Caesar

ALCON, I'm going through and backing up my stuff today on my gaming rig after my laptop suffered hard drive failure last night (click, click, click, BEEEEEEEEEEEP!). Lost a few files on there that I don't recall if I had backups of. So, as a reminder, if you haven't recently, back up your stuff!

Well, its been a while, but since the release of SF2:NA, I figured it would be prudent to do a DACT mission with the ThirdWire F-14A. Anyone familiar with the TMF release will realize that the TW offering is a different beast, and has an especially slow roll rate at either slow speed or at beyond 1.0M, and takes slightly longer to build g. By model, it seems closer to the pre-Block 90 airframes produced before the OT&E process identified fixes that would need to be made in later blocks of the F-14, though it does have the maneuver flaps and slats of the Block 90 and beyond Tomcat. The opponent in this case was the MiG-29A Fulcrum. Because I've found the Fishbed and Flogger to be relatively easy to splash in single missions, and of little match in 1v1 engagements, I decided to test the TW Turkey against another Fourth Generation aircraft. It is not shocking that the Fulcrum is not an easy opponent to defeat, but it is far from impossible, even for the underpowered "A-minus" Tomcat. Loadouts F-14A Tomcat: 4x AIM-9M, gun, no tanks, 75% fuel MiG-29A Fulcrum: 4x AA-8, gun, no tanks, 100% fuel This fight started as a typical two-circle engagement, which took the F-14 a second to get into the turn as I had to slow it enough to get the spoilers out. Rather than trying to load 8-9g and go for a straight nose-on face-shot with heaters (especially with the November+ level), I put about a 6g turn on the jet to keep my energy around 400KIAS. The MiG was going to get nose-on first, but he was unable to get a shot off. As we passed, I was a little lower on energy than anticipated, having allowed the "g" to build slightly in the turn. As we passed, I pressed into pure vertical in hopes to be able to shoot the MiG in the tail as he turned horizontally. The F-14's anemic TF-30's didn't keep the power up well, and I dropped flaps at the apex of my loop to try to force the nose around more quickly. It took a minute for the flaps to catch, and both the MiG and I were getting nose-on at nearly the same time again. I was at about 25k feet at this point. As before we passed each other without taking a shot. The MiG pulled into me, and I rudder rolled the Tomcat into the MiG's plane of turn, while pulling on the stick. What ensued was a descending flat scissors that lasted about four iterations. After the second iteration, I pulled a bit on the stick to add a vertical and rolling aspect to the scissors. We broke through 18k feet and I was beginning to see an advantage. By the third iteration and at about 16k feet, I was at a distinct advantage, and as the MiG pulled into me for the fourth, I was very slightly off of nose-on for a shot. The MiG took this opportunity to try to run, diving for the deck and tapping burner, but with only about 30 degrees of turn left, flaps down, I got nose-on the MiG. Knowing how effective the flares are, I sent all four of my AIM-9's in the Fulcrum's direction. Two of the heaters hit their mark, and the MiG caught fire. Knowing that the AI rarely stays alight, I pursued, raised my flaps, and noticed that the MiG had put itself out. Unfortunately for him, his fuselage was shredded and his left engine was non functional. The MiG pulled hard right to try to shake me, but I had the energy to follow his turn. He stopped, did a hard negative-g push, then rolled left. At this point I sent a burst of gun fire in the Fulcrum's direction. The burst hit, taking more parts of the MiG, but failing to kill him. With the MiG listing left, I sent a second burst of fire in his direction and destroyed the Fulcrum. Takeaways and general impressions: The new TW F-14A handles quite well at between 320 and 450 KIAS in terms of roll rate and pitch. Generally, the aircraft will sustain 5-7g in this region at 10k feet or below (and about 53,000lbs) or 4.5-6g at 15-20k feet. At 400 KIAS+ the TW F-14A will pitch hard if you put the stick in your lap and peg the accelerometer in a better than 10g, fast energy-burning turn. To improve roll rate, the best thing to do is to use your rudders, and at slow speeds, to snap roll the aircraft by using rudder opposite lateral stick. Don't let the jet above ~.95M in a fight, or the spoilers will lock down and heavily decrease roll rate. I've also noticed that using the flaps (as with the TMF Tomcat, but perhaps more so) can get the TW F-14A to curl inside of its opponent and either deny a shot, or land a position of advantage that the opponent did not think would open. In other DACTs against the MiG-29, I've found that in a tight turning fight, using the "Big Boys" (flaps) at very slow speeds can repeatedly deny the MiG a firing solution from a position of advantage, and counter to put my F-14 behind the MiG, but at such slow speed, the low roll rate is a heavy disadvantage for the F-14 and takes a bit of thought and skill to overcome, but I can say that after 5 DACTs against the Fulcrum, I've managed to get the better of it every time in the Tomcat. In the end, even with its disadvantages, I've found the ThirdWire F-14A Tomcat to be more than able to hold its own in a dogfight even against newer opponents. Good hunting!

Four Up Three Down (one miss) Headed Home Any Fulcrum, Baby!

