Virtual Backseaters Vol I – Public Draft V

The previous version of my book / extended manual was released more than four months ago. As it turns out, writing content takes a lot of time 🙂
This version adds a good amount of content, some of which I posted on these pages already. Such as:

• INS “Must know” issue and fix when operating from a carrier;
• AIM-54 v2 first look;
• Simplified stern conversion, to conclude the more immediate approach to timelines and intercepts;

Core new stuff

• Air-to-ground: a quick view at some basic techniques used primarily by the F-4E and adjusted to the F-14, along some examples. The pop-up discussion (from F-16 material) is still WIP: there are considerations and caveats that make a 1:1 porting to the Tomcat not as immediate as it sounds;
• Timeline: a (imo very interesting) discussion with RL crews about timelines, how they are planned and the modus operandi;
• Air intercepts: more information about air intercepts control: Bullseye, BRAA but also comms. I plan to add a series of example to better show the meaning of the most important descriptors, brevities and fill-ins used (e.g from “Champagne”, to “Stack”, to “Gorilla”). Note that this part is very time-consuming, and only the extended list of brevities is included at the moment;
• General updates: more charts, more information about radars (see image below, showing the AWG-10), avionics, Controlled A-G, chats with real-life personnel, various corrections and updates, more details about the usage of every part of the avionics in the run-through and much more;

For the lovers of numbers, the new lease includes 804 pages, 194,500 words, 1,134,000 characters, 610+ images.

Download

The new version of the book can be downloaded from the usual dedicated page.