Caesar

EricJ, I think you give me too much credit in energy management; I know the Tomcat well, but last time I tried to dig it out with a MiG-21 in the F-4, it took about 7 minutes to get the kill, only after the MiG shot both missiles and expended its guns in a firing position for most of the fight. Hell, you splashed a Fishbed in a Thud! Got a lot more skill than you give yerself credit for! Okay, this will be my last set of DACT reports for the next month and a half, as I've got a long TDY coming up. I figured they had better be good! (Might have inputs, but no missions) So, we've got 2 1v2's in the F-14B, first against the F/A-18F Super Bug, second against the MiG-31BM Foxhound, and the piece de' resistance (no, I can't write in French) the Tornado F3 vs. the MiG-29A Fulcrum. Let's get started. DACT: F-14B Tomcat vs 2x F/A-18F Super Hornet Loadouts: F-14B: 4x AIM-9M, 2x AIM-7M, gun, 100% fuel, no tanks F/A-18F: 2x AIM-9X, 4x AIM-120C, gun, 100% fuel, no tanks Knowing that the F/A-18F is heavier than the legacy Hornet, I knew my main advantage would be in the power region, while the Super Bug would be able to point its nose better (this almost cost me the fight). Fight started at 18,000 feet, I pulled into the Super Bugs generating my typical one-circle sustained turning fight. Initially we were turning at about the same rate until I got my Turkey down to 450 KIAS. I plug the burner in here to sustain about a 9g turn and a good sustained turn rate. Super Bug #2 is turning with the lead for the first 10 seconds of the fight, but when I visually target him (simultaneously getting behind his 3/9 line), he immediately breaks away from the turn to do the same damn bait and trap that I've become accustomed to seeing. okay, the Super Bug is one of the better turners out there, so if I shoot at the bait, I'll have to be watching my own six like a hawk. Screw him, I'm shooting. I get nose on, FOX 2, followed by FOX 1! I hear an initial explosion as I check six, to see Super Bug #1 getting to my 5 o'clock position, but his nose is not threatening me. Turn back to Super Bug #2 and see a second explosion. The first cause the plane to come out of control, the second just sealed the deal, crew punching out shortly thereafter. Checking my six during missile time of flight Okay, time to have the Iron Works bird press its limits. Pull hard into Super Bug #2 since he's starting to get nose on, and has 2 AIM-9X. He can't get nose low fast enough and doesn't take a shot as we rocket past each other. We got into a one-circle and the Turkey Beast is spitting out thrust like, well, a beast. I'm accelerating through my turn and in the process making a stupid mistake: the F-14B doesn't have glove vanes to unload the horizontal tail! I'm at no-sh*t 1.3M and accelerating through an 8g descending turn, but the Beast's turn rate is dying (I'm going too fast, and widening my turn), and I can see the Super Bug getting his nose around fast! Uh oh. Cut throttles, sustain turn, he's nose-on, but if he shoots, the 'winder will go flying off the rails well away from my Turkey Beast. As my energy bleeds to a more managable mach number, the Super Bug starts getting further away. He pulls hard into me, bleeding speed, nose low, X-RAY INBOUND! I'm turning fast with no blower, and drop flares like a mad man (probably expend ten of the suckers). X-RAY doesn't make the corner and crashes into the desert floor. Back to sustaining at about 450KIAS at 9g, letting off every little bit to keep from loosing the target due to black out. My energy management gets my nose behind his 3/9 line, and he isn't sustaining energy like me. In a few seconds, he reverses, allowing me to pull up and into him for a HOBS shot, when he turns back into my turn. FOX 2! First Mike is fooled, but I've still got energy to burn and have between 6.5 and 7.5g available at my current speed. Blower in, Bug is jinking, but I've got the energy to prevent him from getting away. FOX 2 again! This one is not fooled, in spite of the Bug's turn and flares, damaging the port side of the airplane, and knocking out his port engine. He's mine. Close and the Super Bug is out of useful energy. Guns, kill, fight's over. Takeaways: If I had the EPE mod, this fight might have gone more like the F-16's, but as it stands, the Super Bug wasn't a super tough opponent. Its got tricks up its sleeve, and the AI handles it far better than an F-14 or F-15, but unless it were EricJ in the cockpit, I had overall little to worry about. Did not forget, however, to treat the plane with respect, knowing it had better instantaneous turn rate and the X-Ray Sidewinder to employ against me. Also, its Phased Array (a technology I am quite familiar