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LSK MiG-21UM reworked...

Landing animations ...

Gator.......

Here are a few I had, hope they help

A few more shots of the standard factory color scheme. VonS is pretty much done with his outstanding FM - it even simulates the historical tendency to sideslip in tight turns. Now, I have to finish the art and the LODs, plus some other tedious chores before it can be released. Click shots for hi-res images.

Got a little more work done before switching to the Caudron. Click shots for hi-res images.

LOL Shot below shows actual artwork for a complex color scheme. Note how the upper parts of the fuselage cross project from the side sections toward the top section. This will be helpful if you want to make complex markings. Click shots for hi-res images.

Some dogfighting...

TA-4G Skyhawk, VC-724, Royal Australian Navy

I'll need to make a cockpit - they often take as long as the airplane. Click for hi-res.

Fooling around with 5-color lozenge camo.

...historical correct or not? I forgot to add that at that time (April 1918 - from the end of March) were already used a Balkenkreuzes instead of Tatzenkreuzes - Pattee Crosses. If after repairing the wings of the airplane were covered with a Lozenge canvas, it is unlikely that the Germans painted obsolete identification marks - another anachronism of this film. Although I'll not deny that 'Blue Max' is a cult film to some extent. Well, at last, FE is just a game. Sertainly, you can be happy to fly as 'Stachel', аs 'von Richthofen' or аs 'Jo Cavalier' or any other Ace of Aces - fictional or real. All this is the role-playing games of virtual pilots (as I myself). P.S. Sorry for the off-top.

Now a short revisit to one of the seminal Mods for the Strike Fighters series. Strike Fighters 2: ODS Redux is a very impressive modification of the basic game series and included new aircraft / ground objects over the original. As the title suggests the mod will have you flying over the Middle East battleground where Operation Desert Storm was actually set, so mostly Iraq, Saudi Arabia and Kuwait of course: New aircraft for Redux included the amazing Buccaneer by Ravenclaw: Install As ever the mod works best at the game version it was tested and built for, and if you install onto a later version or one merged with North Atlantic there will be a bit more work to do. However if you can copy & paste files and edit word documents you shouldn’t have any problems. The instructions are pretty good – however you must insure you follow the first and second rules of modding: 1. Make sure you stick the files in the correct place! 2. Make sure you stick the files in the correct place! If you get stuck there is a few years worth of information and a knowledge base on here to help. Gameplay The variety of aircraft you can choose along with the different squadrons is vast as you can imagine, and should be historically accurate. For this I am going to be in VFA-81, - that’s right I can literally walk into any Navy squadron I am that good! The campaign starts with a bit of background about the situation and the strategic error Saddam Hussain perhaps may have made: For day one I can rejoice in the fact that mod campaigns include targets other than the beeping Comms building! Default loadout looks good enough so no changes for me: And flying with my good buddy Ens Mike Erwin, who is not the highest in flying skill but is good with the ladies!: Into the sky we go, the Hornet is a third party mod but includes a very good pit complete enough for us to get by with navigation etc: Flying over Kuwait Mike seems to think keeping his lights on is more challenging! Plenty of Bandits are being called out, like this MiG-23: They are being kept busy by F-14s on the way in though luckily: We find and hit the scud rather easily, although Mike doesn’t think it is fun without flying low and getting shot at by every gun in theatre: Coming off target, a MiG is within 10 miles at 9 o’clock, so I turn and lock it up. Not being certain who or what it is I close to visual just to see a cheeky F-14 blast it out of the sky with guns (that's the guy locked in the circle). Typical, I am off to the tanker, or Alt + N as it is more commonly known here: Success is ours…in your face Saddam! And of course, hats off to the many that contributed to make SF2:ODS possible!

From "Short Final" of this morning's AvWeb e-zine - rang a faint bell for me (CG 6043 is a Sikorsky MH-60T out of CGAS Sitka): The fall at Juneau Airport, where I’m a controller, generally sees pretty gross days, rain and lots of wind. One day we had six miles of visibility and winds of more than 25 knots and gusts more than 30. I was working a Coast Guard helicopter out and it occurred to me that I never really see those guys when the weather was nice. I figured I'd ask why: Tower: CG 6043 frequency change approved, you guys have time for a question? CG pilot: Frequency change approved and go ahead... Tower: You guys ever fly in nice weather? CG pilot: No. Jeremy Horton

Someone at WOFF, had ask about doing some MAX skins,

If someone can send me GOOD, HIGH QUALITY photos of George Peppard, I could add a Blue Max pilot to the pilot pack I have in-work. As usual, click shot for hi-res image.

