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v1.0.

CombatFlite
User’s Manual
CF
Content
How To: Create a sample strike mission
How To: Create a sample CAS mission
Flight Planning Features
UI, Key shortcuts, Mouse
Creating a flight
Flight, unit and waypoint properties
Packages
Carriers
Navigation objects
User-defined objects, layers
Units of measure
Kneeboard
Mission
Weather
Briefing
Coalitions
Mission overview
DMPI allocation
Import & Export Features
Import .cf flights
Import .cf layers
Import .miz
Import .kmz
Import AJS37 ELINT
Export .miz
Export .lua
Export .kmz
Export .xml
Export .json
Export NS430 .dat
AJS-37 Viggen Specific Features
Data cartridge
ELINT import, library

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CF
Content…
Ka-50 Specific Features
ABRIS
Tools
Mission rehearsal
Intervisibility plot
Terrain visualization (selected area / along a route)
Slope visualization
Snapshots
Vertical profile of a route
ISA & unit conversion
Map Options
Settings
Google Earth Link-Up
System Requirements
Disclaimer
Credits
Contact

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How To: CF
Create a sample strike mission
Place user-defined objects
• Place “Push Pt”, “Exit Pt”, “Target”, “IP”, “DMPI” reference points
(Key shortcuts “R, 1”; “R, 2”; “R, 5”; “R,4”; “D”)

• Place “Hold”, “AAR”, “CAP”, “SEAD CAP”, “AWACS” orbits


(Key shortcuts “O, 1”; “O, 2”; “O, 3”; “O, 4”; “O, 5”)

• Place other objects if needed (threat circles, info text boxes, …)


• Circle center points can be exported to a DCS .miz file as nav points;
you can then add for example a SAM unit at that point in the DCS
Mission Editor

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Set coalitions and weather
• Set Blue and Red side countries
CF

• Set weather

• Weather can be either Static or Dynamic


• If you choose Dynamic, you will have to manually place the Cyclones
and Anticyclones and adjust their parameters to your liking

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Create flights (“F” key)
• It is good to start with “AI (Air Interdiction)” flights
CF

• Pick all the waypoints (Departure base, Steerpoints, AAR orbit,


Hold orbit, Push Pt, IP, Target, Exit Pt, Landing base)
• This can be done by snapping to the already existing user-defined
objects (ref points, orbits, …) and navigation objects (nav points,
airfields, …)
• Important waypoint parameters will then be set automatically for you

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• Select the Target waypoint, assign ETA (TOT), allocate DMPIs CF

• Set enroute speeds and altitudes


• This can be sped up by clicking the “Copy to all waypoints…” buttons
(for speed and altitude)

• Adjust other waypoint parameters for any waypoint


• E.g. Activity duration, A/A TACAN, Comm Frequency etc.
• At some waypoints (AAR/Hold/CAP/SEAD CAP/AWACS anchors, take-off
airfields, …) default activity duration is automatically preset
• Frequency (and A/A TACAN) is automatically chosen

• Adjust flight callsign

You can choose between DCS and Custom callsigns


• Adjust aircraft configuration for each flight member
• To make a bigger strike package, you can clone a flight
• After cloning, adjust callsign, ETA or other parameters as required
• Create the rest of the flights in a similar fashion (you can
continue with Sweep, SEAD, AWACS, etc.)
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Rehearse the mission CF
• You can use several tools to see and check the overall layout of
the mission:
• The playback Rehearsal tool (“F5” key)

• The Mission overview tool

• The DMPI allocation tool

• The Vertical route profile tool

• The Google Earth Link-Up (see separate chapter) 8


Make a briefing package
• You can adjust the Bullseye position
CF
• Click on the Bullseye, unlock it, drag it somewhere you want it placed

• Create briefing pictures using the Snapshot tool


• You can generate Portrait/Landscape snapshot
of the map using a dedicated tool
(key shortcuts “F6” and “F7”)

• Create additional briefing pictures using the Save as png tool


• This tool is accessible in the Vertical route profile,
Weather, Mission overview and DMPI allocation windows
• Use the Briefing tool to make a Situation overview,
Blue tasking and Red tasking
• RAMROD is randomly chosen (can be changed)
• Each text part can be auto-generated by clicking the “Auto-generate”
button
• Blue/Red briefing pictures can be added
• The first briefing picture is auto-generated and includes the name of
the mission
• You can export the Blue/Red briefing as a Rich Text Format (.rtf)
• Situation/Blue/Red briefing automatically becomes a part of .miz file
when exported

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Create your custom kneeboard
• You can use the Kneeboard to tool to create a custom
CF
kneeboard package for a given aircraft
• It can comprise of the following pages
• Mission data card (incl. navigation data, comm frequencies, package
composition and timing, free text area / imagery)
• Route map
• Individual route leg views
• Extra pages (raster images)
• You have three options how to output the kneeboard
• Print a hard copy or a pdf file
• Generate .png files and put them into your DCS Kneeboard folder
• Insert the kneeboard directly into a .miz file