with for big radars) was giving me warnings even during the first one-turn sustained turn of the fight, but the nose was nowhere near me, so I ignored it. Next fight! F-14B Tomcat vs. 2x MiG-31BM Foxhounds Loadouts: F-14B: 4x AIM-54C ECCM, 4x AIM-9M, gun, 100% fuel, no tanks MiG-31BM: 4x AA-9, 4x AA-8, gun, 100% fuel, no tanks This one went faster than either the F-15C or F-14B fights. Suffice to say that unlike the Tomcat, the Foxhound is an interceptor, not a fighter. As you can see from my loadouts, I tried to make it a bit more even by loading up 4x AIM-54C ECCM/Sealed Phoenix between the engine nacells, for the first time in DACT making the "pancake" dirty and generating 443sqft less of lift. One-circle hard turn into the Foxhounds, and...well, it's not even close, I get nose on while they're still pointing tangent to me. Select Sidewinder, get tone on the lower Foxhound, FOX 2, then the seeker skips to the higher Foxhound, FOX 2 again! Why not? Lo and behold, Sidewinder #1 hits and kills Foxhound #1, Sidewinder #2 misses Foxhound #2, FOX 2 again, hit, no kill. Close, gun, game over. Fight's over in about 35-45 seconds. Takeaways: Foxhound don't handle well WVR! And finally... Tornado F3 vs. MiG-29A Fulcrum (1v1) Loadouts: Tornado: 4x AIM-9M, 4x Skyflash, gun, 100% fuel, no tanks Fulcrum: 2x AA-10A, 2x AA-8C, gun, 100% fuel, no tanks Okay, this one was overall the most difficult, but confirms for me that the Tornado can hold its own if you fly it right. It best performs at about .8M (450 or so KIAS) at low altitudes. With its blowers engaged, it can sustain this speed extremely well, and I found it was able to fight even the nimble Fulcrum. Fight starts with my one-circle, but I'm going too fast, and at higher altitudes (20,000 feet in this case) the Tornado doesn't turn well at all. I'm getting about 4.8g out of my turn, so I know I've got to slow down. I'm getting warnings on my RHAW gear - the Fulcrum is getting his nose around. I had the feeling this would be a short fight...but wait, the Tornado is picking up turn rate and "g"! Fulcrum hasn't shot yet, and I'm starting to get away! Woooooo! (Think Ric Flair) I start a descending one-turn, and being gaining "g" and turn rate even more than before. In fact, I'm gaining on the Fulcrum! I begin to pitch the nose up since the blowers are sustaining the turn so well, and, holy hell, there's the Sidewinder tone! I'm way too far off-boresight for a chance, but it's quite reassuring to know I'm on the offensive. The Fulcrum is starting to pull away from me, and I'm at about 7.5g, so I know he's pulling on his stick harder to get my nose off of his tail. He's going high, I'm a little low, and curl inside of him again as he transitions low in the continuing one-circle. Nose-on, FOX 2! Well, I felt it didn't have much a chance, but might make the Fulcrum change his direction. Nope, the Mike went waaaay off target. We continue our one-turn. The Tornado is still performing very well, especially now that we're down in the 5k feet region. I get nose on again, FOX 2! Miss again, but the Fulcrum has to deploy flares and adjust his turn, allowing me to get nose-on. I'm on the Fulcrum's six! Too bad I black out at the last second during the pull and have no idea where my pipper is pointing! I have to unload and can see I'm about to overshoot. High G Barrel Roll! No good, he's getting away, but wait, I've still got enough energy! I pull the little swing-wing plane into the harshest turn I can to try to get another shot on the Fulcrum. I get inside his turn, and get just off-boresight (not HOBS, maybe 5 degrees or so). Perfect, he reverses for some reason, so I roll with him. I'm nose up, but still have tone, FOX 2 and FOX 2 again! This might be the only chance I got. Mike #3 scores a hit to his tail end, Mike #4 misses. It doesn't matter, he's out of control and the pilot bails. The Tornado has just bested the Fulcrum. Took this shot with game info to show KIAS Fulcrum down! Takeaways: The Tornado is a little beast down low, but of course in a battle or wartime situation, I wouldn't be able to get that low, unless it was over friendly territory, since I'd have small arms, AAA and SAM fire coming up to kill me as I tried to fight the Fulcrum. The majority of this fight was a heavily prolonged one-circle. Literally, I think I was pretty much turning left the entire time, up until the low altitude hard pull onto the Fulcrum's six o'clock that resulted in my high-g barrel roll to not overshoot, it was the same one-circle from the start! As always, it is deadly to underestimate your opponent, and the Tornado, which I had so easily shot down in my A-Minus Tomcat was able to best the Fulcrum. Well done, ol' chap!

