A-10 CUBA v1.2/1.5
Cuba VFR Sectional Read Me

The nautical mile "bracket" scale on the map itself and the "onscreen scale" will remain accurate regardless of print scaling.

For purposes of simplification (and, frankly, so that images are easier for me to work with) these maps are based upon the mission maps as they appear with the "Map Textures" preference deselected. In Cuba there is a clear differentiation between forests (dark green) and grassy areas (lighter green), and I'd initially intended a black & white printed version of the map to be able to reflect that, especially since the shapes of the mountainous areas are ideal visual references. (If your printer cartridge can spare it, I strongly recommend printing these at "normal" quality. Some of the lighter features are difficult to see when printed in "draft" quality.)

All the info in this map and Read Me were directly observed in the MAC VERSION OF THE GAME ONLY and measured in as precise a way as I could muster: the runway lengths may not be completely accurate, though I'm sure they're at least close. Probably within 10'.

Nomenclature

There are at least three versions of Attack that I know of (1.1, 1.3, 1.5) but they are all fairly straightforward. The Cuba versions can get a little hairy. Here how I refer to them in this Read Me:

Cuba 1.0 = The basic A-10 Cuba game as it appears on the CD ROM.
Cuba 1.2 = Cuba 1.0 with the 1.2 Updater.
Cuba 1.5 = Cuba 1.2 when played as a module in conjunction with Attack 1.5

Other Info

I discussed runway lengths earlier, elevations of the mountain peaks and ridges will be less accurate, probably within 50'. Sometimes I checked the HUD ladder as I approached the peak, sometimes it was MSL minus AGL as I flew over top, and sometimes I'd pickle with CCIP, then note the MSL readout at the bottom of the HUD (the most reliable method of measuring building heights, canyon depths, and just about anything else.)

Runway elevations were taken right off the chit leader in Cuba 1.5 while parked on the runway. (Meaning, all the 07' MSL strips are at sea level: retract the gear while sitting on these runways and the altimeter reads 2' MSL.)

There are three ridges labeled, but all are different types. The one SW of Fresneda is wide and rounded, more like a plateau; the one west of Guantanamo City is essentially a long peak. The one in the canyons is a long peak also, but from the north it appears as a grassy mountain, from the south it appears as a sheer cliff--a big brown rectangle easily spotted from as far away as the terrain setting allows.

If the airport name is inside the box, then that is the name of the airport alone. If the name is outside the box, then it's actually the name of the town next to the airport, and the two share the same name. In areas where towns and airstrips are tightly packed, I've tried to label the town between it and it's airstrip.

Game Trivia

• Runway centerline stripes are 120' long, with 80' gaps in between.
  
• The ammo dumps north of Guantanamo City don't appear in all missions, though to my experience the AAA is always there, and always hot.
  
• In Cuba 1.2 and 1.5, the AA sites around Guantanamo airport are ZSU-23-4s and are always hot, regardless of the mission you launch. In Cuba 1.0, the two sites are 57mm AA and seem to be dormant as often as not.
  
• The cave which surrounds the commander's hacienda is 500' tall, 2080' wide, and 1130' deep. The cliff on which it sits is 700' above the floor of the canyon, which is at sea level. The rim of the canyon above the hacienda is about 2760' MSL.
  
• In the good sized citiesÑGuantanamo, Banes, Caimanera, Preston, Cayo Mambi, Mayari, Mayari Arriba, Nicaro, Maisi (okay, most of them!)Ñthe tallest buildings in the heart of town (the big gray rectangles standing on end) are 100' AGL.
  
• The yellow wall around NAS Guantanamo is 50' high.
  
• All trees in the game are approx. 40' tall, except for the palm trees around NAS, which are about 50 feet tall. The forests are 50' tall too.
  
• Morning Nautical Twilight is from 0500 to dawn (0600). Evening Nautical Twilight is 1800 - dusk (1900). As per the manual, using the 'n' key will advance the time in 30 minute increments, and 'Shift-n' will turn it back. While you play, the game updates the position of the sun every 2 minutes. For whatever reason, the sun rises in the west.
  
• At Herrera airport there is an identical runway 795' below the surface, viewable via slewing. (The asphalt on it is a darker color, and there are three aircraft camouflage structures.)

BOATS...

  - In the "Blockade" mission: The big destroyers measure approx. 615' long, 75' wide, and 113' tall (if you count the radar dish). The speedy gunboats are about 85' long: in "Blockade" they move at 60kts, in "Bridge Buster" they move at 45kts. The cargo friendlies are about 700' long, 85' wide and 95' tall.

