Weapons
Target Pattern Procedures
have to pull the nose up toward the target to establish your initial sight picture. Your roll-out should
be planned so that when wings level, the pipper will be short of the target by about 80 mils for
straight-path tracking or 42 mils for curvilinear/straight-path tracking (types of tracking will be
discussed later). If, after your roll-out, you find that you are not lined up with the run-in line, accept
the angling run-in if it is within 10 degrees of the run-in line. Continue the run, and correct your roll-
in on your next pass, since trying to fly back to the run-in line wastes valuable tracking time. How-
ever, if you are more than 10 degrees off the correct heading, you must either make a correction or
abort the run. Once you are established in the run, check your dive angle. Because the pitch bars
are angled toward the horizon, you need to use the inner tips of the pitch bar in relation to the aircraft
symbol to determine your exact dive angle.
RELEASE
Pickle your bomb or fire the gun no lower than release altitude with zero AOB in approximately 1-g
flight.
RECOVERY
After pushing the release button or firing, pause about half a second to allow the weapon to clear the
aircraft. Begin pullout by smoothly applying 4 g’s in a wings-level attitude. Application of “g” should
not be immediate but gradual, obtaining 4 g’s over 2-3 seconds. As the nose of the aircraft comes
through the horizon, increase power to MRT and continue the pullout. Position the Master Armament
switch to SAFE. If the breakaway cross appears, immediately initiate a normal 4-g wings-level
recovery; avoid snapping on the g and overstressing the aircraft. For strafe recovery, a level jink will
be practiced. As the nose of the aircraft comes through the horizon, roll to 70 degrees AOB and
smoothly apply 4 g. After 20 degrees of heading change, relax g, reset AOB, and pull to the abeam.
VOICE PROCEDURES
Proper voice procedures are essential to a safe, orderly pattern. These procedures apply to all three
weapons delivery patterns.
MANDATORY CALLS
Each member of the flight must make certain calls using his number in the flight, e.g. “Two’s
abeam.” In order to avoid stepping on essential radio transmissions, the off target call will be made
first, followed by abeam and roll-in, in that order (Figure 15). Make your mandatory calls at the right
time, and then keep quiet to allow for other necessary calls.
Position Call
When the pilot following you calls off, call your position and fuel state. Use these position calls:
“Crosswind” (climbing to abeam; similar to crosswind in a landing pattern), “Prior” (prior to abeam),
“Abeam,” “Past” (past abeam), and “Approaching” (approaching roll-in). Give the fuel state in
thousands of pounds with hundreds as a decimal. A sample position call might be, “Three’s prior,
one point four.”
Roll-in
Call “In hot” or “In cold” as appropriate. “Hot” means you have intention to release; “cold” means you
do not intend to release; “Winchester” is a one-time call which means you have expended all your
ordnance. Do not call “in hot” until your Master Armament switch is set to ARM.
(4-03) Original
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