streakeagle

I finally got my MC-2/B-8 stick grip. Despite using the stock number for an actual F-4 grip on eBay, it has the hand rest that was not present on F-4 grips. It is definitely used, but has been restored to a nearly new condition. I would have been happier without the hand rest, but the stick looks good and all the buttons work. Now I have to figure out how I am going to use it :)

Early production yokes had an issue as discussed in the Saitek support forums. Apparently, customers with bad yokes have to ship them to Saitek at their own expense. I wouldn't buy one until I am sure that the one I get is a later fixed version.

I forgot to mention that I got the X-52 Pro for $100 from GoGamer.com What a steal! The must not have been selling too well. At $200, I would have eventually bought the X-52 Pro, just a matter of time. But at $100, I jumped on it and got the rudder pedals as well. I have been able to program profiles I like. With more buttons and axis, immersion is up. I use the thumb slider on the throttle thrust vectoring on Harrier V/STOL fighters. I don't have a use for the twisty stick axis yet, though, I could program in two more butons: left for one button, right for the other. The toggle switches on the base are great for functions like dropping external tanks. I don't have a use for the LCD display yet (though it is functional in MS Flight Sim X). Perhaps I can think of a function and program it myself?

I didn't realize it had been ported over to Armed Assault... I should have looked closer at the PMC website. The 3d model for the F-4 could be a lot better, but from the cockpit perspective, it was adequate for OFP style gameplay. Of course, unlike any other combat sim that has ever modeled the F-4, you can actuactually carry another player in the back seat. But with little to no avionics modeled, the backseater is mainly just another set of eyes.

I have yet to see any photos at all of USAF Phantoms (C/D/E/G) with AIM-9s installed on inner pylons when carrying anything else on inner pylons. I am fairly sure the G would have retained the ability to carry the AIM-9s, but it would always have air-to-ground ordnance on inner pylons and therefore never AIM-9s. As for the AIM-7s, the forward bay(s) would be reserved for ecm pods critical to the Wild Weasel mission. But it also appears that all Phantoms tended to carry only 2 Sparrows in aft bays when carrying centerline tanks. I guess the AIM-7s in the forward bay didn't always clear the tank if fired while carrying the tank, so it was safer not to carry them at all. Most photos of F-4s support this. If you see 4 AIM-7s, the centerline tank is not being carried. If you see the centerline tank, at most 2 AIM-7s in rear bays are carried. But, there are some exceptions where photos show 4xAIM-7 and CL tank being carried.

I hung out at SimHQ working with McFly and friends on modding Jane's USAF, which was the latest sim to support F-4 Phantoms. I stumbled upon the SimHQ Project 1 forum via the USAF community. The screenshots looked awesome, I couldn't wait for TK to find a publisher and release the game. I went to Walmart to get a computer cable for a friend and guess what I saw on the shelf: the infamous Walmart release. It was buggy and incomplete, but I knew the instant I flew the F-4 in Strike Fighters that I would never play Jane's USAF ever again. I had found my holy grail. Here I am 5 or 6 years later, still playing the same game. This game series has come so far since the Wally World version, but I still have the disk that first gave me TK's version of the Phantom and 60s jet combat. Of course, TK is still working hard to make it better. I think it is his dedication that has kept this sim going. Without him and his willingness to open up his code for mods, we would have nothing even close to what we have now.

There were 11 people in Hyperlobby ready to play multiplayer. Unfortunately, people had to leave before we could get everyone into a single server. But after solving some connection issues about 6 to 8 people were flying continuosly in dogfight mode.

with 11 people... we need just 5 more to have a FULL co-op session. Unfortunately, co-op has proven to be exceptionally finicky with connection quality and/or bugs: Some people can't fire on enemy aircraft, but can perform ground attacks. Some people see other aircraft flying at or beneath ground level. The higher the connection quality in terms of speed and latency, the less I have seen these problems. Dialup suffers the most while the crappy high-latency/random bandwidth connections I am getting while staying in hotels isn't doing much better. Maybe I will get a chance to fly online with a large group while I am home the week of Thanksgiving... I need to find out if FIOS is delivering all the performance they promised.

I am going with a condition "SV" (serviceable) part 1680-00-064-5145 from Space Coast IC, Inc. for $552.50 plus shipping. This should be identical to the F-4 stick grip (no hand rest) but does not come with the cable adapter (at least another $100 for that part). I don't get to see a pic of it, but SV is just one grade lower than "new". I am sure all of the switches will work correctly, I just wonder how good it will look... for that price, I am hoping it looks new! Now do I need to get the adapter? I am suddenly wishing I had bid on the stick shaker box a few months back... would have made a very authentic F-4 stick.

