FastCargo

Well, the external model wouldn't take much...but the cockpit would have to be completely rebuilt. And that's the hard part. Plus, there are a ton of other projects going on. Is it wanted? Sure...but like anything else, you gotta find somebody with the time, energy and ability who isn't committed to another project. FastCargo

Cool...we'll see ya when we see ya...:) FastCargo

IMHO it wouldn't be worth it on those aircraft...fighters don't flex nearly as much as very large, thin wing aircraft. FastCargo

Actually. I would like a tool that would allow me to BUILD cat files. That way, if I wanted to combine my Objectdata.cat files from WOE and WOI for example, I could. I don't know if that would be legal or not though. FastCargo

That's strange. It should be on the right bottom side of the post. FastCargo

Centrinoe, Unless a model looks like total crap, virtually no one refuses new aircraft for the TW series. Yours looks just fine so far. Also, there just aren't too many Chinese aircraft, so more are always welcomed, especially indigenious models. If you're not sure...you can always upload a beta test or I would bet there are volunteers to help bring it into the game. FastCargo

Warm milk? Seems kind of silly, but my wife swears by it. Or a nice hot bath...always knocks me out. FastCargo

Most definitely the latter. FastCargo

(Takes moderator hat off) No, nope, no way, hell no, bag full of 'no', YGBSM, a few fries short of a Happy Meal no, opposite of yes, 'From hell's heart, I stab at thee...' no, 'THIS IS NORTHHHRRROOOPPP!' no. (Puts moderator hat back on) Plus, like JM said, you would totally alter the classic lines of the T-38/F-5/F-20 design. Scale it up enough to get the proportions right, and you end up with a Fullback with a single engine and tail...which is VERY debatable as to if it looks as good as it's tandem seated Flanker based brethren. FastCargo

I built a VERY nice 1/100 scale Saturn V flying model rocket...best work I had ever done. My cat knocked it over...smashing the escape tower and a couple of fins... Arrrrgghhhh!!! FastCargo

Well, lets take what we see with some perspective. First, we don't know the actual winds or gust factors. Second, we don't know the experience of the flight crew. Personal observations: 1. I would NEVER attempt a landing if the winds are beyond the "Max demostrated x-wind limits" specified in the manual. You can't answer the mail if you bend metal doing that..."Trying to accomplish the mission" won't cut it. 2. Crosswinds aren't as big a deal as GUSTY crosswinds. Steady x-winds can be planned for in your flare. But gusty x-winds blow! You could be all set up and the next second, you lose 10 knots of cross... 3. I've know plenty of pilots who can do the 'last minute' transistion to the 'wing-low' method every time, do it safely, and smartly. They're that good and/or that proficient. I'm not, so I tend to transistion about 500-700 feet prior...it's more work, but I tend to be more stable doing it that way. 4. Finally, it's a judgement call, that's why we get paid the big bucks. I've seen plenty of situations where it could go either way and the final call is practically a coin flip. Hell, he could have tried it 30 seconds later and 'greased' it on. Sometimes, it just ain't your day... FastCargo

Well, I've never carried live externals so I wouldn't know. Having said that... Back in the nuke days, the best phrase to describe the priority for completing the mission - "Stay on target!" However, conventional warfare is a bit different. Getting the bombs on target is important...but you still have to 'honor the threat'. If you're a air-to-mud guy and you get 'jumped', I don't know of anyone who doesn't jettison. At that point, survival takes priority...and a aircraft/pilot combo is still more expensive than a rack full of weapons. I'm not as sure about 'popup' SAM/AAA. I'd imagine that if I needed all the G I could to defeat a SAM, I'd jettison. Or it might be just as easy to roll in on the launcher and kill it since I'm already outfitted with A2G ordinance. As far as actual frequency of occurance? Probably not often anymore, usually because strike packages are built in such a way to prevent such a thing from happening. My .02. FastCargo

I never implied the F-104G actually had an extended nose wheel...that's why I said 'If'. Anyway... You can't physically alter the model. You could however do an data.ini edit. Goto the data.ini for that model and look at the nose wheel entry. I think there are some numbers that specify how 'springy' the nosewheel shock is. I'll bet if you tweak those numbers, you might be able to get the nose wheel strut to 'compress' a lot more. FastCargo

This is a general layout of the directories in the first generation of ThirdWire sims (Strike Fighters Project 1/Strike Fighters Gold/Wings Over Vietnam/Wings Over Europe/Wings Over Israel/First Eagles). This does NOT include anything from Strike Fighters 2 or later! This layout assumes you have the latest patches (as of 6 Mar 08). Some of the directories will not exist unless the install has been modded. Read the notes under this diagram! Strike Fighters - Campaigns -- LinebackerI -- (etc) - Controls - Effects - Flight - Manual - Menu - Missions - NetCache - Objects -- Aircraft --- A-10 ---- cockpit ---- Euro ----- D ---- (etc) --- B-52 --- (etc) -- Decals -- GroundObject --- Barlock ---- Desert ---- (etc) ---SA-2L ---(etc) -- Weapons - PilotData - Screenshots - Sounds - Speech - System - Terrain -- Desert -- (etc) NOTES: 1. The Weapons directory may not exist if you have a stock install. If you have installed mods, especially weapons packs, this directory will appear. 2. If you see the note (etc) in the diagram, it means there may be more than one subdirectory on that level. Example is the Aircraft directory...you will probably have WAY more aircraft then the A-10 and B-52 examples. Directories where this is relevant include the Campaigns, Terrains, GroundObjects, and of course, Aircraft. 3. The Aircraft directory can be confusing, so here is a more detailed explanation: Aircraft are pretty much self contained directories. Within a specific aircraft directory, you will see at LEAST one subdirectory. Subdirectories within aircraft directories usually contain 3 things - Cockpits, Textures(skins), and Decals. In the A-10 example above, the directory called 'Euro' is a Texture directory...usually full of BMPs and a file called TextureSet.ini. Decal directories a lot of times can be inside a Texture directory...as in the A-10 example above, where the decal directory is called D, with TGA files and a Decals.ini file. Finally, you'll usually see cockpit directories within 3rd party aircraft. Usually named 'cockpit', but can be named something else. You MAY NOT see such a directory in some aircraft that are flyable. Reference the 'Basic Operations' section to learn how the sim does this. 4. GroundObjects (post patch 3) are laid out in a very similar way to Aircraft. The only difference...they don't have cockpits or decals. Remember this information, it will be REALLY useful later on when you start modding. FastCargo

There is a fix for this...it's been brought up before. I'm just not sure where. Edit: Try this thread - http://forum.combatace.com/index.php?showtopic=23471 FastCargo

Not yet... I wish I could say I skin this well...but I can't. Still some time away... FastCargo

Actually, there is a more 'blended' way. Check the latest data.ini for the F-14...note this entry: [LeftStabilizer] SystemType=CONTROL_SURFACE InputName=PITCH_CONTROL MovingSurface=TRUE MaxDeflection=18.0 MinDeflection=-26.0 ControlRate=2.0 ModelNodeName=leftstab RotationAxis=X-Axis ReverseModelOrientation=TRUE SecondaryInputName=ROLL_CONTROL SecondaryInputFactor=0.5 Note the extra lines...I assume the SecondaryInputFactor is a number that defines how much 'gain' the secondary input can influence the surface. This seems a 'cleaner' solution rather than making 2 separate entries. FastCargo