FastCargo

That is not a picture of an F-20 cockpit...in fact it looks a LOT like the stock ThirdWire F-15A cockpit. FC

Can you provide a screenshot and tell us which model does this? I don't remember seeing this issue anywhere... FC

It shouldn't be a problem...I haven't encountered anything yet that won't work in SF2 with just some ini adjusting. FC

Yes and no. The Hornet, like some other modern FBW aircraft has what are called 'soft limits'. The computers will help you stay within those limits either by an outright stop or by taking out your inputs as you approach the limit. In the Hornet (I think), there is a switch or toggle that allows the pilot to go right past the limiter if he needs it. In the B-1B (which is partial FBW), if you pull fast enough, you can go past all 3 limiters. In either case, the idea is that if you REALLY need it, the ability is there for you to use. Other aircraft that are FBW though can have 'hard limits' that will not let you exceed them no matter what the case (F-16, most Airbus airliners, etc)... FC

It won't work until you patch it to the latest level (October 2008 patch). FC

It's very simple. Look for the MaxG parameter...that will tell the sim the Max G the AI will pull...but it also forms the base for the StructuralFactor multiplier in the Component sections. This is a simple multipler that tells the sim at what multiple of MaxG to start applying damage, to the point of destruction if you apply either too much past the multiplier or hold past for too long. This mimics real life 'soft limit' aircraft like the Hornet. FC

Lexx is absolutely correct. There aren't folks in towers all along the coast watching the skies...that went out a long time ago. Plus, no one is going to say "Yep, it was a commerical flight" right away because there may be something they don't know...good luck pinning down someone to an explanation that happens right this second. Far easier to say "Nope, it wasn't this, this or this" first, then come up with the actual explanation after EVERYTHING else is weeded out. FC

Easy enough to do with 2 networked computers. FC

Dude, where ya been? Lots o' stuff been going on here... Anyway, I'd love to work on it, but I'm up to my eyeballs in stuff. Anyone else? FC

Not necessarily. Older jets designed during the Cold War were hardened against EMP. They even do validation testing on a giant (as in it can hold a B-52) wooden stage at Kirtland AFB and bombared the aircraft with EMP to make sure the shielding works. This, of course, is to defend against EMP generated by your own weapon delivery. It does not necessarily defend against so-called 'Enhanced EMP' weapons. FC

Well, our resident F-5 driver Jug said that the F-5E/F model did not have reduced rudder authority, but had the full 30 degrees available, so I'd imagine the NF-5 had it too. FC

How about losing the attitude and just tell us what you are trying to achieve and we'll tell you how it can be done. FC

