F-100 Super Sabre DCS Startup Tutorial using Real World Procedures

Added: 2026-06-02

[00:00:01][music] >> Hey everyone, reflected here and today I'd like to show you how to start the new F-100D module in DCS [music] following real world procedures from the original flight manual. If you've seen my other tutorial videos, you know this is not going to be a 60 second [music] click here and there and off you go kind of tutorial. I'm going to follow the official flight manual and deep dive into each step to see why it's done that way. This is how you can truly appreciate the depth of details and realism that this amazing module can offer you.

[00:00:40]I haven't talked to any SMEs, all this info was gathered from the 1974 manual.

[00:00:45]So if [music] I misunderstood something, please let me know in the comments. So, without further ado, let's dive into the cockpit checks. This is where you start once you climb up into the cockpit.

[00:00:58]Form 781, check.

[00:01:00]It's the official binder used by the USAF to record the operational life, maintenance and flight data of military aircraft to make sure everything is in order with the jet.

[00:01:11]Make sure all electrical power is off.

[00:01:14]Pylon loading switches in the correct position. If you think something is off, do not touch them because loads may very well release when the switches are reset. Tell the crew chief and they'll fix it for you.

[00:01:26]Station selector switches off. Armament switches off and safe.

[00:01:32]Check all circuit breakers are in in the back to your left and right.

[00:01:37]Oxygen quantity, check. There should be a minimum of 4 L of liquid oxygen.

[00:01:43]Map case, make sure you have all the necessary publications.

[00:01:47]Now test the wheel brake emergency pump.

[00:01:50]Pump the brake pedals one at a time to determine whether the electrically driven emergency pump is operating. It is a separate emergency accumulator.

[00:01:59]The pump can be heard from the cockpit if the area is relatively quiet.

[00:02:03]Connect your radio cords, oxygen hose, and G-suit. Strap in, put on the harness, and check that the zero delay lanyard hook is attached to your parachute and rip cord handle. It should be for all takeoffs and landings because if you eject at low level, you want the shoot to open as soon as possible.

[00:02:22]Speed brake emergency dump, off.

[00:02:25]This system rapidly closes the speed brake using residual aerodynamic air pressure.

[00:02:31]It bypasses normal electrical or hydraulic controls, allowing the pilot to quickly retract the brake if it malfunctions in flight or to prevent damage to the aircraft during specific emergencies like a barrier engagement.

[00:02:44]Emergency ram air lever, close.

[00:02:47]When open, it increases the air flow into the cockpit in emergencies.

[00:02:51]This is only present on some aircraft, and apparently it's not installed in our jet. It should be somewhere over here.

[00:02:59]Flaps, up.

[00:03:01]It's a three-way switch, up, intermediate, and fully down.

[00:03:08]Wing flap emergency switch, normal.

[00:03:11]If you're coming in to land and the wing flap actuation is not obvious, you can place the wing flap emergency switch to emergency down, but now it should be set to normal and cover closed.

[00:03:23]Throttle, off.

[00:03:27]Speed brake in the middle, off position, to make sure nothing starts to move unexpectedly when the hydraulic pressure starts building.

[00:03:34]UHF radio, off.

[00:03:36]Ground fire switch, off and safe. This switch bypasses the weight on wheels inner locks for maintenance and armorers.

[00:03:44]Anti-skid, off.

[00:03:47]Fuel regulator switch to norm. The emergency fuel control system regulates fuel flow if the normal system is in op.

[00:03:55]Drop tank selector as required, usually set it to the middle pylon.

[00:04:00]When drop tank fuel supply is selected, the engine compressor air pressurizes the selected drop tanks and forces fuel into the forward fuselage tanks upper cell. Drop tank fuel transfer is controlled automatically by a fuel level control valve in the forward tank.

[00:04:16]Air refueling switch off.

[00:04:19]G limiter on and guard down.

[00:04:23]Fuel system shutoff switch on and cover closed.

[00:04:28]Air start switch off and cover closed.

[00:04:33]Engine master switch flip it to on.

[00:04:39]Verify the landing gear lever is down, although there's a weight on wheel safety switch on each main gear shock.

[00:04:45]You still want to be safe.

[00:04:48]Taxi light off.

[00:04:51]A-4 side mechanical caging lever caged.

[00:04:55]The gun selector safe.

[00:04:58]Set the clock, but in game it's always on time.

[00:05:03]External load emergency jettison handle in, clip on.

[00:05:08]Special store unlock handle in or as [clears throat] required. If an inert special store training shape or an empty type 7 or 7A pylon is installed and no special store is carried unlock the special store unlock handle before takeoff. This is to ensure that those empty stores can also be jettisoned if needed.