If we have to pick between HD and Blu-ray, why would anyone pick HD over Blu-ray purely from a storage capacity perspective. Blu-ray can store uncompressed 1080p movies. The primary reason for me to buy a new video player is to watch 1080p movies on my 46" 1080p tv. If this battle continues too much longer, a third-party format is going to come along and beat them both with comparable or better quality at a much lower price. I am rooting for the third-parties... some of them are becoming available now. I won't buy a thing until there is a winner or the prices are so low that I can afford all competing formats.

My wife has authorized me to purchase a "new" B-8. I can go with an overhauled grip that is exactly the same stock number as the F-4 grip that just sold on e-Bay. Or I can go with a brand new Otto grip for about the same price (over $500). The original grip will be missing the $100+ threaded adapter used to connect it to control sticks. The used one came with the adapter, so perhaps I should have bought it just for the adapter? The Otto stick does not use the threaded adapter and can be sleeved to fit different size sticks, but is not the true F-4 grip since it has the hand rest on the right side. However, the Otto sitck is brand new rather than overhauled. Decisions, decisions...

While "reasonably priced" is wide open to interpretation, parallel markets like MS Flight Sim addons provide a reference and I personally believe Razbam's approach is pretty much ideal: A pretty good 3d model with pretty good textures suitably modified to provide several variants for $15. Due to the complexity of the physics involved and the lack of published data, I will never expect addons to provide the quality of FM I want. I do expect that payware addon FMs should try to at least get the basic max speeds, landing speeds, and roll rates close enough that it doesn't feel like an arcade airplane on HARD settings. Such is quickly achievable by tweaking FMs from the stock aircraft provided by TK. I have paid anywhere from $10 to $40 for plastic models hanging from my ceiling so I don't have any problem paying similar prices for virtual models that are ultimately more entertaining. But I only paid more than $20 when it was an exceptionally high quality kit of an aircraft that was either hard to find or one that I really love. i.e. I paid $35 for a 1/48 Tamiya P-51D and it was worth every penny as the parts fit together so well you almost didn't need cement. I didn't have to use any putty at all to fill seams since there were no gaps or uneven edges. Call me insane, but if someone could somehow provide an FM certified to be as accurate as the game engine permits, outstanding hi-res layered texture templates, and hi-fidelity external and cockpit 3d models, I would buy all of my favorite aircraft at $50 to $100 per series (i.e. F-4B/J/N/S might be a complete series). I think that is fair since an excellent hardcore study sim focused on one aircraft could easily be priced the same. If I believed there was enough demand for hi-fidelity flight models to pay me enough money to quit my day job, I would qo into business myself as my wife and sister-in-law are capable of doing the 3ds-max work while I would have to do the FMs and textures. But I don't believe there is enough demand and I don't have the spare time to do this as a 2nd job.

Excellent footage.

I went to the warbird parts place in Tampa to buy a B-8, but was disappointed to find out that the website is not up to date. The only B-8 in stock was no where near new condition, but more importantly had a gun trigger that sticks. I probably could have made it work, but it is easier to find a whole new stick in better condition than to get spare parts. On the bright side, the X-52 Pro and Rudder Pedals I ordered from GoGamer.com arrive tomorrow afternoon.

I will buy any reasonably priced addon aircraft. I generally love all aircraft and want to be able to fly them. I have my favorites and will pay more money to see them done to the highest possible standard. I find RAZBAM's set up to be fair. My wishlist has largely been covered between TK's releases, free addons, and payware. But, the F-101 and F-102 are painfully absent from an otherwise great implementation of the Century series. Ultimately, I would like to see every jet fighter ever produced rather than just the principal NATO/Warsaw Pact front runners. The Mirage Factory is a blessing. They are giving away aircraft with quality generally comparable if not superior to any commercial developer. However, since they work for free, their progress is relatively slow.

The previous bidder exceeded what I was willing to pay for a grip in that condition. So, I decided to get an X-52 Pro at half price for $100 from GoGamer.com and threw in the Pro Rudder Pedals for another $100. With FedEx 2nd day shipping, the total was less than or equal to what I intend to spend on a "new" B-8 at the warbird parts place in Tampa.

Different people have different thresholds. Just because you or I don't see a problem doesn't mean its not there. This game is capable of handling relatively accurate hi-poly models, so why not strive to get them as accurate as possible? In fact, as the resolution of textures continue to increase, I think rivet counting is going to become important to those who want to claim to have the best skins. I can even see a day when the permissible poly counts get high enough that the panels and rivets will be accurately modeled in 3d, which would mean all the texture guys would need to do is apply weathering effects and perhaps some highlights/shadows if the graphics engine doesn't make them stand out well enough through lighting and shadows. I look forward to the day when rivet counters will find that the right number, shape, and size of rivets are on each model :)

I think he is talking about the shape of the nose... which is nothing he could really tell you. I am not an F-16 junkie, so I wouldn't notice a subtle variation (or any variation since I rarely have installed or flown it). But I suspect, that he is as sensitive to shapes on the F-16 as I am on the F-4 and F-15.

