navychief

I am not a modder at all. Heck, I feel fortunate just being able to install a mod; let alone MAKE one! Perhaps I am alone in my feelings about this, but to me, SF is such an unusual sim in the way that it is so open to mods by everyone. It is because of this that I like it so much; along with the era that the sim portrays. The aircraft from the Vietnam Era were definitely part of my life for four years during my first enlistment. Playing this sim brings back a lot of good memories, as I "fly" those beautiful Phantoms and Skyhawks that I worked on, but could not pilot. Soon, I hope to be "flying" the Corsair and the Viggie too! Long live SF! Navy Chief

How 'bout them Valions! I wasn't with VA-15 when they had Skyhawks, but did spend three years with them, fixing Corsairs. I was trained on A-4s at NATTC Millington, TN though. Winter of 1972 to Spring of 1973. AME School. NavyChief

Monty, The Viggie looks GREAT! I am so impressed! Seems like almost every week there is another example of what great things are in store for this sim. When patch#2 is released, and this aircraft is added (along with my beloved A-7), I will be flying a LOT!!! Go NAVAIR! Chief P.S. Thanks again, Monty!

Oh heck yes! Really looking forward to this! I need the practice badly! Chief

Great looking car, Beer! Bring on da tunes! Chief

I almost had a ride in a Viggie. I suited up for the ride, and was strapped in. One of the hydraulic pumps malfunctioned, and they downed the plane. Never got another chance. I did, however, get several rides in Phantoms, and that made up for it! Chief

Awesome, Deuces! Very impressive!!!!!!!!!!! Chief

Yes, bring on the mighty Intruder! And while you're at it, bring on the SLUF too!! Chief

I got this today in my email, and had to share it with you....hehehehe: A man came home from work. He sat in his favorite chair, turned on the TV and said to his wife, "Quick, bring me a beer before it starts." She looked a little puzzled, but brought him a beer anyway. When he finished it, he said, "Quick, bring me another beer. It's gonna start." This time she looked a little angry, but decided to bring him the beer. When it was gone he said, "Quick, one more before it starts." She blows her top. "That's it! You bastard! You waltz in here, flop your fat a.. down, don't even say hello to me and then expect me to run around like your slave bringing you beer ?? Don't you realize that I cook and clean and wash and iron all day long?" The husband sighed, "Sh..t, it started..." Chief

Hey Dagger The website is at: http://www.flanker2.com/ The forum is listed on the menu at the left side, sixth button down from the top. Good luck, and let me know if you find the answer to your problem! Talk to you soon. Flanker looks like quite a sim. Chief

By the way, Dagger I just installed Flanker 2.5. Never have played it before. Perhaps we could connect online via RW, or some way, and configure things to work online multiplay?? Chief Besides, I need all the help I can get!

Hey Dagger, I posted the following message at the Flanker website: A friend of mine is trying to reinstall Flanker, after having unistalled it some time ago. Here are his problems: "Ok so heres the deal..I had it installed and then to make room for another sim i uninstalled it.well now i want to reinstall it and when i try it says it's uninstalling it and it shows up in the add/remove in the control panel,and in the system reg.I try to delete in the add/remove and it keeps showing up..I try to delete in it in the regedit and it keeps showing up so I can't reinstall it.Please help me.Thanks." If anyone can suggest some help, he would greatly appreciate it! Thanks, RetNavyCpo Also, Dagger, the answer to your question might be in their forums. I read through several pages of them, but did not see an exact answer. You might find some help there, though.

This story will bring back memories to all you old swabbies out there. The first time I went aboard a carrier was in '73, on the USS Saratoga. At the time, she was in REFTRA (Refresher Training), off the coast of Gitmo, Cuba. Back then, carriers had their own MAA (Master at Arms) force, which was basically the ship's police. Outside of the showers, there was often a member of the MAA force, who would stand there with a report chit book. He would monitor when sailors went into the showers. Because of mandatory water conservation for the steam catapults, a "Navy shower" was required by all hands. You got into the shower, turned on the water and got wet. Then you turned it off, soaped down; and then turned the water back on, rinsed off, and shut the water off. If any sailor took a shower longer than that (known as a "Hollywood shower), the MAA would have a report chit ready for him when he got out. Not good. Sometime in the early 80s, I think, some ex-Navy type developed a handheld nozzle for the showers that you had to push a button to get water spray. Besides being a pain in the arse to use, the spray was more like a mist that was so fine, it stung, and it left you feeling like you didn't even get a shower. Combine that with the fact that quite often the water supply would either go to full hot steam, full cold, or completely off without notice; all made for a less than desirable experience. I recall that the water always smelled of JP5 jet fuel. On one occasion, not only did the water supply go off, but so did the electricity. In fact, the Sara went totally "dead" in the water for a few minutes. Adding insult to injury, was the incredible heat that built up when the ship's airconditioning (such as it was) went off. Imagine being covered in soap, shampoo, and then no power. The head was pitch black darkess. It was an adventure just finding your towel, and then having to dry off the soap and try to make it to your rack without bashing your shins on the knee knockers. Ahhhh, such are the sweet memories of shipboard life! Chief W.

