Gravediggers
Any fighter on the rampFirst off the deck and last to leave. If it is airborne and hostile, it belongs to them.
Air-to-airActive
Open the Spades file: Gravediggers, air-to-air
DCS World · F-16C Viper Squadron
Shadow AceSquadron
The Deck · Est. 30 Dec 2023
"Every hand needs an ace."
A DCS World multiplayer wing: Vipers at the core, Hornet, Tomcat and Warthog squadrons alongside, and every module in the hangar welcome. Organized sorties, Tacview debriefs, and a ready room that actually shows up.
PHOTO // [SAS] Julien · Hellcat-5 · DCS World
Status
Discord288+pilots on the server
Next push—see the Ready Room
Servers—Contention · Shadow Aces PvE
Zulu--:--:--your clock --:--
The Deck
Five suits. One deck.
Four squadrons named for the aces in the emblem's hatband, and a wild card for the new guys. Each suit owns a job, not a jet: pick the work you want on the board and bring whatever you fly.
288+Pilots on the Discord
30·12·23The deck was dealt
F-16CAt the core · every module welcome
TacviewEvery sortie debriefed
Sledgehammers
Anything that carries a bomb or a HARMThe hammer. Targets stop existing and the package goes home.
Air-to-groundActive
Open the Clubs file: Sledgehammers, air-to-ground
Heartbreakers
Tankers, AWACS, transports and Combined ArmsNobody’s night works without them. Gas, the picture, and a ride home.
Support and enablingActive
Open the Hearts file: Heartbreakers, support and enabling
Diamondbacks
Hogs, Apaches, Hinds, Kiowas — anything low and patientLow, slow and venomous. Nothing on the ground is safe when the snakes are on station.
Close air supportForming
Open the Diamonds file: Diamondbacks, close air support
Wild Cards
Whatever you are learning onWhere new pilots learn the deck. Formation, tanking, comms, and how not to die on the first SAM.
Flight trainingActive
Open the Jokers file: Wild Cards, flight training
PHOTO // Lite · DCS World
Ops net
On the board tonight
Special operations
Ready RoomThe wing
picks the mission
Big ops are scheduled on Discord and land in the Ready Room. Pitch one, vote it up, and say you're in.
Open the Ready Room
Plate 01 · Night push
Brief. Push.Debrief.
Every sortie has a plan, a push time and a Tacview debrief after. Nobody logs off before the tape is watched.
PHOTO // Lite · DCS World
Hangar flying
Fun facts for the ready room
Technique and trivia the wing argues about between sorties.
F/A-18CClimb
0.9MACH
Max-performance climb in full burner
Clean up early and stay low while it accelerates. Pull into the climb around 350 to 400 knots, hold that airspeed until it meets roughly Mach 0.9, then ride the Mach number to altitude. Pulling early just bleeds energy you never get back.
F-16CFLCS
9G / CAT I
CAT I vs CAT III
In CAT I the flight control limiter gives you 9 G and about 25° AOA. Flip STORES CONFIG to CAT III with heavy or asymmetric stores and AOA drops to around 16°, so the jet won't let you pull what it can't carry.
F-16CCockpit
¼INCH
The stick barely moves
The Viper's side-stick is force-sensing with only about a quarter inch of travel. You squeeze it more than you move it, which is why a light curve on your stick matters so much in the sim.
F-14BWings
20–68DEG
The CADC flies the wings
The Central Air Data Computer sweeps the wings automatically between 20° and 68° as Mach changes. The 75° oversweep exists only for parking on deck.
F/A-18CTrap
8.1DEG AOA
On-speed and full power
Fly the donut, on-speed at 8.1° AOA, and go to full military power the moment the wheels hit the deck. If the hook skips a wire, you're already flying away from the bolter.
BrevityComms
1·2·3FOX
Fox, Joker, Bingo
Fox 1 is a semi-active radar shot, Fox 2 an infrared missile, Fox 3 an active radar missile. Joker is the fuel state to start thinking about home; Bingo means turn for home now.
Sim technique for DCS World. Fly it, Tacview it, then argue about it.
Plate 02 · Tacview
The tapedoesn’t lie.
Good shots get replayed. Bad ones get replayed more.
PHOTO // Lite · DCS World
Intake
Got the hand for it?
Bring the module and a working mic. Brand new or a thousand hours in, there's a flight lead waiting in #intake-flight-deck.
PHOTO // Lite · DCS World