Author Topic: In-Flight Refueling gauge + video  (Read 40291 times)

neutrino

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Re: In-Flight Refueling gauge + video
« Reply #15 on: May 11, 2010, 11:31:39 am »
Yes, the default is Level 1, which is the easier (larger refueling zone), and Level 2 is for pros as it has a smaller refueling zone (actually twice as smaller). But there is no way to edit the zones as in the VRS ACM.

Frenchie88, is your tanker flying a steady course, altitude and speed ? Keep in mind that the ideal refueling position is a little behind the refueling boom to provide better visibility - you don't need to push the plane all the way to the basket to get fuel.

And here is a the most important part to fly good formation with the tanker - you must perfectly trim the aircraft for level flight at your desired airspeed. This means that if you let go of the joystick and hold your airspeed, the jet should continue to fly at the same altitude and the velocity vector should float on the horizon bar. I put my trim buttons on the joystick. I think I used about 2 degrees nose up trim, but you have to find the right setting and adjust as you take fuel and get heavier. If you are properly trimmed you wouldn't have to do a lot of work with the stick to hold altitude.

J.R.
« Last Edit: May 11, 2010, 11:36:35 am by neutrino »

frenchie88

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Re: In-Flight Refueling gauge + video
« Reply #16 on: May 11, 2010, 11:10:10 pm »
Hi JR and thanks for the knowledge. I always tend to do too much with the stick when trim is the right way. Cant seem to get it right though keeping that level flight going. Always drifts away somehow! Saying that the Sludge hornet does seem to keep the speed consistent compared to the non mod version. I suppose putting your advice into practice and a touch more patience might get me there in the end...not to mention making sure the wife isn't loitering behind me waiting to go shopping. Always a concentration killer that y'know.

Cheers guys

Paul

markturner

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Re: In-Flight Refueling gauge + video
« Reply #17 on: May 16, 2010, 01:46:26 pm »
Hey Neutrino, got the gauge working nicely - great tool BTW, thansk for this, you are a clever guy!

One question - I can mange brief periods of a few seconds in the zone, and take on fuel, but often I see a mesage saying "Transfer" and my fuel quantity actually goes down!! What is going on there and why?


Cheers, Mark

neutrino

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Re: In-Flight Refueling gauge + video
« Reply #18 on: May 16, 2010, 03:26:39 pm »
Hey Neutrino, got the gauge working nicely - great tool BTW, thansk for this, you are a clever guy!

One question - I can mange brief periods of a few seconds in the zone, and take on fuel, but often I see a message saying "Transfer" and my fuel quantity actually goes down!! What is going on there and why?


Cheers, Mark
Mark, let's say you see the red 'TRANSFER' message and immediately after that it says you have 75% fuel. If the gauge then shows the flashing 'REFUELING' message then your fuel percentage must continue to go up - 75%, 76%, 78%.... 80% etc. If at 80% you drift away from the refueling position and it stops showing 'REFUELING' then as you start burning fuel you will naturally see the fuel percentage go down albeit at a much slower pace. Is this what you see or is it something different? As long as 'REFUELING' is flashing - your fuel % must go up!
« Last Edit: May 16, 2010, 03:28:59 pm by neutrino »

Orion

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Re: In-Flight Refueling gauge + video
« Reply #19 on: May 16, 2010, 05:14:36 pm »
Are you hosting a multiplayer mission?

You could be refueling properly, but when you get the TRANSFER message, the refueling gauge's fuel percent goes down to the amount of fuel you actually have.  Say, for example, you come to the tanker at 50% fuel, then take on 25% more, so when you get the transfer message at 75%, the fuel on the gauge goes back down to 50% minus however much fuel you burned while flying in formation with the tanker.

markturner

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Re: In-Flight Refueling gauge + video
« Reply #20 on: May 16, 2010, 06:14:57 pm »
Hi Guys, no, i am not in a multiplayer session. Its difficult to say exactly, as my skillz dont allow me enough stable time at the boom yet, but at some point as I move back and forth, i get the refueling message, my %age increases, then I start moving around a bit, then ( but not always) The red "transfer " message pops up and my fuel %age drops say 10 or 15%, so I have less than when i started to refuel...

