PRECISION TRIAL
SFL Pilot SPINS
Course
43 NM
Clockwise circuit
Ceiling
100'
AGL max altitude
Target Sets
3
GP / Rocket / Strafe
Gates
1a–3b
+ 3 Pull-Up Points
Start
03R
KLSV / Nellis AFB
Timing
Start Gate
to Finish gate
Mission Overview
Gates
Competitors must fly through every gate. A 60-second penalty is added for missing or crashing into a gate. Crashing into a gate also stops the clock.
Route
Single clockwise low-altitude circuit, flown below 100′ AGL as fast as possible, funneling to three target sets
Targets
Target Set 1 — Lake Las Vegas Flotilla — Atk Boats — Mk-82 general-purpose (GP) bombs
Target Set 2 — Desert Wash Motor Pool — BTR-60s — 2.75″ rockets
Target Set 3 — Flex Strafe Complex — BMP-2s — 20MM strafe
Timing
Starts: aircraft crosses the Start Gate on the takeoff roll
Stops: aircraft flies through the finish gate (or crashes into terrain/gate)
Attack Route & Target Sets
Start
Start-Gate crossing on the KLSV 03R takeoff roll; right turn toward Gate 1a around Frenchman Mountain
Target Set 1 — Lake Las Vegas Flotilla
Atk Boats — Mk-82 GP attack
Target Set 2 — Desert Wash Motor Pool
BTR-60s — 2.75″ rocket attack
Target Set 3 — Flex Strafe Complex
BMP-2s — 20MM strafe attack
Finish Gate
Las Vegas Motor Speedway
Target Set Overview
Target Set 1 — Lake Las Vegas Flotilla | Atk Boats | Mk-82 GP attack
Target Set 2 — Desert Wash Motor Pool | BTR-60s | 2.75″ rocket attack
Target Set 3 — Flex Strafe Complex | BMP-2s | 20MM strafe attack
Admin — Overview
Map Study
Required
Line Up
Eligible aircraft: F/A-18C Hornet | F-16C Fighting Falcon
Environmentals
Ceiling and visibility unrestricted (CAVU), winds light, sun setting
Fuel — Optimum Performance
F/A-18 starts with 8,000 lb
F-16 starts with 4,500 lb
Comm
All in-mission comm is automated — target-assignment calls per TacAdmin. Automated targeting comm occurs only on SFL servers; a MIZ downloaded for at-home practice has no automated targeting.
Admin — Start & Finish
Marshal / Taxi / Takeoff
Taxi and take off at the Competitor’s discretion. The course clock starts at Start-Gate crossing.
Departure
From KLSV 03R execute a right turn to Gate 1a; auto-cleared for the SFL Precision Course after takeoff
Recovery
Finish gate overhead Las Vegas Motor Speedway
TacAdmin
Fires
- 20MM F/A-18: 254 rds | F-16: 250 rds
- Mk-82 2 × | parent mounted | BSU-86 fin assembly | FMU-139 electronic fuse
- Rockets 14 × 2.75″ | 1 × LAU-68 pod per wing (inboard station)
Expendables
- All buckets filled with flares. Flare usage encouraged but not scored.
Navigation
- Nevada Test & Training Range (NTTR)
- Primarily visual navigation
Comm
- All in-mission comm is automated — target-assignment calls per Target Assignment Comm, below
- Automated targeting comm occurs only on SFL servers; a MIZ downloaded for at-home practice has no automated targeting
Threats
- None
Target Areas
Target Set 1
Lake Las Vegas Flotilla — Mk-82 GP bomb delivery — 8× boats. AMD 25m.
Target Set 2
Desert Wash Motor Pool — 2.75″ rocket delivery — 8× military vehicles. Direct impact required.
Target Set 3
Flex Strafe Complex — 20MM strafe — 4× military vehicles. Direct impact required.
PuP — Pull-Up Point
PuP gate orientations give a 20° offset from the target centroid; ranges provide enough run-to-target for standard attack profiles
Acceptable Miss Distance (AMD)
The miss distance from the target center point within which the weapon is still scored as a hit
Mk-8225m
2.75″Direct impact required
20MMDirect impact required
MissOutside AMD for employed weapon
Target Assignment Comm
Target assignment is fully automated and occurs only on SFL servers: clearing the Pull-Up Point (PuP) gate for a target set triggers that set’s assignment call — an audio callout with matching on-screen text.
Assignment Call
“Visual, hit the [N / E / S / W] [Atk Boat | BTR-60 | BMP-2]”
Example — clearing PuP 1: “Visual, hit the N Atk Boat.”
Callout Nouns
Target Set 1 — Atk Boat (Mk-82) | Target Set 2 — BTR-60 (2.75″) | Target Set 3 — BMP-2 (20MM)
Scoring Bind
The call and the scorer are driven by the same assignment — weapons are scored against the assigned target. Attack the called target only.
TechAdmin
Authoritative source: SFL Charter Appendix B — TechAdmin SOP.
Required reading: all Competitors must read Appendix B in its entirety prior to competition.
Trial-specific: § B.7 — Trials execution standard.
Required reading: all Competitors must read Appendix B in its entirety prior to competition.