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Export the mission as a .miz file
• The mission can be exported as a .miz file
CF
• All the flights are exported, together with the mission briefings
and briefing pictures, as well as navigation points, reference
points and other objects
• After having it exported, you can open the .miz file in the DCS
Mission Editor and tweak the mission further (e.g. ground units,
ships, scripting, flags, liveries for air units etc)
• Because of the way artificial intelligence is currently done in the
DCS environment, some tweaking of the mission in terms of
reference point / waypoint placing, timing, speeds or altitudes,
followed by exporting the .miz file again, will probably have to
be done to finetune the mission flow
• Alternatively, the mission can be exported as a .lua file, which
can be run as a script inside a DCS mission (done by the ‘DO FILE’
script in the DCS Mission Editor). However, DCS does not
currently support adding ‘Client’ air units via these scripts. Only
‘Player’ or artificially-intelligent units can be added

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How To: CF
Create a sample CAS mission
In general…
• The procedure is the same as in the “How To: Create a sample
strike mission”, but is tailored towards a CAS tasking
• In the following text, only the differences are listed

Place “CAS” and “FAC(A)” reference points


• Place a “CAS” reference point. Later, you can snap
a CAS flight waypoint to it.
(Key shortcut “R, 6”)

• Also, you can place a “FAC(A)” reference point if


you plan on using a FAC(A) tasked flight
(Key shortcut “R, 7”)

Create flights (“F” key)


• Create “CAS” and, if required, “FAC(A)” flights
• Pick all the waypoints (Departure base, Steerpoints, AAR orbit,
CAS, Landing base) as needed
• This can be done by snapping to the already existing user-defined
objects (“CAS” ref point, orbits, …) and navigation objects (nav points,
airfields, …)
• Important waypoint parameters will then be set automatically for you

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Create custom kneeboard pages with MGRS CF
gridlines
• Use the map tile overlay (e.g. Bing Aerial) and the Snapshot
(Portrait) tool to create a close-in snapshot of the CAS target
area overlaid with MGRS gridlines
• Use the Kneeboard tool to create a custom kneeboard
package for a given aircraft
• Click the “Manage…” button below the “Extra pages” option

• Locate your snapshots and add them to your Kneeboard package


• You have three options how to output the kneeboard
• Print a hard copy or a pdf file
• Generate .png files and put them into your DCS Kneeboard folder
• Insert the kneeboard directly into a .miz file

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Flight Planning CF
UI, Key shortcuts, Mouse

OBJECTS tab

Data panel

Map area

Tree views
Show / hide
options

Raster map selection, Units of measure Alerts


online tiles Status bar (if any, can be clicked)
Map opacity

see next page…


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CF
Mission start date and time
You can change the mission start
date and time. A window will pop
up asking if you want to shift the
routing times or not.

Flights tab
Contains a tree with all flights and
their waypoints.
• You can show/hide the flight’s
route by checking/unchecking
the box next to its name.
• The waypoints in bold have an
activity of a certain duration.
• The waypoints with the clock
icon have a locked ETA.
• The flights with a “CL” icon
have all units’ skill set to
“Client”.
• The flights with a “P” icon
Right-click menu
contain a “Player” unit.

Packages tab
Contains a tree with packages
into which flights can be grouped.
• You can show/hide routes of
an entire package by checking
Right-click menu or unchecking the box next to
its name.
see next page…
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CF
Layers tab
Contains a tree with all layers and
their objects.
• You can show/hide an entire
layer and its objects on the
map by checking/unchecking
Right-click menu the box next to its name.

Surface units tab


Contains a tree with all carriers
and imported ground units and
static objects.
(At the moment, it is just a list.)

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Key shortcuts CF
• New mission Ctrl+N
• Open mission Ctrl+O
• Save mission Ctrl+S
• Save mission as… Ctrl+A

• Show/hide map M
• Map opacity decrease/increase -/=
• Map opacity 10-100% 1,2,3,…,9,0
• Toggle grayscale map Ctrl+G
• Toggle doghouses on/off/selected route Ctrl+D
• Toggle waypoint labels on/off/selected route Ctrl+W
• Toggle all minute marks on/off Ctrl+M
• Show/hide nav data N
• Cyclic toggle bullseye’s B
• Snapping to objects on/off S

• Create new flight F


• Create new reference point R
• Create new orbit O
• Create new polygon P
• Create new DMPI reference point D
• Create new circle C
• Create new ground unit symbol G
• Create new info text box I
• Insert new waypoint W
• User-defined object predefined subtypes 1,2,3,…,9,0
• Delete flight/object Del

• User’s manual F1
• Mission rehearsal F5
• Portrait snapshot F6
• Landscape snapshot F7
• Vertical route profile V

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Mouse CF
Left button
Selects objects. Drags objects.
Double-click zooms map to 100%.

Right button
Moves the map around. Unselects objects.

Wheel scroll
Map zoom in/out.

Wheel click
Activates the ruler function.
(The default ground speed for ruler time calculation can
be set in the Settings)

Note: Doghouses can be moved around by dragging the top of their


roof.

