F-19 Stealth Fighter 1.1

F-19 Stealth Fighter
September 13th, 2022 (1st Release)
by Julhelm, Dels and Menrva

>For Strike Fighters 2 games
This is a rework of Julhelm's fantastic F-19 stealth fighter 3d model, now featuring a centre strut canopy structure (thanks to a cheap trick of repainting the bubble canopy glass) and a new cockpit, a purposely modified F-117A cockpit by Dels.
Among the improvements, it now features proper hit boxes and collision points, proper location for position lights and landing gear lights, reworked skins, aircraft characteristics and loadouts meant to resemble the ones of Microprose's F-19 Stealth Fighter game.
It still features two internal weapon bays (unlike Microprose's exaggerated four bays), but with properly reworked limits; you can have 4x Sidewinders or 3x AMRAAMs per bay, 2x bombs or AGMs depending on their overall weight and size. A 20mm cannon is on the nose with 680 rounds, and an extra 1,900 lbs fuel cell has been added for a total of 11,800 lbs of fuel; non-afterburning engines are used for stealth reasons. An (invisible) arrester hook has been added as well, since Microprose's version could also operate from aircraft carriers.
Skins feature the 83-019 serial number and an F letter on the vertical tails; these two details come from a picture of a menu screen in one of the releases of Microprose's F-19 Stealth Fighter game, where you could choose between an F-19 or an F-117A. More serial numbers couldn't be featured as the 3d model of the aircraft does not support decals without decal bleeding issues. Just imagine piloting the only example of F-19 in very black operations!
Three new skins were created: a Prototype Black skin created from the specular texture Julhelm had made, and Desert and Arctic camo skins made by modifying the USAF Euro camo skin created by kblomkvist.

NOTE: Strike Fighters 2 has no proper IRST functionality, so for the purpose of launching AMRAAMs a very basic ACM radar mode has been added to the avionics file of the aircraft. Moreover, the default cockpit features an obtrusive front strut which makes the cannon difficult to use. You can activate an alternative cockpit LOD in the relative INI file.

>What-if Backstory
During the development of the Have Blue demonstrators, Lockheed's Skunk Works division also conceived a third experimental stealth aircraft featuring an entirely different shape, rounded fuselage and wings, and meant to have air combat capabilities. The CIA got wind of it, classifying it at the highest possible level and using it as a cover-up story for the stealth aircraft that came to be the F-117A Nighthawk. In 1986, the Testor Corporation released a plastic model aircraft kit, calling it the "F-19 Stealth Fighter". Jane's All the World's Aircraft 1987-88 book listed an RF-19 as a Lockheed development project. The conceptual drawings of it were generally similar to Testor's design. In 1988 a combat flight simulator game, F-19 Stealth Fighter by Microprose, was released just moments before the public unveiling of the F-117A Nighthawk attack aircraft, which is said to be what it sought to represent. The reality is that a single F-19 existed and, during secret flights over Groom Lake, this experimental aircraft showed unique strength and was deemed a super-aircraft. Due to its funding and mantaining costs, the project was officially abandoned in 1983. Unofficially, this single example of F-19 took part in black operations all over the world until 1997. It is named F-19A Nightowl, internally nicknamed "Flying Frisbee" for its rounded shape and also referred to as "Ghostrider" for allegedly being affiliated with the 416th TFS Ghost Riders flying the F-117A Nighthawk.

"The view would have been frightening to most men, there were solid clouds overhead at 4000 feet. He flew through the showers, he more heard than saw on this black night and the dark outlines of the trees appeared to reach up and snatch at his speeding fighter. Only a madman would be so low on such a night. 'So much the better' he smiled in his oxygen mask" - Tom Clancy's Red Storm Rising

>Credits (in no particular order):
-Julhelm, for creating this well-made 3d model of the F-19.
-Dels, for his kindness in reworking the F-117 cockpit following my request.
-kblomkvist, for his USAF Euro camo inspired by Tom Clancy's Red Storm Rising book.
-guuruu, for sharing his RWR symbols improvement mod and for his improved sound files.
-simonmiller416, for his smokeless rocket effects mod.
-Crusader, for the more realistic weapons data for AIM missiles.
-TaktischesGenie, for his suggestions and chats we've had about the F-19 concept.
-My girlfriend, for supporting me in all of my endeavours.