Losing it... 75,000lbs of scrap...

Thx Geezer - ...and of course I'll have a go at the skin and thx to Geezer's templates I'll be more than happy to fly as 'Stachel' on my PC ...historical correct or not

I will include templates and sample textures in the Pfalz graphics pack for the guys who want to make new color schemes. Click shot for hi-res image.

VonS and I have been discussing lead time. It will take me several months to finish the Pfalz and Junkers textures, and it will take VonS a similar amount of time to develop the very demanding new files for the Caudron R.11. So, the logical thing to do is get the R.11 flying ingame with the skins just roughed in and then pass it on to VonS to work on. Then, I circle back and finish the Pfalz and Junkers. Click shots for hi-res images.

Now we all know, that Leutnant Stachel in pursuit of the Blue Max is a historical correct story based on true facts with aircraft from the period, flown by former aces and, and, and...well the skin just has to be made and included into the D.IIIa collection (since it was an 'a' model...guns on top instead in the fuselage).

finished canopy ... and air brakes (no skin yet)

https://www.facebook.com/dekaironworksims/posts/330639224065881 Deka Ironwork Simulations added 15 new photos. September 29 at 7:36pm · This weekend, Deka Ironwork Simulation (DIS) in collaboration with Eagle Dynamics (ED) will be delighted to introduce the China Asset Pack (CAP). This project targets at bringing the modern Chinese assets/weapons into DCS world as AI units. Currently, the following units are confirmed: Aircrafts: J-11A (AI) [Completed] JF-17 "Thunder" (AI) [WIP] Ships: 052B Destoryer DDG-168 "Guangzhou" [Completed] 052C Destoryer DDG-171 "Haikou" [Almost Completed] 054A Frigate FFG-538 "Yantai" [Completed] Weapons: YJ-83 Anti-ship Missile [Completed] YJ-62 Anti-ship Missile [WIP] 9M317 Surface to Air Missile [Completed] HQ-16 Surface to Air Missile [Completed] HHQ-9 Surface to Air Missile [Completed] PL-5EII Air to Air Missile* [Completed] PL-8 Air to Air Missile [Completed] PL-12 Air to Air Missile* [Completed] WMD Multi-function Targeting Pod* [Completed] RKL609 ECM Pod [Completed] Pylons: AKU-170 Adapter for R-77 missile on J-11A [Completed] PF-12 Adapter for PL-12 missile* [WIP] *Launch platform JF-17 might not be included in initial release. CAP will be added to DCS World free of charge. Our future goal is to add more AI units into the package, although details and dates are still uncertain. During the development, we have received help from some players as they have provided the initial 3D model of three warships. With assistance from ED, the LOD, damage model, animations and model corrections are almost finished. We have also completed ships' weapon systems. Since it's a fan package for free, and the JF-17 developement needs to be focused on later, we may slow down the progress of adding other Chinese asset as AI. But if any of you are willing to help or contribute, that would be awesome and absolutely welcomed!

