes are accompanied by suggestions for improvements. We'll see...

[@Alien9828]

Excellent vid mate, thanks for taking the time to make it,

[@DavidKing-ph8or]

Gave up on DCS once before because it was too much for me! Just reinstalled determined to figure out the F-15 Your videos are a brilliant help. Good work mate :-)

[@mikedebear]

Great video for a newb to DCS like me. The radar has been a challenge, and this explains things clearly without killing us with jargon. Thanks!

[@Zilch79]

Glad to help! I hope it helps you get started on enjoying the huge world that DCS, or any flight experience, has to offer.

[@Furrowx]

Excellent ! ,coming from F4 bms this saved me many headaches TY

[@GunniesLetsFlyVFR]

Great Tutorial Mate - New to DCS so this is great stuff. Thanks. :)

[@Zilch79]

Great! Welcome to the rabbit hole!

[@thomaszhang3101]

Zilch79 or furball?

[@bryanschroeder6379]

Amazing tutorial thank for the tips. Such valuable information.

[@Zilch79]

Glad to help!

[@trimanbhullar647]

hey zilch, thanks a lot for the best f15 tactics video on youtube.

[@Zilch79]

+Triman Bhullar Glad you enjoyed it!

[@bcherbs]

i love how i can tell how detailed the info is on any DCS tutorial , by how many dlc's the up-loader has, and I bet this tutorial will be excellent ! Yup i was correct !

[@Zilch79]

Glad you liked it!

[@stephanejulien116]

Very cool lesson ! Thx so much !!

[@WILEY104]

Your tutorials helped me out massively, thank you.

[@DR87408]

Thank you for this tut!

[@Zilch79]

Glad it helps.

[@BroccoliZombie]

Brilliant. Thanks

[@paulmartinek1716]

great tutorial learned a lot!! would recommend maybe a impromptu recording try and get all your thoughts out then put them on paper and then go through and record the final take. I know that's a lot of work but it will make it more structured! give us a brief overview in the beginning let us know what we are learning and dig in. Also loved the bind overview, trying to setup HOTAS to stuff that works and makes it easy to use is key! No pun intended.

[@williampfeifer2208]

Underrated comment - good advice. The other thing that is helpful to the viewer is a breakdown of what happens at which time point appearing in the Summary.

[@gunzelloharris3348]

Thnx 4 da info bro. Nice vid!

[@Zilch79]

+Gunzello Harris Thanks! More on the way.

[@gunzelloharris3348]

Cool lk frwd 2em thnx!

[@eduardobarca]

Thanks a lot!!!!!

[@afacetiousguy]

Do you have a download location to download the training mission you set up? Thanks for the video, just getting started again with the flight sims ;)

[@nigelmtb]

It is Range While SEARCH, not scan. This mode searches and provides ranging information about the target. TWS tracks each target (giving lots more info about the target) while continuing to scan.

[@GetRealSin]

Could you possibly describe in future videos how do you find/search/approach targets in dynamic campaigns like blue/red flag? Especially when playing solo? Cuz I cant really find an in depth guide or examples. Do you keep your radar off and work with RWR until you turn it on ? Preferable altitudes to start looking for enemies? Stuff like that would be very helpful for new players(like me) who learnt how to fly and the instruments but dont really know how to use their plane effectively. Most of the time when you are new its like you said, you going in a campaign and you die without knowing from who or where ;p. Thanx in advance

[@Zilch79]

Excellent questions...it'll be hard to address this in a multiplayer context because I can't control the situation reliably enough to get good footage for a curated video. That's part of the challenge, a lot of this kind of combat is very situational and you'll need to alter your approach kind of on the fly as things develop...However, let me think over a way to give you the knowledge you need and I'll see what I can do. Thanks for the feedback!

[@GetRealSin]

Anytime! I enjoy your vids and your attitude so keep it up! Thanx again for the content and looking forward for more

[@chrisfullwood6643]

Great tutorial video, has definitely helped me in fighting the f15 against other aircraft.

[@tk7863]

I'm a noob and this was most definitely helpful

[@Zilch79]

+Gilthunder Firestorm Glad to help,

[@billhorvath9836]

This is great, without a doubt the best DCS tutorials! What servers do you fly in?

