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Okay so the Rolling Thunder campaign was never my favourite campaign from the series, in fact might be the most bland. The main reason for this was most probably the fact that there is no forward line of troops and tank columns to fight it out, and gain or lose ground after each mission. Rolling Thunder for real The campaign namesake this is based on was one of the most disastrous and misguided campaigns in the history of aerial warfare. What was hoped would be a few weeks of bombing missions to get North Vietnam back to the negotiating table to stop them trying to invade the South, turned into 3 or so years of bombing targets selected by Washington. Or to put it another way pussy footing around bombing things that did nothing more than improve North Vietnam's resolve to continue on its agenda and also allow it to build up its defenses with the help of the Soviet Union and China. So, 3 years of bombing targets – many times the same targets over and over, and never achieving the desired US strategy. Rolling Thunder in game In the Strike Fighters game engine this translates to what seems like a string of single missions and yes you don’t have much of an objective other than to try and not get shot down. However, unlike auto generated Single missions, Campaign missions are more content filled and almost always include strike packages and flights that help you do your job (If you at least meet your timings). Not only that all the units have their markings and decals as they should. Like history there are no SAMs until mid 1965 and the MiG regiments are limited in number. One great thing about TKs games is the use of "dates", so the game engine can just plonk in the correct objects (Guns/SAMs/MiGs) depending on the date you are flying. This also includes getting rebased and upgraded to better aircraft during the campaign. Vietnam Gold Like most things in Strike Fighters World, mods can really help and I am using the Vietnam Gold mod with a variety of my own changes. This comes with quite a fearsome atmosphere with a ton of guns shooting at you with purple stuff, red stuff and grey puffy stuff. A major benefit is a bigger variety of targets and not just the sodding comms building again. Gameplay Feb 24 1966 and I am flying from Da Nang in an F-100D (1964 version) for the 416th “Silver Knights”. I don’t know what it is about the F-100D that I like because it is outclassed by pretty much all the MiGs. The Lang Chi Electric Power plant is my target (a welcome addition from gold pack I think) – and I need to be on target for 09:10 on the dot. I am maxing out the M-117s here – there are plenty of them available. The SF2 Super Sabre also allows TERS to carry 4 on the inner pylons by default but with extra drag. How to get there hmmm. Those that played Wings Over Vietnam will know various routes into the North to minimise exposure to the SAMs, some of which had a 90% plus probability of kill if you were not flying at about 5ft off the ground. Luckily the SAMs in SF2 and this pack allow you to fly a bit more as they tended too back then! With a target near Yen Bai I can use the highlands as cover and cross in over South NVN where there are little to no SAMs. The Square box waypoint (the Initial Point /IP) is also the spawn point if you use Alt N, so can be moved around if you don’t have time to fly there. Waypoint 3 is fixed as a rendezvous with other flights. If SF2 had been developed, it would have been nice to change the waypoint details for the flights like in Falcon so you could move the fixed waypoint for all flights. Another thing that could have been improved was seeing your actual target area before flying. If you consider Jack Broughton spent all night memorising features etc before going on a mission you can understand the point of just marking the actual target with Padlock or a red dot! As you can see only 2 MiG regiments active with MiG-17F and MiG-21F-13. First Lt Eldon Atterbury is my wingy today. If you do take time to nurture the pilots their stats do improve (if they survive) Let's go then As we fly towards the target other flights are also on route to their targets. After a while several fights occur Due to meticulous planning we reach the target just fine and we roll in from above the cloud base I hit the target but get peppered by a lot of triple A Phew heading out but think my Wingy is a bit lost. Try to search, but no sign of him and no beeper! so off home alone Mystery solved, a MiG-21F-13 gunned him down and I had no idea that was in the area! If only all Vietnam mysteries could be solved so easy! I then went on to fly A-4C/Es for the US Navy in which you get to take off from Carriers in the Gulf on Tonkin Mr SAM is always happy to see you This thud was just lucky! This thud was not so lucky What are all those blotches So still quite intense flying through all the anti air and check 6 for those MiGs as always!

Sergeants' Methods A group of Sergeants and a group of Air Force Officers take a train to a conference. Each Officer holds a ticket. But the entire group of Sergeants has bought only one ticket for a single passenger. The Officers are just shaking their heads and are secretly pleased that the arrogant Sergeants will finally get what they deserve. Suddenly one of the Sergeants calls out: "The conductor is coming!" At once, all the Sergeants jump up and squeeze into one of the toilets. The conductor checks the tickets of the Officers. When he notices that the toilet is occupied he knocks on the door and says: "Ticket, please!" One of the Sergeants slides the single ticket under the doors and the conductor continues merrily on his round. For the return trip the Officers decide to use the same trick. They buy only one ticket for the entire group but they are baffled as they realize that the Sergeants didn't buy any tickets at all. After a while one of the Sergeants announces again:"The conductor is coming!"Immediately all the Officers race to a toilet and lock themselves in. All the Sergeants leisurely walk to the other toilet. Before the last Sergeant enters the toilet, he knocks on the toilet occupied by the Officers and says: "Ticket, please!" And the moral of the story? Officers like to use the methods of the Sergeants, but they don't really understand them.