FEAR THE SLUF!

Okay, got three DACT reports, 2x 1v2's, 1x 1v1. First fight: F-14B Tomcat vs. 2x F-15C Eagles Loadouts: F-14: 4x AIM-7M, 4x AIM-9M, gun, 100% fuel, no tanks F-15: 4x AIM-7M, 4x AIM-9M, gun, 100% fuel, no tanks This fight was a joke, and reinforces my belief that the AI cannot handle large fighters. Start with a one-circle fight at about 7g sustained turn at 18,000 feet. At first, both Eagles are pulling into me, then, as I get aft of their 3/9 line, like what the Floggers, Phantoms, and EricJ's Tomcats did, they split, one bait, one circling around. Well, I shot at the bait, knowing the Eagle can't turn like the Viper, but I'm still checking on him during missile time of flight, since I know he can turn faster than the F-4 and MiG-23. First missile misses, bait is still on nose, FOX 2 again, and good hit. Eagle 2 disengages and heads for home. I can't finish him off yet, because I've got the RHAW gear going off. Pull into F-15 #2 who is about 3 miles behind me. We get into a one-circle, which I pull inside of the Eagle again, FOX 2, good kill. Now, time to chase down the bait. In effect, the fight was over in about a minute and a half. So, Eagle 2 is running, not maneuvering, FOX 1 at 6 miles astern. Missile goes stupid. Okay, FOX 1 again. Missile goes stupid. WTFO? FOX 1 again! Missile rocket motor fails. FOX 1 #4, missile guides, Eagle drops chaff, doesn't even maneuver and the missile goes stupid. I want a refund! Close, FOX 2! This has gotta work. Missile goes stupid (Eagle doesn't even eject flares). Wow. Well, I had hoped I'd just end the fight, but SIX missiles just went dumb on me! Close, easy line up, guns and Eagle detonates off my nose. Takeaways: AI can't handle F-15's very well. Fight #2, F-14B Tomcat vs. 2x F-14B Tomcats Loadouts: All: 4x AIM-7M, 4x AIM-9M, gun, 100% fuel, no tanks This one would have taken equal time in the actual engagement if the F-14B didn't have similar maneuvering characteristics to the...uh...F-14B. Suffice to say the AI is not aggressive with the aircraft and again, does not handle the plane well. One circle, that results in the same maneuvers as the one against the F-15s. Shoot bait in the tail, killing him. One circle ensues with #2, but we're at similar energy, so energy dies down. I'm a little higher, but a little slower, so he initially is on my nose, not good enough for a shot, and be begin a descending one-circle. I let up a bit to gain a little energy and press a bit more aggressively to get behind the enemy Turkey's 3/9 line. I curl inside of him, but end up too close for missiles. Switch to guns, have him on my nose, but he's got a bit more energy, which he burns by dolphining the airplane (WTFO?) I'm catching up, but wind up miscalculating the Vc and nearly overshoot, pulling into a tight high, then low yo-yo. Not gonna let a stupid mistake like that kill me! Pull a bit more aggressively back into him to get inside his turn, and he is again separating. Screw it, FOX 2! He was right on the nose as he tried to run, resulting in two very hot GE engine nozzles providing a perfect shot for the Sidewinder. Hit, good kill. Takeaways: AI also can't handle F-14B's very well. Fight #3, Tornado F-3 vs. F-15C Eagle Loadouts: Tornado F-3: 4x Sky Flash, 4x AIM-9M, gun, 100% fuel, no tanks F-15C: 4x AIM-7M, 4x AIM-9M, gun, 100% fuel, no tanks This fight was a bit more of a concern for me, since I was not familiar with the Tornado, and also knew it didn't have the wing loading, nor the thrust of the F-15. I also don't know where the Tornado gets the best performance, where to corner, etc. Things I do know: Fight the F-15 at low altitude, maintain energy to keep it neutral till I can make calculated burns to figure out where the most "g" is at. So, fight starts as a one circle, but it is not neutral, nor advantageous like in the F-14. Indeed, the Eagle begins to get behind MY 3/9 line. This is not good. I see I'm pulling about 6.2g at 18,000 feet, full blower at 1.02M. Either I need more speed, or less speed, and I'm guessing less, and less altitude. Cut blower and nose down into the one-circle descending turn. F-15 is loosing his edge and the fight is becoming neutral as the Tornado's control surfaces start gaining more authority at lower altitudes. G is building to 7 and the plane is beginning to drop in speed to about .9M. Okay, so now I'm getting the turn rate I need. I'm also starting to black out. Unload for a second or two, then resume. All right, now we're talking. 8.5g at .83M, need to sustain here. Blower, sustain turn and we pass by each other as the turn becomes more ovoid. I took a shot with an AIM-9 as I initially had nose-on for a second, in the Eagle's plane of turn, but it missed and the fight continued with me going low to sustain energy and my turn. The F-15 is higher than me, but I've figured out where I need to be. Pull up into him from about 5,000 feet, get nose on, but not enough, and the F-15 pulls back into me. I pull up and hit the rudder to initiate a rolling scissors, which begins to flatten into a 45-degree nose-up flat horizontal scissors. I get behind the F-15 in the first iteration, he just barely gets behind me during the second, but is too high to do anything, so I cut the engine, drop flaps and get to a neutral position above him, coming down. The F-15 continues to pull away in a turn, rather than try to nose-up to shoot at me, and goes for separation. Flaps in, Blower engaged, pull into the F-15. The real problem with trying to run from an AIM-9M or later is that it is hard to outrun, especially if you time your bugout poorly. In this case, I already had my nose pointing in the general direction of the F-15, so when he tried to bug to gain some separation, it didn't take long to get him within firing parameters. Nose on, he begins to reverse his turn left, FOX 2! He deploys flares, but they don't help. Good hit, good kill! Takeaways: The Tornado, when handled well, can take on more powerful opponents, but let me caveat this by again repeating that the AI doesn't handle bigger fighters well in a dogfight. What I might try to do is take on either the MiG-29 or F/A-18 in the Tornado at a later time to get a better idea of how it takes on tougher opponents. In the end, the Tornado did prove that putting the jet in the right place in the envelope can give it the advantage it needs to succeed.