Here is how close New Zealand came to deploying a Squadron of its A-4K Skyhaws to the Gulf War in the 90's, remember they had just been through an upgrade program equipping them with the APG-66 radar, glass cockpit with HUD, MIL-STD 1553B databus, laser INS and ALR-66 RWR. They were cleared to use the AIM-9L, AGM-65B/G, GBU-16C/B, Mk-81/82/83/84 low and high drag bombs. The following is a post by an A-4K avionics tech in the RNZAF 1984-2001 and author of the book SKYHAWKS: The History of the RNZAF Skyhawk. https://books.google.co.nz/books/about/Skyhawks.html?id=N7NCngEACAAJ&redir_esc=y "It was also an interesting time at Ohakea. 75 Sqn was in training to go to war, 2 Sqn were about to be deployed to Nowra and there was talk that the Nowra deployment would go on hold as all our A-4s and personnel would be needed to support 75 Sqn. The paint shop were all geared up to repaint the aircraft in desert camo, the deployment route to the Gulf had been worked out and everyone was being lined up at Medical for their jabs. The 75 Squadron Gulf War happy hour was very memorable - Sadam Husain even put in an appearance! Sadly nothing happened and 75 Sqn went to Williamtown as planned for a WILLOH Exercise at the end of January and 2 Sqn deployed to Nowra as planned at the beginning of February. Oh what might have been eh, had our politicians had some balls! Had we deployed the A-4s they would have been one of the most sophisticated ground attack aircraft in theatre with their then brand new Kahu avionics. We would most likey have been based alongside the Kuwaiti A-4s as they had had to leave all of their ground equipment, ground crew and spares in Kuwait when they evacuated to Saudi. A great opportunity was lost to demonstrate the value in having an Air Combat Force, something we would pay dearly for 10 years later under HC and Co." and: Question: "Was that a genuine plan to operate with the Kuwaiti Air Force? Would the A-K's not have come under RAF command as part of Operation Granby, and operated alongside the Tornadoes and Buccaneers?" Answer: "The US were looking for a fast and easy way to get the Kuwaiti A-4s back in the fight. All they had were their 20 odd aircraft, the pilots who flew them and the clothes they were wearing! They had to leave everything else behind when they left Kuwait. Deploying us along side of them would have solved their logistics and ground crew problem (and the Saudi's/Kuwaiti's would have paid NZ handsomely!). But instead they employed civilian contractors (mercenaries), all former USN/USMC guys. The USMC were still actively flying A-4Ms at that time and had just started disbanding squadrons, so sending over all of the weapons, spares and support equipment they needed wasn't really a problem (they just raided the boneyard). We probably would have come under the RAF command Dave but would have been used in a close air support role (what the A-4 was best at) rather than the longer range tactical strike the Tornados were doing. If we had gone I'm picking we would have fired a LOT of Mavericks... All pie in the sky stuff now but at the time these were the things various people in the RNZAF were seriously thinking about. Had we deployed the A-4s there were a few "fast track" mods we would have had to do to the aircraft (the first four we subsequently did to the aircraft anyway): 1. Fit and test the KY-58 secure radio kit to all aircraft - Kahu had installed the wiring etc. but it was not yet tested in 1991 (secret squirrel stuff). 2. Fit and test the Mode 4 IFF kit (same deal as above). 3. Programme the radar warning system with the threat and friendly radars 4. Update the weapon inventory software for any additional weapons were would be carrying 5. Uprate the engines (basically run the engine hotter to produce more thrust at full power - can be done but reduces engine life) 6. Repaint the aircraft " And so I give you No.75 Squadron, Royal New Zealand Airforce, A-4K Skyhawk, Joint New Zealand/ Kuwait Skyhawk Wing, Operation Desert Storm 1992, King Abdul Aziz Air Base, Dhahran. Expanding on the "fast track' mods Dom mentions above the CBU-87/B has been added to the Kiwi Skyhawk's inventory to enable medium altitude area attacks (as done for the RAF Jaguar's). ALQ-119(V)17 ECM pods are borrowed from the USAF and always carried operationally like most allied aircraft. Finally a handful of AN/ASQ-153 Pave Spike pods are also borrowed from the USAF enabling precision daylight strikes to be carried out without a 'buddy' aircraft to designate the target. The MIL-STD 1553B databus intalled during the project 'Kahu' upgrade is key to enabling the quick addition of additional ordnance and EW pods. Once the air threat had subsided the Kiwi Skyhaws stopped carrying a single AIM-9L and replaced it on most missions with an AGM-65B that the pilots used more as a substitute targeting pod to enable magnified target identification before attacking with bombs etc