[00:05:27]Foot warmer as desired.

[00:05:31]AC generator on and safety.

[00:05:35]DC generator on and safety.

[00:05:39]Standby instrument inverter off.

[00:05:43]Nav aids off. IFF off. J-4 direction indicator to mag.

[00:05:50]Pitot heat off.

[00:05:53]Our Hun doesn't have the electrical heating. It uses hot bleed air. So, there's some heating even when the switch is off.

[00:06:00]Engine guide vane anti-ice switch to auto.

[00:06:04]Windshield air off.

[00:06:06]Cockpit pressure selector switch as desired. You can select how you want to pressurize the cockpit. When set to ram air, the cockpit is depressurized, so you need to make sure you have 100% oxygen selected.

[00:06:18]It's for emergencies to eliminate smoke or fumes.

[00:06:22]There's a chart about this in the manual, and when dog fighting at high altitudes, make sure you set it to 2.75 to minimize the damage caused by sudden depressurization in case you get hit.

[00:06:33]Cockpit temperature master switch to auto.

[00:06:37]Bleed air emergency switch to norm. In our version, it's a circuit breaker, which should be out.

[00:06:44]Cockpit temperature set.

[00:06:47]Canopy defrost set.

[00:06:49]Console airflow set.

[00:06:51]Emergency hydraulic pump, it's powered by a ram air turbine at the top of the fuselage just behind the cockpit.

[00:06:58]Off.

[00:06:59]Then, before starting, you need to perform the oxygen check.

[00:07:03]Because if your OT system is faulty, there's no point in starting the jet.

[00:07:06]So, oxygen supply on.

[00:07:09]Pressure should be between 55 and 145.

[00:07:12]Verify the liquid oxygen quantity gauge shows a minimum of 4 L.

[00:07:17]Diluter to 100% and then breathe normally.

[00:07:21]Then, move the emergency switch to emergency.

[00:07:25]Now, hold your breath, and if you see a white blinker, that indicates a leak.

[00:07:29]Now, move the emergency switch back to norm.

[00:07:32]Diluter to norm.

[00:07:34]And now, if there's a white blinker, that also indicates a leak.

[00:07:39]All right now, onto the pre-start checks.

[00:07:41]>> Chief, turn on the ground power.

[00:07:42]>> DC external power connect. You can use the ground crew radio menu.

[00:07:48]Battery on.

[00:07:50]Standby instrument inverter on. It powers the three-phase and single-phase instrument buses if the AC generator is not supplying power. It's powered by the DC primary bus, which is not connected to the external power. Also, make sure you wait 30 seconds after external power, otherwise improper voltage may damage the instruments.

[00:08:11]UHF to both.

[00:08:13]Then you can check in with your lead and or request start up clearance.

[00:08:17]You can either set the frequency manually here or switch this to preset, and then you can select one of 20 channels.

[00:08:25]The active channel or frequency is displayed over here on the left side of the panel.

[00:08:30]You can also check in with your crew chief if he's connected to the jet by holding the interphone switch in the forward position here on the right-hand side.

[00:08:39]Caution and warning lights on.

[00:08:41]Master caution.

[00:08:43]Canopy.

[00:08:44]Anti-skid off. Flight system fail.

[00:08:48]Fuel boost pump in up light out. AC generator off. DC generator off.

[00:08:54]To extinguish them, you need to press the individual caution lights, not the master caution light.

[00:08:59]Press and check the special store unlocked light to make sure it works.

[00:09:03]Fire and overheat warning lights test.

[00:09:07]Fuel quantity check and test the gauges to make sure the needles are not stuck.

[00:09:12]There's a gauge for the total and one for the forward tank because all fuel is first transferred there, so you can verify transfer operation.

[00:09:21]Indicator, caution, and warning lights test. There's a bright and a dim position. Test both.

[00:09:28]Interior and external lights as desired.

[00:09:32]These rheostats control the console and the instrument lights. The outer ring is for the flood lights and inner knob is for the indirect light.

[00:09:42]And this one is the thunderstorm lights.

[00:09:44]It provides an intense white light on both sides to reduce the blinding effect of lightnings at night.

[00:09:51]All right, now the cockpit is all set.

[00:09:54]We're ready to start the engine.

[00:09:57]There are two ways to start a Hun, either using a huffer cart or a cartridge. So, now is the time to ask the ground crew to connect ground air supply or to install the cartridge.

[00:10:09]The mission maker can already select the cartridge to be installed when you spawn.

[00:10:14]Momentarily press the start and ignition button.

[00:10:19]Apply the external air if that's what you use.

