Mission Questions...

[infowars]

Hey there,  I'm interested in joining mission I cannot seem to figure out what I'm supposed to do.  Can you guys please run down the information I need to fly some cooperative sorties...  I've joined mission but then have no clue what to do.  Thanks.

[Lusche]

That is a question that should rather be directed towards the player that is leading that very mission.
Missions are varied, and so are their goals and the things that individual players in mission are supposed to do.

Usually there is a specific mission channel for voice communication - you will see something like "VOX 189". Tune your voice radio channel to that number (see http://trainers.hitechcreations.com/radio/radio.htm if you don't know how to do that)

[PFactorDave]

You'll find that some people who post up missions have a reputation for putting them together right.

I joined a lot of missions when I first started playing AH, which was only a few months ago actually.  It quickly became apparent that certain people would post a mission and nobody would join it, while another person posted a mission a few minutes later and you would see a lot of joiners.

My advice is, pay attention to who is posting missions that a lot of folks join, then join those. 

A good mission leader will issue instructions to the pilots when the mission launches.  A good mission leader will answer questions for you, but I suggest that you ask the questions via Private Text rather then over the mission VOX channel.

[trotter]

Let's start at the beginning. Are you being launched properly into the mission? That's the first step, and some newer players have problems with that.

If you are indeed launched onto the runway at the onset, a good bet is to follow the herd on takeoff and wait for instructions. Contrary to what Lusche said, I've found that a lot of the larger bish mishuns at least are using range channel now rather than assigning a specific channel. This may just be the bish. If no instructions are sent over range, ask on range what the mission channel is.

Look around you. Are there less than about 5 others in the mission? Are they flying inexplicable plane types, such as bombers from a base that is capped, escorted by Spit I's? A good mission will have purpose in the planeset, clear voice communication from the leader within 10 seconds of launching, and decent numbers. A bad mission will have plane types oddly thrown together, small numbers, and no leadership. If you find yourself in a bad mission, you may find it best to point your nose to the nearest tree and go afk for a few.