In anticipation of the B-1Bs release for SFP1/WOV/WOE, I figured I'd come up with a quick employment primer for those looking to lay the smack down old school style. This discussion will not deal with modern B-1B employment (ie at medium/high altitude with JDAMs). Instead, this will deal with late 80s/early 90s conventional employment with mass attack weapons(Mk 82s and CBUs). Speed, speed, and, oh yeah, speed! We hear all the time more than a few fighter cliches': "Speed is life", "Don't be out of airspeed, altitude and ideas","Some of the most useless things are runway behind you, altitude above you, and airspeed you don't have". These are all good summaries, and especially apply to Bone operations. However, we do give up altitude for the low-level enviroment. So, for low level B-1B ops, the formula is: Speed minus altitude = respect for your surroundings. Don't be that guy with your hair on fire who promptly splatters himself on the rocks because he wasn't paying attention. The PK of the ground is 99.9% and they don't call her 'Mother' Earth for nothin'... Why 'Heavy Metal' Rocks! Heavy bombers give you advantages that a fighter can't give you without a lot of support. Weapons mix and match. Bombers can carry multiple types of weapons in one aircraft. A B-1B in particular can carry 3 types of weapons (and a lot of them) at the same time (Mk82s for runway attack, CBUs for anti-personnel, and JDAMs for hardened shelters). Multiple targets. One aircraft can attack different targets (and even different types of targets) in one flight. Range and loiter. Bombers by their very nature have tons more fuel, translating into greater range/loiter time...reducting tanker support. Flexibility. This all adds up into a platform than can do several things in one mission, from CAS, runway denial all the way to strategic attack like power stations, C&C nodes, etc. And can provide multi-wave support and retasking. And the Bone brings one more thing to the table. Response time. Because of the Bones' speed, it can quickly respond to pop-up taskings with minimal travel time...something no other bomber in the inventory can do as quickly, and most fighters can't do because of range issues. Advantages of 'penetrating' fast and low. The low altitude enviroment (less than 1k) provides several advantages for a high speed bomber. Short horizon distance. The lower you are, the closer the threat needs to be before he 'sees' you over the horizon...which translates to less time to detect, track, and engage for him. Stealth. Ground based detection systems have less range the lower you go...increasing your chances of staying hidden until on the attack run. Night/adverse weather. Because of the B-1Bs TF system, you can stay low and fast in bad weather or at night. Airborne threats may have more issues attempting successful engagement in this enviroment due to lack of those same TF systems. More than one fighter has ran out of gas or collided with the ground trying... Some things to consider about the 'fast and low'. A bomber is not a fighter! You don't have the G's available to rate turn defeat a missle...and any turns you make for an airborne threat simply provides closure. Your best defense (besides certain manuvers to defeat radars, jamming techniques, and expendibles) is to RUN! Your turns at 9 miles a minute (540 knots) are huge! Don't be making egress turns that put you right over another threat because you didn't take that into account. You are a level bombing platform. No pop-ups, dive attacks, or loft bombing. Also, because you carry all weapons internally, you can't be in a bank while dropping...otherwise you risk putting a weapon into a bomb bay door. This means, at some point on the target run, you have to either abort the run entirely, or disregard manuvering for threats to get your 'stick' on proper alignment for the target. Length of your 'stick'. A B-1B can carry 84 500 lb GP bombs or 30 CBUs. It takes time to puke all those weapons out in a full bay drop. At the minimum, 20ms interval ripple time, a full bay drop takes 1.7 seconds, and will take up almost 1600 feet of length. This works out to a bomb interval of 18 feet between bomb impacts (which gives a high probability of failure due to fracticide). So, either less speed (not a good idea), less bombs (maybe, except for a runway attack), or greater ripple interval (which makes your stick bigger...so to speak). You are faster than most aircraft down low. Most fighters do not have a 540 knot run in speed except in short speed dashes. You (in a B-1) do 540 knots while smoking a Lucky...and can exceed Mach 1+ without much effort. 'Bone-ing' the enemy, and living to tell (or Don't Tell) about it. Plan, plan and plan! Determine your optimum threat and attack axis early. Give yourself a range of degrees for attack if you can. This may be easy for point attacks, harder for things like runways or a row of parked aircraft. Take what you need. Have the proper bombload for the target. Remember, CBUs are great for soft targets, GPs better for larger structures, runways, etc. Let the other guys go first. If there is a plan for taking out AAA/SAMs first, hey, let those guys do it. Sometimes in SFP1/WOV/WOE, the default plan has you in hot first. In a Bone, the VERY first guy will get lucky...the rest, not so much. That's why you have gas...can you say loiter until ready? Multi axis. Your AI wingman aren't too smart sometimes. You usually won't need more than 1 wingman...the rest will end up just being cannon fodder. Instead, use the planning screen to move the IP and post strike points. Then, when you get to the IP/target run, designate your target, have your wingman attack, while you move off to make the same attack from a separate axis...increasing survival rate, and plus it looks cool! The crappier the conditions, the happier you are. Night/AW is your friend...plan if you can... Sometimes, the shortest way isn't the fastest. Remember those turn rates...or lack thereof? Sometimes the fastest way to get out of a threat area is to go into it. Example, on a Florida-shaped country, if you're attacking Tampa, in the time it takes you to turn all the way around and egress north or south...you could have left a Mk82 calling card in Daytona Beach on your egress. Use it or lose it. Burner exists for a reason. For those wondering about IR signature increase...let me tell you a story. In night ops in the Bone (of which I did plenty), whenever a Bone was a mil power (non burner), you could see the tailpipes glow a dull red...from the ground. Run to avoid the gun! Hopefully, these tidbits will help you survive to fly and fight another day in the Bone. Good luck! Expect edits, corrections, and additions as I dredge up more info from my past. FastCargo

A blast from the past...employment techniques for those not doing the PGM thing: http://combatace.com/topic/18379-how-not-to-get-boned-flying-the-bone/ FC

Have you not been paying attention? http://combatace.com/files/file/11482-b-1b-redux/ FC

Or you could do it the right way in a B-1B. I've set it up to drop gravity nukes at .9 mach and 1300 AGL....it would be lower except the aim doesn't simulate timed weapons. FC

Go vote if you haven't already. I don't care who you are or what you believe in (frankly, I don't want to know...some of y'all are weird... ), but exercise your right to participate in the process. Lots of folks have died so you can freely do this. Lots of folks wish they had the right to do this. You have no right to complain about the government if you're not willing to do the very first step to influence it. Use it or lose it. FC PS No shilling or castigating any parties, viewpoints, politicians in this thread...not even a little. Take it to the Arena if you want to do that.

