CAS/AA Buzzard

[Jake-_-Stones910 17]

Hey all.
I've spent time as a Fighter Pilot in I&A for quite a bit on both Altis and Tanoa, and the majority of the time I end up flying the Buzzard. It's something i've preferred over the fast jets (the ones in particular, the stealth jets), since the maps in ArmA tend to be small, and the stall speed is lower than the Black Wasp or Shikra, giving it an advantage in Dog Fighting.

The Buzzard is always equipped with the 20mm Cannon with 300 rnds, x2 GBU's, x2 Shrieker HE Pods and x2 Short Range AA Missiles, good overall against aircraft, and ground forces given the chance. Whether or not you choose between CAS or Fighter Plane, the loadout is always the same.

I don't have a problem with this much since i'm not one to fly jets 24/7, may be a bit depressing that it is underrated but perfectly fits the bill, sometimes I even fly only for AA unless the ground forces really need air support....the 'scream at the CAS pilot until he drops a bomb on that tank' type of requests, since someone forgot to pack their Bergens full of RPGs instead of First Aid Kits + Medikit.

I'd like to suggest my ideas, even it is completely shit and should be abolished entirely, that the CAS Buzzard could;

• Be given Mk82s to motivate free bombing instead of relying on the GBU to pick up an infantry mans terrible lase.
• Use more rocket pods rather than bombs. Perhaps AP and HE combined can compensate for the lack of "Heavy Ordinance".
  Or, if it makes it less dangerous to vehicles and more to infantry
• Have cannon pods. ...Yes, this is an option.

The Mk 82 gives incentive to free bomb and hit the target accurately, and not having to worry about someone lasing a target only for the GBU to land on friendlies. Rocket pods also require accurate hitting, especially when they tend to miss their target over a longer distance. The cannon pods are, compared to the other two options, dedicated to infantry and light vehicle killing...may prove too useful in AA combat though given how they use HE.

This is my take on what the Buzzard needs. The AA Buzzard variant is available which should be in the Fighter Plane pool. I don't have much opinions on an AA variant besides having Short Range AA, since you can't ask for much Air-to-Air combat in I&A unless the radio tower still stands, or there's a Zeus online to **** the pilots.

 

I'm open to any opinions, given someone isn't going to say "Fly for transport points" or something along the lines.

Edit: The definition of a Fighter Plane is its designed for Air Combat.

Edited January 5, 2019 by Jake-_-Stones910

[pkisbest 198]

The only issue I can predict with the MK82 change is that it is definately not noob friendly. While a good handful of us jet pilots are capable of using and hitting MK82’s relatively accurately, the majority of pilots cannot.

 

I’m unsure what you mean by Cannon Pods. But if it’s possible to artificially increase the default cannon ammo in the Buzzard, it would be great.

[Jake-_-Stones910 17]

5 hours ago, pkisbest said:

The only issue I can predict with the MK82 change is that it is definately not noob friendly. While a good handful of us jet pilots are capable of using and hitting MK82’s relatively accurately, the majority of pilots cannot.

That's when the "noob friendly" part kills it. I don't believe a Mk82 is difficult to use, it definitely needs more manual input sure. Its just that with other jets in a ground attack role using GBUs, they drop bombs on lase direction and GTFO 1000km/h, whereas the Mk82 requires one to line up the target, something the Buzzard can do.

 

6 hours ago, pkisbest said:

I’m unsure what you mean by Cannon Pods. But if it’s possible to artificially increase the default cannon ammo in the Buzzard, it would be great.

Cannon pods on the wing mounts. Unfortunately as I was writing this they don't have the option to do that. Increasing the cannon ammo definitely helps, ground pounding a group of infantry or vehicles takes a quarter to half of the ammo I use.