[@Zilch79]

+Bill Horvath Thanks for the compliment! Actually I haven't been playing online so much lately because of demands on my time. Unfortunately, I rarely get those blocks of uninterrupted gaming time that I used to. Hence, edited videos instead of live streams. :) I used to play on Open Conflict, whatever F-5 vs MiG-21 or WW2 server I could find, and occasionally the 104th.

[@Kev376]

How do you soft lock? Im a total newb and only know about the lock from pressing enter

[@tombaker5595]

Are you going to purchase the F/A-18C module? As I am swiss and we have them in our airforce I just have to get it, plus the ground attack ability adn fighter capabilities combined in one plane sure is nice.

[@Zilch79]

+Tom Baker Of course I'm buying the Hornet on day one. :D Can't wait!

[@thenewnerdtrucker]

My uncle worked on the 15 strike eagle upgrade.

[@duckinwar]

can i get the file for this mission?

[@commanderstud2417]

Is there a FOV for the radar screen so it would be easier to lock multiple targets in tws?

[@Zilch79]

I'm not sure if the F-15 has this in DCS. The F-16 has that EXP function, but unfortunately can't remember if the Eagle does.

[@hamieh1]

so you have to always move your radar up and down left and right to keep scanning, isnt there any way to scan auto ? the full front ? thanks

[@Zilch79]

The radar scans automatically. You can swing the scan zone up and down as described here, but unless you're in longitudinal/flood mode, the radar scans left, right, up and down through the zone on its own and should stay stabilized relative to the horizon up to the mechanical limits of the antenna pivot.

[@magshype]

This is super complicated, if i lock a target on the hud in the bottom left it doesnt replicate or do the full size circle like yours does, also if i switch to air to air mode, it pretty much removes all the targets and such from the lower left hud?

[@Zilch79]

Locking in one second display (HUD or radar screen) should be duplicated on the other. I'm not sure about loss of lock due to mode change, I'll have to test that to find it and it's been quite a while since I flew the F-15. I think it may depend on which modes you're switching to or from.

[@GhostStyle007]

i love that you got same troubles as me at then end, you literally don't detect them until the F10 map tells you that you can nearly get a refuel from them xDDD

[@EagleFulcrum1]

Hi Zilch! I'm studying the F15 manual step-by-step. But there are some thing that i can't understand. I can't realize what happens at my radar when (as you have said in the video) "In any radar mode, RWS or TWS, the farther nose the altitude of the cone that i'm scanning changes as increasing or reduce the radar range." In game and watching the video, I noticed that changing my range scale to 80 to 40 on the VSD and moving down the cursor in reducing, my elevation radar changes. But, if i have set my scale from 0 and 30000 tf, don't it should remain always on the same mode i have setted? Or i must to change my range scale continuously? Sorry i'm not english, but are you understanding what i mean?

[@Zilch79]

If I understand you correctly, I think you'll be wanting to set the range scale as your primary concern and then just understand that the cone gets bigger as it extends from the nose. So, if you're looking for something closer in, even if your range scale is at long range, you may still need to slew the dish up and down to detect closer contacts.

[@EagleFulcrum1]

Mmm partially.....what i mean is: you have a range scale between 40 and 20 miles, ok? If you move down your cursor, the minimal altitude scale goes upper. I don't understand that point. The reason is why, going down, the VSD changes display view?

[@Zilch79]

I think the upper and lower limits of scanned altitude are based on cursor position rather than the range scale of the VSD.

[@EagleFulcrum1]

GREAT..! Thanks!! So it is as i thought..! Ehm.....if i'm not too boring, may i ask you just one thing about the RWS/RWR?

[@Zilch79]

Go for it! I hope I can help.

[@333crypta]

noob here, when you were cursor bumping demonstrating that target finder thing. how do I bind that to 4 hat thingy? what do you use to accomplish that? what keys do I need to be looking for? thanks sorry if you touched on that already. I'm impaired due to stroke, my memory has gone to shit.

[@333crypta]

only have use of left hand too. sucks..

