Speed calibration on different alt than target

[osage]

Is it necessary to calibrate the bombsight on the target itself?

Or does the calibration computation automatically factor in your AGL (above ground level) altitude and airspeed when you do the calibration (zoom in in terrain, pick an *arbitrary* point and do the center joystick on arbitrary point, and hold it on it while pressing down the "Y" key for at least two seconds)?

[Kweassa]

Haven't really experimented it thoroughly, but clicking at an arbitrary point does seem to work, provided the target and that arobitrary point is at the same altitude.
 
 However, if a certain town you are tagetting for is at 1.0k, and the rest of the ground is 0.0k, I think this could lead to some problems with accuracy.

[Zeb]

Originally posted by osage
Is it necessary to calibrate the bombsight on the target itself?

Or does the calibration computation automatically factor in your AGL (above ground level) altitude and airspeed when you do the calibration (zoom in in terrain, pick an *arbitrary* point and do the center joystick on arbitrary point, and hold it on it while pressing down the "Y" key for at least two seconds)?

In my opinion, no.  The idea of calibration is to allow for the effects of wind speed and direction which cause drift.  By marking a point on the ground with the crosshair and following it for at least 2 seconds then the bombsight can work out the direction and speed you are going.  These parameters are required to predict the exact point the bombs will land.  The only missing parameter once the sight has been calibrated is the actal height of the target.  This is obtained by clicking on the map in cal mode.

I would think you will compute a more accurate speed/direction for the bomb sight if the calibration sighting is done as near to directly downward as possible.  The accuracy will decrease the shallower the angle of the calibration mark.

JUst my opinion after studying Nordon and associated bombsight techniques quite a bit today.

[john9001]

i think you have to calibrate at or near the target alt.
if your target is at sea lvl and you cal over ground 1000' agl , your bomb site will want to put bombs on target but 1000' too high and they will over shoot.

[Pongo]

strange that it asks you the alt of the target then...

[Pongo]

I aggree with zeb. I think marking a target that is near the horizon is a bad idea. mark something right below you..

[Flossy]

Originally posted by Pongo
I aggree with zeb. I think marking a target that is near the horizon is a bad idea. mark something right below you..

Makes perfect sense the way Zeb explained it to me (he calibrates scientific instruments as part of his job) - the more information you can give to the bombsight, the more accurate it will be.  If you mark a point below, your plane will travel a certain distance during the time you hold the mark, and the speed & direction of travel will be determined as a result.  If, however, you attempt to mark a point in the distance, it doesn't get a lot of information to go on.... OK, it may be easier to hold while marking, but just defeats the object, I think.

I also found last night that if I waited until on my bombrun to calibrate I had more success and managed to hit my target!    I waited until I was lined up on a hangar, with the vertical crosshair running through it.... I had already slowed right down and then started the calibration process as I slowly approached.... dropped my stick of 3 bombs - and destroyed the hangar.  

[Ghosth]

I've been practising in the TA where you have the green cross showing where the bombs WILL hit.

You can mark near the horizon but be prepared to hold for 5 seconds instead of 2.

Marking down is harder to find a good mark.
Also its harder to keep the point directly on it
for 2 seconds.

When I was calib on the horiz for 2 secs green X would be way long or short.
When I tried holding it for 10 seconds it was exact in center.