  - In the "Deep Six" mission: The cargo ships are identical to the cargo friendlies in "Blockade." The massive oil tankers are about 1000' long, 150' wide, and 205' tall. (And when ya blow 'em up, the splash goes 740' in the air!)

A-10 Nighttime Sky/Stars

For those with an interest in astronomy or simple stargazing, you maybe interested to know that the A-10 simulators do model the stars quite accurately...for the one slice of sky they happen to show. You would never see this particular portion of the nighttime sky standing on the runway at NAS however because the nighttime sky shown in A-10 is visible only at 50 deg N lattitude, and NAS Cuba is at about 20 deg N. (50 deg N is close to the latitude of the Germany theatre which lies very roughly between 53 and 55 deg north latitude.)

Stars/Night Sky Trivia

• The stars don't move at all, which is goofy but understandable from a programming standpoint. (I guess...)
• As in real life, the constellation Orion is hard to miss: 30 deg. above the horizon at a heading of 140.
• Also easy to spot: the Big Dipper is large in the NNE sky, ranging from el. 12 to el. 34 (12 to 34 deg above the horizon) and from az. (azimuth/heading) 015 to 035 degrees.
• All stars can be used for navigation of course, but there are two in the A-10 sky that are bright enough and close enough to the horizon to be noteworthy:
  • Sirius: az. 131, el. 9. (Just left of Orion, the brightest of all stars.)
  • Vega: az 324, el. 9. (Was Earth's north star about 15,000 years ago, and will be again in another 15,000 years or so. Mark your calendars.)
• Should you happen find yourself oriented perfectly vertically, the star under your pipper (guncross) would be Mirfak, a magnitude 1.9 star in the constellation Perseus.

• The real town of Antilla is actually located about where Antilla airport is in the game, on the NW shore of "Preston Bay". In real life the town farther NW of "Preston Bay" is called Deleite.
• Preston Bay's real name is Bahia de Nipe, or Nipe (rhymes with "knee pay") Bay. I did not label this on the map to avoid confusion with the references in the game and documentation. Same goes for the town of Preston, whose real name is, believe it or not, Guatemala.
• In real life, there is a town just north of Banes called Los Angeles.
• Guantanamo Int'l Airport's real name is Mariana Grajales Airport (GAO.)
• I read somewhere that NAS Guantanamo is (or was) also known as Carter NAS, but I haven't been able to confirm it with any other source.

Translations

Punta = point    Punta de Mulas - Point of Mules
Cayo = crag     Cayo Mambi - Mambi Crag
Bahia = bay     Bahia de Guantanamo - Guantanamo Bay
Cabo = Cape    Cabo Maisi - Cape Maisi

The airstrips where reloading (and refueling) is available seem consistent through all 12 missions. I tested all 20 strips in three missions (having three different origin airports), and the same fields had reloading available. (Make note: in the "Wreckin' Reactor" mission you will not be able to refuel at Preston field even though the mission originates there.) By and large, if a field has runway lights, you can reload and gas up there. (Exceptions are Nicaro which has lights but no replenishment, and Tiguabos, where you CAN reload and gas up at night...provided you can land in the dark.)

Indestructibility

Interesting things I learned while using an indestructible plane (a feature I never previously cared for):

• The time compression feature (Command-T) is pretty habit-forming, especially when starting the engines and waiting for other planes to taxi and depart. (And if need be, you can fly from Maisi to Banes, say, in under 5 minutes.)
• Also addictive is the "Instantly Add 500 Feet Of Altitude" feature (Command-Tab). Of course it saves you after a city crash or water landing, but it also gives you some leverage against the MiGs and Sukhois (as if being indestructible itself was no help at all.) Also, it's handy for "drop starts." When the mission starts up, pop Command-Tab several times and let gravity do the rest. While falling, do the usual chores like getting the gear up, set HUD, and oh yes, starting the engines. ("We don't need no steenking takeoffs...")
• Even when the plane is set to indestructible, the gear are still susceptible to wind damage at about 250kts, so get 'em up quickly.

Also, I recommend taking aerial photos (screen shots) of each town. Print these off and you can have fun planning some interesting variations on the "No Brainer" mission, targeting specific buildings in any town on the map. My personal favorite is a mission I call "Dead Reckoning."

