Functionality

The Jester menu is by default brought up using A and selection of a menu item (1 to 8) is done using CTRL + 1 to 8. These key commands can be changed or set to a controller using the Jester category under F-14 Pilot in the DCS keybinds. The key commands for the menu petals are designed to be mapped to an eight-way hat on a game controller. Additionally, it’s possible to use the viewing angle in the cockpit to select a petal while holding the Jester menu keybind for more than 0.5 seconds. This can be enabled or disabled in the F-14 options.

Pictured above is the main Jester menu, which contains all the different available contextual menus. The first press of the Jester menu command normally brings up one of the contextual menus depending on the mode and situation the aircraft is in. For example, air-to-air mode while airborne lands the user directly into the BEYOND VISUAL RANGE - RADAR menu, while airborne and in air-to-ground mode brings up the AIR TO GROUND - WEAPONS menu. In addition, the take-off and landing modes have their own contextual menus only available when in those modes.

After pressing the Jester menu command and landing in the relevant contextual menu, another press of the same command then brings up the main Jester menu, enabling selection of a different contextual menu than the automatic one.

The normal sequence of pressing the Jester menu command (defaulting to A) is thus: Menu OFF -> Contextual menu depending on mode and situation -> Main Menu -> Menu OFF.

From these menus, it is then possible to control the various systems at the RIO seat. Depending on previous commands, options in the different contextual menus might change, and some systems use the petals of the menu as inputs/keypads to set frequencies and other numbers in those systems.

For example, it is possible to tell Jester to set a waypoint in the navigational systems, but it will require a lot of consecutive key presses. As a shortcut, it is possible to have him enter a waypoint from a map marker set in the F10 view. To help with selecting a marker in this case, the menu will show the user time since created and the name entered for the marker.

In the case of a system needing to select a specific symbol, like choosing a target on the TID to lock in STT, the menu will allow the pilot to tell Jester to either lock the closest target, the closest hostile target, and so on. Additionally, it is possible to specify a specific symbol/track to look using an azimuth/range system.

Lastly, Jester is also able to read out the startup checklist, helping the pilot to cold start the F-14 in the assisted startup detailed further down.