[00:10:22]And then move the throttle to idle at 12 to 16% or at 2 to 4% if you're doing a cartridge start. Check the ignition indicator light on. Fuel boost pump inop light remains off. RPM rising.

[00:10:36]Oil pressure rising.

[00:10:39]Check the exhaust gas temperature for light up. Make sure it's rising within 20 seconds.

[00:10:44]You can disconnect ground air supply and the external power at 40 to 45% RPM.

[00:10:52]>> Copy.

[00:10:55]>> Then idle RPM should be 55 to 60%.

[00:10:59]Oil pressure is in the green. We have a good start.

[00:11:03]Now, the first thing you want to do after the engine comes online is the hydraulic checks.

[00:11:08]Make sure the speed brake is up.

[00:11:11]Trim the aircraft for takeoff. You can do that by depressing this button on the left-hand side until the green light comes on steadily for at least 2 seconds.

[00:11:20]Make sure the flight system fail light is out, so you're not testing the fault system.

[00:11:24]Then hydraulic pressure gauge to the system one.

[00:11:27]There's one gauge and a selector knob to display the different hydraulic systems on the same gauge.

[00:11:33]There are three separate systems, flight control one and two, and the utility system, all driven independently by an engine-driven 3,000 PSI pump. In addition, flight control system two can be driven by the emergency ram air turbine, too. So, now we're testing flight control system one.

[00:11:52]Stick fully back, full freedom of movement, have the chief check visually, then release. There should be a minimum of 500 PSI drop and smooth and rapid pressure build-up.

[00:12:03]Stick to the right and release.

[00:12:05]Same thing.

[00:12:07]Now, let's select system two to be displayed on the gauge and follow the same logic. Stick forward, then release.

[00:12:14]We have correct movement, a little less drop than system one because the volume of system two is bigger. And smooth and rapid build-up. Stick left and release.

[00:12:23]Same thing.

[00:12:25]Now, move the hydraulic pressure gauge to utility.

[00:12:28]Among others, it powers the rudder.

[00:12:30]So, move the rudder left and right and have the crew chief check for correct movement.

[00:12:35]There should only be a slight pressure drop.

[00:12:38]Now, to further check the rudder, set the hydraulic pressure gauge to rudder alt. This setting is for checking if the rudder can be powered in emergencies.

[00:12:47]Rudder left and right, full travel, and check that the pressure drops to 200, simulating the failure of the utility system.

[00:12:54]Now, move the rudder hydraulic test switch to alternate rudder. This opens the side valve and lets the rudder be powered by system two, which, if you remember, can be driven by the ram air turbine in case of a failure. Watch the pressure build to minimum 2,800 PSI and verify the rudder still moves correctly.

[00:13:14]Now, move the switch back to norm and move the rudder left and right to bleed the pressure and make sure it drops below 500 PSI.

[00:13:23]All good? Now, hydraulic pressure gauge back to utility to test the other items powered by the utility system.

[00:13:30]Lift the anti-skid switch to on then test each brake. Have the crew chief check for proper brake action. Now skid off.

[00:13:38]Now we test the speed brake.

[00:13:40]Speed brake out. Have the crew chief check.

[00:13:44]Then select in to raise it.

[00:13:46]It should be closed in maximum 7 seconds.

[00:13:50]Verify the pressure doesn't drop below 1,300 PSI.

[00:13:55]Lastly, cycle the flaps. Have the crew chief check for movement and also that the horizontal stabilizer repositions during flap operation. Then if everything looks good, select intermediate for the takeoff.

[00:14:09]Now we check the AC and DC generators and the fuel boost pump.

[00:14:15]Move the DC boost pump test switch to off. It's spring-loaded in the on position.

[00:14:21]And check the boost pump inop light remains off, meaning fuel pressure to the engine is 5 PSI or more. Now you can release the DC boost pump test switch.

[00:14:31]The AC generator and instrument power caution light should now be out.

[00:14:36]Verify the load meters show maximum 0.75.

[00:14:41]Finally, you can turn the standby instrument converter off because the instruments are now powered by the AC generator, which is online.

[00:14:50]Next up is the air start system and transformer rectifier check.

[00:14:56]Throttle to idle.

[00:14:58]Mode selector switch manual to have gun sight reticle displayed.

[00:15:03]Now flip the air start switch to on.

[00:15:07]Check the ignition light comes on.

[00:15:09]DC generator and master caution light should come on as well.

[00:15:13]The DC load meter should not go to zero since it indicates a load on the transformer rectifier unit.

[00:15:19]The instrument AC power off caution light should come on momentarily and then go out as the standby instrument inverter comes up to speed and the AC load meter should show an increase.

[00:15:30]Now switch the battery off.

[00:15:33]The transformer rectifier should now power the primary and secondary bus.

