FastCargo

Yea...you'd think 32 is a lot, unless you start constraining stuff...then you can run out in a hurry. I ran into this the first time when I started off with just ini mods, giving the F-16XL realistic limitations in amounts and size of weapons that could be carried...hit the wall there! More recently, I ran into the same limit on the Super Hornet getting into all the specific weapon types that required different rails. The F-4 doesn't surprise me really, considering just in hardpoints alone, it has 13. You start constraining stuff and it goes up pretty quickly! FC

Actually, there is a limit on weapon stations. 32. RC, best way to limit their years is to make a new aircraft (something like F-4M_75, F-4M_79, etc) FC

This is a big deal...the current Electronic Flight Bags (EFB) we have are big and clumsy, and the laptops we have for TOLD are the same...almost milspec in terms of ruggedness. And we are helping lead the industry...a lot of airlines still use paper products, heavy, bulky and paper intensive. A small, light, robust device to replace both the EFB and laptop would be a godsend...and something an iPad-like device would be tailor made for. FC

By Jason Paur, WIRED From the earliest days of aviation, pilots have relied upon paper maps to help find their way. Even in an era of GPS and advanced avionics, you still see pilots lugging around 20 pounds or more of charts. But those days are numbered, because maps are giving way to iPads. The Federal Aviation Administration is allowing charter company Executive Jet Management to use Apple's tablet as an approved alternative to paper charts. The authorization follows three months of rigorous testing and evaluation of the iPad and Mobile TC, a map app developed by aviation chartmaker Jeppesen. The latest decision applies only to Executive Jet Management, but it has implications for all of aviation. By allowing the company's pilots to use the Apple iPad as a primary source of information, the FAA is acknowledging the potential for consumer tablets to become avionics instruments. The iPad has been popular with pilots of all types since its introduction last year. But until now, it could not be used in place of traditional paper charts or FAA-approved devices such as more expensive, purpose-built electronic flight bags. The iPad was OK for reference, but not as a pilot's sole source of information. The new FAA authorization changes all that. To receive FAA authorization, Jeppesen and Executive Jet Management went through a rigorous approval process. It included rapid-decompression testing from a simulated altitude of 51,000 feet and ensuring the tablet will not interfere with critical navigation or electronic equipment. Executive Jet tested the iPad and Mobile TC in 10 aircraft flown by 55 pilots during 250 flights. The first thought many pilots, not to mention passengers, may have is: What happens if the iPad or the app crashes? Jeff Buhl, Jeppesen's product manager for the Mobile TC app, says the Apple iOS operating system and the app proved "extremely stable" during testing. In the "unlikely" event of a software crash, he says, it takes but a moment to get them running again. "The recovery time for an application crashing or the OS crashing is extremely rapid," Buhl says. During the evaluation period with the FAA, the production app did not crash. But even if it did, Buhl says it's ready to go again "in 4-6 seconds from re-launch to previous state." The FAA says each individual operator -- in this case Executive Jet Management -- must develop specific procedures for dealing with system or software crashes and other issues. Under the authorization, Executive Jet Management will require a second approved electronic device, which most likely will be another iPad, in the cockpit. Although this authorization applies to just one company, it is a milestone for all operators, including major airlines, because it opens the door for them to embrace the iPad. Though any company wishing to follow Executive Jet's lead will have to endure equally rigorous scrutiny by the FAA. Agency spokesman Les Dorr says the process is no different from what is required for any other electronic device used to display navigation information. "As far as the iPad is concerned, we do that on a case-by-case basis when an airline applies to be able to use it," Dorr says. The FAA is already seeing more requests to use the iPad in the cockpit. Alaska Airlines began testing the iPad back in November and there are about 100 pilots currently evaluating the device according to spokeswoman Marianne Lindsey. She says in addition to the convenience, there is a practical weight-saving aspect to using the iPad as well, "it's replaced about 25 pounds of manuals and charts." Jeppesen's director of portfolio management, Tim Huegel, says several carriers are looking into using the iPad and TC Mobile, and with the FAA granting one approval, it should become increasingly easy for others to follow Executive Jet's lead. "We'll be able to reuse a lot of the documentation and the lessons learned working with Executive Jet Management to help our commercial customers as they now begin to pursue FAA authorization," he says. The charts available with Mobile TC include charts for visual flight rules and for instrument flight rules, which are more commonly used by commercial operators. The app only shows an electronic version of the paper charts Jeppesen has been producing for years, but Huegel says future versions could incorporate the iPad's GPS capability. He sees a day when tablets provide "door-to-door management" of a pilot's information, from crew scheduling to weather information to navigation charts. Story at CNN.com

Read through the WHOLE data.ini. FC

Read through the data.ini...you will figure it out. FC

Did you add SystemName[xxx]=ECM to the appropriate Component section? FC

Win7 will not let you natively move partitions to the 'left'. In other words, if you have unallocated space, it can only be tagged onto the 'end' of a partition, not the 'beginning'. Having said that, I've used this product: Partition Wizard Very simple and easy to understand interface, yet fairly powerful and I've used it successfully to move a MAC OSX, Win764, and WinXPMCE partitions around on the same hard drive with no loss of data. Good luck! FC