This is exactly correct. Landings are done in cross control at touchdown...most heavy aircraft cannot handle large sideways loads unless they have steerable landing gear. It is easier to simply do a wing low landing and let one main gear touch first. Aircraft may fly on final in a crab (ie sideways, wings level) to maintain ground track, but then transition to the wing low method in the flare, or accept a small sideways load for light crosswinds. Now, lets talk about the 'knife edge pass'. What makes you assume that a stock aircraft, even a fighter type aircraft can maintain altitude on a knife edge pass? You'll note in some aircraft, that pass is actually started in a climb, then rolls to 90 degrees bank, and even with full rudder deflection, the nose slowly tracks downward. What the crowd sees is an illusion caused by looking slightly upward as the aircraft traverses the showline. For, other aircraft, they are slightly modified to exceed their normal rudder authority at high speed. High yaw angles, especially in aircraft with long, snaking intakes, are not something jet engines enjoy, and so at higher speeds rudder authority is actually reduced. This even occurs in jetliners for the same reason (and to avoid high sideloads). For instance, in the T-38A, which when it used to be in the Thunderbirds, would do knife edge passes. However, the stock T-38A could not hold altitude long enough to complete such a pass at the rudder authority of 6 degrees. The rudder actually had the ability to go a full 30 degrees, but that was only with the landing gear down. However, for the Thunderbirds, that limiter was removed in order to be able to do things such as a knife edge pass...while still being able to say the T-birds used a 'stock' aircraft. There isn't anything that says they haven't done the same thing for other aircraft. Now, finally, lets talk about rudders in high speed, swept wing aircraft. When any aircraft goes into a standard turn, more lift is created on the upper wing than the lower wing. This in turn creates more induced drag, which pulls the upper wing away from the turn (called adverse yaw). This can be countered by pro turn rudder, either manually, or automatically using flight control augmentation. Another way (which a lot of aircraft have done since the 1930s) is by deflecting the ailerons asymmetrically (sometimes called frise ailerons), increasing the deflection of the downward wing's aileron to increase the drag to match the upward wing's induced drag to coordinate the turn. Next, when swept wing aircraft are put into a yaw, the forward moving wing presents more leading edge toward the relative wind, increasing lift, which increases induced drag, and increases frontal drag, both of which contribute to the lateral stability of the aircraft by tending to take out the yaw. So, after that explanation, lets talk about the situation where you use full rudder to try to turn a swept wing fighter, while using cross aileron to keep the wings level. First, rudder authority may have already been limited by the hardware or software at higher speeds. Secondly, the inherent drag properties of the forward wing in a yaw situation contribute to additional drag that wing is exerting against the turning force of the rudder. Third, the differential aileron you are using to keep the forward wing from rising is also adding more drag on that wing then the rearward wing. Fourth, the form drag of the air over the fuselage sideways will try to force the nose against the direction of yaw. All of these forces could easily add up and counter the rudder deflection and reduce the ground track change to trival levels, if any. So, the answer is that there may not be enough rudder authority to change the ground track in the situation you stated in real life. It depends on the aircraft and specific situation. FC

http://content.usatoday.com/communities/ondeadline/post/2010/11/video-kcbs-chopper-tapes-mystery-missile-launch-off-california-coast/1?csp=34news The most likely explanation. FC

The easiest way to install everything is simply to copy all the directories (Effects, Sounds, Objects) straight into whatever mod you want to fly the Bone in and allow overwrites. FC

Well, it may not, but SF2 does give you extra credit for additional targets you destroy, so you can certainly make your own secondary target. In addition, I've noticed in campaign missions, even when I was doing my primary mission, radio calls were going out for things like CAS. Seems like a mix-and-match load would be perfect for a campaign...the problem is having a good campaign to use...the NatoFighters 4 campaigns only go up to 1986 (which is fine if you resolve yourself to only using nukes...). Now, if someone made a NF4 campaign that spanned 1992 to 1998, you could have a challenge in that you could do secondary CAS if you encounter it, but you only have unguided bombs. FC

Going to mess up Stary's terrain in Natofighters... I've been doing a lot of OT&E in the Natofighters 86 campaign with the soon to be released B-1B Pack. Y'all are going to like her...you're going to like her a lot. FC

You were 1 v 4 in a visual dogfight with opponents who had smaller, manuverable aircraft armed with missiles and guns. I'm surprised you lasted as long as you did considering they got the drop on you. When you face odds like that, you need to thin out the herd at long range first. Once you get into a knife fight with opponents that aren't that much less than you are technologically and manuverability-wise, your odds decrease dramatically with each additional opponent that you will survive a long dogfight. "Know when to hold 'em, know when to fold 'em" FC

Updated to Version 2.31. Minor issues fixed. FC

Updated to Version 1.11, minor issues fixed. FC