FastCargo

Oh hell ya they do! Start here: http://bridgecommander.filefront.com/ Check it out...seriously cool stuff. My BC install is up to 2.6 GB. For quick battles, it's a serious hoot! FastCargo

"If you value your lives, be somewhere else!" One of the most awesome lines ever! Damn, now I gotta watch that ep again! Funny, we were rewatching Season 3 and finally realized why the actor (Vaughn Armstrong) who played Admiral Forrest in ST:ENT looked so familiar. He was the Nightwatch security leader who tried to co-op Zack against Garibaldi. Of course, he had a lot more hair back then...:). We have all those as well...but do you have the comic trilogy "In Valen's Name" which details the re-reappearance of B4? :) FastCargo

I really wanted Legacy when it came out, but read about the serious issues experienced because of last minute cutting. Sounds like this mod may do what modders have been doing for Bridge Commander... FastCargo

THIS is the P-51 I would use in a dogfight... http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Piper_PA-48_Enforcer The Enforcer...I like that name! FastCargo

Okay, so I HAD to know. Today in the squadron, I accosted a recent Bone driver (I'm old, he wasn't even in college when I last flew Bones...sheesh) and asked about current weapons loads. What he told me is going on with the Bone is even more astonishing than I figured. Appearently, Bones have become the CAS darling in Afganistan. The combination of loiter time, response time, and precision has become a big deal. The loadout document is correct though, Bones can only carry a max of 17 500lb JDAMs...apparently the tail kits are in fact just a bit too long. And the old conventional racks just didn't have the extra room to take the standard amount. However, I found out that the rotary racks don't just take 2000lb JDAMs. They also fit JSOW and JSSAM...on the same rack! You can carry 3 types of weapons on one rack at the same time...amazing. Also, the computers are smart enough that even with a mixed load, you just tell what type of weapon you want on the target, and it will automatically cycle the racks to drop the right weapon at the right time. Also, they are going to the FOL mounting Lightning targeting pods on the wing glove just outside of the engine nacelle. It seems CENTCOM wants that capability RIGHT NOW...so they're totally bypassing the normal flight test route and going straight to operation. The only reason they aren't being mounted on the external hardpoints (yes, the Bone has external hardpoints) is because the START treaty required those to be faired over. Finally, and this is just a proposal...but the B-1Bs primary radar is a derivative of the F-16s radar...but with WAY more power. Testing has been finding out that it isn't THAT hard to reintergrate the A2A capability back into the B-1B radar...but with lots of range. Combine that with adapting a Bone to carry Slammers...24 on 3 rotary racks... I like it! It's funny, 10 years ago, when I left, the Bone community was not a happy place. Funding was iffy at best, we hadn't participated in DS, had several teething problems and high profile accidents. It's amazing how the system (and the attitudes) have changed in a decade... FastCargo

"We need more lite!!" FastCargo

You know, I always wondered how much North American used the development knowledge gained in the XF-108 Rapier project to make the A-5. The planforms and general size would have been similar. Anyone want to make a F-108? :) FastCargo

Crusade got to a rough start (thank you TNT...:( ) but would have gotten better as they got into the groove. We've got the Crusade scriptbooks on order...and are still getting our B5 scriptbooks...awesome! Oh, have you read the Technomage trilogy? I'll tell ya, Galen has had a lot of BAD stuff happen to him before we meet him in "Call to Arms" and "Crusade". No wonder his outlook is all FUBARed. Can't wait for the first B5 direct to DVD movie... FastCargo

Otherwise known as 'Spanky'... FastCargo

Otherwise known as 'Hairboy'...:). FastCargo

Nope, saw the first Star Wars when I was a kid in a drive in. FastCargo

The original Battle Zone...with Missile Command a close second...those were my first and most fun... Then, when I got a LITTLE older, the first Star Wars game (you know, the one with the Tie Fighters, Gun Towers, then the Trench Run...). Awesome dude! :) FastCargo

