¶ Welcome
Whether you're a seasoned veteran of the Hornet and looking for some new wingmen, or new to DCS and interested in trying out the F/A-18C, VFA-45 can accommodate! Cockpit familiarization, administrative flight procedures, and tactical weapons employment are part of the multitude of missions the Hornet can tackle—and you can be sure to learn something and have a fun time doing it with the Spartans. We focus on flying together, so you'll be able to learn your own systems and have a capable flight lead to take care of your six at the merge. Interested in taking it further? Our squadron's command cadre will teach you how to lead the jets in your flight to successfully execute your mission and bring your team back home to the boat safely. Fly, strike, win!
¶ Getting Started
More details on getting started in CSG-8 may be found in the link to VICTORIA below. It includes important information about our Discord, attendance tracking, required mods, and frquently asked questions.
The below sections contain information curated by senior members of VFA-45, and provides a general overview of how to be successful as a new Spartan.
¶ Items to Complete Before Attending Your First Operation
Please make use of your best resource: your fellow Spartans and members of CSG-8. Don't hesitate to reach out to them for help!
¶ CASE I (CV) Qualification
Please complete your CV Qualification within 2 weeks of joining VFA-45. You are encouraged to practice offline in preparation for the proctored qualification. Please reach out to any CSG-8 member of rank Lieutenant or greater to schedule your qualification. For information to help you practice CASE I recoveries, please visit the CV Qualification page.
¶ Combat Readiness (CR) Check Ride
Please complete your Combat Readiness Checkride within 4 weeks of joining VFA-45. You are encouraged to practice offline in preparation for the proctored checkride. Please reach out to any CSG-8 member of rank Lieutenant or greater to schedule your checkride. For information about the checkride and a link to download the mission file, please visit the Combat Readiness Checkride page.
¶ Attending Your First Operation
Once you've completed your CV Qualification and Combat Readiness Check Ride, you are eligible to attend Saturday operations. Please direct any questions to, and follow the instructions of your flight lead (flight compositions can be found on the CSG-8 Roster under the sheet "CVW1 Flight Comp"). Make sure to attending the mass briefing, flight briefing, and any flight debriefing. Successfully attending your first operation gains you an automatic promotion to Ensign, and marks the beginning of your career as a virtual naval aviator!
¶ Helpful Resources
¶ CSG-8 Resources
- VICTORIA CSG-8
- CSG-8 Roster Flight Compositions, Attendance Sheet, and Promotion Charts
- VFA-45 Training Pipeline and Library
¶ Community Resources
¶ Attendance
As a courtesy to our mission designers and flight planners, it is important that you make your attendance selection by the end of Friday night. If you fail to make a selection by the end of Friday night, your attendance will be marked as "no reply," and an accumulation of unexcused absences will result in you being removed from the group.
If you have marked attending and on Saturday find yourself unable to attend the operation, you must to reach out to a senior member informing them you can no longer attend. It is not important that you provide a reason, just that you let someone know you can no longer attend so that you can be marked "Excused". If you fail to notify someone of your change in attendance, you will be marked as "no show," which may also result in you being removed from the roster/group.
