FLIGHT TRAINING INSTRUCTION T-45 WEAPONS/STRIKE - Cnatra

T-45 WEAPONS/STRIKE CHAPTER EIGHT
Resist the urge to hold the pipper on the aimpoint until release altitude. You are only giving
yourself a false sense of security, for your bomb will go long, due to an invalid pipper (less than
optimum g).
Corrections for Late Sight Picture
If you reach release altitude and the pipper has not reached the aimpoint (late sight picture), you
must either release at normal altitude and take the short hit, or you must abort the run. Never
release below normal release altitude to correct for a late sight picture or for any other reason.
The causes of a late sight picture are a few:
1. Not enough TPA set at checkpoint (i.e. less than 5 degrees between the Velocity Vector
and the target);
2. Being shallow after setting the proper TPA at checkpoint
3. Bunting the stick after checkpoint (insufficient g), and/or;
4. In CCIP, being slow.
If you recognize during the run that you are going to have a late sight picture, you can correct by
using very slight back pressure on the stick to make the pipper track faster, or you can use slight
back pressure to change pipper placement and then resume proper g. You should be aware,
however, that this technique will shallow your dive angle and may necessitate another correction.
In any case, you should try to analyze the reason for the late sight picture. It could have occurred
because you rolled in too far from the target, or because you did not maintain altitude during the
initial part of the roll-in, or because you pulled your nose down too far during the final part of the
roll-in.
Corrections for Deflection
If your pipper is offset to one side of the desired initial aimpoint, the correction you can make for
this deflection error depends on the type of ordnance being used. With bombs, there is no lastminute
correction for deflection. Kicking in rudder to move the pipper to the desired aimpoint
will not appreciably affect the trajectory of the bomb, and your hit will not be improved. Rolling
into an angle of bank at the last moment will not be effective either, because the pendulum effect
will cause a false sight picture. You must recognize the problem early in the run, make a
correction using small amounts of bank, and be sure that your wings are level at release.
Conversely, with forward-firing ordnance, it is possible to use your rudder to make a last-minute
correction for pipper deflection. Unlike bombs, forward-firing ordnance will initially travel in the
direction it is fired, even in unbalanced flight where the firing direction is not the same as the
aircraft direction of flight. The ordnance will then curve as it aligns itself with the relative wind.
Because of this realigning tendency, you cannot simply move the pipper over to the desired
aimpoint. You must make a larger correction. With rockets, your correction should be four times
the deflection error. For example, suppose that your pipper is 10 mils left of the aimpoint. Use
DELIVERY PROCEDURES AND TRACKING TECHNIQUES 8-51