I see the transfer message shows after a certain time, but what are the parameters? does it show as well as the full message in the HUD? ( I am not using the Hornet BTW, butthe Iris F-16, so dont have the integrated HUD installed). Are the messages slightly different in that case - Just wondering why I get the transfer message when i have not filled right up and usuaaly, as I am so crap, only taken on a few seconds worth of fuel... orion, are you saying that the %age displayed on my screen is  total value of the transferred fuel and my original fuel level? Sorry if I am missing something obvious here...



Cheers, Mark
« Last Edit: May 16, 2010, 06:24:21 pm by markturner »

neutrino

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Re: In-Flight Refueling gauge + video
« Reply #21 on: May 16, 2010, 06:24:14 pm »
Mark, what aircraft are you flying ?

markturner

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Re: In-Flight Refueling gauge + video
« Reply #22 on: May 16, 2010, 06:24:40 pm »
see edit above!!

neutrino

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Re: In-Flight Refueling gauge + video
« Reply #23 on: May 16, 2010, 06:29:54 pm »
Thanks, Mark, I will look into this and will post what I find.

markturner

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Re: In-Flight Refueling gauge + video
« Reply #24 on: May 16, 2010, 06:58:48 pm »
Cool, BTW, do you know what causes the AI tanker to jitter back and forth sometimes? Its really irritating...

neutrino

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Re: In-Flight Refueling gauge + video
« Reply #25 on: May 16, 2010, 07:03:33 pm »
Depends on what drives the tanker - is it a KC-135 that follows a flight plan, or an FSRecorder flight...

One more question - do you do anything specifically in the IRIS F-16D cockpit to prepare for refueling - like click switches or something ? I think their model has some built-in air-to-air refueling capabilities.
« Last Edit: May 16, 2010, 07:14:51 pm by neutrino »

markturner

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Re: In-Flight Refueling gauge + video
« Reply #26 on: May 16, 2010, 10:53:59 pm »
Hi Neutrino, I just open the refuel door, dont know about any refueling aids etc....

Cheers,, mark

SpazSinbad

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Re: In-Flight Refueling gauge + video
« Reply #27 on: May 17, 2010, 01:23:12 am »
Hornet Turbulent Tanking Video:
https://www.faaaa.asn.au/spazsinbad-a4g/
RAN FAA A4G NAS Nowra ɐıןɐɹʇsn∀ :-)

markturner

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Re: In-Flight Refueling gauge + video
« Reply #28 on: May 17, 2010, 05:56:44 pm »
Hey Spaz, if only it was like that, its more of a flicker, where the model of the plane appears to move back and forth very quickly, perhaps twice a second. It usually only happens as you get close to the tanker and it does not happens always. Multiplayer is smoother generally.

I am using an AI plane and a flight plan made using PlanG. I use airtafficfx to insert the tanker ( a pretty cool programme BTW)

Cheers, Mark

neutrino

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Re: In-Flight Refueling gauge + video
« Reply #29 on: May 17, 2010, 08:09:41 pm »
Mark, did you try this:
http://www.flightsim.com/file.php?cm=SEARCH1&fsec=89&fname=kc135t_navy_drogue.zip

Inside that package there is a very nice bgl file (inside the 'Traffic' folder) with KC-135 flight plan from KSAN (San Diego) to KLAS (Las Vegas), leaving at 19:00 Local Pacific, alt 23,000 ft. Once it gets to 23,000 ft, it flies level at about 280 kts and you can refuel. It does not go back and forth as you describe.

If you want to use FSRecorder 2.0, I can also send you a recording with a KC-135 flying at 5,000 feet, 250 kts over San Diego, and you can start the recorded flight any time you want. I used this recording for my refueling video  :D
« Last Edit: May 17, 2010, 08:13:47 pm by neutrino »