Trial-specific: § B.7 — Trials execution standard.
Relevant SOP Sections
- § B.2 Registration, entry, and qualification (register, enter, qualify, compete; account verification; qualification runs)
- § B.4 Competition environment: DCS server, MIZ files, MODs, terrain, aircraft
- § B.5 Client requirements and prohibited assistance, including the SFL Virtual Pilot Kit (VPK)
- § B.6 Authoritative record, run validity, and technical dispositions
- § B.7 Trials execution standard
- § B.9 Timing, reporting, and troubleshooting
- § B.10 Acronyms and definitions
Op Area — Course Overlay
Start — KLSV 03R
Initialization
In the marshal area of KLSV 03R
Timer
Timing starts at Start-Gate crossing
Course — Gates, Pull-Ups & Target Sets
Clockwise circuit below 100′ AGL. Run-in gates funnel to each pull-up point (PuP); pop-attack onto the tasked target; egress to the next set; finish overhead Las Vegas Motor Speedway. All centroids are gate-center; gate radius 167′.
RUN-IN
Gate 1a
HDG 096° True1954' MSL100' AGL
N 36 14.7355W 114 58.9806
RUN-IN
Gate 1b
HDG 110° True2063' MSL100' AGL
N 36 14.5170W 114 55.9731
RUN-IN
Gate 1c
HDG 170° True1899' MSL100' AGL
N 36 13.9906W 114 54.2366
RUN-IN
Gate 1d
HDG 185° True1646' MSL100' AGL
N 36 11.9152W 114 53.8038
PULL-UP
PuP 1
HDG 165° True1685' MSL100' AGL
N 36 10.1804W 114 53.9916
TGT SET 1
Lake Las Vegas Flotilla
Mk-82 GP attack
TRANSITION
TgtSet 1 → TgtSet 2
Egress + transitioning leg
RUN-IN
Gate 2a
HDG 156° True1873' MSL100' AGL
N 36 05.1874W 114 54.5443
PULL-UP
PuP 2
HDG 320° True1536' MSL100' AGL
N 36 05.4192W 114 58.3416
TGT SET 2
Desert Wash Motor Pool
2.75″ rocket attack
TRANSITION
TgtSet 2 → TgtSet 3
Egress + transitioning leg
RUN-IN
Gate 3a
HDG 328° True2072' MSL100' AGL
N 36 10.0709W 115 00.7448
RUN-IN
Gate 3b
HDG 328° True1863' MSL100' AGL
N 36 13.7571W 115 03.6824
PULL-UP
PuP 3
HDG 328° True1968' MSL100' AGL
N 36 15.6223W 115 05.0820
TGT SET 3
Flex Aerial Gunnery School
Historical codeword “Flex”
FINISH
Finish Gate
HDG 165° True1969' MSL100' AGL
N 36 16.3134W 115 00.6021
Scoring — Precision Raw Time
Precision Raw Time (sec) = RT + 60(MG) + TAMaxALT + UOP + MRP + URP + (k · TMD)
RTRaw Time — seconds from crossing the Start gate plane to piercing the Finish gate plane. If a crash occurs, RT stops at crash time.
MGMissed Gates — gates contacted, skipped, or remaining after a crash; 60 sec each
TAMaxALTTime Above Max Altitude — seconds spent above the 100′ AGL ceiling, added second-for-second
UOPUnexpended Ordnance Penalty — ordnance remaining at the Finish gate: 125 sec per Mk-82, 17.85 sec per 2.75″ rocket (20MM is scored by URP)
MRPMiss Rate Penalty (gun) — (20MM rounds fired that land outside AMD ÷ 20MM rounds fired) × 100. No rounds fired → MRP = 0; the unfired rounds are penalized by URP instead.
URPUnexpended Rounds Penalty (gun) — (20MM rounds remaining at the Finish gate ÷ 20MM rounds loaded) × 100
k · TMDTotal Miss Distance, converted — the summed miss distances of Mk-82 and 2.75″ impacts landing outside AMD, at k = 1 sec per metre. Cannon misses score through MRP, never TMD.
Cleared Gate & Penalties
Cleared Gate Definition
A gate is cleared when the entire aircraft passes through the gate plane without contacting the gate structure. A gate that is contacted, skipped, or remains after a crash is counted as a Missed Gate (MG).
Missed Gate Penalty
Each missed gate adds a 60-second penalty to the Competitor’s Precision Raw Time.
Winchester Incentive
Putting every piece of ordnance on a valid target maximizes your score — that’s the Winchester run. Each piece of ordnance remaining at finish adds to UOP; any piece jettisoned mid-run is scored as a maximum miss-distance penalty for that ordnance — the 7,500 m per-weapon clamp.
Normalized Score — Precision Display Score (PDS)
Your Precision Raw Time (Tprec) is normalized to a 0–100 PDS, so a higher score wins.
PDS = 100 × (TZERO − Tprec) / (TZERO − T100)
T100340.5 sec = 100 (a flawless, Winchester run)
TZERO1,840.5 sec = 0 (zero-point anchor — slower runs score 0)
TprecYour Precision Raw Time, in seconds
PDSPrecision Display Score, 0–100