Warnings
The Su-27's warning lamps, voice warnings and radar warning display, and what to do about each one.
The jet warns you three ways: lamps on the front panel, a voice in your headset, and flashing text on the HUD for the most urgent problems.
The warning lamps
Top right of the front panel, in three stepped rows. Red lamps need action now; amber lamps tell you something has changed.
| Lamp | Colour | Lights when | What to do |
|---|---|---|---|
| FIRE L, FIRE R | red | That engine is on fire, from battle damage | There is no extinguisher. A fire destroys the engine in about 40 seconds and then spreads. Land quickly or eject |
| LOW FUEL | red | Less than 1,000 kg (2,200 lb) of fuel | Head for an airfield |
| STALL | red | You are deep into the stall | Ease the stick forward and lower the nose |
| CANOPY | amber | The canopy is open, unlocked, or gone | Close and lock it with C |
| SDU | amber | The angle of attack and G limiter is switched off | Switch it back on with K unless you mean to fly without it |
| HYD 1 | amber | Hydraulic pressure is down to half, from damage | The controls get weaker as pressure falls further. Fly gently and land |
| HYD 2 | amber | Hydraulic pressure is almost gone | The controls are about to stop answering. Eject if you can't land now |
| GEN FAIL | amber | An engine is turning too slowly to make power | In practice: out of fuel, or an engine destroyed |
| OIL PRESS | amber | An engine is turning too slowly | as above |
| ACS FAIL | amber | For 5 seconds after the autopilot drops out by itself in a stall | Recover from the stall, then switch the autopilot back on |
| O2 LOW | amber | The oxygen bottle is low: about 45 minutes left | Land; the ground crew refill it while you stand still |
Voice warnings
Only the most urgent warning speaks at a time, repeating until the problem is gone. From most to least urgent:
| Warning | When | What to do |
|---|---|---|
| PULL UP | Descending towards the ground, less than 6 seconds from hitting it, below 900 m (2,950 ft) above the ground | Pull up and level the wings, now |
| STALL | Deep into the stall (about 30 degrees angle of attack at low speed) | Ease the stick forward |
| OVER G | Pulling within 0.4 G of the limit for your weight: 8.6 G when light, about 7.4 G with the default load | Ease the pull |
| GEAR | Gear up, below 300 m (985 ft) above the ground, descending and slower than 400 km/h (214 kt) | Lower the gear with G, or climb away |
A single chime also sounds once when the fuel drops below 1,000 kg (2,200 lb), with the LOW FUEL lamp, whatever else is speaking.
PULL UP, STALL and OVER G also flash on the HUD, and they warn in every master mode. GEAR is quiet in the combat modes (BVR, WVR, GND and GUN), so it doesn't nag during a low-level fight. On the HUD you may also see SINK RATE when you descend fast close to the ground; it is shown in NAV mode only.
The SPO-15 radar warning display
The SPO-15 "Beryoza" is the box with the jet outline, to the right of the warning lamps. It tells you when an enemy radar is looking at you, and from where.
- Direction lamps round the jet outline: eight across the front half (at 10, 30, 50 and 90 degrees each side) and two behind, at about 145 degrees. They show where the radar is.
- Strength lamps across the top: the more that light, the closer the radar.
- AIR lights for an airborne radar.
- LOCK (red) lights steadily while a radar is tracking you, and flashes when a missile has been launched at you, if the launch can be detected.
- SND OFF lights when its sound is turned down to zero.
Its tones:
- a short low tone each time a search radar's beam sweeps over you;
- a steady high tone while a radar is locked on you;
- a launch warning tone that replaces it when a missile is on its way.
Set the volume with the SOUND knob on the SPO-15 panel of the right console, or in Audio settings.
The LR, MR, SR and EW lamps on the bottom row don't light in this version. Reading it in a fight is covered in Radar warning receiver.
Other sounds to know
- Buffet: the jet shakes and rumbles as you near the stall, well before the STALL warning. It is your cue to ease off.
- Heavy breathing: your pilot straining against high G. Ease off before you black out.
- Missile seeker tones: with a heat-seeking missile selected, a growl that turns into a steady tone when it sees a target. Covered with the weapons.
Checked against FlightOut 0.5.2.