DCS A-10C Expanded HOTAS Function Listing by Topgun505

Transcription

1 DCS A-10C Expanded HOTAS Function Listing by Topgun505 So, why the need for this guide? The reason is simple this is not a simple sim. In WWII aircraft, any given control had one function and one function only. While this resulted in a lot of controls, once you learned where everything was it was fairly easy to operate. The A-10C is exactly the opposite. You have a large volume of commands which are accessed by only a few controls. The Good: This makes it possible to mount those functions on the stick and throttle where the pilot has easy access to everything critical he needs in combat without having to take his hands off the controls. The Bad: The side is that there is a LOT of multi-tasking with the controls at his fingertips. Some controls, like the weapon release for example, only perform one command regardless of which sensor is currently active. Other controls like the TMS, however, can literally control around 3 DOZEN functions on that single 4-way switch. The danger here is that it is easy for the pilot to lose his situational awareness in regards to what sensor and mode are active and thus which functions are currently active on his controls. In the DCS A-10C manual the HOTAS controls are covered on pages While the charts and diagrams are a good summary, they do not graphically depict the set of each sensor mode. This guide will strive to do exactly that. Below you will find examples of each mode indicator, and what every switch on the stick and throttle do for each given mode. Note that not all controls on the HOTAS are multi-function controls. In fact only 5 vary by your active Sensor of Interest (SOI). Those are: DMS, TMS, Boat switch, slew, and China Hat A with a graphical depiction of the screens and stick & throttle layouts I have also included the chart summary for those specific controls (taken from the manual) at the end of this document so you can view the same info as a cheat sheet. Obviously for users with the Thrustmaster Warthog HOTAS this guide will show you an exact how-to for each control. For users who are using other controllers such as Saitek and CH Gear, this guide will help show you which controls are most critical for combat operations and thus which ones are the highest priority for you to map to the controls on your stick and throttle.

2 A-10C HOTAS Stick To start with, you need to know where each switch is located on the HOTAS itself. Here are the locations of each switch (*note the Pinky switch on the throttle cannot be seen in this view). A-10C HOTAS Throttle *

3 Sensor of Interest In the A-10C you have 3 main sensors of Interest and 2 weapons which can also act as their own sensor. The main sensors of interest are: 1. TAD Map Display 2. TGP Targeting pod 3. HUD Heads display The weapons that act as a sensor of interest 4. AIM-9 Sidewinder air to air missile 5. MAV Maverick missile One of these sensors will always be active at any given time. In order to effectively employ the A-10C you will need to recognize which sensor is active and what function each control performs according to the sensor. In this section you will see a screenshot of the sensor and its tell followed by a graphical layout of the stick and throttle.

4 TAD A screenshot of the TAD when not the Sensor of Interest: Note the Not SOI message and lack of border ring. A screenshot of the TAD when it is the Sensor of Interest: Note the Not SOI message is gone and there is a border ring.

5 With TAD as the Sensor of Interest - Stick Trim Trim Trim Trim TAD scale increase Weapon Release Broadcast SPI Center/Depressed TAD scale decrease Make SPI Hook Reset Mark Point Unhook SPI to SteerPt Fire Cannon Second stage Start Program PAC1 First stage HUD Mode Air to air mode Prev Program Activate ECM press Next Program End Program In air Lase on-off/ Air refueling disconnect On ground Nose Wheel Steering

6 With TAD as the Sensor of Interest - Throttle Lights according to panel Extinguish all exterior lights Default external lights Radio FM Radio UHF Radio AM Not shown Toggle autopilot Slew TAD Slew TAD Slew TAD Slew TAD Extend speed brakes Hold brake position Retract speed brakes Left MFCD as SOI Cycle MFCD HUD as SOI Cycle MFCD Right MFCD as SOI aft Reset cursor Forward FOV Exp toggle Swap MFCD content DSMS quick look Slave TGP to Steerpoint Slave all to SPI

7 TGP A screenshot of the TGP when not the Sensor of Interest: Note the Not SOI message and lack of border ring. A screenshot of the TGP when it is the Sensor of Interest: Note the Not SOI message is gone and there is a border ring.

