Virtual Backseaters Volume I: F-14 RIO – Fourth Public Draft

The effort went again on the content, and there are quite a few new parts in this release:

• Basic Notions: added and improved a few parts, notably a simplified discussion about “notching” and defensive manoeuvres;
• Avionics: added a recap of the fuel consumption model of the F-14B. Three new chapters discuss basic navigation (via INS and WP), waypoint creations and payload jettison;
• AN/ASN-92 INS: added ~30 pages covering the basics of the INS, to better understand how it works, its issues and how to fix them, and the challenges of operating from a Carrier;
• Air-to-Ground: this topic has been vastly expanded. For modern and planned operations, Kill Boxes are introduced. Then, a still unfinished look at delivery done “the old way” – the best is yet to come!
• Navigation: A whole new part, composed by three chapters, two of them are included in this draft. They cover basics such as the effects of wind, altitude, Earth’s magnetic field, plus include an overview of the history of the Navigators and techniques such as pilotage and dead reckoning;
• Appendices: More Robert Shaw! Apparently you like the sketches about tactics and manoeuvres, so I added more of them. On top of that, I added a sample of new charts I’m remaking from low-res old sources. For now, the sight angle adjustments (mils) for Mk-82 and GBU-12 at 450 and 500 kTAS. I also imported a piece written by 132nd.LooneyT about IFF and the usage of this function in DCS through SRS and LotATC.

The next, and hopefully last release, is already 680-pages strong and will finally introduce some much-needed polishing and standardization in terms of grammar and lexicon.
For the lovers of the stats, Public Draft IV counts 638 pages, 153,367 words, 888,915 characters and 452 + 22 images.
As usual, every part marked by three asterisks is WIP.

Special thanks to all the friends and supporters, Patrons and folks on Discord, and:

• “Bio” Baranek;
• RIFLE;
• LooneyT, AssafB and other from the 132nd Virtual Wing;
• Peter, Rob and Brody, the happy three friends from DCAF.