I'm not sure...I don't know: A) How well TK's sims model ECM and the different techniques. B) How well that can be implemented by Marcfighter. Heck, I'm not even sure LOMAC does all the different ECM techniques... FastCargo

Stupid question for ya: 1. Is it just your F-16, or all aircraft that use AB? When I first downloaded the Lightning, it did the same thing until I had it reference a specific afterburner tga file. 2. Does the referenced TGA file exist? If so, delete it (make a BACKUP), then pick another AB effect (use the AB effect pack I saw here on CA), rename it to the name of the file you just deleted, and move it to the proper directory. If you've done all this, and it still doesn't work, then I'm at a loss... FastCargo

Hmmm...let me think. Let's risk several multi million dollar aircraft on the assumptions that my airspeed is correct (every 10 KIAS off at altitude equals .05 mach - 1/2 a mile per minute - 30 NM per hour), the winds are correct (10 knots cross - 10 NM per hour), the air density is correct (a 2000 ft PA change - 10 KIAS change) and you take in the mag variance change and the compass card doesn't drift. Oh, and you have no ground references for at least 4 hours travel because you're over an ocean that covers 1/3 of the planet. For a training exercise. And forget cel nav...know any fighter pilots who carry cel nav tables and a sextant? Tell ya what, go bungee jumping...doesn't sound quite as stupid as the above scenario. FastCargo

Yea, what he said! FastCargo

Wasn't sure if this goes into The Pub or here. I don't know how many of you guys know this, but we do something for Vietnam War POWs that were flying for the USAF at the time. Basically, the idea is that we don't want the last flight they had in the USAF to be the flight they got shot down in. So 34 years ago, we started giving 'Fini Flights' to repatriated POWs in T-38s at Randolph AFB. It's turned into a ceremony, with a wreath at the 'Forget Me Not' memorial, a missing man flyby (of which the ex-POW was actually in) and later on that afternoon, a 'pass in review' of various USAF aircraft...usually everything from T-37s to C-5s. Some more info: http://www.randolph.af.mil/news/story.asp?id=123045400 I was scheduled for the flyby's (both of them...missing man and composite for the evening), but got rained out this year...:|. So I couldn't get airborne photos this year, however, I took some interesting photos of the heritage portion of the squadron. The main hall of freedom flyers. The photos are of completed fini flights, in front of the T-38 he was flown in, with the ex-POW usually getting soaked by a bottle of champagne. Right side of the hall, including a map of Vietnam with markers showing location, date, and number (associated with a specific POW name)of downed aircrew. Left side of the hall, with a large painting of a T-38A. Statue of Rob Risner - Senior Ranking Officer (SRO) of the 'Hanoi Hilton' from Sept 1965 until repatriation. We have a POW/MIA room dedicated to the those Vietnam POWs - picture of the left side of the room: Close up of the display cabinet: Right side of the POW/MIA room: Close up of the display cabinet: I thought that this ceremony and flights were a unique way to honor those men who sacrificed and suffered so much. FastCargo

A quick explanation of what the differences in indicated, calibrated, true airspeed, and ground speed. Basically, a airspeed indicator measures the amount of air molecules passing through the instrument...the more molecules, the more airspeed the instrument registers. This is indicated airspeed (KIAS)...the speed that the wings 'see'. Calibated airspeed (KCAS) is simply KIAS corrected for things like instrument error, installation error, etc. Usually not too different from KIAS. True airspeed (KTAS) is where you get your big difference. KTAS is the speed through the mass of air. Air itself becomes less dense as you go up in altitude. This requires you to increase your KTAS to get the same amount of KIAS/KCAS (less molecules per volume...so you have to go through more volume to get the same amount of air molecules). KTAS also gives you a better picture of how you are doing reference the speed of sound. Ground speed (GS). KTAS with the effects of wind taken into account. Example: If you are moving at 100 KTAS pointed north, but the mass of air is moving 100 KTAS to the south (wind is blowing to the south at 100 KTAS) your GS is effectively zero. KCAS, KTAS, and GS theoretically are all equal at sea level, assuming a standard day at sea level. Hope that makes sense... FastCargo

https://store.thirdwire.com/store.htm There ya go! Enjoy! FastCargo

I doubt it. Modern aircraft (even fighters) are easy to fly...proper employment is the hard part. For the USAF, F-15 and F-16 dual control sorties are only a small part of the syllabus. The F-117 and A-10 don't even have dual seat models (the N/AW A-10 prototype doesn't count). FastCargo

