Taxi and Takeoff

Takeoff

We do all takeoffs from the Taxiway position. When “takeoff taxi” is called, click the Takeoff button on the 2D screen and select Taxiway.

Standard takeoff procedure is for each element in the flight to take off at the same time (two ship departure). The element lead will call active left or active right indicating which side of the runway he’s taking. When lined up, turn breaks on, throttle up to 80-ish percent throttle, release the brakes, and then go full afterburner (Gate). The element leader will be calling out and counting down to each action, ensuring a coordinated takeoff.

After taking off initiate a 10 degree climb and check towards steerpoint 2. Turn the afterburner off at 350 knots.

Fence check

The fence check is the final preparation for taking your aircraft into combat.

The flight leader will call “Flight fence in”, at which point you should turn Master Arm switch to ARM, turn your exterior lights off (at night you should leave the anti collision light on), and ensure any weapons that require it are powered on (Mavericks and HARMs, for example).

Confirm the Fence in call by reading off the first three numbers on your fuel gauge.

Comms example:

Lead: "Flight, fence in. Lead's fenced 091"

2: "Two fenced 090"

3: "Three fenced 091"

4: "Four fenced 089"

Gameplay basics

In this part of the guide, we’ll explore some of the very basics of playing BMS. There’s a lot more to learn, though, so make sure to read the BMS Dash 1 and the BMS manual (in the Falcon BMS manuals folder).

Flight

Turning and corner airspeed

The F-16 is a pretty nimble aircraft. When not loaded with bombs or heavy ordnance, it can pull up to nine ‘G’ in a turn. When doing so, however, you bleed speed very rapidly, and you won’t be able to keep turning at that rate for very long.

When you need to turn rapidly for a long time (a sustained turn), especially if you’re in a turn fight with another fighter, you need to be aware of the F-16’s corner airspeed, as it’s at this speed that you can turn the fastest. If you go slower you won’t turn quickly enough, and if you’re faster your turn radius will increase. The corner airspeed of the F-16 is from 330 to 440 knots, or about Mach 0.80 when you’re above 10,000 feet. To perform a sustained turn, go full throttle, then pull hard enough to maintain the corner airspeed. If you start slowing down, ease up on the stick. If you start speeding up, pull a bit harder.

As long as you keep the corner speed in mind, the F-16 can out-turn almost every other aircraft in the game.

Orientation

When flying, it’s important to be able to communicate where you are or where something else is, either in relation to yourself or as an absolute position. There are three common systems of referencing a position. These are BRAA, bullseye position, and clock direction.

Clock direction

The simplest and quickest, but least accurate method. Imagine the plane sitting on a clock face with the nose pointing towards 12 o’clock and the tail towards 6 o’clock. Now you can reference a bearing by giving the approximate clock direction relative to your nose.

For example, 1 o’clock is just to the right of your nose, 9 o’clock is directly to your left, etc. Enemy planes are, famously, on your 6 o'clock.

When calling out a direction, preface the number by saying “left” or “right”. For example “Tally bandit, right three o’clock!”. Doing this makes it quicker for listeners to comprehend where the target is, and inserts a measure of error checking. If you say “Right 10 o’clock” by accident, it’s easy for listeners to understand you meant 2 o’clock. Clock directions are most useful for giving directions to things within visual range.