Jester and the AIM-54: How to

I figured it was worth making this tutorial since it isn't mentioned in the documentation provided by Heatblur. This video covers how to use the AIM-54 Phoenix missile in Track While Scan (TWS) mode with the Jester AI and as a RIO. I do apologize for anything I mess up in the RIO pit, I'm still learning the systems there. If you have any questions, feel free to comment below and I'll try and answer them to the best of my ability!
Thanks for watching!
EDITED:
In response to the request for clarification, here is the forum post I pulled information from for this video.
forums.eagle.ru/showthread.ph...

[@JETZcorp]

You can control antenna elevation in TWS, but you have to be in TWS MAN. When you fox a Phoenix it clicks itself into TWS AUTO because the AWG-9 doesn't trust you to support the missile yourself. After splashes or misses, you can go back to manual and steer your antenna again to search. Or ask the pilot how many explosions he saw, if he wasn't too busy reading Facebook while the RIO does all the work. XD

[@Rhinozherous]

Unfortunately there are not that much jester tutorials out, thank you for that. But only 480p is a bit low, nothing to see.

[@Combatant5]

Yeah, I'm not sure why it uploaded in 480 only. I've got a couple more ideas for videos that I'm going to put together.

[@christopherdraper7131]

You literally answered all my questions regarding AA weapons with this tutorial ! Cheers !

[@Combatant5]

Glad to have helped!

[@ghostrider1827]

Thanks Combatant5 ... I'm saving this vid to study once I get my rig up and running in Sept!

[@MongooseTacticool]

It's cool Jester makes "mistakes", makes it seem more real.

[@Combatant5]

Seconded! It's pretty cool.

[@Confidenta79]

Great stuff, thank you! Keep these weapons tutorials combined with Jester radar actions coming. Btw, more pixels would be preferable.

[@Combatant5]

No problem! The next video will cover defensive systems, but we'll get back to weapons after that with unguided air-to-ground weapons. Hopefully the CMDS video will have better resolution, I'm still trying to figure out the issue that caused the potato quality.

[@Confidenta79]

@@Combatant5 Great!

[@DecibeldB]

Thank you for that Combatant, I've been looking for info on that since it's out. If you planning to do more please up load them on 1080 if you can o7

[@Combatant5]

The next video will hopefully be of better quality, I'm still trying to figure out where the bottleneck is (my video editing suite or my capture suite).

[@WeMustExploit]

Can you IFF in TWS while in RIO seat? I would think/hope the firing priority doesn't include friendlies. If that is true, wouldn't you have to STT lock and IFF interrogate if you're approaching a furball?

[@Combatant5]

Yes, you can. It's the un-marked button near the scan modes on the Radar panel.

[@i_just_dont_care_anymore]

When using AIM9's you really need to use SEAM lock, it locks the seaker head to the radar target and gives you constant tone.

[@Combatant5]

I did when I fired on him. I've found SEAM is a bit hit or miss thus far in the Tomcat.

[@nillermatic18]

Very helpful Video

[@Combatant5]

Thanks! Glad you found it helpful!

[@dogtaggamer1]

THIS is the kind of Tutorial needed. Great job Combatant5

[@shydncrumph8119]

1080 please. thx

[@Combatant5]

Yep! Several people already asked about it. That's the next thing I need to figure out.

[@thebrain7441]

The Aim-54 as of now is far too unstable, and I’m sure that’s to balance out mp. Just before it hits a target, like 10 miles away, it can bleed off a thousand knots of airspeed in two seconds. Now the Aim-7 on the other hand has received a beautiful update that makes it a very deadly missile. It tracks into the target smooth as silk and does not make any ridiculous maneuvers.

[@kittuete]

I used to hate the AIM7. It was extremely unreliable in my opinion, but it seems to preform way better now.

[@talocan1986]

Maybe I haven´t understood targeting procedure in this video. English is not my native language. Is it possible to launch two phoenix shortly one after another hitting two different targets? So as soon as the first phoenix is launched, the radar will automatically lock on to the next target. If this is possible, what commands do I have to give to Jester? Maybe something with TWS?

[@Combatant5]

It is, correct. Jester will automatically use TWS Auto, which will detect and track targets. He'll also identify them as friend, foe, or unknown to help the launch order. After that, get yourself into a firing position and fire repeatedly until you're out of targets or missiles.

[@talocan1986]

hmmm…I´ve done like in the video. I launched two phoenix shortly one after another and both were flying towards the same target. Sure that Jester automatically uses TWS? But once a target is down Jester locks onto the next one, that´s right.

[@Combatant5]

@@talocan1986 no. You'll have to command another STT through the Jester menu or use one of the Pilot Lock On modes. That said, it is possible for two Phoenixes to lock onto the same target after receiving their command to go active. The missile will lock on to the first thing it sees, which could cause that.

[@Saucebrunette]

Nice video! What is the gray/black circle on your VDI at like 3mins?

[@Combatant5]

That's an excellent question that I don't know the answer to! Hopefully someone can tell both of us. The documentation is a bit light on VDI and HSD symbology.