This is an dev Blog Update from the il2 Development Team from August, i will post frequently the new il2 Dev updates here to keep you guys informed. (Im not a part of the Dev Team, but im a supporter and a great fan of this series) They will expand to the pacific next year, until this, they will finish the new great Battle for Kuban! To find some Dev update pics, follow the Link bellow Here you have a preview of the Kuban map, already available for the BOK "Battle of Kuban" Preorder. https://il2sturmovik.com/ Hello Everyone! We approach the next milestone. Tomorrow we plan to begin testing if the release candidate version 2.012, which, as we said earlier, will include very significant innovations like: - German twin-engined attack aircraft Hs 129 B-2, - Kuban map; - New technology of shadows with extended range, clarity and detail in the cabin and flexible settings; - The updated flight model of all the aircraft of the IL-2 project, the planes will be more stable in the airflow, more properly respond to glide and a huge number of other changes in the flight physics; - Improved morning / evening mist visualization; - Improved visualization of armored glass on all aircraft of the project; - Updated set of official aircraft colors Bf 109 F-4 and Ju 87 D-3. Speaking of the plane Hs 129 B-2, it should be noted that this is an extremely interesting aircraft with many features. Firstly, this is the first twin-engine single-seat aircraft in our project. Secondly, it is equipped with French production air-cooled engines Gnome-Rhone 14M, with automatically adjustable oil coolers and a constant speed screw (2750 rpm) with the possibility of manual direct control of the pitch of the screw and the mode of feathering. The airplane is equipped with flaps with a hydraulic smooth extending system, which includes a special metering cylinder for extending flaps right to intermediate take-off position. In the cockpit there is a folding armored seat for easy getting in the aircraft. The instruments for monitoring engine parameters are installed directly on engine cowls, outside the cabin. Front firing weapons of the aircraft are installed in the central part of the fuselage, behind the cockpit, and fire through special channels along the sides of the cabin. Despite the tightness, the configuration of the cockpit canopy provides the pilot with an excellent front-to-bottom visibility, which is extremely important for the attack aircraft. Collimator sight is installed very unusually - outside the canopy, in front of the armored windscreen, which is also unusual in itself because it has a curved shape with a multilayer structure. The "Revi C/12D mit Zieleinrichtung" gun sight is equipped with a special mechanical sighting device for level bombing at fixed altitudes and speeds; How to use it in detail is shown in the images below. Well, finally, this is the first aircraft in our project that carries 30 mm cannonin the form of an optional under-fuselage mounted gun MK 101 or MK 103. Also a under-fuselage gunpod with 4 MG-17 machine guns can be mounted, bringing the total amount of front firing weapons to 8 with a common rate of fire up to 9200 rounds per minute, and ammunition up to 6,500 rounds. In total, version 2.012 will be one of the most important milestones in the history of the Il-2 project. Of course, with so many changes, there may be some shortcomings that we weren't able to find during testing, but we hope that their amount will be minimal and will not hamper the pleasure that you will undoubtedly get in the process of getting acquainted with this update. Here you can find the Dev Blog below: https://forum.il2sturmovik.com/topic/30723-developer-diary-part-169-discussion/

This is a great mod to integrate 'what if' or 'what could have been' aircraft into and see how they fair! RAF F-4JUK (this is the interceptor the RAF wanted to deploy but politically the Tornado ADV got the job), RNZAF A-4K flying in a joint Skyhawk Wing with the Kuwaiti's (this option was actully pushed in preference to the USMC mercs that ended up providing ground support for the Kuwaiti's but the NZ government faltered ), TSR-2, F-111D, F-111K even an extended service Vulcan with Falklands war ordanance/ ECM mods etc

Funny joke Also we all know, that foreign countries pay tribute to 20th Century Fox for the historical correct story about the Blue Max hunting, and the Dalai Lama three times bow low before the Leutnant Stachel's portrait at bedtime. Desire is the property of a particular author :) We cannot influence him in any way.