[@Zilch79]

No worries! I'm here to help. To move the cursor, look under the "SENSORS" category for "Target Designator Up/Down/Left and Right." You'll have to bind each direction to one input in your 4-way hat however you prefer to do so. You can also bind them to a joystick axis, which is what I do. I'm sorry to hear about your medical issues. I hope you can find input hardware that suits you, though. Thankfully there are many options on the market and you can use software to set up macros or whatever you need to suit your abilities and comfort. I'm thinking for you, it may be cool to have an analog thumb stick on a 2-axis joystick with twist, which would provide 5 joystick axes. You could use three of them for pitch, roll and rudder, plus two more for throttle and whatever else you need. If you're ok taking hand off the stick for a second you could maybe find one with a slider, as well, for 6 axes. That would give you 4 for flight and two more, which is great to slide a sensor or TDC.

[@333crypta]

@@Zilch79 ty for the in-depth reply. I'm using an older Thrustmaster. I want to set up voice commands but have not got around to it setting it up yet, still trying to get used to track ir. got it yesterday works great. I have chaff and flares bound to 4 hat, but that is about to change. ive just been flying terrain for now in the F-15c. having a lot of fun but need to get sorted out before i get serious about shooting stuff down. lol thanks again!

[@johnathandoe9346]

where do you find the tac view program

[@Zilch79]

+Johnathan Doe www.tacview.net

[@fhslax]

How do you change the radar elevation scan range without moving the cursor ?

[@Zilch79]

There's a key bind for it. I'm not sure from memory, but I think it's labeled "Radar range increase/decrease."

[@RealPyro88]

its “=“ and “-“ for me

[@Mikkall]

Awesome video man, really helped clear some stuff up. I gave you a thumbs down because it was 184 to 3 in favor of the ups. I figure the downs are lonely.

[@Zilch79]

+Mikkall uh...thanks...?

[@sadekgheidan]

Are there any AESA radars in DCS jets? If not, will there be? Thanks for the tutorials :)

[@Zilch79]

+BravoTwoZero Sadek Not at this time, unfortunately. Realism is the priority in DCS, so they'll only make modules they have accurate data for. The assumption seems to be that most AESA radars, being newer and more highly classified, are harder to obtain accurate data on. So, you'll notice the F-15 we have (a transplant from DCS' predecessor, LOMAC,) is a 90's edition. The A-10C we have in DCS is from 2003 or so. So, there's a bit of tech lag inherent in the product, but it's way more than enough for most enthusiasts to get a handle on. :) The upcoming F-18, though, actually has a lot more late-model goodies, reportedly. No AESA that I know of, but the other stuff is pretty fancy (ground search radar mode, ATFLIR, and some other cool gadgets.)

[@sadekgheidan]

Thanks sensei.

[@Zilch79]

+BravoTwoZero Sadek Don't give me too much credit. :)

[@sadekgheidan]

You are too modest bud.

[@chronicsock8960]

I just started flying and my jaw dropped when you splashed all 4

[@Zilch79]

It's easy when you set the AI to fly in a straight line without engaging you for training purposes. ;)

[@yarinmesika2552]

Which button is pressed for firing missiles on a plane f 15

[@Zilch79]

+failes inc "Weapon release."

[@trondyne3513]

Is it just me or is the F-15C rather slow for an F-15C? Seems to struggle to do 600 kts at 20K...

[@kefir8257]

it does not always show the actual airspeed

[@Zilch79]

That's correct. There's a difference between indicated airspeed, true airspeed, and ground speed and all are used in different contexts. IAS decreases as altitude increases, so IAS vs TAS or ground speed will be lower than you may expect. However, for aircraft *performance,* IAS is the preferred measurement.

[@owenbrady4825]

Zilch79 pls teach me de ways lol

[@ccuuttww]

How to operate the radar with buttons on the panel I don't like hot key

[@ccuuttww]

any jammer pod in this game?

[@Zilch79]

Since the F-15 is an FC3 plane, unfortunately, it's hot key only. You'll need a full DCS module for click-able cockpits.

[@Zilch79]

Yep, but the F-15's jammer is internal. The A-10C has an external one, so it depends on if the aircraft is rated to carry one. Most modern planes in DCS have ECM of some sort, though.

[@otterfishingjourneys1362]

Any chance you can send me your pc specs I really love flight sims and want to get back into sims. I was a hardcore FSX junkie back in the day when I had a pc much appreciated

[@Zilch79]

Sure. It's an i5-4690, GTX 970 GPU and 16 GB memory on a Maximus Gene VI motherboard. I use a TrackIR with a baseball cap clip and a pretty silly looking, but comfortable, home cockpit you can see here: kzbin.info/www/bejne/jamkk3awoaasjpI My in-game video is a lot smoother than it looks here (solid 60 FPS usually) and I'm trying to fix my video capture issues to smooth these out.