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Flight Planning CF
Creating a flight
Insert a new flight of planes or helicopters
• To add air units (no matter if planes or helicopters)
click on the “Flight” button in the OBJECTS tab
• A “Create a flight…” dialog will pop-up

• Choose side, country, task, aircraft type, pre-defined combat


load, and size
• Payload presets can be filtered according to the selected task
• You can change all these properties, as well as configure each
aircraft later on
• Skill of each flight member will be assigned automatically (can
be changed later on)
• If it’s a 1-ship flight, the skill will be ‘Excellent’
• If it’s a 2, 3, or 4-ship flight:
• Flight lead will be ‘Excellent’
• Element lead will be ‘High’
• Wingmen will be ‘Good’

• Click the “Go pick waypoints” button


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Note:
CF
You can create a flight of any aircraft type for any country. But, in
the DCS Mission Editor, it will read a different aircraft type name if
the particular country in DCS does not list that aircraft type.
For example: you create a flight of F-14s for Russia. It will read AJS-
37, as it is alphabetically the first aircraft type for the selected task.
However, the loadout window in the DCS Mission Editor, as well as
the gameplay, will have the correct aircraft type (in the above
example, the F-14).

Pick waypoints
• This can be done by clicking anywhere on the map
• Or by snapping to the already existing user-defined objects
(reference points, orbits, …) or navigation objects (nav points,
airfields, …)
• A tooltip with the name of the object will appear, so you know to which
object the waypoint will be snapped to
• Important waypoint parameters will then be set automatically for you

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Flight Planning CF
Flight, unit and waypoint properties
Bogus – If checked, flight will not be exported
QFE – Check if you want to use QFE instead of QNH/QNE
Callsign – the flight’s callsign is a combination of the drop-
down selection and the number (e.g. Raider1). Leader is
Raider11, wingmen are Raider12,13,… You can choose either
a DCS callsign or a Custom callsign.
Package – Name of the package the flight belongs to
MC – Mission Commander, Package Leader
MSN# - Automatically generated mission number
Unit – flight member
Configure – Opens a “Configure…” dialog where you can
modify the payload, fuel, datalink settings etc. You can also
create/save/delete standard payloads for the given aircraft
type.
Waypoint lock – When enabled, the waypoint is locked in
place and cannot be dragged unless unlocked again. When
locked, all DMPIs assigned to the waypoint are locked as well.
WP Label – shows/hides the label for the given waypoint. By
clicking the arrows, the size of the label can be adjusted.
Doghouse – shows/hides the doghouse for the given
waypoint. By clicking the arrows, the size of the doghouse can
be adjusted.
Name – waypoint’s name
Type – type of waypoint. A way to automate some things. It
affects certain options and actions when exported to a .miz
file.
DMPI / Escort – For a “Target” or “Stand-off Attack” type
waypoints, you can assign DMPIs. For “Escort” type
waypoints, you can assign flight to be escorted.
Altitude – altitude AMSL or height AGL (if AGL checked)
Altitude – Copy to all waypoints – copies the altitude value
and the AGL checkbox value to all flight’s waypoints (except
Take Off, Landing and Alternate waypoints)
Speed type drop down – choose between CAS, TAS, GS and
Mach speed types
Speed – Copy to all waypoints – copies the speed value and
speed type to all flight’s waypoints
ETA locked – will set the time over the given waypoint to the
value in the time entry drop down (required airspeed prior to
the waypoint will be automatically adjusted accordingly)
Activity – duration of the activity over the waypoint
A/A TCN – switch to a given A/A TACAN
A/A TCN – Set also for subsequent waypoints – will overwrite
the A/A TCN setting for all subsequent waypoints
Freq – switch to a given comm frequency
Freq – Set also for subsequent waypoints – will overwrite the
Freq setting for all subsequent waypoints

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CF
QFE checkbox
• Checking the QFE box will affect the information displayed in
route leg maps in your kneeboard

• If the QFE box is checked the following information will be


displayed:
• Waypoint QFE
• Nav aid fix
• Planned altitude
• Planned CAS (calibrated airspeed)
• Magnetic heading

• If the QFE box is not checked the following information will be


displayed:
• Waypoint elevation AMSL
• Nav aid fix
• Planned altitude
• Planned CAS (calibrated airspeed)
• Magnetic heading

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Flight tasks
CF
• Sweep
• CAP
• Escort
• Intercept
• AI (Air Interdiction)
• Swing-role
• CAS
• FAC(A)
• SEAD
• AWACS
• Recce
• Tanker
• Transport
• Nothing

Waypoint types Target, CAS, LZ


• Take off (runway)
• Take off (ramp) IP, FAC(A) Stand-off Attack
• Take off (parking hot)
• Steerpoint
• AAR
• Hold
• AWACS
• Push Pt
• IP
• Target
• Stand-off Attack
• CAP
• Escort
• SEAD CAP
• CAS
• FAC(A)
• LZ
• Exit Pt
• Landing
• Alternate

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Flight Planning CF
Packages
What they are
• Flights can be grouped into packages.
• You can create, delete and modify packages via the “Packages” tab in the
tree-view.
• Each package has a name, which is automatically generated at creation
(can be changed by user), and a side (Blue / Red).

• The label of a package also contains its prevailing task and the number of
flights assigned to it.

