DCS World Online - The Beginners Struggle Is Real - F-16C Viper

I've been playing DCS World for about a year on and off now (well actually, I did buy the A-10 back in 2012, but barely touched it). I am still learning the ins and outs of the F-16C Viper and always end up killed from an unexpected direction. It's a lack of situational awareness and in this video it goes to show that situational awareness is the key thing to staying alive in the skies or saving friendly lives for that matter :)
Sorry, whoever I shot on the Buddyspike server running the DCS Syria map. I scanned a ton of times and when you followed the Mig 29, I was very positive your airplane had the profile of a 29. Woops!
I usually try to get on the coms with the GCI, but this time I did not because I wanted to record a video without too much noise. That, too, is not a smart thing to do.
The map I'm playing in is DCS: Syria on the Buddyspike server.
0:00 Intro Cinematics
0:33 Startup
4:00 Taxi to runway
6:05 Take Off
7:45 Contact
9:40 Target Engagement
12:40 Story of my DCS life

[@0xAnomaly]

Good points. What i see from this engagement. You were low and slow. In BVR you want to be fast and high when firing a missile. If enemy is low you don't want to be caught slow and too high tho. If you were 1.3+ Mach, 20k feet, you would be at a much better position. 1. your missile would have much better energy. 2. Your radar could pick them much sooner cos you would be above hills. 3. When you are fast and high you can drop down to denser air, get even more speed and outrun the missile easily. Also if you would have used TWS you cold shoot at all 3 bandits at once. If you then hold them in your TWS scan cone, all missile would get updates about enemy position and you could easily take them all out within one engagement. STT is good if bandit is flanking or cold as it uses much more radar power for the lock, but is not that sneaky as target knows when you locking him and when missile is launched.

[@plokkum]

1dal yes, exactly. Thanks for your insight! I learned this while going through more videos and getting to know the different modes through Wags’ videos. I’ve been training these situations in some training missions I’ve created, which is very helpful. Usually when you’re out and about in a server, things get real too quickly to even think about what approach to take.

[@0xAnomaly]

@@plokkum yeah, maybe would be a good idea to start on PVP servers with datalink. You will build kind of a sense for the players behavior and when without it you will be much more capable to predict the situation. Just don't get the habit of relying on datalink. Growlingsidewinder servers are really good and you can download a tacview file to analyse after the flight.

[@Spiniker0056]

Everyone hates to admit it, but I think everyone has committed fratricide in DCS or IL2 at some point. These games are hard, and mistakes happen easily. Always apologize and do better next time, and when you get killed by fratricide later on, remember how difficult it was to learn.

[@plokkum]

I agree. We all gotta start somewhere. It is annoying for both the initiator and the victim, but luckily the DCS community is generally a mature community.

[@w0mbatina]

This happens to me way to often. Ive even had IFF come back as red, but then turns out it was blue. Sometimes im the one that screws up, it happens. Anyway, im not very good at this game, but here are a few suggestions that help me stay alive longer on multiplayer servers. You dont need to go into STT mode if you are firing aim120s, a tws or rws lock is enough to send it off, and the bandit doesnt get a launch notification that way. I honestly dont know which missiles you were using tho. Also, go high. I know staying close to the ground seems safer, but its not. When you are high, you have a lot more energy to burn up to evade incoming missiles, AND you missiles have a range and speed advantage. Also, if you can, use datalink to give you better situational awawreness (i have no idea if you have datalink enabled on this server). Oh, and one more thing, if you are getting locked up, like you were, its safe to assume that missiles are being launched on you. So if you are locked, act like you are being shot at (which you probably are), and take evasive actions. Turning cold and running for a while is not a bad idea, as well as cranking and notching, popping some chaff and flares... Oh, and watch some growling sidewinder videos, he has really good examples and explanations in his videos when doing BVR.

[@plokkum]

w0mbatina very helpful information, thanks a lot! I never realized that TWS and RWS don’t give off a missile launch warning. Isn’t my target’s radar just picking up the radar of the fox 3 regardless of my scanning mode? Also, in this video the first missile was a Fox 3 (120b) the second a Fox 2.

[@w0mbatina]

@@plokkum Nope. Fox 3s turn on their own radar about 10 miles or so away from the enemy. Untill that time, they are still guided by your own radar, but since they use onboard radar for the final aproach and impact, a tws or rws lock is enough to get them that close. And since the bandit doesnt know if you have a tws lock on him, he only gets the missile warning when the missile turns on its own radar, at which point its really close already. Of course, if you loose your lock before the missile turns on its own radar, it will still try to find the target, but the further away it is when that happens, the bigger the chance it doesnt find it. And to top it of, the missile radar locks on to the first thing it sees, so if you just lob an amramm into a furball, it can accidently lock a friendly. Fox 1s on the other hand, need a single target track lock, because they rely on the radar reflections from the target. Its basicly like passive radar, Fox 1s have a radar reciever, but no transmitter. It detects the radar waves from your aircraft that bounce of the bandit, and uses that to calculate the trajectory. Thats why you need to keep the bandit locked when using fox 1s, and you have to make sure the radar is strong enough to provide enough reflections for the missile. Thats why fox 1s use stt lock. Fox 2s just use heat sources to lock. You can use a radar lock to slave the IR seaker in the missile to look in the direction of the lock, but after its off the rails, the radar lock is useless, and it just relies on the IR signature of the bandit. So in theory you can have a radar lock and the missile slaved to the radar lock, but if you dont have good tone, its still going to miss, since the seaker didnt find the IR signature.