[@Piergeiron]

That's the allowable steering error circle. In STT you actually get the "inverted T" symbol that shows you the actual direction you are supposed to fly to optimize weapon flight path. Keep that inside the circle and your attitude is fine for weapons employment.

[@Combatant5]

@@Piergeiron thanks for the info! Much appreciated!

[@Piergeiron]

@@Combatant5 you're welcome! Also you were wondering about center-of-mass centroid for a formation of contacts tracked by the AWG-9: it is not yet implemented and will come in later in early access: forums.eagle.ru/showthread.php?p=3840537#post3840537

[@Combatant5]

@@Piergeiron Yes! I heard that information from one of the Heatblur guys on Hoggit. That's something that will be really nice to have when it's done.

[@TheSuperhomosapien]

Jester didn't even eject once. Impressive.

[@igorkratka]

Hi! watched the video a few times but still did not get how you managed to lock 3 targets simultaneously from the pilots seat. In Jester`s comms menu is just Single target option. How to do it? Thank you.

[@Combatant5]

Jester automatically uses the TWS Auto radar mode, which will acquire them automatically. He'll then classify the contacts as Hostile, Ambiguous, Friendly, or Unknown to refine the launch order that the WCS will use when you fire the missiles.

[@het61yt]

As the pilot turn your tid (bottom screen) from nav mode to tid (mirror) this means your tid will now mirror jesters tid showing you what he is doing with the AWG 9 radar. As unknown contacts show up on the radar with a number to the left of them showing their altitude in 1×10000 feet. (with a half square above them) jester will (slowly) IFF them changing the symbol to a half circle (friendly) or a half diamond (bandit). As the pilot if you now select your phoenix missles a number will appear to the right or the target indicating it's priority in which the targeting computer ( RIO can change priority order) has determined which target to fire at first, then second and so on. When the target flashes it is good launch zone parameters for your missle. Once you fire your missle the number to the left (edit i mean right) changes and indicates the time it will take before your missile will hit the target.

[@Confidenta79]

@@het61yt Very helpful, thanks. Doesn't the altitude number on the left range in the following order: 0 =0-4999, 1=5000-14999, 2=15000-24999 and so on? And you mean the number on the right changes from order number to time for missile to hit, right? (You wrote left).

[@het61yt]

@@Confidenta79 yes you are correct on both points, sorry for the errors. Also apparently the RIO can change the priority of the track while scanned targets, but I haven't figured out how to instruct Jester to do that.

[@Confidenta79]

@@het61yt No worries mate, just wanted to clarify for myself and my learning process. Oh right, I saw a video regarding that point, but I can't seem to find it again.

[@manni17b]

Oh my goodness this is such a major help. I went from hating Jester to loving him after realizing what I was doing wasn't right. Quick question though, how the hell do you lean in the cockpit? Every time I google it its just people trying to push mods

[@Combatant5]

I'm using TrackIR, you can do it using the right mouse button if you bind it to the "Camera Transpose Mode" in the key binds.

[@DD-sw1dd]

Do yourself a favor and get TrackIR man. It’s cheap and effective. I honestly still use it (with the included reflective hat clip) over the Oculus Rift quiet a bit. Mainly bc It’s hard if not impossible to read some of the instruments and MFD’s with the current res of VR.

[@Combatant5]

@@DD-sw1dd seconded. It's not terribly expensive either. I'm using a TrackHat Pro clip and a PS3 Eye camera is all. Works very well.

[@MongooseTacticool]

Google FaceTrackNoIR. Uses a standard webcam to Track head movements, it's very cheap. Let me know if you need a good profile for FaceTrack.

[@DaggerOneMike]

@@MongooseTacticool thanks I'm going to look this up. I only use vr and was looking for an alternative from time to time. I may get ahold of you depending on the level needed to build a profile.

[@brosghost]

hero

[@ctguy1955]

Jester only has about a page and a half for the pilot and Control 1-8 do nothing ! My mouse does point to the options, but no buttons allow Me to use Jester. Thanks for any help !

[@Combatant5]

I'd have to see what you're doing to tell you what's going wrong. Have you opened the Jester menu to start with? The control buttons won't do anything unless you do open the menu first.

[@ctguy1955]

@@Combatant5 I finally figured out that left control and 1-8 allow me to choose the properties I want. I will have to learn how to set up a hatswitch to do so. Thanks Also would You happen to know why right Alt and J do not allow Me to jump into another aircraft any longer ? not even making them a client helps, but I never had to do that anyway before the latest updates.

[@Combatant5]

@@ctguy1955 I would not, no. You should still be able to do so through the "Select Role" menu under the game menu opened via escape.

[@a100percentbeef8]

Very nice, but higher resolution would be great.

[@RaiderSix]

I always get “can’t do that” from Jester every time I ask for a lock. Anybody think of what I may be doing wrong?

[@cornelius2993]

Point the plane into the direction to the enemy contacts, which you can see on the tid?

