by Gecko 6, 57th VFS Grave Dancers

Radio silence will be maintained from now on. Calling out threats and contacts are the exception. Each pilot is expected to maintain terrain masking and radar avoidance at all times. I will spend some time on this because I feel very strongly that this is critical in this part of the mission.

As pilots you have to not only maintain SA (Situational Awareness) you need to drive the falcon. This seems like the easy part in an ATG role right? Wrong! There should never be a straght and level flight plan in combat. If straight and level is what you want then there is a huge pool of commercial aircraft simulations out there to choose from.

My SOP for my flight is < 1000 AGL. What does this mean? This means that I had better not see you over 1000 feet above ground level or you are not ready to fly in competition under the Grave Dancer flag.

The no fly zones in combat are as follows.

• Low Altitude < 1000 ft
• Medium Altitude >10,000 ft
• High Altitude > 20,000 ft
• No Fly Zone = 1000 - 10,000 ft

Terrain features

Hills and valleys are not just pretty scenery, they offer you vital protection against SAM radar and detection from other AC. Terrain Masking still needs work in 1.07 but that is a small price to pay for what was fixed.

Follow these simple rules:

• Fly around hills
• Fly along the edge and low in the valleys
• Fly around populated areas and structures.
• Stay below the hill tops if feasible
• Keep from following rivers, roads, and beaches. (These are easy to navigate by, but remember it is easy for the enemy to navigate by these also.)

Click to continue

Engaging the Target

There are 3 basic sequences that encompass the attack.

• Identification
• Acquisition
• Execution

Identification

If you have studied the reconnaissance photos you should be very familiar with your assigned target. During the reconnaissance phase you should have picked out reference points to give you visual clues to help you quickly identify your target. Examples are as follows:

• Lighted smoke stack from the target or a nearby factory. Night missions are good for this.
• Terrain features
• Stadiums, airfields, bridges, etc….
• Major road junctions
• Lakes and streams

Go to Part III