[@plokkum]

Wow, super useful information again. I’m going to take all this into consideration. I initially thought that Fox 3’s would give off a missile launch warning upon launch, but just needed ‘help’ from your airplane’s radar until they would have the ability to go pitbull. But your explanation makes sense 👍🏻

[@burtpilon1735]

Hey thx for the video. I am really struggling with the missile dodging. I Made a practice mission on the Syria map in the Golan heights which just a beautiful area. I first started with 3 bandits spread out and had the labels on dots. I think I’m finally getting it down alittle but when I turned the dot labels off it was a whole different experience. I try not to even use labels just because I want to be use to it when playing multiplayer servers. The more time you put in the better you get at it. I started in April 2020 and I feel like I’m not even half way there. Love the sim but hate the learning curve. I can’t wait to be good enough to play with people and on the servers. Thx for the vid 👍🏻

[@plokkum]

Ah yes, I know the feeling. I used to just jump into online fights only to find it is a waste of time because of my disadvantage. So I started creating practice missions myself as well, they really do help a lot to get to know your systems. The good thing is that you can just start in the air and hit Fly Again as often as you want 😅 Keep practicing. The learning curve at least keeps it a genuine experience that’s not being ruined by trolls and players from that category. And once you get it down, it is a very satisfying experience.

[@br4nd0n79]

I started a week ago, it’s a struggle but rewarding, I enjoy hopping into Dcs and flying around. It is a lot to remember and comprehend. Are you still flying?

[@plokkum]

Yes, it is definitely overwhelming in n the beginning. You’ll get there, just keep practicing. I’m still horrible though :) I have barely touched DCS since my last video. I’ve just been too busy. I happened to boot it up this morning but had a hard time remembering the Apache’s start-up procedure 😅

[@davinci69]

How do you get the boresight ACM to work with the HMCS? I never get it to work and I'm rly confused by now.

[@Skimmer767]

Nice video, made my day :)

[@plokkum]

Skimmer 767 😄thanks!

[@jayleach5730]

I didn't understand why bugged the target using RWS when you saw they were a 3 ship? If you had switched to TWS you could have bugged all 3, launched at all 3 and got the hell outta Dodge? Altitude is key for BVR engagements especially when your targets are high but if you are high and they are in the weeds it is easy to lose radar lock in the ground clutter. It's definitely a question of endless practice for us all - great vid!

[@plokkum]

Jay Leach thanks Jay! Yes, I realize my mistake there and I love reading these comments because I’m learning a lot from you guys. But now I wish I TWS’ed all three of them, such a great opportunity 😂

[@kaibrown3414]

Grear video!

[@jasrajbrar6714]

I have been playing for a year and my dogfighting skills are pretty bad also I lose visual really easy.

[@plokkum]

You’re not alone 😅 keep practicing. I’m pretty sure there will be a point when it just ‘clicks’. You’ll get there.

[@mandel4889]

HSD - XMT off to L16 || When using aim9 cool the tip and uncage for a better solution.

[@plokkum]

Collgate TV would love to see a tutorial on this. Do you happen to know one?

[@mandel4889]

@@plokkum Search on Dcs World F-16 air to air guide. The XMT on the HSD is so your on the datalink net. will give you more information that other flights have gathered. status on fighters and such.

[@ronaldwatson1951]

Well hero you're not but I guess when it comes to evasive maneuvering that isn't you thang? It would be nice to familiarize yourself with the warning cues as well as countermeasures. Good quick video

[@plokkum]

I’m still watching the ‘Art of a kill’ video on and off 😊 it’s a matter of putting the theory to practice to really be able to use it in combat. I know some of the theories, but usually switch to my own intuition, which is killing. Literally.

[@ronaldwatson1951]

@@plokkum I truly appreciate your candor and the video I'm having to make a decision whether I wanna be bothered with DCS or IL2. Preferably I'm into missions and campaigns WW2, Vietnam or Korea whereas the fighting is more skilled and strategy

[@plokkum]

Ronald Watson thanks! I appreciate that. I started out with IL-2 with 1946, up until the latest. I tried getting into it, and while I really like the tactical side of it, I miss the study level that DCS offers. So I purchased the FW190 with the Normandy map and WWII assets, but quickly ran into the lack of players online and versatility. I really want to get back into it again some day, but for now am sticking with the complexity of the F-16 and hopefully the Kiowa or Apache soon. But I totally get where you’re at right now. Maybe just enjoy both? 😊

[@pilotabsolut3129]

TacView

[@Masteroftee]

Why u are turning on systems without power -.-

[@plokkum]

Masterpox it worked 😂

[@TinoStheReal]

12:44 POV of my using F16/14/18 in multiplayer xD for 1 enemy i kill 3 friendlys O.o

[@TinoStheReal]

1:22 wait so you wanna tell me this is not Reallife? My last 1200 hours were a Lie

[@dog4468]

why are the screens blue?

[@plokkum]

I'm not sure, but I'm guessing it has to do with polarization.

[@RogueSpecterGamingOfficial]

Soooooooooo many things wrong with your startup dude.