• You can move flights from one package to another either by right-clicking
it in the Package tab of the tree-view and choosing “Move flight to
package…” or by selecting a package from the “Package” drop-down
menu in the data panel on the left side of the screen (when a flight is
selected)
• Each package has a Package Leader.
You can assign the Package Leader
role in the data panel on the left side

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Flight Planning CF
Carriers
How to use them
• You can place an aircraft carrier (or an LHA) by clicking
the “Carrier” button in the OBJECT tab.
• You can choose its side, country, class, base recovery course (BRC),
speed, TACAN channel and ID, and ICLS channel and ID.

• These parameters can be adjusted at any time via the data panel on the
left side of the screen.
• The carrier is depicted in the map by its
silhouette, together with a line visualizing
its BRC, several circles and a label.
• The circles depict the following:
• Carrier Control Area (CCA) at 50 NM
• Carrier Control Zone (CCZ) at 5 NM
• 10 NM arc (used for departures)
• 7 NM arc (also used for departures)

• You can use the carriers in a similar fashion as an airfield. That means you
can snap waypoints to it, which will automatically become a Take Off or a
Landing type waypoint.
• If you export your mission as a .miz file, the carriers will have the
parameters you have set for them. Their routing will be a straight line to a
point 100 NM ahead in the BRC and at the speed you have set.
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Flight Planning CF
Navigation objects
What they are
• Navigation objects come from a built-in navigation database. Their
purpose is to ease flight planning. Flight route waypoints (and other
objects) can be snapped to them.

Types of navigation objects


• Airfields
• When clicking an airfield, relevant information will be displayed on the left side
panel
• Snapping a waypoint to an airfield will switch the waypoint’s type “Take off”,
“Landing” or “Alternate” depending on the number of the waypoint (whether it’s
the first one, the last one, or the penultimate one).
• Beacons
• Different icons are shown for different beacons (TACAN, VORTAC, VOR, DME, NDB)
• Beacons are used for calculating Nav Aid fixes of flight route waypoints (shown in
Navigation info for a waypoint, can be shown as a field of a doghouse, and as a
field in mission data card)
• Nav points
• Common navigation points throughout the map
• Towns
• Local place names drawn from the DCS World map
• Standard routes
• Standard routes within the map areas (such as Military Training Routes, MTRs etc.)
• The database does not have any standard routes at the moment

26
Flight Planning CF
User-defined objects, layers
Reference point (key shortcut “R”)
• Their purpose is to make the planning quicker and easier.
• You can snap waypoints to them.
• The name and type of the waypoint will then be the same as the name
and type of the reference point.
• For some waypoint types, the waypoint’s activity duration will be
automatically set to a default value (e.g. 5 min for a LZ type waypoint).
• Some export actions are tied to waypoint type (such as formation or
engagement behavior).
• There are several types of Reference points: Push Pt, Exit Pt, CP,
IP, Target, DMPI, CAS, FAC(A), LZ, Other

DMPI reference point (key shortcut “D”)


• It is one of many types of Reference points. Due to its
importance it has its own button and key shortcut.
• You can check which air units are allocated to which DMPI
reference points by clicking the “DMPI allocation” button in the
TOOLS tab
• The allocation is done by the “+ DMPI” button in the Waypoint’s
properties panel on the left (see here).
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CF
Polygon (key shortcut “P”)
• It is a drawing tool used to visualize
important lines or areas
• It can be either a series of lines or curves,
or a closed polygon or curve, or a corridor
• There is a special option which allows you
to depict the FLOT
• You can adjust parameters such as the
color, line thickness/opacity/style, as well
as the coordinates of the polygon points
and the width of the corridor
(if applicable)
• You can also enter Min Alt,
Max Alt and Frequency values
to be displayed together
with the label

Circle (key shortcut “C”)


• It is a drawing tool used to visualize
important circular areas (for example SAM
rings)
• You can choose the radius of the circle
either manually (by mouse or by entering a
value) or from drop-down list of
predefined threats from DCS World
• If you check the “Export to DCS as a nav
point”, the circle’s center will become a
nav/initial point when exported to a .miz
file
• You can adjust several parameters
including the fill, color, line thickness,
opacity, style, or the positioning of the
label 28
CF
Orbit (key shortcut “O”)
• Their purpose is to make the planning quicker and easier.
• Every orbit has two anchor points. You can snap waypoints to
them.
• The name and type of the waypoint will then be the same as the name
and type of the orbit.
• The waypoint’s activity duration will be automatically set to a default
value for the given orbit type (e.g. 10 minutes for 2-ship doing AAR).
• Some export actions are tied to waypoint type (such as formation,
holding speed or engagement behavior).
• You need to snap two consecutive waypoints, one to each orbit
anchor, and in the right order (otherwise an alert will be shown in the
status bar)
• There are several types of Orbits: Hold, AAR, CAP, SEAD CAP,
AWACS, Other. When created, they are automatically assigned a
name according to their type.
• AAR-type orbits are used both for Tankers and for aircraft that
are being refueled
• Same as with polygons, you can assign Min Alt, Max Alt and
Frequency values to be displayed together with the label

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CF
Overlay
• It is a tool that allows you to overlay raster imagery over the
map

Info text box (key shortcut “I”)


• It is a drawing tool that allows you to place text into your map
• You can use it to highlight and label important spots or areas on
the map