Flew a set of missions, and I have to say I feel I spent my money well. Engaging multiple targets with the AWG-9 is something I've missed for a long time (yes, I still run Fleet Defender thru DOSBox, but having that capability in a modern sim, even if somewhat simplified, is so satisfying). The F-14 does feel a bit sluggish, and the roll rate seems low (you can get a higher roll rate by snap-rolling the aircraft, i.e. rudder opposite stick), but what I like (apart from the carrier ops/F-14) are the possibilities this sim has opened up for current and future mods. One of the biggest aspects IS the multi-target engagement. Current-gen aircraft with AMRAAM and advanced radar can engage multiple targets at once, and the possibility of adding this capability to aircraft like the F-22, F-35, or current 4.5 generation variants of the F/A-18 and F-16 has now been opened. The swing-wing, even if nothing more than visual, has been modeled and could feasibly be applied to mods like the Tornado, Fitter and Aardvark. There are still bugs, yes, but I like what I see so far. ...and knocking three Badgers out of the air at once was so friggin' awesome!

The screen is the pilot's Horizontal Situation Display in TID repeat mode (it shows what the RIO is looking at on his Tactical Information Display).

I go away for two days and SF2:NA gets released. Grabbing it right now; seems like some bugs still need to be ironed out from what I've read here, but I'm looking forward to multi-target intercepts!

That is the case (mentioned earlier). From NATOPS: "The MDIG provides the pilot and RIO with navigation, tactical, or ECM data in alphanumeric and symbolic form. The MDIG is composed of the pilot’s horizontal situation display, the RIO’s electronic countermeasures display and a processor. The HSD displays all three types of data but the ECMD is capable of displaying only navigation and ECM data. The HSD and ECMD can simultaneously display the same data or each can present different data. However, when both indicators operate in the navigation mode and any one of four submodes, they display data for the same submode." The HSD had multiple modes, to include TID Repeat (radar), ECM display, and navigation. Though I do wonder which of these (or all?) TK implemented?

I think the biggest thing I've noticed about the pit are the lack of the ECM Warning and Approach lights on the left and right front canopy frame. The lack of the pilot's RHAW display is accurate for the F-14A; To display ECM data, the pilot must view it on his Horizontal Situation Display (where you see the "radar" or TID Repeat in the screen shots), while the RIO can set his Multiple Display Indicator Group to ECM mode.

Stingray, The Tomcat wasn't designed, nor was it pigeonholed as an interceptor. When it was built, there was no concept for a light fighter, nor an alternative, and the plane itself was intended to be able to meet and defeat any opposing fighter even in gun range. A lot of this "interceptor" garbage was started by the Hornet community in the mid-late 1980's, and belie the aircraft's function (RAdm Gillcrist points this out on myriad occasions in his book on the airframe - many times in attempts to get funding away from the Tomcat and into the Hornet). Not only that, but the F-14 was a damn fine bomber, and could bring more bombs further, and/or loiter over the target longer, than any model of the Hornet. Its high internal fuel capacity and two-seat configuration made it highly desirable in the FAC(A) role. It wound up being a highly capable multi-role platform at the end of its life. I will agree, however, that the Hornet is less expensive, less maintenance intense, and does have various armaments for more specialized missions, to include Maverick, HARM and Harpoon missiles, which the Tomcat never employed. There were plans for an advanced strike variant of the F-14, but it, and derivative designs, were deemed too expensive to produce (ST-21, AST-21 and ASF-14) - so with regard to the original question (based upon translation) there's the possibility it COULD have been done, and indeed there were plans for an advanced Tomcat with a bunch of new gizmos, but we couldn't support the price tag!