[@owenbrady4825]

Yeah way to go Springfield 😂😂😂

[@oskarmihalovic3903]

Any suggestion wich plain is good for start from 0, and not be rusian?

[@ImMora1]

Oskar Mihalovic the F-15c is a good overall fighter if you are into air to air combat. I think it would also be easiest to learn.

[@einarabelc5]

The biggest issue with this rader is how large the darn icons are, you can't really zoom in with the precision of the russian planes and that makes TWS pretty useless.... Exhibit A: kzbin.info/www/bejne/jp3aapmPn6x8q6c

[@Zilch79]

Yeah, I think it's an issue with it being a FC3 level sim. If you look at what the Viper has, the MAN RNG/EXP button will zoom in and expand the region where your cursor is very easily. That way, you can do what you're talking about very quickly. Unfortunately, it's not modeled in this module, so we have to make do. Or, fly the Viper or Hornet, or wait for the F-15E to come out. I think our Strike Eagle comes with the APG-70, and full featured interfaces so we'll get all the targeting goodies we can hope for. The F-15C we have here is awesome, but it's simulation is limited.

[@cocoabean5917]

I like playing dcs xplqne 11 and the upcoming msfs2029

[@truezyf]

so, it is totally as same as vanilla LOCK ON?

[@Zilch79]

+Gear5 ZYF Almost! The flight physics are new, using r "Professional Flight Model," but you're correct that the controls are nearly identical as old school LOMAC / Flaming Cliffs, since FC3 is a direct descendant.

[@truezyf]

thx. in this way, i prefer BMS.

[@Zilch79]

+Gear5 ZYF BMS does handle a few things better than DCS does.

H 295 is actually: HOT / heading 295

[@Zilch79]

Thanks for the correction!

[@kevlarburrito6693]

15:40 lol you know something isn't working when the OP starts mumbling to themselves and trailing off on tangents

[@trondyne3513]

how to soft lock?

[@Zilch79]

You can only do this in TWS mode. Basically, you hit the "acquire target" button once, and you can do this for multiple contacts. If you hit it twice on the same contact, you'll go into STT, or "hard lock" onto one contact only.

[@trondyne3513]

@@Zilch79 I tried doing a 1 vs 1 BVR... Couldn't get the radar to work, modes didn't seem to switch and I could never get the radar to see the bogey... Radar did see the E2 but that's it... No idea what I'm doing wrong... Keys controlling radar mode didn't seem to work and I don't know how to change ranges... I see move indicator and scan zone that's it and nothing I did got the bogey on the radar.... Too much work...

[@Zilch79]

@@trondyne3513 With the E2, was that in your circular RWR screen or on the radar VSD? As far as range selection, I recommended using the "bump" method of just moving the cursor bug to the range you want. The "scan zone" isn't really the thing you're looking for.

[@trondyne3513]

@@Zilch79 The E2 and the M23 were both in the RWR, but only the E2 was showing on the VSD... I did about 4 resets trying different things... I can evade his attacks well, but each time I ended up inside 2 miles without getting him on the VSD... Will try again later...

[@Zilch79]

Best guess is you need to change either the PRF or the scan altitude of your search.

[@gladrags666]

my radar goes much slower 5:16

[@Welho_FIWotBlitzEU]

I though this was fkin dcs world... Wtf

[@Zilch79]

It is. Digital Combat Simulator, DCS World system.

[@sejlefrew]

Whilst i'm thankful for the helpful video, dude you spent like ten minutes pausing your speech and saying "um"...you need a script! Thanks tho!

[@Zilch79]

Yeah, I noticed that, too. This was one of my first videos, and my newer ones have scripts for that reason.

[@S3b1Videos]

I sense scientific insecurity in you, my young padawan.

[@robcohen7678]

omfg i can't listen to you, you keep stopping and starting and taking forever to finish sentences

[@Zilch79]

Easy enough to fix. Find another video to watch.

[@robcohen7678]

@@Zilch79 yeah i did just that