To get the technique down....
#1. Know what speed your quarry is going to fly at the expected alt. So cruise around in loaded B17s and Lancs at various alts while noting your speed.
#2. Go offline, get a 110G2 with 4xrockets, climb to one of your test alts, and adjust your speed until it matches that of the expected buff target. NOTE: IIRC, you also have to take off like due north or something and keep heading that way or the step below won't work.
#3. Use the .target [range] command to call up the bullseye. Start with the range about 1300 yards. With your head in the normal position, pull up until the center of the target touches the center of the mount for the reflector sight, just above the top of the dash. Fire a rocket when you achieve this sight picture.
#4. Look for the burst of the rocket about 2-3 seconds after launch. It'll look just like a 5" or 88mm ack burst. Because of the range set above, the rocket should burst before it gets to the target so you see the burst form and no holes get punched in the target. You want to adjust your vertical point of aim until the burst occurs at the same height at the center of the target. Don't worry so much about left and right at present, the important thing to learn here is the range to launch.
#5. Once you've got the point of aim set, start bringing the target closer to you in small steps. You're looking for the range at which the rocket explodes JUST AFTER it goes through the target. You'll know when you've got that target at that range because you'll see the hole appear in the target, and then you'll see MOST of the rocket burst. You won't see the 1st couple of frames because they happen behind the target, but most of the expansion of the burst should take place after the target moves past the burst point. For me, this range is usually between 1000-1100 yards.
At the end of this exercise, you will know the range to shoot and the sight picture you need to hold to make the rocket either hit or explode very close to the target. However, this is with you doing the same speed as the target. So if you want to be going faster, you just shoot a little further away because your speed adds to the rocket's speed so it goes a bit further.
Of course, at the ranges we're talking about here, you've really got to worry about return fire. The Germans sometimes fired the rockets head-on as a result, which made that less of a problem. 2-second delay, that's a LONG range HO shot. Unfortunately, it takes math to figure out how to make a target a fixed distance away moving at the same speed as you simulate a HO target, and I'm usually too drunk to think that hard. And so far, I've not had a reason to try.
Virage said:ohh and this was back in the formationless days. May work better with 3 of em in front of u. or maybe u'll get hosed with 50 cal.
I'm looking forward to trying rockets in the truly massive buff formations that'll be part of the AH2 TOD arena
. THAT might make it worth figuring out the HO attack profile. I sure hope AH2 has offline buff drone herds to hose down.
