I have put together a fairly simple and straight forward set of training missions, set on the Caucus map, to help you get proficient at tanking and trapping. The ship is going east at 20 knots into an 8 knot breeze from 075.
The 101 mission is a beautiful day with some puffy clouds around. You can expect a Case 1 recovery. I believe you need to call the boat (F10, F1, F1) within 10 miles (not more than??) and hit that point 3 nm behind the boat at 250 Knots and 800 feet.
The 102 mission is still in the middle of the day but with a low overcast, about 1000' with rain and fog. Expect a Case 3 recovery. In this case you can go to waypoint 4, "Marshall" and call Marshall (F10, F1, F2) then proceed with the Case 3 recovery. Marshall will give you a bearing from the boat and a distance that will make up the holding point for you. You can probably expect to hear 260 at 21 at angels 6. This means you will hold on the 260 degree bearing from the boat, 21 nm out and at 6000 feet. The next number is your "expect approach clearance time" and the last number you'll get is the final approach bearing, which is the actual course you will be flying when you land.
The 103 mission is the graduate level mission. All will be the same as 102 except it will be at night. But it's a full moon!!
So, I set you up with a cold start so that you can begin to develop that muscle memory of starting up and getting all of those switches in the right place. I was able to run 102, launch and tank from the S-3, go back to 30 nm behind the boat (Marshall waypoint) and get my clearance, trap and do it again, all in about 1+30. But that was after working on it for several hours and several bolters! I have also decided that, for me anyway, that S-3 is a total MuthaF&$ker to tank from. The IL-78 is a dream compared to that little pig!!