Two fights today in the F-14B Tomcat DACT 1v2 vs. F-4EJ Kai Phantom II Loadouts: F-14B: 4x AIM-7M, 4x AIM-9M, gun, 100% fuel, no tanks F-4EJ Kai: 4x AIM-7F, 4x AIM-9P, gun, 100% fuel, no tanks Fight started neutral, with the Phantoms doing the same thing that the Floggers had the previous fight. Initially starting with a one-circle, I pulled a sustained 7g turn into the Phantoms and was getting inside them quickly. Rhino #2 goes straight out as Rhino #1 begins a turn onto my tail. I know it is going to take him a while, and also noticed he had AIM-9P's, so he would be limited to rear-aspect shots. I was now on Rhino #2's tail, just over 3 miles away, FOX 1! Rhino #2 lists lazily to the left and deploys chaff, defeating the Sparrow. Sheesh (it even began tracking this time!) Here, I check to see where #1 is: still making his turn. So, I close to 2 miles on #2, and he's traveling perpendicular to me, but he's right in the heart of the AIM-9M envelope, FOX 2! This one guides proper and detonates, setting the Phantom on fire. I start getting RHAW gear warnings, so I know Rhino #1 is getting nose-on. Defensive pull into #1, initially probably an 8g turn, just to deny the Sidewinder, even though if he's going to shoot at me now, it'll be with a Sparrow. As I performed my defensive break, I pulled low, and the Phantom began to roll to get his nose on. By the time he is anywhere near me, I'm already within minimum range. I pull hard into the vertical and the Phantom increases his horizontal turn. I come down on him, after loosing some speed. I'm gaining energy and manage a 6.5g turn after leveling off, finding myself directly on his tail. The Rhino reverses, then flies predictably straight (real life, he wouldn't be able to see me where I was). Perfect gun line up, fire a short burst and the Rhino detonates in front of me. DACT 1v2 vs. F-16A Blk 15 Fighting Falcon Loadouts: F-14B: 4x AIM-7M, 4x AIM-9M, gun, 100% fuel, no tanks F-16A: 4x AIM-9M, gun, 100% fuel, no tanks I didn't get many pictures (other than kill shots) because I was too busy flying the plane for this fight. This was one of the longest most frustrating fights I've ever been in. Killing the first F-16 wasn't much of a chore; started the fight in a one-circle to sustain turn rate, and then pulled inside of trailer, unloading and loosing 2 AIM-9M, in case the first failed. The first guided and killed Viper #2. Viper #1, unlike the Phantom or Flogger, was coming around fast, and I knew I would be in a bad place if I didn't counter quick. Pulled vertical to try to get my nose on first, but this resulted in neither fighter with a firing solution. We corkscrewed down to the deck, where I dropped flaps. Turn rates were entirely equal, but the Viper pressed vertical a bit to try to come down on me. I stayed in the turn, figuring he'd have to have burnt some energy, maybe I can get inside; nope, he can't get his nose on fast enough for a shot, I can't either. The fight went like this for a bit, until I decided, when our noses were pointing away from each other, to try to get some space to pull back and try an AIM-7 shot. I have to perform moderate g pulls to keep the Viper away from my tail, but he's getting nose on and will be within firing parameters soon. Rather, I put the Iron Works bird into about a 10g turn, to get the fight neutral again. I'm gonna owe the airframers a keggar after this! Fight goes neutral, then we both burn our energy again and back into a one-circle fight. Great. So this continues again for a while, with the Viper going vertical every once in a while for a botched attempt at nose-on, and I'm letting my turn die down to regain some energy so I can actually do something. By this point I've burnt my fuel down to 50%. We're still neutral, but I've at least got some energy to burn, so I pull more aggressively into the Viper, as I now had more energy than him, and at this speed, meant I had a better turn rate. After another push into the vertical, I get nose-on the Viper first. FOX 2! Flares fool it. Dammit. Pull into him, HOBS FOX 2! Miss. Now I've ONLY got Sparrows and a gun. BUT! The Viper had to pull away from me to get the missile to miss! I'm at about 40% fuel now and have to make my move. I yank into him and get the guy on the nose. Snap shot with guns, miss. I gotta get him to do something. FOX 1! (I know it has no chance, but maybe I can get a rise outta him.) Nothing. FOX 1 again! Chaff, and leveling maneuver. Pull up, snap shot guns, nope. He's turning, FOX 1 three and four. Nothing, as expected, but he's leveled a bit and I've got the energy advantage. I'm close though, and will probably overshoot. Pull for all I'm worth, nose on, nose above, unload GUNS! In a stream of 233 20mm rounds, seven are able to get hits - including to the cockpit. F-16 noses down, without rudder, damage to port wing, and no pilot. He's dead. Total fight time: 10 minutes, 33 seconds. I've got 3200 pounds of gas. Looking at my Turkey -1B manual; max loiter the plane back and I could get to base, but figure divert to a closer friendly installment. Takeaways: The F-16 is a tough opponent, especially when armed with face-shooters, since you have to deny it nose-on from any aspect. It has the power to get itself out of a slow-speed situation, and will pop out of a rolling scissors pretty easily. Fighting it in close requires you to beat the hell out of its energy, get in flaps, and not allow the Viper to regain its energy. During the Viper's press into the vertical and return, I had initiated a rolling scissors twice (coming up with him coming down), which lasted for about two iterations. In the second instance, I almost had nose-on, and had a tone going in my ears, but it was a HOBS shot, and too close. Just outside of gun parameters, the fight degraded to a one-circle again because the Viper picked up the speed and got away. In all instances but one when I tried for the super slow speed fight, I was gaining the advantage on the Viper. The F-16 has proven more troublesome for me than a lot of other planes I've fought in 1v1, and in 1v2, it quickly became 1v1, only this time, the Viper driver didn't become a Lawn Dart (har-de-har-har, for anyone who gets it). Having fought against the F-16 before, I can say that in a two-circle, nose-on at similar times can only be achieved if you sustain about an 8.5-9g turn in the F-14 at 425KIAS against the F-16 doing an 8.5-9g turn at similar speed. If you are too fast, you won't make the corner and the F-16 will get the first shot. Too slow, and you won't have any energy to maneuver if the F-16 takes a shot after you get nose on (he'll complete his turn a second or two later). The usual result is that both the F-14 and F-16 shoot each other in the face with an AIM-9. Going for guns at this point (nose-on) is stupid in a Tomcat, due to its comparative size to the F-16. Like the Polecat, the better place to mix it up with an F-16 that doesn't run out of gas (AI limitation) is from a distance. Although the plane can be beat, the fight is tough and unforgiving, most of the time resulting in an energy management battle to keep neutral, or super-slow fighting using rudder, flaps, any and every advantage available to you. Quite a bit different than taking on the Phantom! Any Time, Baby!

