Tornado Mission Analysis Theater: Operation Desert Storm Mission 1: IDS - Counter Air Pilot/Navigator: Frankie "TornadoMan" Kam Analyst: Mike "Speedwagon" Foley Introduction: Welcome to the Tornado Briefing Room! Whether you are new to Digital Integration's classic flight simulator or a long-time veteran, we hope this sample mission analysis will provide something for everyone. When it was first released in 1993, Tornado had amazing features for a desktop simulator that still hold up well almost 25 years later, especially the Mission Planner. However, one feature it did not include was the ability to record missions for later analysis. Using DOSBox to run the game combined with OBS Studio and QiPress Lite, Frankie has assembled a powerful learning tool that allows review of not only video but audio and keystrokes as well. To see how effective this is watch the first few minutes of the video with the sound muted and your hand covering the keystroke display. Then watch again with everything on -- it's amazing how much more information is now available! We've used Frankie's first mission recording to put together this analysis and see what lessons we can learn from this fantastic sim. In fact, Frankie is taking the same approach the pros do by asking: what went right, what went wrong, what can we do better next time? This can speed up the learning curve for new pilots and help those with more experience take their skill set to the next level. For best results we suggest playing the video and pausing as needed while reading the text. To keep it reasonably short, this review only covers the takeoff and landing rather than the entire mission. So let's note here that Frankie's attack run definitely went right! He took out four ZSU-23 mobile AAA units using ALARM and then successfully damaged Runway 36L at Enemy Airfield 4 using JP233. And his wingmen took out three aircraft, two HAS, and a munitions store as well as additional SAM/AAA sites. Well done! So without further ado, let's see what we can learn... Page of 1 14
Transcript
Tornado Mission Analysis
Theater: Operation Desert Storm Mission 1: IDS - Counter Air
Pilot/Navigator: Frankie "TornadoMan" Kam Analyst: Mike "Speedwagon" Foley
Introduction:
Welcome to the Tornado Briefing Room! Whether you are new to Digital Integration's classic flight simulator or a long-time veteran, we hope this sample mission analysis will provide something for everyone. When it was first released in 1993, Tornado had amazing features for a desktop simulator that still hold up well almost 25 years later, especially the Mission Planner. However, one feature it did not include was the ability to record missions for later analysis.
Using DOSBox to run the game combined with OBS Studio and QiPress Lite, Frankie has assembled a powerful learning tool that allows review of not only video but audio and keystrokes as well. To see how effective this is watch the first few minutes of the video with the sound muted and your hand covering the keystroke display. Then watch again with everything on -- it's amazing how much more information is now available!
We've used Frankie's first mission recording to put together this analysis and see what lessons we can learn from this fantastic sim. In fact, Frankie is taking the same approach the pros do by asking: what went right, what went wrong, what can we do better next time? This can speed up the learning curve for new pilots and help those with more experience take their skill set to the next level. For best results we suggest playing the video and pausing as needed while reading the text.
To keep it reasonably short, this review only covers the takeoff and landing rather than the entire mission. So let's note here that Frankie's attack run definitely went right! He took out four ZSU-23 mobile AAA units using ALARM and then successfully damaged Runway 36L at Enemy Airfield 4 using JP233. And his wingmen took out three aircraft, two HAS, and a munitions store as well as additional SAM/AAA sites. Well done!
So without further ado, let's see what we can learn...
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Tornado Mission Analysis
The Takeoff:
Here we are on the runway and ready for takeoff. We normally use the mid-flap setting:
Once airborne it's important to respect the limit speeds for flaps/slats, landing gear and wing sweep throughout the flight. Otherwise we can damage them and really affect our landing.
Note that limit speeds (Vmax) for flaps/slats and landing gear are listed in knots which can easily be seen on the HUD. But limit speeds for wing sweep are listed as Mach number, a percentage of the speed of sound. This is not a constant value -- it varies with air temperature. For example, at 15°C (sea level) it's 661 knots and drops to 573 knots at -56°C (45,000 feet).
Tip: While Mach number can be displayed on the HUD and is always shown on the analog airspeed indicator, one technique to keep things simple is: 350 KIAS - transition between 25° and 45° sweep450 KIAS - transition between 45° and 67° sweep
(We'll see this again shortly.)* CWP Warning - can be extended up to 350 KIAS *
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Aircraft System Vmax
Full Flaps/Slats 225 KIAS
Mid Flaps/Slats 280 KIAS
Maneuver Flaps/Slats 450 KIAS
Landing Gear *250 KIAS*
25° Wing Sweep Mach 0.73
45° Wing Sweep Mach 0.88
67° Wing Sweep Mach 2.20
Tornado Mission Analysis
Keeping these limit speeds in mind let's takeoff and see what happens:
The landing gear has been retracted and we have just engaged the autopilot in Track mode (F7). Suddenly the Master Warning lights and siren go off. Why? It has nothing to do with the autopilot. Look at the airspeed on the HUD ... we're doing over 280 knots and the flaps are still at mid-flap setting.