Ground unit symbol (key shortcut “G”)


• It is a drawing tool that allows you to mark known or expected
position of ground units. You can adjust several parameters
including unit type, unit size, as well as color and size of the
symbol

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CF
Layers
• User-defined objects can be organized into layers
• At least one layer has to exist at any time. The “User-created”
layer is already in place by default when creating a new mission.
• Individual objects of the layer can be shown/hidden by
checking/unchecking the box next to their name
• You can create a new layer by clicking the “New layer” button
• You can delete any layer by clicking the “Delete layer” button.
Doing so will delete all of the layer’s objects
• When you import a .kmz or .kml file, a new layer is
automatically created and all imported objects are placed in it
• When you import a .miz file, several layers are created into
which import objects are categorized
• You can move objects from one layer to another by right-clicking
the object in the tree view and choosing “Move object to
layer…”

31
Flight Planning CF
Units of measure
Change units of measure to suit your aircraft
• Distance, speed, altitude and pressure units of measure can be
selected from a drop-down in the lower right part of the screen.
Different units of measure might better suit your aircraft type
• Data displayed into navigation info panel, as well as in the
doghouses, and in your kneeboard mission data card, will be
affected
• However, some items will still use the commonly used units of
measure (NM, ft, kt etc.), e.g. the position from Bullseye

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Mission CF
Kneeboard
Custom kneeboard tool, mission data card
• Open the kneeboard tool by clicking on the “Kneeboard”
button in the MISSION tab
• Choose which aircraft you want the kneeboard have
generated for

• Choose which pages you want to generate. Customize your


mission data card
• You can add extra custom pages
by clicking the “Manage…” button
• You can choose the content of some
of the mission data card fields

• The mission data card (2 pages) is already pre-filled. You can


modify all the yellowish fields.
• Threat data can be
selected from the
drop-downs
• You can add free
notes or imagery
to the bottom
of the second page

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Saving your custom kneeboard
• You have three options how to output the kneeboard
CF
• Print a hard copy or a pdf file
• Generate .png files and put them (for example) into your DCS
Kneeboard folder
• Insert the kneeboard directly into a .miz file

• Note: If you plan to use the kneeboard in the AJS-37 Viggen,


all three options work now. You can:
• Insert the kneeboard directly into your .miz file
• Generate .png files and put them to your Saved Games Kneeboard
folder
• Generate .png files and put them to the Viggen kneeboard folder
(DCS World\Mods\aircraft\AJS37\Cockpit\scripts\KNEEBOARD\
pages)

34
Mission CF
Weather setting
Weather tool
• The weather setting tool can be opened by clicking on
the “Weather” button in the MISSION tab
• The right portion of the window can be saved as a .png file (which can
be further used for example as a briefing picture) by clicking the “Save
as PNG” button

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Dynamic weather
• Weather can be set to either Static or Dynamic
CF
• If you choose Dynamic, you will have to manually place the
Cyclones and Anticyclones by clicking the “Add (anti)cyclone”
button in the OBJECTS tab
• After placing the anticyclone / cyclone, you can adjust its radius,
ellipticity, rotation and pressure excess

36
Mission CF
Briefing
Briefing tool
• The briefing tool can be opened by clicking
on the “Briefing” button in the MISSION tab
• You can use the briefing tool to create a Situation overview,
Blue tasking and Red tasking
• RAMROD is randomly chosen (can be changed)
• Each text part can be auto-generated by clicking the “Auto-generate” button
• Blue/Red briefing pictures can be added
• The first briefing picture is auto-generated and includes the name of the
mission
• You can export the Blue/Red briefing as a Rich Text Format (.rtf)
• Situation/Blue/Red briefing automatically becomes a part of .miz file when
exported

37
Mission CF
Coalitions, Routes overview,
DMPI allocation
Coalitions
• Open by clicking on the
“Coalitions” button
in the MISSION tab

Mission overview
• Open by clicking on the “Mission overview” button
in the MISSION tab
• You can choose from a selection of tabular overviews, as well as
visual depictions of the mission flow. Both can be saved as a .png
file for further use

DMPI allocation
• Open by clicking on the “DMPI allocation” button in the
MISSION tab
• You can see which DMPI-type
reference points are allocated
to which aircraft
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Import CF
.cf flights
Importing flights from another CombatFlite
mission (.cf)
• To facilitate a faster workflow and to allow for collaborative
mission planning, you can import flights from one or more
existing CombatFlite missions (.cf files)
• This way you can combine several CF missions into one
• Just click on the “Import .cf flights” button in the FILE tab

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Import CF
.cf layers
Importing layers with objects from another
CombatFlite mission (.cf)
• To facilitate a faster workflow and to allow for a collaborative
mission planning, you can import layers with objects (polygons,
circles, reference points etc.) from one or more existing
CombatFlite missions (.cf files)
• Just click on the “Import .cf layers” button in the FILE tab

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Import CF
.miz
Import flights and other data from a DCS
mission file (.miz)
• Click on the “Import .miz” button in the FILE tab
• A dialog will pop up. Choose what items you want
to have imported