Just really had to shoot something down today. Two sets of fights, first was a 3-round in the F-14B vs. F/A-18C, second was a 1v2 against MiG-23MLD Floggers. The F/A-18C might be lighter than the Tomcat, and overall more maneuverable, but the Turkey Beast, showing its slow speed maneuverability again came out victorious. These fights were not as hard or drawn out as fighting either the Polecat or the Viper. Out of the three fights, only once did the Hornet get a missile off, and it was way out of the envelope. In the first two fights, the Tomcat was loaded with 2x AIM-7M, 4x AIM-9M, gun, no tanks, but in the first fight I had 75% fuel, and second fight I had 100% fuel. Third fight removed the Sparrows, 100% fuel. In all fights, the F/A-18 had 2x AIM-7M, and 2x AIM-9M. First fight started as a sustained turning fight, or at least that was the plan. The Bug used its better instantaneous turn rate to get nose on before I got mine on him. As I pulled into the vertical, knowing my Tomcat had better thrust than the Bug, the Bug fired a 9-Mike at me. Not a chance, it passed by harmlessly. I continued through the loop, put my flaps down to get my nose around faster, and the Bug pulled into me. I did the exact same thing he did, firing my 9-Mikes too close, as I didn't expect him to pull into me as fast as he did. I fired 2 AIM-9M's at him. I looped back up again, and the Bug went horizontal. As I came down, the Bug went up into a high arcing turn, which I was able to get nose-on through again, but didn't want to risk a HOBS shot. We then went neutral, into a sustained slow-speed turn, but with my flaps down and the blowers engaged, I got inside of him. I had enough energy to get nose-on, then pulled through his turn to get lead. This let the Mike's seeker spot the Bug, gain tone, and let me shoot while I was unloading, so the Mike wouldn't go flying off the rails behind the Bug. Third missile guided true and hit the Bug at about center mass, causing the pilot to punch out. Second fight lasted a whole 28 seconds, where I elected to do a two circle and go for broke. I also loaded up 100% fuel so that I'd be heavier and burn energy faster, but the Bug is a flying speed-break. The Bug got nose on first, but he was high, and not in a firing position. I was low, nose-on about a second and a half later. As the Bug unloaded to try to get nose low, I fired three of the four Mikes on the Tomcat. I only needed the first, as it would turn out. The Bug took the shot to the face and detonated off of my nose and to the left. The remaining two Mikes went flying into the atmosphere. Third fight was very similar to the first, only it didn't take me as long to get a firing solution, we did a one-circle with the Bug getting the advantage initially, but not long enough for a shot. I pressed vertical immediately, the Bug went horizontal. I cut the blower, dropped flaps, and began to turn into the Bug as I exited the loop. Re-engaged the blowers and pulled inside of his turn, unloaded and fired, killing the Bug with the first heater. The 1v2 was kind of predictable. The MiG-23 (according to those who both flew it and flew against it) is best compared to the F-4 Phantom, in both maneuverability and weapon systems. It accelerates well, but requires skill in the phone booth, although the TW FM doesn't model its unpredictable departures at >13 units AoA. Suffice to say, this wasn't overtly difficult, but I did make some stupid decisions with my shots. Fight started neutral, and I pulled the Turkey Beast into the MiG-23MLD's. One of the Floggers pulled into my turn, then leveled straight, running from me as his wingman started what would be a one-circle to get on my tail. I took the bait, knowing it'd take the second flogger a while to actually get to my six. As the first one flew straight, I went to VSL-Hi (boresight) locked him and fired a Sparrow. I was outside Rmin, but the thing went stupid, so I fired a second, which also went stupid. Dammit, Raytheon! Okay, he's starting to break into me. Check on his wing man, who is STILL turning into me. Fire AIM-9M #1 at moderate off boresight (5-degrees about) - goes stupid. Fire AIM-9M#2, same thing. Wow, my missiles hate me today. I've still got time, as homeboy #2 still can't get his nose on. I yank into the Flogger's turn unload and fire Mike 3, which guides true and splashes the Flogger. Kill Shot, AIM-9M #3 Great, time to go defensive against this other Flogger. The Turkey Beast powers through the turn to bring us neutral, then about nose-on. I go vertical as the Flogger goes horizontal. I come out, and the Flogger is still turning. Of note is that I'm still heavy, toting about 15,000lbs of fuel, so my variable geometry isn't helping me as much as I'd like. The one-circle isn't going anywhere, so I press vertical again, dropping flaps as I reach the apex of the loop. Homeboy can't get around quick enough, and I'm getting nose-on. He presses through the turn, but I can't quite get on him, so I continue to fly vertical, going low this time. Flogger 2 is STILL turning! I've decided this guy isn't the wisest or most aggressive individual out there. The added energy of going nose-low gets my nose on pretty quick, and I get good tone, looking right up at the Flogger. Fox 2! Impact destroys the port wing and brings the second Flogger down. I ended the fight at 13,580 lbs of fuel. Takeaways: Against the Bug, the Turkey Beast fights pretty well, especially if you can get it slow. The Bug is a maneuverable little plane, but it can be outperformed. A single Flogger would be a joke against the Beast, but even with two, I was able to vary between mil power and burner enough that I got both of them while only expending less than 3K pounds of fuel. The fight might have been harder in the A-Minus, but the Fishbed was certainly the superior frame in a knife fight compared to the Flogger.

