Question to the real fighter pilots amongst us.

[xclusiv8 35]

Hii guys

 

From how far away would a pilot be able to spot a car or a tank for example when on a bombing run. Or from what altitude? I ask this because i have a hard time finding anything ingame and i have to get really close.

 

I run the game at 1080p so there is lots of space on my 24" screen.

 

Thanx

[Slartibartfast 153]

Okay I am not a fighter pilot, but I would think this would be based upon time of day the pilots eyesight also the conditions e.g. rain dust etc... also the terrain involved. Also I suppose how long he has been flying as well as the airspeed and height of the aircraft he was in... There is also the size of the target that he is trying to hit... Also how busy he is in the cockpit and maybe even what other aids he has at his finger tips e.g. a LANTIRN or other imaging device also Radar cueing..

 

There maybe a few others I have missed... but it comes down to all that and a bit more I would think.

[FastCargo 412]

Not a fighter pilot, but done enough high speed low levels to make some observations.

 

That depends on a ton of factors.

 

Contrast (edge effects, coloration, silhouette, etc) ,line of sight movement, environmental (including things like atmospheric haze, sun position, shadows, ridgeline, etc), target study, scan pattern, time dedicated to scan, etc.

 

Example: You're in a Hog, 5000 feet, 300 knots, sun behind you, looking for a green tank on a light tan background on a clear and a billion day and the tank is moving across your field of vision. You'll probably see it (admittedly, as a dot with a dirt plume) for tens of miles.

 

On the other hand, now try this with the sun in front of you, hazy day, a tan tank on a light tan background (ie the desert), while he's not moving, and you're in a F-16 at 500 feet doing 480 knots. You'll be lucky if you see it outside of 2 miles.

 

FC

[xclusiv8 35]

You guys got some good points! I have to get trackIR and maybe this situational awerness issue will dissapear.

[Lexx_Luthor 57]

I have a hard time finding anything ingame and i have to get really close.

 

Outside of the spotting factors FC mentioned, not all modeled in TheSims, there is the issue of visual "zoom" in computer games. Notice if you "zoom" in your view, you can see objects much better, or from far greater ranges.

 

Standard playing zoom (actually, field of view) I guess for all TheSims is probably 90 degrees. That's artificially compressed into about 20 degrees on your computer monitor in front of you. To get realistic apparent field of view, you would have to zoom your game view to 20 degrees to *see* objects at realistic apparent sizes. Monitor size, how close you sit to your monitor, and resolution it can support all combine to effect this as well.

 

Now, zooming in chops off peripheral vision. Its hard to FLY the plane with your view set to 20 degrees. Try it, approach and land using 1950s panels with view stuck at 20 degrees. And you can't keep situational awareness around your airspace with peripheral vision chopped off like this, so you have to switch back and forth between narrow and wide field of view -- field of view is inverse to zoom. This is not too bad though, as changing zoom can be thought of as simulating how we focus attention on things; general wide search and situational awareness, or narrow attention focus looking for suspected targets. But its a hassle having to thumb a joystick control to do it.

Edited August 17, 2010 by Lexx_Luthor

[jomni 6]

That's something computer sims don't get to do properly. Even in LOMAC, ground pounding is hard even with the TV screens of the A-10.

 

So far, FSX for me has good visual range and clarity but it's not a combat sim.