[@irememberjeepz]

Even doing that Jester won’t lock. Must be because it’s an AWACS datalink track and Jester isn’t actually doing his job as far as auto azimuth and elevation.

[@mersyndol]

Backspace to hide the stick :)

[@Combatant5]

This video was actually made before they added that function in.

[@HoLyzPiNoyZ]

link to the post?

[@Combatant5]

If I find it, I'll post it in the description and respond here.

[@Combatant5]

See the updated description!

[@HoLyzPiNoyZ]

@@Combatant5 appreciate it thx!

[@vermin1970]

Bandit bra, doesn’t sound like a bad thing to me lol

[@mastercheef8144]

If you still don't know, you can toggle the visibility of the stick by pressing backspace.

[@Combatant5]

At the time the video was made, that feature was not included.

[@mastercheef8144]

Combatant5 alright, well I bought the plane a few days ago. Thanks for the turorial

[@Combatant5]

No problem! The lack of a 'hide stick' option on launch was something of an oversight on Heatblur's part...

[@mastercheef8144]

Combatant5 I need to ask a quick question. Every time I try to launch a Multiple Phoenix missiles at multiple targets at the same time, my Phoenix missiles won’t fire. They work when I lock on to a single target, but not when I try to take down multiple. Would u might have an answer to my problem?

[@Combatant5]

@@mastercheef8144 is the "Hot Trigger" light on the ACM panel lit? That would be my first gut reaction. The other thing you might try is making sure Jester is using TWS and not RWS mode, as he's got the ability to use both.

[@comradeboris2335]

when i try to fire at my targets the missiles wont fire. i have master arm on, they are about 30/40 miles away and phoenix is selected

[@Combatant5]

When you have a hot trigger with the Phoenix, there is about a 3 second delay before the missile will fire. The trigger must be held down for that 3 seconds before it will leave the rail.

[@comradeboris2335]

@@Combatant5 i found out what it was. you see i thought that too but i had to press the trigger not hold it

[@snitchgaming4486]

I can’t manage to use the aim54 at all... even with a target locked the f’n things keep on going straight.... either I’m not setting up right or a bad glitch.

[@jowenjv4463]

You must do something wrong... Managed to get several kills in STT from 64 to 26nm... But not tried multi target TWS yet.

[@snitchgaming4486]

Johan G.Bruère-Dawson not sure mate, but it’s doing my head in bad.... unless I’m preparing them wrong, got no idea

[@Prince-William-Wales]

I got similar issue with phoenixes... When I was using TWS auto and fired the missiles, they all just kept on flying straight into the space... STT works well tho

[@snitchgaming4486]

William yeah I got it worked out now, even got a 120nm kill and that was an experienced pilot I knocked out... I was at the ceiling 50,000ft and fired from up there... still hit him at Mach 2.2 due do the dive it had 😂😂

[@Prince-William-Wales]

@@snitchgaming4486 That sounds good mate! But are you able to use TWS mode normally tho? I have no idea why those missiles keep on flying straight as if they are not really communicating with the F14.

[@trondyne3513]

"Supporting" a Fox 3 missile? AIM-54 is FAF isn't it?

[@Combatant5]

Nope! The AIM-54 is not. The missile is guided SARH until the AN/AWG-9 signals the missile to go active. The AIM-120 on the other hand theoretically is, assuming the target is non-maneuvering and flies a perfectly straight line, even altitude, and the same speed. The missile actually receives tracking information (course, speed, altitude) from the launching aircraft and will calculate it's own intercept solution. Thus, it will navigate without your input, but it will only hit if the target does literally nothing.

[@trondyne3513]

@@Combatant5 Isn't there a FAF mode?

[@Combatant5]

The active launch mode (where the radar goes active and locks the first thing it sees), yes. Nothing like the AIM-120's normal launch mode, though.

[@Maverickf22flyer]

@ 4:33 "Can't do that"! Typically Jester. He's unable to lock targets even in plain sight!

[@Combatant5]

I've actually had pretty good luck with him. He does alright, better than I can anyhow.

[@Aeronaut1975]

Nice tutorial, but the monochrome LCD clock on my oven has more pixels than this video :(

[@Combatant5]

The quality issue has been fixed in future videos.

[@magshype]

Good guide, shame the quality is crap.

[@Combatant5]

And if you go check the next video I had put out, you'd see the problem was fixed. Or read any of the other comments about it...

[@magshype]

@@Combatant5 Fair enough, thanks

[@stubimson520]

Backspace to hide the stick

[@Combatant5]

At the time the video was made, the option to hide the stick was not in yet.

[@Aeronaut1975]

480p? we're 1/5th of the way through the 21st Century...

[@Combatant5]

Already has been beaten to death, had to do with my editing software not exporting in HD at the time.

[@MrRyuuzakiiii]

warning: this vídeo does not teachs you how to engage multiple targets with tws

[@Combatant5]

I don't know how you came to that conclusion, as stated in the video, Jester will automatically use TWS AUTO, leaving the pilot to keep mental track of the distance to target and launch the missiles when the time is right.