Would like to see some more members post their reports too!

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I don't agree. The Shuttle was the first step towards reusable orbiters, something that will be a necessity if we are to go out into space, or evolve space-based travel. In that regard, the Shuttle is anything BUT a dead-end street. Primary issue is money; yes, it is easier and cheaper to make a one-time-use capsule, but it is a rudimentary means to get to space, and is highly limited crew-wise. But it is questionable if the lack of an escape system would have helped with the shuttle disintegrating as it did. What is worse in my mind is that the whole Challenger Disaster could have been averted entirely if some people up top didn't rush to get it into space. After an 18-degree F night, and a 31-degree F launch, with a booster system with parts never intended to survive long in less than 40-degree F temperatures, one of the o-rings in the SRB's failed. They put the system outside of its effective limitations, launching on a cold day that the boosters o-rings weren't designed to handle. They launched out of the envelope, a ring failed, and part of the SRB acted like a torch on the fuel tank...the chain reaction started. Had they waited, or re-inspected the o-rings, scrubbed, and then launched within the performance parameters, that crew could be here today. Challenger was lost because of bad decision making and pushing its system beyond its design specifications. For that matter, people construct systems used without effective escape means all the time. Look at airliners. There's a hatch and some rafts, but consider, Challenger was lost during initial boost. What happens in an airliner if an engine catches fire after the plane is taking off? Try to shut it down, but lets say it detonates the wing (keep it Challenger-like). Do the passengers have ejection seats? Nope. They're all dead. The airplane will auger in, taking the crew and passengers with it. We're talking HUNDREDS of deaths, yet we all still fly on airliners. Is it criminal that airliners don't have escape systems for IFEs? And that example isn't far-fetched at all, heck, look what happened with the Concorde. The escape systems used before the shuttle were not designed to work if the rocket blew up. If we do press for a next-gen shuttle sometime in the future, I hope they do incorporate an ejection system, but still am not 100% sure it'd work well if the SRBs caused the tank to blow up again, taking most of the orbiter with it. Its all part of the risk.

Good luck!

Across a 30 year span, and over 130 missions, only 2 accidents, one of which can't even be attributed to the shuttle itself, that's a pretty damn good safety record if you ask me! I can't believe our generation's unwillingness to accept risk. Hell, before they launched John Glenn into orbit, they told him that the rocket they were launching him on wasn't the most reliable. At that time, unreliable meant "likely to explode during liftoff". Could you imagine if we told a shuttle or manned space flight crew that today? "Well, guys, this rocket blows up about 60% of the time. Good luck, and God Speed." Now, consider that we're strapping between 4 and 7 human beings to what is in essence a giant bomb with thousands of gallons of highly explosive fuel directed out of a few nozzles to put people into an environment they were never designed/evolved to endure, AND returning them through extreme heat and aerodynamic resistance, re-entering the Earth's atmosphere repeatedly, and then reusing the same orbiter that just endured such flight. For 30 years! To go through that and have only one orbiter fail during re-entry reflects very well on the Space Shuttle. Challenger's boosters failed, causing and explosion and then disintegration of the orbiter from excessive aerodynamic forces. I think the shuttle was a fine piece of equipment, and that we could have squeezed a few more years out of her.

Well, not entirely. The Turkey drivers and RIOs I've spoken to all agree the Tomcat's cockpit is roomy. Guys at 6' 4" could fit comfortably in the cockpit; by comparison to the A-4 and earlier F-8, which a lot of the bigger guys considered pretty cramped. One pilot even noted that is was good that the A-4's Escapac ejection seat had the lower handle as its primary, since it would have been impossible for him to get the face curtain over his head and maintain spinal alignment during punch out due to the Scooter's tiny pit!