The SFP1 series is a survey sim, which by definition permits you to enjoy flying a variety of aircraft. I have purchased everything released by Third Wire and every 3rd party add-on which adds new aircraft since I want as many quality flyable aircraft as possible. To me, there is no difference between adding new flyable aircraft and adding cockpits to make AI aircraft flyable. Beyond the flight model, the most important part of any flyable aircraft is that which you see the most while flying it: the cockpit. I have LOMAC and Flaming Cliffs and had hoped this series would continue to expand as it had started as a Flanker sim but over time added the Fulcrum, Frogfoot, Eagle, and Warthog. Black Shark won't get $1 from me because no matter how good of a sim it may or may not be, I have no interest in flying a Black Shark. I would have bought Black Shark if it had remained part of LOMAC to get any enhancements it would have provided to the sim engine. If the DCS series ever gets anywhere and produces aircraft that I want to fly, then I will buy the appropriate modules. But I bet they won't get much further than the A-10 and AH-64 before they decide to create a new series incompatible with previous work (if the progression from Flanker to LOMAC to Flaming Cliffs to Black Shark is any indication). An interesting statistic from the poll results so far is that 50% or more are willing to buy addons. I am sure that if 50% of everyone that owns 1 or more Third Wire jet sim would purchase an addon that was equally compatible with all of the jet sims, that TK would be happy with those kind of sales. I think a solid MiG-17/MiG-19/MiG-21 addon complete with campaigns and missions could be that product, but obviously from the linked post at Third Wire, TK disagrees with me.

eBAy has an actual F-4 Phantom stick grip up for bid: http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewI...em=270179153372 It is in bad shape, but it is the real deal with no hand rest at the base. MC-2 Grip Assembly Control, Aircraft. USAF 56C3002-1. NSN: 1680-00-064-5145 I have made a bid, if I don't win it, I will still get the one in Tampa, perhaps next week.

Sometime next year... April maybe... I am going to have a couple of weeks off and I intend to focus on playing online all day every day when not eating or sleeping :) From last night with FastCargo of (V)VFMA-531 a little formation flying before the bullets started flying :) Got one decent screenshot before switching to combat while flying with FastCargo from (V)VMFA-531:

While I wouldn't call myself a Tomcat fan (always loved the F-4E and its successor the F-15), I have always respected it for what it was: one hell of a AWG-9/Phoenix platform with a respectable secondary dogfight capability. It was never designed to be low cost or light weight and was designed when cold war fears generated virtually unlimited military budgets. It was purchased after the budgets started collapsing (hence the temporary TF30 engines became a permanent short-coming for nearly two decades and the advent of the cheap lightweight multi-role F/A-18). The design was a dead end: the resurgent cold war budgets of the mid to late 80's did not produce a single swing fighter or 70,000+ lb "fighters". The AWG-9 is obsolete, so the need to build an aircraft large enough to carry it is gone. The dimensions of the F/A-18E/F proves that McDonnell got it right when they designed the F-4 Phantom: a multi-role carrier based fighter needs to be about 30,000 lbs empty with about 500 ft^2 of wing area and 13000 lbs of fuel internally. Obviously the more delta winged Phantom was optimized more for speed/high-alt interception while the more straight-winged SH leans toward lower speeds and agility. The SH obviously has some design limitations, but the Navy clearly believes it is the best bang for the buck in a world where your primary mission is to bomb third world countries with a secondary mission of defending yourself against any 2nd rate aircraft that might oppose its primary mission with a shoe-string post cold war budget. If Russia starts fielding a large hi-tech blue-water Navy with Su-27 variants on carriers, the US Navy might regret their decision to save money buying short range bomb-trucks, but that's a big IF. How many 1st rate hi-tech fighters did F-14s fight in extended dogfights over the course of 30+ years? None? 1 or 2? If manned fighters are virtually eliminated before any more major wars are fought, the Navy will laugh at the USAF for spending all that money on F-22s. Who knows what the future will be, but past history assures us that the military is always prepared to fight the previous war and caught with their pants down when they find out first hand what is needed to fight the next war.

it is 8 pm est (daylight savings time) and I am at HL and CombatAce teamspeak server

I wouldn't start modding the addon until after it has been out for awhile. Typically, after a new release, a few major bugs are found and a hotfix patch is released. It would be a shame to put a lot of work into new mods only to find a hotfix breaks or fixes what you were modding.

On Fri thru Sun I will be at home with my wife and baby boy, who presently consume almost every last free minute of my time, especially since I am working out of town from mon thru fri. So for the time being, my answer is no to any weekend action.