Falcon BMS Tutorials

[PanzersEast]

Here are a couple of tutorials I put together a long time ago....



FALCON 4 BMS TUTORIAL: PLANNING   

In this tutorial we will cover the Navigation aspect of Falcon 4 BMS from Steerpoints to pre-planning our flight.



PLANNING

Just a basic guide to get up and going.

- Review Flight Plan
- Briefing
- Review Ordinance
- Recon Target Area
- Recon and Mark Threats along Flight Plan



Today we will be flying a SEAD Strike mission and will fly lead in a 2 ship element.




As you can see above: We will be fling the lead call sign Serpant5 and our TOT will be08:35, current time is 07:37. Our target for today will be the 219th Air Defense Battalion.

You can see our flight plan above which consist of various Steerpoints which are represented by an O shape and the corresponding steerpoint number above it. We will reach our target at Steerpoint 5 which is represented by a triangle.





Looking at the briefing screen (accessed at the bottom of the screen) we have a total of 10 steerpoints and are allowed to engage targets starting at steerpoint (2), however the 219th present position is/near steerpoint 5.

Our ordnance will consist of (2) AM-120B AMRAAM and (2) AM-9m Sidewinder (these are defensive weapons, our primary mission is seek and destroy). I normally will use the AMRAAM in a SEAD mission as a self defense. For example I may fire a AMRAAM Long to cause a enemy fighter to go on the defensive while I RTB if I am out gunned.

We will also be carrying the AGM-88 HARM Missile (anti-radar) and 4 CBUs cluster bombs. The HARM will actively track radars that are emitting a signal and home in and kill them. The CBUs are there for killing other assets like AA batteries etc...

You will also notice we are carrying the HTS (HARM Targeting POD) noted by the eliminated green box by LOAD HTS and is shown under the center fuselage as the White pod. This allows us locate, identify, and prosecute targets that are emitting.
Weather report shows Sunny and clear




Here is a zoomed in view of our flight path. Steerpoint 1 and 2 are there, however are cut off. Notice will come in close proximity of an airfield, more on that later.




First thing we need to do is right click on our target area (The Red Symbol on Steerpoint 5) and do some recon. By doing this we can get a good look at what we can expect at the target area, as well as any supporting units.




We can see there is a SA-2 site with other supporting units. We can also see the reconed condition and strategic value of each target in that unit. NOTE: When you click the Recon it will show all units in the area, meaning the 219th Air Defense Battalion was one of three in the area.




Along the flight path we can see we will come in close proximity of an airfield. It is crucial that you recon and mark all threats along your flight path so we will recon the Airbase to see what units are stationed there and mark them if need be.



So the Recon of the Airbase between Steerpoint 3 and 4 revealed a SA2 SAM site. We will mark this on our map and it will display in the HSD to let us know when we are in rage of the SAM threat area. Also there could possibly be enemy fighters in the area, just make note.

Notice that you can also designate this target as a Steerpoint (I have marked it as Stpt #15). This is very valuable when finding specific ground targets you want to attack in other modes. It also helps to direct you to specific areas to target. I always mark them in planning and reference them once I am in flight. We will look at this later on while in the cockpit.



We will now move our cursor over to the right in an open area and right-click. Then we will select Set Preplanned Threat Stpt to mark the map.



You will now see a green diamond appear on the screen. We now need to right click on the diamond and specify the type of threat it will be.




We know after the recon that the site is an SA-2 SAM site so we click it and then click Accept.




You can now see a red circle around the green diamond designating the max range of the SA-2. We will now left-click on the green diamond that and hold and drag it over the airfield that we did the Recon on.




You can now see that the diamond is over the Airfield and the range of the SA-2 is displayed in the red circle. It is important to identify these threats in the planning stage so that once in the air you can be prepared and plan accordingly. This data will also show up on our HSD along the flight path (which we will see once airborne). It is important to note that this mission has light activity, most missions have a lot of activity so it is not feasible to just route around these areas, in this mission it is your job to clear a path.

It is also important to note that I always have to reroute my flight path to the target.  In the example above it would be foolish to fly right over an enemy airfield and needlessly putting our flight in harms way.  Once you recon the surrounding areas, adjust your flight accordingly (steer points) and to the best approach that minimizes your exposure to ground AA and SAM sites.  This will ruin your day if your fly the ai's preplanned flight path...

So we looked at some basic areas during the planning stage and I will go over the Data Cartridge in the next session.

[PanzersEast]

FALCON 4 BMS TUTORIAL: NAVIGATION   

In this tutorial we will be going over some of the basic areas of Navigating your F-16.



NAVIGATION BASICS

NOTE:  These tutorials just cover the basic concepts of operating your F-16, for further advanced topics or information, consult the manual or further advanced tutorials.

