Adding a TACAN to IL-78M

[AG-51_Thud]

 
I tried it and it works. I used Ukraine as the country. 

I am assuming anyone who wants to tank off the IL-78M will need to make this change.  Or, save yours as backup and drop the attached in place of it.

Go to Scripts\Database\planes in your game folder.
Example: D:\Program Files\Eagle Dynamics\DCS World OpenBeta\Scripts\Database\planes

open il-78M.lua with notepad ++ or notepad

find "CanopyGeometry = makeAirplaneCanopyGeometry(LOOK_AVERAGE, LOOK_BAD, LOOK_BAD),"

below above line add

TACAN = true,

It will now look like this:

      CanopyGeometry = makeAirplaneCanopyGeometry(LOOK_AVERAGE, LOOK_BAD, LOOK_BAD),
      TACAN = true,
        mapclasskey = "P0091000064",

[AG-51_Lahsoldier]

Nice.  I wonder if it will get set back to default on a DCS update.  I assume it make a spot in the ME now to set a tacan for the plane like the others?

[AG-51_Thud]

I believe it probably will get set back after an update.  Its a small and simple file so easy to re-apply.

Yes, set up is exactly the same as the other tankers.  I changed a KC-135MPRS to IL-78M and change the county to Ukraine.  The settings from the MPRS carried over.

[AG-51_Razor]

Thud, you said that you used Ukrain as the country. What other choices did you have? There is a big update coming out today so it would be easy enough to see if this is changed by an update.

[AG-51_Razor]

Worked like a charm  However I did not change anything to do with the country within the script file. I just chose "USAF Agressors" as the country when putting it into the mission, as I usually do. This allows the tanker to reply to you in English 

[AG-51_Thud]

I just checked (based on Allied Countries) and the IL-78M is also available for USAF Aggressors.

[AG-51_Thud]

Also, just to clarify, I selected Ukraine and USAF Aggressor from the ME, not the script.   

[AG-51_Razor]

OK then. Thanks to Thud, we now have a viable fix for the lack of a Tacan in the IL-78M. There are a couple of downsides to this. First off, it corrupts your install of the game i.e. you cannot join a public server that requires a "pure" version of the game. Secondly, it requires the person doing the modification to a) have Notepad++ and b) the ability/knowledge/skill/whatever you want to call it to make this change to their game. I suppose that as long as someone in the flight has this mod, they would be able to lead others to the milk of the teat! 

The alternative to this was Fireball's Tanker script that did not require anything of the participants. This script was embedded in the .miz file and provided for Tacan to be added to the IL-78M. A couple of the draw backs of this solution were the fact that, the tanker had to be an air start and could not be given simply an orbit command. It always had to be in a racetrack pattern. Although you could determine how long the legs were, there would always be a turn at each end of the leg.

With the mod that Thud has discovered, mission builders that have applied this mod would free to continue on as before and just add the Tacan to the IL-78M. Users would be required to add the change to the script file if they wished to take advantage of this mod. Anyone that has this mod would also be required to remove it if they ever wished to join another server that required a pure version to join. I'd really be interested in hearing your thoughts on this.

[AG-51_Thud]

I have no opinion. The lack of a tacan on the Il-78 is a nuisance but not a show stopper. Its a night OPS pita.

On the flip side, its an easy mod and i only fly with the squad.

[AG-51_Razor]

I have just updated my game and it did wipe the mod clean.

[AG-51_Ajax]

Those that use OVGME or something similar can add that one lua to a new mod and then activate/deactivate based on what server you feel like flying on.  Purty simple.

[AG-51_Razor]

That is so true. Unfortunately for some folks, installing OVGME and figuring out how to use it is about as simple as opening up the database file in Notepad++ and adding TACAN = true   

[AG-51_TwoLate]

Just like this"
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-sED4fzIV0k
lol