Where do you like to start?

[tw7222]

On runway, in air, near enemy? And why?

[column5]

On the runway works for me. I like to take off and land, but I don't much care for taxiing and parking. Unless the sim offered more realistic Tower and ATC comms, like in MSFS. Then I might feel differently.

[FalconC45]

On runway, in air, near enemy? And why?

 

On runway and fly to the waypoints manually. Except when playing First Eagles, Runway Start, then ALT N.

 

Falcon

[TX3RN0BILL]

Take-off is on runways!

Then, if I feel like it I fly to the first couple of WPs manually, but sooner or later I punch Alt-N to get to the juicy stuff. Love it when the AC tells me that the mission is complete and I haven't done anything, and in the mission summary it says that the mish was an outstanding success, having shot down xx planes...

[topcat II]

Always on the runway or on the carrier deck!!!

[Wrench]

On the runway, unless I doing terrain work, then you need to start 'near target', to eliminate all the excess flying. (is there such a thing???)

 

Alt-N is ok on some terrains, but watch out for those with high mountain ranges .... SPLAT!!! BOOOM!!! Cumulo-granite sucks!

 

Wrench

kevin stein

[Sgt.KAR98]

Near target.

I don´t have patience to fly 5000 km.

[HrntFixr]

On runway......but of course!

[serverandenforcer]

On the runway, unless I doing terrain work, then you need to start 'near target', to eliminate all the excess flying. (is there such a thing???)

 

Alt-N is ok on some terrains, but watch out for those with high mountain ranges .... SPLAT!!! BOOOM!!! Cumulo-granite sucks!

 

Wrench

kevin stein

 

Runway then Alt-N, and I sure do know about teh high moutain range stuff. Did a CAS mission on the Israel 2 terrain. Did Alt-N after take off and I suddenly find myself at 2,000 ft, flying through a canyon approaching my target. Scared the crap out of me and my wingmen. Was flying a vigilante with cluster bombs and napalm (used to mark the general target area so I don't accidentally bomb the wrong tanks). Mission was a success of course. Also had a flight of C-130s in the area to wasting the crap out of an airbase. And then they came over to me and started wasting the crap out of the enemy tanks that I was bombing. Was the strangest thing I've ever saw happen in WOE. It's an awesome sound though flying by one of those Specter Gunships at 400+ knots. Reminded me of Star Wars Episode I at the pod races.

[+Gocad]

Alt-N or starting near the target can be problematic if the enemy flies some advanced aircraft.

You jump in, your RWR starts to scream and in the next second you're blown out of the sky.

 

So much for using shortcuts....

[+allenjb42]

Start on the runway, fly a few waypoint manually mainly to get chance to admire the planes and the terrain, then alt-n to where the action is.

 

But following on from this, do you guys alt-n back home or fly that leg manually? Personally I try to fly it myself, unless the missus is calling me back to real life.

[Lt. James Cater]

I always start on the runway.

 

I just love that feeling when you push the throttle foward and engage the burners. Watching the end of the runway getting closer and then lifting the nose....Gear up, flaps up, check your climb angle and climb rate, getting set for the chore of the rest of the flight(s) joining up. Once eveyone is in place, head out on the mission while climbing to altitude.

 

Thailand looks wonderful from up high. The endless expanse of green below, farms carved out of the jungle, airstrips every so often. Laos is much the same (except for the airstrips). The sight of the other aircraft in your force, seemingly cruising serene, yet loaded with tons of death and destruction. As you near North Vietnam the anticipation increases with every indication on the RHAW. They know you are coming and there is not a single thing you can do about it! Soon you are closing in on the Red river. Bandit country for sure! Flak everywhere, Sams aplenty, Migs too. Your pulse begins to quicken. perhaps you've been monitoring the differtnt frequencys other flights are using that day. Sams launching, planes getting hit, others getting shot down, Red Crown vectors, advisories and warnings......

 

Starting near the target has nothing on the the above.

[+{FL}Hausser]

Runway or Carrier deck most definately. Gives a more complete feel to the flight sim.

[Bulldog]

On the runway/carrier deck, and I try as much as possible to not hit alt-N for more realism.

[FalconC45]

Start on the runway, fly a few waypoint manually mainly to get chance to admire the planes and the terrain, then alt-n to where the action is.

 

But following on from this, do you guys alt-n back home or fly that leg manually? Personally I try to fly it myself, unless the missus is calling me back to real life.

 

I ALT-N back home.

 

Falcon

[DWCAce]

I always start on the runway/deck, and then do the climb out. If it's a strike or CAS or such, typically I'll jump to the action. If it's an escort/intercept/etc, or a campaign mission, I'll fly the whole thing out so that I can maintain a good radar picture and SA. As for going home, mostly I skip if I'm stressed for time. If I've got heavy damage, I'll fly it all the way back.

[tank03]

It depends on how much time I have, but I usually like to start and end (if I make it)on the runway. I'll fly a couple of WP's then Alt-N. As others have pointed out, the Alt-N sometimes drops you in the middle of the sh*t and I spend a frantic few minutes trying to figure out what the hell is going on around me.

[Nicholas Bell]

In the air. It saves a few minutes. When I have time I prefer to fly the waypoints - or off the waypoints in order to have the "battle" develop differently. Usually compress time some to get closer, faster. I also like to use the map to see where the other flights are (using the modification to be able to zoom out far enough to see the entire map) and F6 to watch the action elsewhere. If you fly off the waypoints and use the map it is possible to catch the bad guys "out of sorts". Nothing like blasting them as they take off or as the move to where they think you are supposed to be. Or after a boring mission roaming around looking for guys low on fuel or odd transport shuttling parts between bases.

 

When time is tight I ALT-N if flying a CAP or intercept mission if the range isn't too far (see below). Can't do this when I'm moving mud though because I like to hit the target after the friendly sweeps and SEAD flights have actually arrived on target. It's been discussed before and I know the "old timers" are aware, but it is worth repeating - the mission generator often (usually) has the player's flight on target before all others - no matter what the player's role is. So it makes sense to slow down or take a longer alternative route when you're carrying the bombs so your support flights can do their job.

 

On a related note, isn't it frustrating on an intercept or CAP mission to "fail" even before engaging? A lot of those missions make it impossible to engage the enemy before they drop their bombs. When you see a long range CAP or intercept, it may make sense to drop the intermediate waypoints and fly as fast as you can (wing leveler and time compression help), not at cruise speed, to get to the target area before the enemy does. ALT-N doesn't help here, nor does "Near the target" setup.

[+Stary]

It depends. Flying campaign -on runway, for immersion and complexity. Sometimes I do warp (when it's WW2 stuff). Testing new addons or doing my own experiments or effects -a lot of single missions, both random or my creations.