EXTRA CREDIT

In A-10 ATTACK, the Rødby base (far to the north, across the Baltic Sea) is always hot, regardless of the mission you launch, and you can use it to add 2300 points to your score:
1. 2 ZSUs. (500 pts each)
2. SAM launcher. (500 pts)
3. Radar dish atop the control tower. (800 pts)

A-10 CUBA 1.2/1.5 has MANY such targets, and these are a fine way to pad your score after each mission.

1. 2 ZSUs at GIA airport. (500 pts each)
2. 2 ZSUs up at the ammo dump site, even though the dumps themselves are active only in the Airstrike mission. (500 pts each)
3. The on ZSU at the south end of Imias airport (500 pts)
4. The commanders compound in NW Guantanamo City (It's surrounded by a fence, just west of the green church, and SW of the high school. It's got three satellite dishes and two lookout towers in the compund...it's hard to miss. and at 5000 points, hard to ignore.)
5. The Nicaro factory you target in "Outta Business." (3000 pts)
6. The nine oil tanks at Cayo Mambi are 100 pts each.

That's 11,400 extra points if you feel like going after them.

AIRPORT INFORMATION

Except where noted, all fields have control towers. CAUTION: Red lights on structures close to some runways may be easily mistaken for VASI.

ANTILLA   1007' MSL
   RWY 07-25: 2500x60
   - no control tower
   - runway is not a consistent width: west end is 90' wide at it's widest, east end is 60' wide.
   - terrain rises beyond both ends, though terrain at approach end RWY 25 is steeper and closer.
   - structures on left side of approach end RWY 07

BANES    2407'
   RWY 03-21: 2485'x75'
   - no reloading, no runway lighting

BARACOA   07'
   RWY 15-33: 3035x75
   - reloading & runway lighting available
   - high terrain and structures near departure end of RWY 15.
   - WATER 200' beyond departure end of RWY 33, but high terrain on left also.
   - runway has been patched

CAYO MAMBI   752'
   RWY 09-27: 3030x60
   - no reloading, no runway lighting
   - most of the runway shoulders, taxiways and ramp surfaces are raised about 1' sheer from the surrounding grass - caution when taxiing.
   - terrain drops off edge of a cliff about 200' from the approach end RWY 09. Also, about 150' feet from the northern edge of the entire length of the runway, terrain again drops off a cliff.

CAYO SAETIA   22'
   RWY 9-27: 2005x125
   - field is surrounded by water in all quadrants except SE, which is dominated by a long cliff wall approx. 200' high.
   - most of the runway shoulders, taxiways and ramp surfaces are raised about 1' sheer from the surrounding grass - caution when taxiing.
   - WATER and DOCKS 500-750' from approach end RWY 09

HERRERA   2749'
   RWY 09-27: 2010x125
   - no control tower
   - only airstrip with no structures of any kind on the field
   - strip is in unusually good shape
   - identical runway, 795' below the surface, viewable via slewing. (The asphalt on it is a darker color, and there are three aircraft camouflage structures. The structures have red warning lights!)

FRESNEDA   2860'
   RWY 02-20: 5560x125
      RWY 02: MALSR.
      RWY 20: REIL.
   - reloading & runway lighting available
   - TREES on approach to RWY 20.
   - terrain on approach to RWY 02. Structures on right shoulder of approach end RWY 02.

GUANTANAMO INT'L   07'
   RWY 16-34: 8060x150
      RWY 16: REIL.
      RWY 34: MALSR.
   - reloading & runway lighting available
   - approx. 15' paved shoulder either side of runway

IMIAS   1010'
   RWY 17-35: 3705x125
      RWY 17: MALSR.
      RWY 35: REIL.
   - reloading & runway lighting available
   - TREES very close to runway on both sides
   - terrain rises quickly beyond departure end RWY 35.
   - about 200' beyond departure end RWY 17, terrain drops off a cliff, 515' high.
   - cliff overlooking north end of runway is 500' high, 520' away from the runway.
   - runway has been patched

LA MAYA   822'
   RWY 06-24: 3725x100
   - structure on left shoulder of approach end RWY 06
   - structures on left shoulder of approach end RWY 24
   - strip is in disrepair. Keep to the south side of runway - much pavement has weathered away and trees are growing on the runway

MAISI   07'
   RWY 16-34: 6065x150
      RWY 16: REIL.
      RWY 34: MALSR.
   - reloading & runway lighting available
   - approx. 12' paved shoulder either side of runway
   - terrain rises *sharply* at departure end RWY 16
   - WATER is 200-300' from departure end RWY 34
   - cliff overlooking midfield is about 610' high, and is about 450' from the runway.
    - runway has been patched

