Originally posted by _Schadenfreude_
Previous padlocks would padlock onto nme or friendly in range and then you could cycle through the various pads to obtain a sa picture.
Do I have to first have sight of a bandit or friendly to padlock?
Pointers would be appreciated.
You need to have sight of a bandit or friendly to padlock it. AH padlock does not find planes for you, keep track of more than one plane at a time, and will break off if your view of the target becomes obscured.
I don't use AH padlock and I suspect that around 0% of the top pilots here use it.
Things you can do to help your SA:
1. Adjust your views with the arrow keys and pg up, pg down, save your adjusted views with F10. This will give you a decent 6 view in most fighters.
2. If you have an extra button, set a key to 'forward view' or 8. With this button pressed, adjust the view as above. Now you have an alternate forward view to peek around the cockpit frame.
3. Set the engine sound for other planes louder than your plane.
4. If radar is working, use ins and del to zoom in the map close and look at dots, but remember that at low alt enemy planes lose their radar icon.
5. Use the force.