[00:15:37]Check that the gun sight reticle is still visible.

[00:15:41]All is good. Turn the air start switch off and the battery back on. You can turn off the mode selector or leave it on as you prefer.

[00:15:50]And now you can turn on your navigation aids.

[00:15:54]Emergency fuel system check.

[00:15:57]Switch the fuel regulator selector to emergency. The emergency fuel regulator light should come on.

[00:16:03]Switch back to norm.

[00:16:05]There should be a slight fluctuation of fuel flow and the light should go out.

[00:16:09]This means that the emergency regulator is working.

[00:16:13]Now to the yaw and pitch damper ground check.

[00:16:17]Engage the damper.

[00:16:19]If you fly the Tomcat or the Phantom, you have separate dampers or stab augs for the yaw, roll, and pitch axis.

[00:16:26]In the Hun, you only have one combined for the yaw and pitch axis.

[00:16:31]But this is very crude, prone to malfunction, so it should be off for takeoff, landing, fighting, aerial refueling, and even formation flying because it may cause inadvertent control movements.

[00:16:43]When turned on, the G limiter should also be working and that's not ideal for air combat.

[00:16:49]When you turn it on, the switch should remain there and no control surface movement should be observed by the crew chief.

[00:16:56]Now move the stick left, have the crew chief verify the rudder should follow left, then return to neutral.

[00:17:03]Move the stick right, rudder should follow right, then return to neutral.

[00:17:08]Now press the emergency disconnect lever at front of the stick to disengage the dampers and hold it there. The switch should move to the off position.

[00:17:17]And if you move the stick left and right, now there should be no corresponding rudder movement.

[00:17:23]And finally, we check the trim system.

[00:17:25]Move the trim switch on the stick in all directions and have the crew chief verify control surface movement. Then repeat with the rudder trim switch on the left-hand side here.

[00:17:36]Once complete, press the takeoff trim button until the green light comes on steadily for at least 2 seconds. Also, there's a white triangle painted on the left side of the fuselage. Have the crew chief verify that the stabilizer is aligned with the tip of that triangle.

[00:17:51]Now all systems are go. Only a few more checks before we can taxi. Now you can remove the safety pins from the ejection seat and the canopy alternate emergency jettison handle. And also signal the crew chief to remove the pins from the nose gear and arresting hook.

[00:18:07]Check the nav aids.

[00:18:09]J-4 compass needs 2 minutes to stabilize. For fast slaving game, set the mode with the DG, directional gyro, then back to magnetic.

[00:18:19]Check that the DI matches the heading on the whiskey compass.

[00:18:23]IFF to standby.

[00:18:26]Oxygen, verify on.

[00:18:28]Then set it to either 100% or norm as desired, but make sure it's switched back to norm after takeoff.

[00:18:36]Engine pressure ratio gauge.

[00:18:39]Set the takeoff value by pushing and scrolling this knob here. There's a chart in the manual for the values depending on the outside temperature.

[00:18:47]The gauge shows the ratio of engine turbine discharge pressure to pitot pressure. It's used to determine whether the engine thrust at full throttle is acceptable for takeoff by just glancing at the gauge.

[00:19:00]Altimeter, set and check.

[00:19:03]Canopy as required, but first check that it closes and locks.

[00:19:08]And then you can reopen it. During taxi, don't set it within 6 in of fully closed or fully open. Otherwise, a bumpy taxiway might damage the mechanism and canopy seal.

[00:19:19]Windshield exterior air as required to eliminate moisture.

[00:19:25]Nose wheel steering, engage and check.

[00:19:28]Move the rudder and have the chief check for movement, but only slightly. You don't want the tires to twist too much.

[00:19:35]If everything looks good, you can ask the chief to remove the wheel chocks [music] and off you go.

[00:19:41]I will release a separate video about taxi, takeoff, and landing, so stay tuned and make sure you subscribe.

[00:19:46][music] So, what do you think? I was blown away by the F-100 module. Brunelli really knocked it out of the park.

[00:19:55]Heatblur [music] set the bar really high with the Tomcat and Phantom, but Brunelli definitely passed it with this one.

[00:20:02]The textures look amazing. The jet feels alive. [music] The sounds are really immersive. Of course, it's a real pilot's plane. Fly-by-wire guys may struggle at first, but who knows? They might end up learning to fly a real jet.

[00:20:16]Oh, and in case you're wondering, I'm [music] also working on a campaign taking place on the Cold War Germany map in 1961.

[00:20:23]More details to follow later.

[00:20:25]All right, I hope you learned something new today.

[00:20:27]If you have any questions, please let me know [music] in the comments below. See you.

[00:21:10]>> Mhm.