• Flights – plane and helicopter units and flight routes will be imported
• Engagement areas – engagement zones connected to waypoint actions
(e.g. Engage – SAM, Engage – Air, …) will be imported as Circles
• Vehicles, ships, static objects –positions and routes of ground units will
be imported. Currently, the routes cannot be further changed [WIP]
• Bullseyes – bullseye position imported
• Nav points – nav/initial points created in DCS Mission Editor will be
imported
• Briefings – briefing for the particular side imported (together with
briefing pictures)
• Weather – weather setting imported

41
CF
How it works…
• Blue (and/or red) flights will be imported
• Flights which have a ‘Player’ or a ‘Client’ unit skill will be marked
with a slightly different color and will have their box in the left
panel checked – their route will be shown in the map.
• All other flights will be unchecked – their route will be hidden in
order to declutter the map a bit. You can obviously check any
flight and its route will be shown.
• Waypoint types will be automatically selected based on a built-in
logic
• Orbits will be automatically created based on waypoint actions
(Hold, AAR, CAP, SEAD CAP, AWACS, …)
• DMPI reference points will also be created
• All imported objects (such as circles, orbits, ground unit symbols
etc.) will be placed into new layers

42
Import CF
.kmz
Import a Google Earth file (.kmz / .kml)
• Click on the “Import .kmz” button in the FILE tab
• Select the .kmz/.kml file you want to import
• Choose the color of the objects that will be created from the
imported .kmz/.kml file
• The imported objects will be created into a new layer named
after the .kmz/.kml file (e.g. ‘Airspace.kmz’)
• Note: If the .kmz/.kml file contains a great number of objects, it
is better to split it into several files (using Google Earth, click on
a folder, Save Place As…) and import each file separately. That
way you will have each file as a separate layer and with a
separate color

43
Import CF
AJS37 ELINT
Import ELINT data gathered during an AJS-37
mission
• Click on the “AJS37 ELINT” button in the FILE tab
• Select the file you want to import
(usually Saved Games\DCS_AJS37\ELINTData.info)
• The file is imported and confronted against an ELINT library
(which is based on DCS-derived data)
• The ELINT data is shown on the map as rectangles with signal
information
• If the threat signal is found in the library, it will be automatically
labeled
• You can adjust the look-up criteria and sensitivity in the Settings…
• The ELINT data can be toggled on/off using the “Show AJS-37
ELINT” button in the OPTIONS tab

44
Export CF
.miz
Export the mission to a DCS .miz file
• Click on the “Export .miz” button in the FILE tab

• All the flights are exported, together with the mission briefings
and briefing pictures, as well as navigation points, reference
points and other objects
• After having it exported, you can open the .miz file in the DCS
Mission Editor and tweak the mission further (e.g. ground units,
ships, scripting, flags, liveries for air units etc)
• Because of the way artificial intelligence is currently done in the
DCS environment, some tweaking of the mission in terms of
reference point / waypoint placing, timing, speeds or altitudes,
followed by exporting the .miz file again, will probably have to
be done to finetune the mission flow

45
Export CF
.lua
Export the flights to a .lua file
• The mission’s flights (planes and helicopters) can be exported as
a .lua file, which can be run as a script inside a DCS mission
• Click on the “Export .lua” button in the FILE tab

• Add a ‘DO SCRIPT FILE’ action at mission start in the DCS Mission
Editor
• Click ‘OPEN’ and locate the .lua file you have exported

• Note: DCS does not currently support adding ‘Client’ air units
via a ‘DO SCRIPT FILE’ action. Only ‘Player’ or AI (Artificial
Intelligence) units can be added. If you export ‘Client’ units to a
.lua and run the lua script in DCS, it might cause an error.

46
Export CF
.kmz
Export flights and objects to a Google Earth
.kmz file
• Flight routes, user-defined objects and navigation objects can be
exported as a .kmz file to the Google Earth
• Click on the “Export .kmz” button in the FILE tab
• Open the .kmz file in Google Earth

47
Export CF
.xml
Export the flights and objects to a Tacview
.xml file
• Click on the “Export .xml” button in the FILE tab
• Choose which items you want to export

• You need to place the .xml file into the proper folder so Tacview
can process it:
• Usually it is ‘Program Files (x86)\Tacview\Data\Static Objects\’

48
Export CF
.json
Export objects to a LotAtc 4 DCS .json file
• Click on the “Export .json” button in the FILE tab
• Choose which layers you want to export

• Now just load the .json file in LotAtc 4 DCS (if you have exported
a lot of objects, it might take a while…)

49
Export CF
NS430 .dat
Export nav fixes to a NS430 .dat file
• Click on the “Export .dat” button in the FILE tab
• Choose what you want to export as nav fixes and click “Export”

• “navaids.dat” file will be created. Put it to the


“DCS…\Mods\aircraft\NS430\Cockpit\Scripts\avionics\terrain”
folder. You might need admin privileges to do that. Make a back-
up copy of the original file!
• The nav fixes will show up in-game in the NRST – INTERSECTION
page of the NS430. You can make a flight plan out of them,
navigate ‘DIRECT TO’ them etc. Their names will be truncated to
5-letter upper-case words without whitespaces.

