Help needed. Creating Flight plan from Mark points on TAD and elevation.

[0405 Andrew]

Hi
I'd like to tap the knowledge of RAFair.

Currently I'm practicing making a new flight plan using Mark points from the TAD.

This is relatively simple and this video helped a lot.

https://youtu.be/LcTVbLDp0Lc

With the new flight plan set up, is it possible to edit the waypoints for elevation and TOT? I can't see how to do it.

Cheers Andrew

[oz555]

I would also be interested. Easy enough to make the flight plan and activate it, but I wasn't able to scroll through the waypoints to edit them all. Only one.

[oz555]

Right, I just jumped in the pit and worked this one out I think. Create the flight plan from mark points as explained in the video above and activate it as your current set. You will now have an active flight plan constructed of mark points. Type the letter of the mark point you would like to edit into the CDU, lets say "B" and press OSB 19 with the underscored +. The "B" will now have an "SP" next to it and you should now be able to edit the waypoint name, elevation and DTOT etc.

Edit- I can't seem to change the elevation value. Possibly due to it being created initially as a mark point. I can change elevation on existing waypoints in the system, so hopefully there is a workaround.

[Flyco]

Andrew, terminology is a paramount here. It depends on where you are making the flight plan, and what 'markpoints' you are using.

Flight Pans are made up of Waypoints (or Steerpoints) - they are numbered 0, 1, etc (I think the maximum is around 4000+ but I would have to check). Mark points are positions defined in flight and are labelled A, B, C, etc and cannot be used to make Flight Plans, although they can be set as SPI (Specific Point of Interest).

Typically, you would make a Markpoint, by pressing the 'Mark Key' (labelled MK) on the CDU keyboard, which would label the point immediately below the ac as the next MkPt (I think you have to accept the next letter available). Alternatively, you can define the current SPI as a Mk Pt by pressing TMS Right Short.

If you look at the A-10C FRCs I recently put on this forum, you will find a couple of pages at the end which cover how to do this.

As for defining a height for a SteerPoint (Not for a MkPt). The system normally looks up the ground ht at that steer point and used that.

Finally for a Flight Plan which is an ATC documents you can enter whatever height you wish the ac to be at when you pass that point. As I say, this is more sued for ATC flight-plans etc. However, you can also set a 'height tto be at' while Mission Planning - which is a DCS procedure not specific to an aircraft. However, it is usually more use to have the ground set, so that you can actually see the point on your TGP, and drop a weapons on it if you wish.

Sorry if I appear to be making it over-complicated, but knowing the correct terms will help you understand. If you or 'Oz' need any more info or would like me to go through it with you some time let me know

[0405 Andrew]

Hi Flyco,

Many thanks for the reply. I have read your FRCs over the last week and have found them very helpful. I have a printed set.

You can make a flight plan from mark points. Following your FRC to create a new flight plan, a series of mark points can be added which will then be converted into waypoints. Where you add waypoint name when creating a FP just Key in A, B, C, D etc and then you will find all your mark points are now in the flight plan and linked, but are now waypoints. When creating the flight plan it can be set to manual or automatic and these new waypoints will work exactly the same way as others you can add. You can even create a FP with mark points and waypoints. All will be converted into waypoints and will be accessed through the new flight plan.

The one thing we're struggling with is in editing these new waypoints. I'd like to be able to change the elevation, but maybe this can't be done. Can it be done with other waypoints in a flight plan?

I thought marking out a route on the TAD with mark points could be very helpful and simple for guiding on to a target, for instance while avoiding Sam's or terrain. But as with all things in the A-10c there's always more than one way to skin a cat and I bet there is a better way, is it possible to create a waypoint with the TAD? I'm all for learning so I'd like to take you up on your offer sometime.

Cheers
Andrew

[Flyco]

I was not aware of the method to convert a Markpoint to a waypoint - I will have to try it.

I cannot see why, once you have a waypoint (whether entered directly or as a converted Markpoint), you cannot amend the height. Except that on the page on which you would do this, it is entered as 'Elevation', rather than 'Height' - this suggests to me that it can only be used to enter ground height - but, even so, I cannot see why you cannot over-ride the automatically entered ground height. Again, I will have to look at it.

I am sure you're aware that the Steer Point Switch has 3 positions: Flight Plan, Mark' and 'Mission', and these refer to three separate databases. Points from the Mission can be used to make up a Flight Plan and used accordingly.

In my 5 or more years of flying the DCS A-10C, I cannot recall ever having set up a flight plan in the air, although I have added and removed Points from a pre-set Flight Plan.

[oz555]

I think the idea was to find a reasonably straightforward method of creating a flight plan for group practice on the public server.

For me, I'm finding that familiarity with the different CDU and TAD functions is helping to keep my eyes outside the pit more and less time flapping about with my head down trying to undo mistakes. I find the CDU to be particularly unintuitive.

Years of single player had me sticking the A10 in an orbit and perusing the displays at my leasure. I have others to think about now and a good few bad habits to break.

[0405 Andrew]

I think the idea was to find a reasonably straightforward method of creating a flight plan for group practice on the public server.

On the ED forums another group is doing just this. https://forums.eagle.ru/showthread.php?t=262453

Reply from Frederf:

We do this. Broadcast SPI and use the @?1 OSB on the TAD. You step through a series of points quick and it's not that hard to sequence it into a flight plan, name it, etc.


I used to use mark points as an intermediary but you can shorten the process.



Be aware there are waypoint properties and flight plan point properties. The same waypoint can occur multiple times with different properties like DTOT.

[Flyco]

I confess to being confused as to what you are trying to achieve. Flight Plans for a mission are best constructed in the Mission Planner. This also allows you to set up frequencies, weapon loads, AWACs, tankers and targets.

[0405 Andrew]

We were planning to use this purely as a training aid on the rafair server.

The objective was to create a simple flight plan from the pit, that a small group of 2-4 would fly. This was to aid training with DTOT, group flying and working with SADL.
The idea was not to use the pre-loaded flight plan again again.

As I'm new to multiplayer I may be well off the mark, but my understanding is a full flight plan cannot be created by users of the server it must be done by the administrator.