Actually, up until very recently, the US Air Force's primary jet trainer was a side by side seat. In a lot of ways, it was preferred because you (as the IP) can see exactly what the student is doing. FastCargo

I didn't know Bones had been cleared to drop 500 lb JDAMs. But I just did a little research, and the wiki: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/B-1_Lancer Says it's only capable of carrying 17 of the 500lb JDAMs (referencing the MX loading document in a 6 6 5 config). Now, I'm not trying to be a 'rivet counter'...I looked it up because I was curious. When I flew Bones 10 years ago, we had 3 types of racks. 1 rack could carry 28 Mk82 500lb bombs, 1 rack could carry 10 CBUs, 1 rack was a rotary rack, and was used to carry 'specials' and SRAMs, later adapted to Mk84 2000lb bombs and JDAMs. 1 rack fits in 1 bay...a Bone has 3 bays...you get the idea. 17 is an odd number...you would think you could at least carry the 500lb JDAMs on the same rotary rack as the 2000lb ones...giving you 24. Or if the tail kits were just a little too long compared to a standard 500lb 'slick' or ballute, that would explain only 6...but why only 5 in the last bay. 81 standard Mk82s is a little odd too. The configuration we flew with was a 24 24 24 setup...why was there one taken out in the new doc? Maybe there is a new box in the aft bay that precludes carrying one weapon...which might also explain the odd 17 500lb JDAM setup. I also read a B-2 recently did a test with the 500lb JDAMs, dropping 80 inert warhead 500lb JDAMs in a single sortie. Oh man, to have that capability in an aircraft. You could take out an ENTIRE airfield in one pass (buildings, aircraft, runway, trucks)... Anyway, I just thought 17 was an odd number, I like 82 JDAMs much better! FastCargo

Thanks guys! I flew Bones about 10 years ago, so that's where my expertise lies. They've gotten some better upgrades since then, and so do a lot more med/high alt stuff. Safer, and more effective with JDAM...but not as fun to simulate. Interesting story about the B-58s. I knew an old B-58 guy who told me about similiar missions he would fly with 4 ships...low and haulin the mail testing ADC. However, B-58s didn't have the range the russian article states...no way they could have done East coast to Edwards down low. I'm surprised about the BUFF speed of 480...most ex-BUFF guys I flew with said 360 was the standard low level speed with 480 dash...but this was G and H models in the early 90s. Could have been further restricted to increase the life of the airframe...or I could be totally out to lunch! Ah yes, PLZT goggles. We had the shields...of course, it was like flying looking through a soda straw...glad we went conventional only. Jug, seen a few of your posts here...I was at Beale for a couple of tours, including my last active tour in T-38As. Would love to live there...if I could afford it! Still friends with several Deuce guys...and even got a alt chamber ride in a space suit with them. FastCargo PS As Jedi mentioned, use retarded bombs (Snakeyes or ballutes). 'Slicks' will get you killed down low...or won't even arm. Actually, the USAF doesn't use Snakeyes anymore...ballutes are more reliable, and you could user select to go 'slick' if you needed to change the delivery type.

I would also say, at what airspeed counts for a lot. Near corner velocity, you or the wings go at max rate pull. Near min speed...mainly you'd just buffet a lot up until stall. FastCargo

This is the primary way I would like a clickable cockpit. It's fast and intuitive. Combine it with a HOTAS and TrackIR and your immersion would go up dramatically. Without the touchscreen LCD, I would only like it for MFD buttons. FastCargo