50
AJS37 Viggen CF
Data cartridge
Create a custom data cartridge
• Click on the “AJS-37” button in the MISSION tab

• Select which flight route you want to export to the cartridge


• You can unselect any waypoints you like, or change the “Target
point”, “Lock speed” and “Lock ETA” flags
• Click the “Export” button and choose the location of the output
CustomCartrige.ini file
(usually Saved Games\DCS_AJS37\CustomCartridge.ini)

51
AJS37 Viggen CF
ELINT
Import ELINT data recorded during a mission
• Please refer to the “Import AJS37 ELINT” section

AJS37 ELINT Library (for DCS World)


• You can edit the library of radar threats against which are the
imported ELINT mission data confronted
• Just click the “ELINT Library” button in the TOOLS tab

• The library is already prefilled with some of the radar threats


and their parameters drawn from the DCS World game (by grunf,
see Credits.txt in CombatFlite\Docs)
• You can add/delete/modify any emitter
• You also have the option to export the library and to import an
existing one
52
Ka-50 CF
ABRIS
Create custom ABRIS flight plans and objects
• You can create ABRIS flight plans and objects from existing
mission flight routes, user-defined and navigation objects
• Click on the “ABRIS” button in the MISSION tab
• Select which flight plans you to export
• Choose if you want to export other objects as well
• Click “Export” – a file dialog will open – choose a .miz file to
inject ABRIS settings. Note: When injecting ABRIS settings into a
.miz file, ABRIS settings already stored in it will be overwritten.

53
Tools CF
Mission rehearsal
Playback the mission flow
• You can use the Rehearsal tool to check the timings and mutual
position of various flights
• Open the Rehearsal window by clicking the “Rehearsal” button
in the TOOLS tab or by pressing the F5 key
• You can see a timeline and a mission line up
• Important events/points such as Target points, push times, exit
times are depicted
• You can jump to significant events using the controls in the
bottom
• Activities duration (CAP, AAR, Hold etc.) are depicted by a gray
color
• Each flights vul time (time between passing Push Pt and Exit Pt)
is depicted by a diagonal pattern
• The overall vul time (time from the first aircraft passing Push Pt
till the last aircraft passing Exit Pt) is depicted by dotted vertical
lines
• Aircraft symbols with a name label and an altitude/height label
will be shown in the main flight planning window

54
Tools CF
Intervisibility plot
Visualize line-of-sight coverage
• Draws line of sight visibility plot from an observer placed at a
chosen point and height AGL to an aircraft flying at a given
height AGL. The visibility plot is limited to a maximum chosen
radius.
• Click on the “LOS” button in the TOOLS tab
• Set the parameters
• radius of the plot area
• observer’s height above ground level
• aircraft’s height above ground level
• resolution (LOW by default)
• Pick a point by clicking on the “Pick point” button and choosing o
point on the map
• Click “Calculate”
• A plot will be shown on the map
• Note: Earth curvature and RF refraction are accounted for
• You can switch the plot on/off by clicking on the “LOS” button in
the TOOLS tab

55
Tools CF
Terrain visualization
Visualize terrain elevation
• Click on the “Terrain” button in the TOOLS tab
• Choose an area
• The terrain elevation within the chosen area will be visualized;
the highest peak and its elevation (according to the elevation
data used and the sampling resolution) will be depicted
• To hide the elevation raster or to start over, click the “Terrain”
button
• Note: SRTM data (corrected for blind spots) are used. Due to
their size, only the relevant part of the map is covered. The
depicted elevation might (and will) be slightly inaccurate due to
the sampling resolution of the terrain elevation data reading
algorithm

see next page…


56
CF
Terrain along a route
• You can visualize either the terrain elevation or the terrain
clearance (height above terrain) for the selected route by
clicking the “Show terrain along route” button in the TOOLS tab

• You can switch between terrain elevation and terrain clearance


in the drop-down part of the button
• If you choose the terrain clearance option, the terrain along the route
which is less than 1,000 ft below will be shown as yellow, the terrain
that is above the flight path will be shown as red

57
Tools CF
Slope visualization
Visualize terrain slope
• Click on the “Slope” button in the TOOLS tab
• Choose an area
• The terrain slope within the chosen area will be visualized
• Slope of 15° or less is colored in shades of green, slope of more
than 15° is colored in shades of red
• To hide the slope raster or to start over, click the “Slope” button
• Note: SRTM data (corrected for blind spots) are used. Due to
their size, only the relevant part of the map is covered.

58
Tools CF
Snapshots
Create snapshots for your kneeboard or
briefing package
• You can generate Portrait/Landscape snapshot of the map using
a dedicated tool (key shortcuts “F6” for Portrait snapshot, “F7” for
Landscape snapshot)
• Use a key shortcut or click on the “Snapshot” button
in the TOOLS tab
• Frame your snapshot

• You can add a title and/or MGRS gridlines


(only if zoomed in enough – might have
to use the Bing Maps overlay, otherwise
only 100km square label will be shown)
• Click the “Save” button
• The snapshot is saved in your
Documents\CombatFlite\Snapshots folder