MAYARI ARRIBA   2398'
   RWY 09-27: 4135x125
      RWY 09: REIL.
      RWY 27: REIL.
   - reloading & runway lighting available
   - caution: There is a 420' high cliff about 1000' from the west end of the strip. Recommend landing RWY 27 and departing RWY 09 ONLY. (Like anyone else, I rarely heed this bit of common sense....)
   - 50-75' beyond departure end RWY 09 terrain drops off a cliff, 720' high.
   - 90' shoulder along south edge of runway is also top of a cliff

MC CALLA   07'
   - field is closed, no reloading, no runway lighting
   - all three runways are in disrepair
   - field is surrounded by water in all quadrants except SE, which features a hill approx. 430' high. (Structures on the crest are approx. 5000' SE of field center.)

   RWY 01-19: 4475x175
   - 300' stopways at each end, 20-25' paved shoulder either side of runway
   - WATER 450-500' before stopway at approach end RWY 01
   - WATER approx. 250' before stopway at approach end RWY 19

   RWY 10-28: 1850x175
   - 300' stopways at each end, 20-25' paved shoulder either side of runway
   - WATER approx. 400' before stopway at approach end RWY 10
   - ROAD approx. 200' before stopway at approach end RWY 28
   - shortest strip on the island

   RWY 14-32: 2210x200
   - devoid of any markings whatsoever

MOA   07'
   RWY 07-25: 5470x150
      RWY 07: MALSR.
      RWY 25: MALSR.
   - reloading & runway lighting available
   - approx. 12' paved shoulder either side of runway
   - WATER is 120' or so from departure end RWY 07
   - after NAS, perhaps the nicest facility on the island - numerous full service hangars

NAS GUANTANAMO   07'
   RWY 09-27: 8475x200
      RWY 09: MALSR. VASI(V12)
         - In the Cuba Demo, RWY 09 has MALSF.
      RWY 27: REIL. VASI(V12)
   - reloading & runway lighting available
   - longest runway on the island
   - 500' stopways at each end, 20-25' paved shoulder both sides of runway
   - WATER and ROAD surround eastern half of entire runway. (ROAD approx. 175' before stopway at approach end RWY 27. WATER approx. 350' before stopway.)
   - WATER 100-150' right of approach end RWY 09.

NICARO   107'
   RWY 07-25: 4020x75
   - runway lighting is available, NO reloading
   - 10' paved shoulder either side or runway
   - numerous structures on right shoulder of approach end RWY 07
   - strip is in good shape, but two trees are growing up through the asphalt. Go figure.

PRESTON   730'
   RWY 07-25: 6660x150
   - no reloading, no runway lighting. So there.
   - terrain rises sharply beyond departure end RWY 25. Landing RWY 09 and departing RWY 25 is not recommended. (Nothing to it actually--long runway.)
   - Terrain also rises to a height of 1545' MSL at a point approx. 1.75 nm before approach end RWY 25. ALL NIGHT LANDINGS TO RWY 25 REQUIRE EXTREME CAUTION.
   - small structure (house) on left side of approach end RWY 25

SAN ANTONIO DEL SUR   407'
   RWY 09-27: 3010x75
   - in Cuba 1.2 and 1.5, this field is closed
   - no control tower
   - strip is in disrepair
   - note cactus on right shoulder near approach end RWY 09

SAN LUIS   2779'
   RWY 05-23: 3420x125
   - structures on left shoulder of approach end RWY 05

TIGUABOS   804'
   RWY 12-30: 5550x100
   - reloading available
   - TREE approx. 450' from approach end RWY 12.

KUDOS AND THANK YOUs...

You've seen these names before--they are all a big reason I continue to enjoy these games as I do:

...Tom "Howdy" Curtis for mucho support, and for his two A-10 Attack & Cuba help files, Stupid Hawg Tricks and Cuba Tactics. Indispensable for the virtual Hawg Driver. ("I MUST'A DROPPED 40 TONS 'A BOMBS ON THOSE SWAYIN' BAMBOO MUTHAS" LOL!)

...Petteri Sulonen for his excellent A-10 Attack! help file, A-10 Attack FAQ.

...Eugene Pak, et. al. for the comprehensive FAQ on the real A-10, A-10 FAQ (rev 1.2). Special thanks also to Eugene for continued support.

...as always, thanks to the folks at PARSOFT INTERACTIVE especially, for CREATING THESE TERRIFIC SIMULATORS...hard to believe this program is two years old.

Steve Russillo
russillosm@gmail.com
April 9, 1997