The Army and the Air Force Try to Work Together There's an Air Force guy driving from McChord to Ft Lewis, and an Army guy driving from Ft Lewis to McChord. In the middle of the night with no other cars on the road they hit each other head on and both cars go flying off in different directions. The Air Force guy manages to climb out of his car and surveys the damage. He looks at his twisted car and says,..... "Man, I am really lucky to be alive!" Likewise the Army guy scrambles out of his car and looks at his wreckage. He too says to himself, ....."I can't believe I survived this wreck!" The Army guy walks over to the Air Force guy and says,...... "Hey man, I think this is a sign from God that we should put away our petty differences and live as friends instead of archrivals" The Air Force guy thinks for a moment and says, ...... "You know, you're absolutely right! We should be friends. Now I'm gonna see what else survived this wreck" So the Air Force guy pops open his trunk and finds a full, unopened bottle of Jack Daniels. He says to the Army guy, "I think this is another sign from God that we should toast to our new found understanding and friendship" The Army guy replies, "You're damn right!" and he grabs the bottle and starts sucking down Jack Daniels. After putting away nearly half the bottle the Army guy hands it back to the Air Force guy and says, "Your turn!" The Air Force guy twists the cap back on the bottle and says, "Nahh, I think I'll wait for the cops to show up."

I always find Recon missions to be challenging. It's fun to try and sneak into the area and cover the target without being spotted when using a platform not normally designed for it. Getting out is even more challenging.

anybody in need of a Budweiser

I thought people here might find this interesting.

Search Youtube for this: "Lightning Aerobatics (1963)" - you see the Scramble at Second 30f ...

Grumman F8F-1 Bearcat - No.1482 Naval Air Squadron, Royal Navy British Pacific Fleet, 1946

well, after three kids, i can attest through watching my wife that those that are pregnant can move VERY fast when full of piss

Sumatran Tigers

I'm sure it's totally legit but in the back of your mind you always have to wonder. **sarcasm** https://ua.usembassy.gov/u-s-citizen-services/victims-of-crime/marriage-dating-scams/

it's not necessarily a trap... it's known that in Russia, Ukraine and around, that there are more women than men.. so, they find creative ways to expand in the market ;)

The international famine relief effort continues, delivering much needed aid to convoys in remote areas to transport onwards to villages and refugee camps..... All kinds of aircraft in all kinds of weather.... And the threat on the ground is real... A one-shot bumpy landing.... But at least the cargo was delivered.... Help is usually on hand from Ethiopian, USMC or French aircraft flying cover for the aid flights....

bit off topic, but Gepard reminds me of something. i noticed one of my last times through Germany (Leipzig airport 2011 to be exact) that the younger crowd was not to friendly to Americans, even though most we tried interacting with were working cash registers (ie working customer service) and several of us who had been stationed there years before spoke enough Deutsche to ask how much for a coke or cigarettes. Acted positively deaf to that. 5 minutes later, i go outside and find an older lady smoking and ask "hast du ein zigaretten bitte?" (its been a few years, my spelling is probably off). She was quite happy that i could ask auf Deutsche and hooked me up and tried to have a conversation. again, hadnt lived there in over eight years at that point so conversation didnt go far but the older crowd seems friendlier to Americans in general, even the osties. and no, this isnt to open a political can of worms. when i was stationed there in late 90s, early 00s there was a marked difference between the politics between nations and the interactions between people. seems the new generations are not keeping it separate back on topic: haven't you watched the news the last year Dave? its a trap!

Photo Op

throwback thursday

Next Coupi's video.

SAC over Dhimar

Southern Voodoo

'I couldn’t tell where heavens stopped and the earth began'

Watashi wa kikoku shite imasu!!! (I'm returning home!!!)

Simple answer is I cheat! For dramatic effect the airfield pictures are from various missions I've recently flown in my new SF2: USMC install, and the queue of aircraft waiting for take-off is just from me choosing lots of different aircraft for my squadron in the single mission Load-out screen. Having said that, once I took off I sent everyone else home and flew the RAF C-130 to make a cargo drop close to a village near the Ethiopia-Sudan border, where I was shot at by AAA an on egress was engaged by a Sudanese MiG-29 which I dodged while two USMC F/A-18Cs came to my rescue and took him out. I didn't take any pictures of that mission after takeoff, so my mandatory screenies are a Force Recon insertion off a hostile coast in my SF2: USMC install (the Zodiac is a Groundobject from YAP Straits of Hormuz):

It was a crappy day to fly. I don't care if it's an all-weather interceptor...I'm a fair weather pilot kind of guy. Anyway, when the Frigates began to fire on the target I was closing on, I knew it wouldn't end well for him.