59
Tools CF
Vertical route profile
See vertical route profile, terrain, clouds,
MSA and tail/head wind
• You can view the vertical profile of any route
• Use the “V” key shortcut or click on the “Vertical profile”
button in the TOOLS tab
• You can see the terrain within a corridor along the route, a 1000
ft terrain clearance buffer, Minimum Safe Altitudes for each
route leg, an overall MSA, cloud layer (for Static weather), and
head/tail wind components for each route leg
• You can zoom out/in the vertical axis by scrolling the mouse
wheel
• You can save the vertical profile as a .png image by clicking the
“Save as PNG” button

60
Tools CF
ISA & unit conversion
International Standard Atmosphere,
KCAS/KTAS/Mach, radius of turn,
unit conversion
• You can make some handy conversions and quick calculations
using the International Standard Atmosphere and Unit
conversion tool
• Click on the “ISA / Unit conversion” button in the TOOLS tab

• Start entering values and the corresponding output values will


be automatically calculated

61
Map Options CF
Controlling the flight planning map area
• You can adjust quite a lot of properties related to the map area
and to the flight planning process
• Use either the key shortcuts, the controls in the OPTIONS tab,
the drop-down lists in the status bar, or the show/hide option
buttons on the right side of the screen
• The first section of the OPTIONS tab allows you to turn the
raster map on/off, adjust its opacity, switch between white and
black background, and toggle the grayscale mode

• In the next section, you can change the Theme. Doing so


changes the font of the text in the map, the color pallette, or the
map background color. Also, a different visual style is applied to
the mission data card. The following themes are available:
• Standard, High Vis, Cold War, WWII
• Also, you can adjust the size of various labels in the map, the size
of waypoint marks, or the size of aircraft symbols during mission
rehearsal

• The last section allows you to toggle the Snap-to mode, which
during dragging a waypoint (or other object) will snap it to
another object (e.g. a reference point, airfield etc.)
• You can also switch on/off the Autoname waypoints function,
which will automatically name a waypoint after an object it was
snapped to
• You can show/hide various map objects, or make some of them
visible only for the selected route. You can also use the
show/hide toggle buttons on the right side of the screen.
62
CF
Alternative theme examples…
• WWII theme

• High Vis theme

• Cold War theme

63
Google Earth CF
Link-up
What it is
• Flight routes, user-defined objects and navigation objects can be
automatically updated and exported as a .kmz file to the Google
Earth in near-real time during flight planning
• If you open Google Earth, add the .kmz file into ‘My Places’ and
set its refresh rate to (e.g.) 1 sec, the exported data will
automatically update itself
• The exported file is named ‘CombatFlite.kmz’ and is located in
your ‘Documents’ folder, ‘CombatFlite’ subfolder
“[Documents]\CombatFlite\CombatFlite.kmz”

Activation
• You can turn on/off the link-up by clicking on the
“Google Earth link-up” button in the OPTIONS tab

64
Settings CF
CombatFlite settings
• The settings form can be accessed via the “Settings”
button in the OPTIONS tab
• The settings are spread among four areas:
Navigation, Visuals, AJS37 ELINT, Custom and Other – access
them by clicking the appropriate tab in the Settings form

65
System requirements CF
Minimum
• i5 or equivalent CPU
• 8 GB RAM
• Win 8+

Recommended
• i5 or equivalent CPU
• 16 GB RAM
• Win 10
• 1920x1080 screen resolution or higher

66
Disclaimer CF
•CombatFlite is intended for flight simulation
purposes, especially as a tool for DCS (Digital
Combat Simulator) computer game players.

•All data used for the development of


CombatFlite, as well as all data distributed
with it, are public domain / open-source,
based largely on the DCS World computer
game, and are not related to any real-world
counterparts.

•Any unauthorized distribution, modification


or reproduction of CombatFlite is prohibited.

•CombatFlite is for personal non-commercial


use only. For institutional use, contact the
developer at combatflite@combatflite.com.

•You are using CombatFlite at your own risk.


No responsibility will be held for any loss of
data. Make back-up copies of any files
which would be processed by CombatFlite.
67
Credits CF
The following data were used for the
development of CombatFlite:
• FAA Sectional charts
• Tactical Pilotage Charts (TPCs), Operational Navigation Charts
(ONCs) as a Courtesy of the University of Texas Libraries,
The University of Texas at Austin
• Historic Strait of Dover AAF aeronautical chart of 1943
by Aeronautical Chart Services, U.S. Army Air Forces, available
under CC BY-NC 2.5 CA
(https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/2.5/ca/)
at the Digital Archive of the McMaster University Library
• Flappie's Caucasus raster map (created and provided by Flappie)
• Online map tiles provided by Bing, Open Street Map, ESRI
(tiles are not part of CombatFlite -- available online only via .dll
requests)
• SRTM elevation data
• WMM declination data
• Freely available icons and images (including a public domain
photo by MSgt Donald Allen, defenseimagery.mil)
• DCS World game screenshots, posted on DCS forums
• Map and aircraft-entities data based on the DCS World computer
game
• 476th Virtual Fighter Group DCS World Threat Guide
• AJS-37 ELINT database based on the DCS World computer game,
created by grunf

The copyrights belong to their respective owners.

68
CF

Contact

http://www.combatflite.com

combatflite@combatflite.com

@CombatFlite
69

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