How to kill zee "Polecat" in zee "Tomcat"? FLY SLOW! Beat the guy twice, and it was all from slow-speed maneuvering, though I would have had him the second time on fuel (he never came out of burner, and I did, AND I got more gas than him!) before I shot him in the face with an AIM-9M. Both fights took a good chunk of time to complete (4 and 5+ mins), and neither ended with a gun kill (tried first time, but it didn't work). In both fights, my Turkey Beast took 75% fuel, no tanks, clean pancake. First fight had 4x AIM-9X (bit of a cheat with the Turkey), second fight had 4x AIM-9M. The F-29A had 100% fuel, no tanks, 2x AIM-9M, 2x AIM-120A's. Both fighters had guns. The first fight, I had no plan to try a sustained fight - I wanted to get nose-on as fast as possible, so loaded 9g on the Turkey and cut the throttles. The Pole did the same thing, but he got nose-on at the same time I did. FOX 2, two times! Nope, neither guides. We passed by, and I went nose-high to try to do a loop to get nose-on. No good, he's turning too well. I follow him for a second, but as I level, he gets inside of my turn. Damn, I'm low on energy! Put the Big Boys (flaps) down! I hold on him for a second, but overshoot, and he gets onto my tail. I'm too close for him to shoot me with an AIM-9, so I pull pure vertical, knowing (realistically) he should loose any vortex lift he had, and will now have a far higher wing loading than me. Initially, he flies SLOWER than me! I pull into a verical loop, at about 90KIAS, the Beast's GE engines push me through, but the Pole is still behind me!? WTFO? Okay, start popping flares, since he's getting nose-on and he shoots a FOX 2 at me! No chance, seeker head probably didn't even see me at the angle he was at. The other thing I noticed is that he's working the hell outta his rudder to try to keep his nose on me. As I come down and back up from the loop, I know he can't sustain a slow speed fight, so I go nose-high again, cut engines, and homeboy comes onto my tail again. I cut engines to make it hard to stay on my six. He's loosing energy and can't keep the nose on with rudder. Plug the burner in nose straight up, and the Polecat can't sustain the slow speed fight. Combined with a pitch-moment-coupling maneuver, the Polecat gets spat out, and tries to pull away in a turn. Damn, not sure if I can turn with him. Recover the Tomcat and, as it would turn out, easily pull inside of his turn. Fired AIM-9X three, and it misses, of course, so I say hell with the angle-off shot, I'm getting direct nose-on, 0-degrees off boresight. The Tomcat with the flaps down can pitch its nose damn well, and the Polecat can't escape. Heart of the X-Ray envelope, FOX 2, good hit. He's not dead, but he enters a flat-spin. Fully develops, and the pilot bails at about 2000 feet above the desert floor. Polecat in a flat spin, headed to the desert floor Second fight, I did proper with AIM-9M's. This one started at a sustained 8.5g, 450KIAS turning downward one-turn fight. Neither fighter gained on the other through about 18000 feet of altitude loss. Both of us were in burner the whole time, and I realized I'd kill my fuel supply, so I put the engines into full military power from full burner to try to get on his six. I gained and could have probably gotten a HOBS shot, but with the 9X's piss-poor performance in HOBS, I knew the Mike wouldn't do well. I lost my advantage, and then dropped my flaps to try to hang with him. The Polecat was pulling inside of me during the scissors, but we were WAY too close for missiles, and he couldn't get nose-on for a gun shot. This continued for about 2 minutes, with each of us attempting a single press into the vertical that was fruitless. The Polecat went high again as I went nose-low (with about 1500 ft to work with), then pulled up. The Polecat was trying to get nose-on by both pressing vertically and pulling into a turn with me. I got my nose on him with no surface distractions for my Mike IR sensors, whereas the Polecat would have to contend with the desert floor. FOX 2! Face-shot, good kill! Polecat explodes above me and spirals into the desert floor. Takeaways? Shoot the damn Polecat in the face 70 miles away! This thing is a nasty little bastard and can get inside of your turn damn quick. Fighting it one v one resulted in almost all of my fuel expended (like I said, he'd have been out, but it's questionable if I'd make it back to friendly lines to tank). Can it be beat? Yes. Is it easy, or even moderately hard? No, it's friggin' DIFFICULT AS HELL. I'll take a Fulcrum or Flanker over the Polecat any damn day of the week!

Stay safe, Sid!

Well, doesn't "Normal" better showcase the modern FM's than "Hard" anyhow? I thought I recalled hearing that. EDIT: I use "Hard" because I'm usually not flying the new, super-modern hardware (and normally the Turkey, which I feel I can throw around better on "Hard")

FM Hard, but to make it more even, I do fly with fuel consumption at Normal (AI doesn't ever run outta gas, so I don't burn mine as quick) and blackout on Normal (AI also doesn't suffer g-LOC or blackout, so I don't blackout as quick).

Happy Birthday!

Happy Birthday!