8 With TGP as the Sensor of Interest - Stick Trim Trim Trim Trim Zoom increase Weapon Release Broadcast SPI FLIR auto focus Laser toggle LSS toggle Zoom decrease Make SPI Track toggle Reset Mark Point INR track SPI to SteerPt Fire Cannon Second stage Start Program PAC1 First stage HUD Mode Short Air to air mode Prev Program Activate ECM press Next Program End Program In air Lase on-off/ Air refueling disconnect On ground Nose Wheel Steering

9 With TGP as the Sensor of Interest - Throttle Lights according to panel Extinguish all exterior lights Default external lights Radio FM Radio UHF Radio AM Not shown Toggle autopilot Slew TGP Slew TGP Slew TGP Slew TGP Extend speed brakes Hold brake position Retract speed brakes Left MFCD as SOI Cycle MFCD HUD as SOI Cycle MFCD Right MFCD as SOI FLIR white hot CCD FLIR black hot aft Boresight TGP Forward FOV Wide/Narrow toggle Swap MFCD content DSMS quick look Slave TGP to Steerpoint Slave all to SPI

10 HUD A screenshot of the HUD when it is the Sensor of Interest: Note the SOI pip. When the HUD is not the SOI this dot is missing on the HUD

11 With HUD as the Sensor of Interest - Stick Trim Trim Trim Trim Steerpoint increment Weapon Release Broadcast SPI Gunsight cycle Gunsight cycle Steerpoint decrement Make SPI Ground stabilize Reset Mark Point Set SPI submode SPI to SteerPt Fire Cannon Second stage Start Program PAC1 First stage HUD Mode Short Air to air mode Prev Program Activate ECM press Next Program End Program In air Lase on-off/ Air refueling disconnect On ground Nose Wheel Steering

12 With HUD as the Sensor of Interest - Throttle Lights according to panel Extinguish all exterior lights Default external lights Radio FM Radio UHF Radio AM Not shown Toggle autopilot Slew TDC Slew TDC Slew TDC Slew TDC Extend speed brakes Hold brake position Retract speed brakes Left MFCD as SOI Cycle MFCD HUD as SOI Cycle MFCD Right MFCD as SOI aft Cage TDC to VVV Forward Set MAV as SOI Swap MFCD content DSMS quick look Slave TGP to Steerpoint Slave all to SPI

13 AIM9 A screenshot of the AIM9 when the AIM9 is active: Note the AIM9 sensor indicator. When AIM9 is active and uncaged the slew command will move the missile seeker head.

14 With AIM-9 as the Sensor of Interest - Stick Trim Trim Trim Trim Weapon Release Broadcast SPI A-A target toggle A-A target toggle Make SPI Scan Reset Mark Point Break lock SPI to SteerPt Fire Cannon Second stage Start Program PAC1 First stage HUD Mode Short Air to air mode Prev Program Activate ECM press Next Program End Program In air Lase on-off/ Air refueling disconnect On ground Nose Wheel Steering

15 With AIM-9 as the Sensor of Interest - Throttle Lights according to panel Extinguish all exterior lights Default external lights Radio FM Radio UHF Radio AM Not shown Toggle autopilot Slew AIM9 Slew AIM9 Slew AIM9 Slew AIM9 Extend speed brakes Hold brake position Retract speed brakes Left MFCD as SOI Cycle MFCD HUD as SOI Cycle MFCD Right MFCD as SOI aft Missile step Forward Uncage Swap MFCD content DSMS quick look Slave TGP to Steerpoint Slave AIM9 to TGP

16 MAV A screenshot of the MAV when not the Sensor of Interest: Note the Not SOI message and lack of border ring. A screenshot of the MAV when it is the Sensor of Interest: Note the Not SOI message is gone and there is a border ring.

17 With MAV as the Sensor of Interest Stick Trim Trim Trim Trim Reticule Weapon Release Broadcast SPI Reticule Reticule Reticule Make SPI Track Space stabilize Reset WCN Mark Point Ground stabilize SPI to SteerPt Fire Cannon Second stage Start Program PAC1 First stage HUD Mode Short Air to air mode Prev Program Activate ECM press Next Program End Program In air Lase on-off/ Air refueling disconnect On ground Nose Wheel Steering

18 With MAV as the Sensor of Interest Throttle Lights according to panel Extinguish all exterior lights Default external lights Radio FM Radio UHF Radio AM Not shown Toggle autopilot Slew MAV Slew MAV Slew MAV Slew MAV Extend speed brakes Hold brake position Retract speed brakes Left MFCD as SOI Cycle MFCD HUD as SOI Cycle MFCD Right MFCD as SOI White symbols Force Correlate / Auto Missile step Black symbols aft Forward FOV toggle Swap MFCD content DSMS quick look Slave TGP to Steerpoint Slave all to SPI

19 Stick Controls that vary by SOI - Summary

20 Throttle Controls that vary by SOI - Summary