OK, it's been a bit since my last DACT report. This one is one I've done something similar to before, F-14D vs. Su-27 Flanker-B (last time was an F-14B, IIRC), but this is the first time I've done it with the new F-14D from the Tomcat Super Pack. I also realized that with some of the modifications I've been using, I need to fix the Soviet loadouts, since the Flanker showed up without anything but guns. That said, based upon how the fight played out, I doubt he'd have ever taken a shot with his missiles, and in trade, his jet was in "clean" configuration - perfect for guns. Total fight time: 1 minute. Loadouts: F-14D Super Tomcat: 4x AIM-9M, guns, 75% internal fuel ("The Fighter") Su-27 Flanker-B: Guns, 100% internal fuel ("The Bandit") (When I started the fight, I figured "OK, this is gonna be tough.") The Fighter pulled hard into the Flanker, nose-low initially, and padlocked its opponent. The Fighter had about 8.5g on the aircraft and the Fighter then noticed the Bandit had no missiles as the Fighter turned into the Bandit. (I then thought "nevermind, this is gonna be easy!" Erm...nope, but it was quick!) The Fighter began to bring the nose high, but then noticed the Bandit had managed to get inside of its circle already, trying to get nose on for a snapshot gun attack. The Fighter was still below the Bandit a bit, with about 20 more degrees to go to threaten him. The Bandit would get first shot, so the Fighter rolled low, to try to pull under him where he couldn't see the Fighter. That didn't work, and the Bandit rolled on its back to try for the shot, so the Fighter put the Flanker onto its 3/9 line during the dive to provide a smaller target, still about 3/4 of a mile away. Since the Fighter could see this wasn't going to work, it rolled back into the Flanker in an attempt to pass under him before he could get a firing solution. As the Fighter pulled, the F-14 built through 5, then 6.5g as the Bandit performed a Split-S to get on the Fighter's tail, but it seems the Bandit pulled too hard in an effort to get a snap shot, burnt too much energy and the Fighter rocketed through the vertical as the g and speed bled off. This began a sloppy rolling scissors. The Flanker began pulling up, but didn't have the energy to threaten the Fighter, while the Fighter didn't have enough energy to pull through the vertical plain fast enough for a Sidewinder shot. The Fighter came low as the Bandit came high, working the rudders to try for that heater shot. The Fighter couldn't get it, and the second iteration of the scissors began. The Flanker's superior alpha again almost landed the Bandit a snap shot, but the Bandit still had too little energy as the Fighter came up through the loop. This time, the Bandit had completely burned his energy and was trying to get the jet's nose around without any smack to work with. As the Fighter reached the top of the loop, it dropped flaps to get the nose to curl around more quickly, and it did so. The Fighter got tone at about 1 mile and sent a pair of AIM-9's the Bandit's way. The November patch said "no" and the heaters took the flares, in spite of the fact that the Bandit was residing damn near under its flares, so the Fighter sent another pair out at probably 2500 feet. Flares again. On the plus side, the Flanker was now right on the Super Tomcat's nose, and the Fighter selected gun. Selecting VSL_Hi, but before the APG-71 could lock, the Fighter took a snap-shot and put a stream in front of the Flanker. The Fighter just missed a bit too far forward, so the Fighter adjusted angles and the radar spotted the bandit and locked. About a second later at a range of .3 miles, the Fighter sent a second stream through the Bandit, which caught fire and began a flat spin to the ground. Takeaways: It is pretty amazing that from start to finish the fight took place in 1 minute, but as illustrated in my various fights in the F-14B, and as EricJ has stated, getting into an energy circle with a Flanker is a great way to either stalemate or loose. In this case, luck was in my favor at the start, that I noticed the Flanker had begun to get nose-on first, so instinctively, I reacted by pressing vertically trying to lower my profile for the Flanker's gun solution, and this in turn resulted in a vertical/rolling scissors fight that I won. In large regard, this is because the Flanker pilot seemed intent on using his better slow-speed handling, and did so to such an effect, that he burned energy necessary to keep himself fighting when the vertical plain was put against him. I don't believe my Tomcat ever got below 200KIAS, perhaps only after the second loop of the scissors when I dropped flaps, which allowed me enough power to press vertical, and capitalize on my positions of advantage. The Flanker did get close to nose on, on three occasions, but never close enough for a shot. Kill shot Flat Spin

Happy Birthday!

Ralch; For the F-14 Tomcat Super Pack http://combatace.com/files/file/12327-tmf-f-14-tomcat-superpack/

Happy Birthday, Jon!

...Meanwhile, at 120,000feet and Mach 5... Endgame No kill like a guns kill on a Flanker! Diamondbacks, Baby!

That is just awesome, Ravenclaw!

I'd say with confidence an IRIAF F-14 will probably be horrendously mauled by any current USN, USAF or USMC frame in inventory. The thing is, that entire Western inventory, we know what the planes are, how old they are, how to beat them, and know they've been without any help from the West since we broke ties with them (as Warthog stated). From that, we can extract that those even able of flying probably aren't fully mission capable to begin with. So, their F-4, F-5, F-14 aircraft should probably be brushed aside pretty damn quick if something were to happen.

Both. The CFTs on the F-15E were available for the F-15C just as they are in game, but I rarely see footage of them installed on the C; I wasn't sure if you were flying with those on or not. They add more than 10,600 pounds to the basic airframe (with fuel), so your Eagle isn't going to be as nimble with them as without 'em. It will fly really friggin' far, though!

Yeah....I don't see this working well for them, nor their Tigers, Tomcats, Phantoms or even Fulcrums.

How much gas you got in the bird? The F-15, especially with FAST packs can carry a lot of gas, which equates to a lot of weight, and that's gonna tax your performance (in exchange for range). At the merge, I try to have about 60% or as close to that as possible. EDIT: IIRC, the F-15's best corner velocity was around 385KIAS back in the days of the F-15A (probably also thanks to its lower g-limit). With 9g avail, it might be a bit higher, but 900 kph IAS is close to 500 KIAS, and that's a bit fast for hard turns (you got the g, but not the rate).

Merry Christmas, all!

Happy Birthday!

For your situational awareness: http://www.cnn.com/2011/12/18/world/asia/north-korea-leader-dead/?hpt=hp_t1

Diamondback 100 loaded for Bear (or Backfire, or Blackjack, for that matter!) Devil 101 firing a Sparrow before hitting the merge Viper over the Desert

Concur with previous comments. Would have been cool to see it early, but if that meant cutting parts, that's not good. Will gladly wait to see the product completed as intended!