Okay, it's been a few days, then in a week or two it'll be a two-month hiatus for a particularly useless TDY. Anyhow, fights for the day are set in 1974, F-14A Tomcat vs. A-4F Skyhawk (reverse of my last DACT report). The A-4F is definitely a nimble little bastard, and it'll get on you right quick the instant you let it. I flew two fights against the A-4F. Fight 1 Loadouts- F-14A: 4x AIM-9H, gun, 75% fuel, no tanks A-4F: 2x AIM-9H, guns, 100% fuel, no tanks Fight started neutral, and I went for a max performance turn, but pulled a little too hard a little too early, resulting in about an 8g turn that I let bleed down to 6.5, then 6. I had nose-on first, but no face-shooter to hit him with, so, thinking big plane=big target for guns, little plane=little target for guns, I opted to pull into the vertical. As we passed (I went right above him) the Fox driver took a snap shot, which caused me to pitch quick just in case; no hit, so I continued a high loop to get on him. He began a turn, and with gravity aiding me on the way down, I initially thought I'd be able to hang with him, but I hadn't built up enough energy, and the Scooter started to get away. I was too fast for flaps, too slow to match his maneuver, and had more than 18k to work with, time to go nose-down. I began a low half-loop, a bit extreme to be called a yo-yo, but it kept me behind him, and let my energy build a bit. Plugged in the burners and pulled up onto his tail. I fired an AIM-9H which he pulled into, and it missed. Great, he'll probably out turn every damn missile I've got; he's gotta go with guns. I closed, had enough energy to stick to him and outmaneuver him by this point, got in range and hit him with a snap shot, damaging his left wing, fuselage, rudder, and I hadn't noticed it yet, but causing the pilot to punch out! Got closer, inside of the "safe" distance (the plane was still flying and I thought the pilot was still in control), and was starting to get above him, but he slid right in front of my nose, and damned if I wasn't gonna take the opportunity. Hazaaah! Guns! ZZzip! Off goes the port wing, its armament, landing gear, and other Tinker Toy bits. TOP RUDDER! I was probably less than 20 feet away with the Turkey's starboard wing from the Fox wreckage, but passed by without a strike. Close! Fight 2 Loadout- F-14A: 4x AIM-7E-2, 4x AIM-9H, gun, 75% fuel, no tanks A-4F: 2x AIM-9H, guns, 100% fuel, no tanks Fight 2 was a lot faster. Considering that we were nose-on at nearly the same time last fight, I figured, why sustain energy? Rather, I pulled an 8.5g sustained turn onto the Scooter's tail at the start. The A-Minus Tomcat doesn't sustain energy like the Turkey Beast or Super Tomcat, but it does preserve enough energy at high airspeeds to allow for some good rough handling. By the time my AWG-9 locked up the A-4, I was at his 7 o'clock, with the Fox in a moderate left-hand turn. I knew he'd beam my AIM-7's, so I waited a bit, slowed a bit, and followed him. Damn, can that Fox get his nose around! In about 10 seconds, he's beginning to get nose on me! I've still got 2+ miles, and know he's going to press for guns. Fox 1, and Fox 1 again! Ripple fired two AIM-7's knowing I still had about .8mi before Rmin, and that one or both would likely fail. The first Sparrow came off the rail and began guiding true, the second one ran off into the desert. The Fox pulled to try to beam the missile, but darned if the Great White Hope didn't slam into the Scooter just behind the cockpit. The whole aircraft burst into flames and began a spiral into the desert floor. Takeaway: The AI cannot handle the F-14A in any sense, from what I've seen. The A-4F might be a nimble opponent, but rarely ever got around to threatening me. It was a more difficult fight than the A-4E when I went for guns, but nothing out of the ordinary. Respect the opponent and don't fight his fight. Any Time, Baby!

I hadn't seen this one before. Big fan of Top Gear, too. Cool stuff. EDIT: With respect to your question, I think I could fit a Turkey in the back yard, but certainly not on the front lawn.

Sometimes it doesn't break; that's happened to me before. I actually lowered the structural factor so the plane would break earlier - sustaining 18g generally breaks a plane. But, sometimes it happens instantly, other times I get a debrief "One F/A-18C was damaged".

Remove the StructuralFactor=(number), and the plane shouldn't have specific structural limits. This number takes the g limit and multiplies it by the given number to assess airframe damage. Removing the line should help. Also, there should be a line dictating g limit - you could always set it to a massively high number and you shouldn't have a problem. EDIT: Or as Stary stated, fly "Easy" - I like the limits myself.

Beauty. Glad to see the kids get to hear and practice with good music.

+1 to FC. In game, you can massively exceed the F/A-18's g-limit, including its maximum structural limit. I can think of several times I put the stick in my lap in the F/A-18 and the thing loaded 24g. Apart from the fact that this would have killed me as the pilot, it busted the jet too, wings ripping off. Don't yank so hard on the stick and you should be good. EDIT: EricJ, I think what he's doing is trying to pull into folks at >1M, which causes very high g loads, rather than just dashing to high speed.

Compared to the SF-1 series, I'd say the graphics (at least the planes and cockpits) have seen a major face-lift. Avionics have been updated over time (can't wait to see if the Tomcat expansion results with functional TWS-A/M for multi-target engagement!) and the physics seem to me FAR improved from when the game first hit the shelves. Not sure what to expect in the future, but I'm a fan of where the game has come, and I ain't even an olde-timer!