Tip: Anytime the Master Warning goes off we should always switch to the back seat and look at the Central Warning Panel (CWP). In this case the amber caption CNFG is cautioning us about the "flap configuration error".
Once we've identified the problem we should reset the Master Warning. This is important so we don't miss any subsequent warn ings i f another problem comes up.
As noted on the control summary card, for keyboards without a separate numeric keypad with the asterisk key -- such as laptops -- we can use the apostrophe key instead.
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Tornado Mission Analysis
So we know the flaps need to come up. Let's look at the keystrokes that were used:
Notice all the repeating keystrokes asking for flaps/slats up (Q) and wing sweep back (S). Both systems have only one speed of movement. So pressing a key multiple times does not make them move any faster.
Additionally, there is an automatic interlock between the two systems that allows movement of only one at a time. This prevents damage since not all flap/slat settings are available with wing sweep at 45° or 67° (and vice-versa).
In this case, since Q was the first keystroke, the flaps/slats are starting to come up but the wings have not moved. So we should wait until one action is complete before requesting another.
Let's continue our flight to see why being aware of this is important...
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Tornado Mission Analysis
We have tracked our flight plan for another 4 minutes and are now accelerating towards Waypoint E (Initial Point for the JP233 attack). Suddenly the airframe begins to rumble. Why?
As discussed on the previous page, because the flaps/slats were in motion the wings did not sweep back. They were still at 25° and we exceeded the limit speed of Mach 0.73. Once again, notice all the repeating keystrokes. We only need to select S once for each wing sweep position. And in this case we don't need to move the flaps at all -- they are already up.
Tip: To avoid all these issues here's a suggested flow pattern to use after takeoff:
Gear UP (at 10+ feet).............................press G or U onceFlaps UP (at 215 knots)..........................press Q twiceWing sweep 45° (at 350 knots)...............press S onceWing sweep 67° (at 450 knots)...............press S once
Sometimes these steps can happen in quick succession but will become second nature with practice. Think of each keystroke like an actual control in the cockpit.
Why are we spending so much time analyzing the takeoff? Because using a similar flow pattern for landing can help us avoid the same kinds of problems at the end of the flight.
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Tornado Mission Analysis
The Landing:
Ok, we've flown another 8 minutes and the airfield attack is complete. We are turning towards Waypoint H (the Approach Point) to intercept the ILS:
Notice the repeating keystrokes asking for wing sweep forward and flaps/slats down. Again, the interlock only allows one or the other. In this case it's sweep since W was the first keystroke. And that's fortunate here because our airspeed of 491 knots is too high for ANY flap/slat setting.
It's easy to assume that because we move a control or switch that the requested action has occurred. But we should always verify that it did. In this example, by not realizing the flaps are still up, we could experience an unexpected wing stall during landing.
Tip: Use a similar flow pattern before landing -- just reverse the order:
Wing sweep 45° (below 450 knots).........press W onceManeuver flaps (below 400 knots)..........press A onceWing sweep 25° (below 350 knots).........press W onceMid-flap (below 280 knots)......................press A onceGear DN (below 250 knots).....................press G or U onceFlaps DN (below 225 knots)....................press A once
These flows and speed triggers are not set in stone. Develop a rhythm that feels right for you.
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Tornado Mission Analysis
About half a minute later we've passed Waypoint H. The aircraft heading is 320° and the autopilot has switched to Approach mode, pulling up and banking right to capture the ILS.
Tip: Notice the Late Arm switch is still up. Once we are back in Allied territory we should turn it off to avoid a friendly fire incident.
But suddenly...the Master Warning siren starts wailing, the autopilot and autothrottle both disconnect, and we're now flying the aircraft ourselves. What just happened?
Remember our pre-takeoff review using the Mission Planner? We checked the parameters for each waypoint such as time, speed and altitude. Unfortunately we only looked at Waypoints A through X (the target). So we missed some key information for Waypoints G through H that set us up for this problem later in the flight.
Let's look at the Mission Planner again...
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Tornado Mission Analysis
T h e s p e e d a t Waypoint G was set at 420 knots. Notice h o w t h e r o u t e smoothly curves left to Waypoint H, lining up on a northerly heading to capture the ILS.
Let's see how fast we were actually going...
..566 knots. To understand why this is a problem let's again return to the Mission Planner.
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Tornado Mission Analysis
We flew the leg from Waypoints G to H using the autopilot. And the previous M i ss i o n P lanne r screen predicted we should roll out on a northerly heading.
But the aircraft was ac tua l l y head ing about 320° when the autopilot captured the ILS.
Why the difference?
Turn radius!
The faster we fly the larger the radius of turn will be. As shown in the window above, the Mission Planner will account for turn radius as the planned speed is increased and draw a larger curve between waypoints on the map. In this case the Mission Planner has already started flagging errors for our wingmen. And it will only let us increase the speed for our aircraft (868Alpha) to 518 knots. Anything higher and it removes the curve and draws a straight line between Waypoints G and H.
In this case the extra speed along with the intercept angle was just too much for the automation to handle. So by design the autopilot and autothrottle disconnected leaving it to the crew to fly the aircraft manually.