Other than outright deleting the pylons with a clever ini edit (which removes the pylon completely), I don't know if there is any solution. FC

Yea, I'd say that....look closely at the .OUT file to see if there is that situation. FC

Well, TK warned in the original exporter notes to not use 2-sided materials. I guess that's one of the side effects. FC

Because there is plenty of historical precedent to not buy US made aircraft. The Harrier (license manufactured). CASA HC-144A Ocean Sentry Dassault HU-25 A/C Guardian VC-143 Medium Range Command and Control Aircraft Aérospatiale HH / MH-65 C/D Dolphin And those are just what I can think of right off the top of my head (or that I found on the USCG website). Quite frankly, at this point, it doesn't matter if the deal was completely straight or totally crooked...because the whole process was so politically charged and dorked up in unimaginable ways, someone is going to cry foul no matter what the outcome would have been. Frankly, if there was a true 3rd player, I'd have gone with them just to figuratively smack Airbus and Boeing upside the head. FC

Download the B-1B Redux package. It has the SRAM, B61 and B83, all of which have working, current, nuclear explosion effects. FC

I doubt it. NK makes the majority of the Middle East look like 'Happy Fun Time Town'. I seriously doubt anything will gain traction there. FC

Technically, you don't 'own' the firmware that is on the PS3...you lease it under a EULA...one of the stipulations basically says you won't alter it. If you do, you technically can be prosecuted. Now, having said that, realistically, Sony can't prosecute everyone. The concern comes back to DRM...if you use custom firmware, it is now possible to make unauthorized copies of the game and/or cheat in online games, both of which suck. Please, don't give me any arguments against DRM that start with the words "You can't stop folks from copying/pirating". No s**t Sherlock, if you think companies actually believe that, you haven't been around long enough to understand why and how the revenue stream works. The idea of DRM is not prevention, just deterrence. Specifically, to prevent 'Day-Zero' piracy. The majority of the money made in sales of games comes within the first month. If you can get past that, you've made most of the money you are going to make. That's why Sony is taking such a hard line on the PS3 firmware crack. Unlike PSPs, where you can use custom firmware to run and make ISOs of your favorite UMDs but process is time consuming and complex to make and share, vs the firmware crack on the PS3. In addition, by allowing cheats, it ruins the online experience for others not doing so (which is why I got out of the PC online world...cheaters suck). Hey, you can do what you want to your console, that's fine by me...right up to the point where you attempt to ruin my online experience by cheating with hacks. Then it's screw you and the PS3 you rode in on...can and ban. FC

Strap your ass to a rocket on rails and hit the "Warp Speed" button... http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/John_Stapp Now, I've known about this guy for a long time (most folks who've flown ejection seat aircraft have heard of him at one time or another) and that he volunteered for crazy crap he designed. Flying without a canopy at 570 mph...check. Subjecting yourself to 45+ G of deceleration facing forward (after hitting 632 MPH)...check. Riding a damn rocket sled at 400+ MPH with NO windblast protection at all...check. What I didn't know was how instrumental he was in the adoption of seat belts as mandatory items for American cars (the USAF objected with his research into that at first, until he showed stats that more USAF pilots were being killed in traffic accidents then aircraft accidents). What I also didn't know was that the term "Murphy's Law" was first used by him during a press conference. Though versions of the saying had been around since at least the late 1800s, the press conference was the first time a name was attached to it, thus starting its growth in the aerospace industry and later, the popular culture. Even after having subjected himself to that kind of abuse, he passed away peaceably at 89 years old in 1999. How many lives (in aviation and in the automobile) has he saved through his putting himself through that kind of abuse. Did I mentioned he looked like Dave, but turned down to about a 5? Thanks Col Stapp! FC

I knew there was a reason not to let ET phone home! FC

Yea...that was a hazard when I was testing the B-70...:). Ironic that one of my creations was getting destroyed by another of my creations... FC

Well, crap. Now that I've done more research, it seems that USN colors were in fact different and match what's in the sim. But, the general activation positions are correct for all aircraft (ie it points 'down' when the AOA is high and points 'up' when the AOA is low). FC

Man, I'm always leery of updates to anything, especially if it's working perfectly... FC

Except, if I'm reading that correctly, you've got the values completely reversed. Fast speed = Low AOA. Slow speed = High AOA. Actually, now that I look at it closer, (at least so far with the F-4 and A-7 and F-8), that though the symbology is correct in activation and position, the colors are jacked. The upper 'lower the nose/slow' chevron should be Red (currently Green), the lower 'raise the nose/fast' chevron should be Yellow (currently Red), and the 'on speed' donut should be Green (currently Yellow). At least, that's how I've seen it in aircraft...was there a time when the colors were different? FC

I believe Dave has the M11x, talk to him. FC

That's usually the result of the LODs being mismatched in the ini file. Alter the MiG-17 ini file, commenting out all but the top line LOD file (and increase the viewing distance). See if that works. FC

If you downloaded WOE from ThirdWire at anytime after Oct 08, it is already patched up to the Oct 08 level. FC

Never heard of that patch. Are you talking about BOB or BOB II? And we aren't talking about the BOB addon for the ThirdWire sims, right? FC