rHey Skater Am sure that is true. I wasn't able to pass the hearing test for subs, way back in 72. Didn't bother me, as I wanted to get into aviation anyway; but I always wondered what it would have been like on a sub. Closest I ever got to one was in the harbor at Naples, Italy. The carrier would always anchor out about 2 miles, and we would pass by the sub that was part of the task force, tied up in the harbor. Of course, the destroyers would tie up to the pier! Chief

I was an airdale too. All of our berthing compartments (or "Coops") were back under the arresting gear. Even after I made CPO, the Chief's berthing was in the same area. My last cruise was on the Sara. I chose a bottom rack, and near the door, so I didn't have to deal with a set of racks across from me. It was relatively quiet (if there is such a thing aboard a carrier!). Years ago, RTC Orlando was closed down. I wish I had been there, because I have been searching to buy one of the clothes lockers they used in boot camp for the recruits. I recently had a bathroom added on to my house. I decided to make the bathroom look like a head on a Navy ship. I bought several items from scrapped US Navy ships. The sink and faucets came from the CHENG (Chief Engineer's) stateroom off a destroyer. The mirror frame is a porthole from a old destroyer. The window is a complete WW2 porthole (it has 3/4 inch glass!). I wanted to find a toilet from a ship, but that didn't happen. Oh yeah, and the faucets won't quit leaking (sound familiar?). To finish it off, I painted the head "haze gray"...hehehehehe Chief

Hey Seawolf You know, I never got used to the noise where I could sleep. I bought a huge box of the yellow foam rubber-type ear plugs, which I kept in my locker. No ear plugs, no sleep, period. And even with the ear plugs, I was lucky to get 3 to 4 fours of sleep. What with all the drills (GQs, Man Overboard, etc...) it was virtually impossible to really sleep, unless we were in port, and it was a Sunday; remember? I wish I could return to those days, and see some of those ports without all the beer I drank back then. My memories of those places is not too clear, because my brain was so fogged up from drinking back then! Chief

Hey FE, Please contact me. I received two messages from you, but it was through the squadron website, and I was not able to access them. Hope all is well with you. Contact me if you can, either through Bio, or my email addresses. Navychief Go Navair......

Hey Jason I sent you a msg via Hotmail. Chief

Hey Seawolf So true about the standing water. Also, do you remember having to search for a head because the one closest to your berthing was closed for field day? That constantly happened. I remember having to walk half the length of the ship to find an open head, and by the time I got back to my rack, I was wide awake and could not sleep. All squadron personnel's berthing was on the O-3 level, either under the Arresting Gear, or forward, under the Catapults. The noise was deafening. When anyone would ask me what it was like to sleep there, I would liken it to a semi-truck landing on your roof every 30 seconds. Only, I think it was louder than that! Chief

Nope, they use the same water supply. However, the living conditions (although better) are still cramped, especially for the junior officers. No way around it, when you have over 5,000 personnel on a ship, the quarters are going to be tight! Chief

Yes, the waiting is most frustrating. However, there are so many talented people working on improvements to this sim. I must acknowledge their efforts, to be sure. I can wait. It's not like the game as it stands is not fun, because it is a blast! I gotta tell you though, I am looking forward to my first "takeoff" in an A-7 (with VA-15 markings, of course...), and fully armed. Navychief

At the risk of sounding like a kid on a trip with his parents, asking, "Are we there yet?", I simply wonder if there is any projected time frame for the forthcoming patch, and/or the addon aircrafts? LOMAC is supposedly due out soon, but it is SF that I am wanting to see with the new patch and added aircraft. I know, I know....be patient, Grasshopper, right? Hehehehehe.. Chief

Hey Dagger Thanks for the information. I can't expect them to rush things. After all, the more beta testing they do, the less problems with the finished product, eh? Leastwise, that is the way things are supposed to work! I am impressed at the talent it must take to create such things as addons for this sim. Hey, all I wanna do is play! I can only sit back in total amazement at the incredible graphics of this sim. When I think of how far things have evolved from the days of Atari games; whew! Oh, I can wait as long as it takes. Chief W.

I have been downloading a lot of mods for this sim, in anticipation of its arrival in the mail. Question I have, is how the mods are added? Any big difference in the procedure? The graphics appear to be quite excellent with this sim. Oh yeah, one other big question I have is, can the American aircraft be flown in this sim? Chief W.

I probably know the answer to this already, but I have to ask it. When Patch 2 does get released, will it update my existing SFP1 with all the addons I have made? Or will I have to uninstall everything and start over? Just curious. I am hoping I don't have to reinstall everything. Chief W.