Tip: Sometimes we need to fly faster than the planned speed (for example, to make Time-On-Target or evade enemy aircraft). Just keep in mind the effect the higher speed will have. The larger turn radius can fly us into a hill or put us within range of SAM or AAA sites our flight plan is trying to avoid.
To see it this makes sense we can fly the landing again. We'll just reload the mission and after takeoff engage TF mode (F9), set ride height at 200 feet, accelerate to 420 knots and engage the autothrottle (F10). Before reaching Waypoint B we'll make sure our wingmen are clear and then turn left to 270° (no need to fly the whole mission). We'll move to the back seat and look at the Flight Plan display, selecting N to skip waypoints until G is highlighted as the active one. Monitoring our position on the display, when we are almost to the line between Waypoints F and G, we'll select Track mode (F7).
The automation should now fly the aircraft to Waypoint H at 200 feet ride height and 420 knots, rolling out on a north heading and smoothly capturing the ILS!
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Tornado Mission Analysis
Bonus Material - The Automation Trap:
We've learned a lot from this mission. And it has a few more important lessons to teach us about using automation (referring to the autopilot and autothrottle). The Tornado manual explains that "even with a crew of two, there is so much to do, and the situation can change so fast, that most of the time the aircraft is flown by an extremely smart autopilot". While this may be true the automation itself is controlled by an extremely smart crew. Used properly, it reduces workload, increases safety, and improves accuracy. But if we allow it, the same automation will gladly fly us smack into a hillside or pull up in the middle of a low-level attack run so every AAA and SAM site nearby can see us. Automation can either save us from trouble or make trouble for us.
An obvious first step in mastering the automation is learning the keyboard commands so they become second nature...like knowing which buttons to push on the car radio for our favorite stations. The next step is understanding the different modes and what they do. So let's pick up the mission where we left off and analyze the next few things that happened:
We are now in level flight just after the autopilot and autothrottle both disconnected. The airfield is in view off to our right. At this point we have a choice: fly manually and land the aircraft ourselves or set up the automation to do it for us. If we decide to use the autopilot, what mode should we use?
Let's see what mode we selected during the mission...
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Tornado Mission Analysis
We selected Track mode (F7). The green light tells us the autopilot did engage and the airplane begins to turn right and descend. Isn't that what we want? Well, maybe not...
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Tornado Mission Analysis
We don't appear to be lining up with the runway, the altitude is getting low, and the airspeed is getting high. What's going on?
First, we're not lining up with the runway because selecting Track mode (F7) told the autopilot to "track" to the active waypoint. In this case that's the Approach Point which was behind us. So the autopilot is just doing what we asked and turning in the shortest direction to Waypoint H.
We can see this on the MFD Local Map. The aircraft has just passed through an east heading in a right turn towards Waypoint H.
Second, the altitude is decreasing because in the Mission Planner we programmed the autopilot to fly to Waypoint H at a Ride Height of 200 feet. Again, the autopilot is just doing what we asked.
Third, the airspeed is increasing because the autopilot is descending the aircraft but the throttles are still set for level flight. The autothrottles did not engage when we pressed F7.
Tip: Approach (F6) is the only autopilot mode that also automatically engages the autothrottles.
So instead of selecting Track mode (F7) we could have manually turned to the right to set up an intercept heading with the runway. Once the ILS guidance appeared on the HUD or MFD we could then select Approach mode (F6). The autopilot would capture the ILS and the autothrottles would automatically engage to control airspeed throughout the approach.
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Tornado Mission Analysis
Extra Credit Question:
Ok, let's wrap up this mission analysis with one final lesson:
Here we are after selecting Track mode (F7). The autopilot has completed the right turn and is "tracking" back to Waypoint H. Aircraft heading is now 204° which is almost due south in the opposite direction of the airfield. The TTG readout says we'll reach the waypoint in 39 seconds.
Extra credit question: What is the autopilot going to do when it reaches Waypoint H?
Give it some thought before turning the page!
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Tornado Mission Analysis
Interesting...the autopilot did not turn back to the airfield. Instead it switched to Terrain Follow (TF) mode and continued flying a 204° heading. Why? Shouldn't it have changed to Approach mode like it did the first time we passed Waypoint H?
Remember that the aircraft must be in the ILS zone (we are) and roughly pointed towards the runway (we aren't) in order for the autopilot to switch to Approach mode. And since Waypoint H was the last waypoint in the flight plan the autopilot doesn't know where we want to go next. So it does the safest thing it can: holding the present heading so we don't turn unexpectedly and terrain following so we don't hit the ground.
Tip: Let's summarize what we've learned about automation:
1. It's only as smart as we are in using it.2. It can safely allow us to do things we would never do ourselves (terrain follow in fog at night
anyone?)3. It can also allow us to do things we should never do ourselves (flying into hills, stalling the
wing, and flying too fast).4. If we don't like or understand what it's doing, select a different mode or fly manually.
Conclusion:
We hope this analysis provided something for everyone. From basic to advanced topics, this learning tool generated many lessons from just 20 minutes of video. Imagine the possibilities!
