DCS Black Shark Back in the Saddle

The last time I made a comprehensive post about DCS Black Shark was back in October and shortly after that entry I almost died. No kidding, I got deathly ill, was hospitalized and had to have part of my lungs removed. I fully blame the game, just so you know. Let’s hope that does not happen this time J I pulled out my Thrustmaster T.Flight Hotas X and removed several layers of caked on dust to bring it back to life.

For this short reintroduction flight I am performing a CAS action against a Georgian SAM SA-8 Osa 9A33 antiaircraft platform. While I am a man of many missiles myself, for this effort I am going in hot with nothing but HE and AP rounds on target. I am the only airframe going out on this sortie from and back to UGSB (Batumi International Airport) that I and my virtual Russian comrades are commandeering in the hospital state of Georgia.

I really like this flight simulation and I truly want to give its due by learning to fly it in proper simulation mode with many (if not all) of the game assists disabled for the closest experience possible for me to flying this absolute beast. I spent the better part of the 1980’s in the US Army and the US Navy with the Soviet Union as my enemy and that was all we trained for, however I never disrespected this foe. On the contrary, many of us in the US military had a great deal of respect for this formidable opponent.

This is a very simple flight plan: take off, kill the enemy belligerent, and fly back to Batumi for some Vodka and darts. Or whatever Russians throw at walls in bars when they drink Vodka. If they drink it in bars…

I love this paint scheme, so there will be many more gratuitous screen shots to follow J

Liftoff from UGSB: I actually prefer cold starts from the paddock area but I am very rusty at this point and proceed with baby steps to get back into this game.

Did I mention that is one BAD ASS paint scheme?

I didn’t? Sorry I had forgotten to mention that.

Steer point? 00002 in the ABRIS (now in HSI mode) is Waypoint 1 in the PVI-800 :/

Using the Route Mode feature of the TRANSAS ABRIS NavigationSystem as well as the PVI-800 (which I am having a hard time grasping why it seems out of numerical synch with the waypoints in ABRIS), the bird banks to the port side as I move up on the ridge ahead for a pop-up attack against the enemy AA unit.

The ridgeline of the hill in front offers excellent cover from direct line of sight on my attack route.

Target acquired: strangely I find myself wondering what these virtual gents had for lunch earlier.

Target destroyed: I don’t care about their lunch any longer.

This is a common maneuver I do on return legs: cut them short by suspending the route in ABRIS and then going to the next Waypoint in the PVI-800 (which is actually what turns the aircraft to the correct new heading in Route Mode).

Heading back to Batumi: 2.6 km out from the final steer point.

Another common maneuver I do in this game is just after the final turn in Route Mode I break all autopilot functionality and land the bird under my control.

Lining up on the paddock area so I can set the Shark down gently.

This is a process of looking left, then right and back again – rinse and repeat. I have this down to sort of a semi-science where I can practically set the airframe down on a dime.

Of course being out of the saddle for several months that dime is on the other side of that fence over there…

The aftermath of employing 2A42 30 HE against a stationary ground target: hit/dead.

Meet Lab Rat, the test pilot for this mission and all of my practice scenarios: his second death actually came earlier this evening when running some practice missions (I was shot down), and later earned my third award, the Medal of Nesterov.