from https://forums.eagle.ru/showthread.php?p=3261768#post3261768 Hi Everyone! We’ve just returned from our second research trip of this year to the U.S! The first trip of this year was conducted by the art team back in april to collect boring, totally unexciting visual reference stuff. The main goal of this trip was for the engineering and research team to meet with SMEs and give them a hands on session with our F-14. Most important to us was to receive detailed in-person feedback on our Flight Modeling, and to then apply that feedback to our F-14. We were also eager to discuss various systems and aircraft functionality, as well as things like crew communication for JESTER and carrier operations. After a long and tiring flight from Stockholm to Oakland, we went through the usual routine of collecting our luggage, passing through immigration and getting our rental vehicle. The moment we turn the key in the ignition, "You’ve lost that lovin’ feelin’" starts blaring through the radio. We’re now about one overtime induced hallucination away from believing that developing the Tomcat is a divine mission. No one will expect the Tomcat inquisition. The next day, it was down to business. We met our subject matter expert, an experienced US Navy Commander and F-14 / F/A-18 aviator. We hooked him up to a high performance VR-rig in order to have him evaluate our Tomcat and the game was on! His overall impression of the simulation model was great, and he was able to provide very detailed and absolutely invaluable feedback regarding parts of the flight envelope or controls that need further improvement. Having brought our development machines with us, we could immediately implement some of these changes and get immediate feedback on them. Some of these include changing the thrust moment arm, adjusting and tweaking the ground effect and control surface actuator speeds. Now that we’ve returned home, our goal is to fully incorporate the feedback into our model, and within the coming weeks set up further remote testing sessions. We’ve already spent some time tuning the AFCS which was a point of much feedback, which should alleviate some unwanted roll and pitch oscillations. We’ve also adjusted longitudinal stick pitch damping at high G’s. Through these evolutionary changes, we are able to finely tune and polish our flight model. We are already immensely proud of the F-14 FM, and as the foundation of the entire DCS: F-14A & B product, we hope its’ accuracy will permeate throughout the entire module. We wouldn’t be able to get as close as we are without the fantastic contributions by all of our SME Pilots and RIO’s. On a personal level, the most amazing part of the testing sessions was to watch him ace the carrier landings again and again (which even our own testing team is not able to do consistently) - something we believe speaks volumes about his skill as an aviator and our FM! Here’s one of those landings. Smooth as silk! Being able to discuss all things related to Tomcat also gives us some added perspective on the project as a whole as well as assisting us in the creation of JESTER, our two Campaigns (-A and -B) and just satisfying our nerdy needs in general. We're obviously all huge Tomcat fans and this was a great opportunity to delve into less technical details. We then spent some time running intercepts as a two person crew (we had a second machine and Rift with us) - with one of our team members operating the Radar. Flying DCS: F-14 as a two man crew is simply one of the most enjoyable flight simulation experiences one can have, and doing so with a real F-14 pilot up front was the cherry on top. That’s it for this trip! The entire team is hard at work at bringing you the best F-14 experience we can possibly craft, and we’re looking forward to the early access release and the F-14 roadmap beyond. There’s still plenty of work to be done, and we’ll keep you updated on our schedule and progress. Thanks so much for reading, and stay tuned for more updates. We'd also like to sincerely thank all of our SMEs, both pilots and RIOs (you all know who you are!) and museums and associations that we have been working with for their amazing help and all of the contributions that they have made to DCS: F-14 so far. Thank you! Sincerely, Heatblur Simulations https://www.facebook.com/heatblur/ "....wooah that lovin' feelin'...’"

I'm sorry, but this is not a historical coloring (except that it flashed in one famous film, which is not devoid of artistic merit, of course)! Briefly: there are real documents about when the lozenge fabric began to arrive in the Pfalz Flugzeugwerke. Good uncle Abbot (Dan-San Abbot) on the forum's website www.theaerodrome.com gave an explanation: for the first time 5-color lozenge was seen on the WINGS of D.8149 / 17 and onwards. But not on all planes. Before that, all the Pfalts left the factory in a silver-gray color (possibly silver) with a white rudder. The lozenge on the upper wings could only appear on the last D.IIIa, a very late release, starting at 81xx / 17 and on repair aircraft, but not earlier than March / April 1918, and also on D.VIII / D.XII. Please note that we are talking only about the wings, but not about the fuselages.

Hello, This augurs very well for your future Sukhois mod... Best regards, PC.

Back to working details on the Pfalz. As usual, click shot for hi-res image.

VonS has developed an outstanding FM for the Pfalz - the aircraft take off smartly and climb quickly. I've gotten a good start on another color scheme. Click shots for hi-res image.

Has anyone experimented with mixed formations? I just read that most Jastas operated a mixture of Albatross and Pfalz aircraft - very few units were completely equipped with the Pfalz. Figuring out mixed formations would also pay dividends when the Caudron R.11 is finished - they could be mixed with Brequet 14 bombers. There would be an additional benefit to using multiple versions of one aircraft - Pfalz DIII-01, Pfalz DIII-02, Pfalz DIII-03, etc - in mixed formations, each with different markings. Tiny, low-res decals look...um...er...less than stellar when applied to hi-res skins. Painting the aircraft's markings into the artwork looks more realistic. Click shot for hi-res image.

Making some specific color schemes - samples below. Click shots for hi-res image.

First flight! VonS sent me a test FM last night, so I built a new folder this morning with the new model. Still lots of tweaking needed, but the damn thing works! Click shots for hi-res image.

I have the UM wip but its a long way off... only pfm ive got is the stock pfm model which I cannot under any circumstances say how I got it,or share...until TK allows it that is