First, Make sure you are using the Keyboard layout in the controls config instead of BMS.  For the purpose of these tutorials that configuration is what I will be using.

Now, before we take off we need to press the s  key which will cycle to our next Steerpoint which should read 2. 1 is usually the base you are taking off from. In the right MFD zoom out until you see the a O (Steerpoint) in the flight path that is solid. That will be the active Steerpoint.
Now lets get in the air.




As you can see in the image above our steer point carrot is telling us that the Steerpoint (2) is off to our right hand side. Also note in the lower right of the HUD that we are 32 nm from our current steerpoint which is 2. So I will bank to the right to intercept the steerpoint.

Also notice that our current HUD mod is NAV  (Navigation) mode. More on that later... but that is important when we are flying our Steerpoints as it configures our HUD for specifically Navigating the F-16.



I have turned to intercept Steerpoint 2 in the image above and we are 28 nm from it. We can also see the Steerpoint Box noting the geographic location. Once we are over/near that steerpiont we will need to select the s key to cycle to the next Steerpoint which will be 3 in our case.

You will continue to do this until you reach your target area..... also realize that if you make a target say Steerpoint 14, you will need to cycle all the way up to it and it will give you a barring to the target. This is great for attacking targets that we already know the location of and that are stationary ground targets.



You can see in the right MFD / HSD that we are heading for the active Steerpoint 2 at our 12 o'clock and is solid. My current view range is set to 30 nm and the airfield I just took off from (Steerpoint 1) is at my 6 o'clock. Our F-16 is the blue plane in the center.



AUTOPILOT

This autopilot is basic and there is no FMC on the F16. The F-16 will not follow a flight plan, it will follow the active Steerpoint. So you will need to pay attention to where you are at and change the active Steerpoint accordingly. Now let's climb to say FL150 (15,000 feet) and level off.

Let's say we are at our intended altitude and our wingman is in place and we have a long flight in front of us. It will be a good time to engage the auto-pilot and go through our systems and monitor the A/A radar for potential threats.



To the left of the left MFD and just below the Master Arm switch we will see 2 switches in the MISC Panel (ROLL HDG SELECT) and ( PITCH HOLD).

Now we want the F-16 to maintain our current altitude and follow the active Steerpoint which is Steerpoint 2.



We need to place the (ROLL HDG SELECT) into the 6 0'clock setting by right clicking on it and then the ( PITCH HOLD) into the 12 o'clock position by left clicking on it. This will keep our F-16 level at the current altitude and following the active Steerpoint. REMEMBER to watch the distance to Steerpoint so you can hit the s key to switch to the next Steerpoint.

Once you are close to target you will need to move both switches back to the neutral position by doing the opposite of what you did to enable them.

This is just an basic overview to get you in the air and practice getting to your pre-arranged target site.  These are just the basics and always consult the manual for further in-depth information.

[PanzersEast]

FALCON 4 BMS TUTORIAL: DATA CARTRIDGE 

The Data Cartridge sets up our predefined modes in the MFD, our COMMS, and Countermeasures.  Using the DC, we can program and customize our F-16 cockpit before we take off.  I started using Krause's Data Cartridge and then customized it to the way I wanted it.  His setup is good and saved you time from having to go through and customize the different areas.



DATA CARTRIDGE
http://www.krauselabs.net/dump/dtc.ini

Save the above to C:\Falcon BMS 4.32\User\Config
Rename it to your CallSign.ini
Once you download this, place it in the correct area and rename it to your Call Sign you can access the DC from Briefing Screen.



Modifying the Data Cartridge



TARGETS
Your flight plan will automatically will be placed into the DC, as well as when you mark target steerpoints like we did previously.

EWS
There will be 4 different ways you can customize how your countermeasures are released. The DC above has them done for you.

His settings are multi release for 3 and 4.

You can select it once inside the cockpit on your left panel in the cockpit to which pre set you want to use 1-4.

MODES
This is how your MFDs are setup initially/Default when you enter the cockpit or customized by modes. You can customize them depending on the mode you are in A/G Mastermode, A/G Mastermode etc.... His settings are they are all pre-defined the same and you can change any of the MFD settings once in flight anyway.

COMMS
Looking at his ini you will only need to change Preset #15 to the tower. Just go into the COMMS section of the DC and click over Preset# until you get to 15 and then click on the SET TOWER button on the right and click SAVE, the default should already be selected for you. When you go into the sim your COMMS will already be set to the tower.

I believe the comms for 1-14 are already preset in game so you want 15 to be the tower and the default comm when you first get into the sim.

The MAIN THING  when using Krause's DC is before take-off in the DC is just making sure you Tower COMMS is set. The TARGETS you can set by doing recon and setting them from that screen and your flight plan steerpoints are already included in the DC. Once in the Cockpit you can select which MODE (Countermeasures) from above you want to use depending on your situation.