Lt. James Cater

Guess that going roundabout is still a no/go. Now i know why the F-15 is the uberfighter in these sims. On 4 missions i got shot down every time. Even when i reached 62,000ft i still got hacked out of the skies by F-15s that climbed up and nailed the MIG, twice via AIM9Ls! As a matter of fact i was detected and tracked almost from wheels up and even though i thought i could outrun them at altitude, as soon as i had to make a 90 degree turn that was all they needed to cut the corner and shoot. Damn, i've flown the Eagle in campaign and scored well (most kills of any fighter model)but i didn't really realize just how formidable it is. It really makes me feel a whole lot better flying a Recce Phantom. When all is said and done, i'll have a longer career in the Phantom than the Foxbat. I'll keep trying with the MIG and see if i can come up with some good info.

If you're going to smoke, it's best done when you're home!

Go to downloads and get "The Range". Install, then use for practice http://forum.combatace.com/index.php?app=downloads&showfile=2658

I was trying to figure out how to get a view of "the other side of the hill" when i remembered the ODS mod. Sure enough there was a MIG25RB and so i took it for a spin on the Range. I was massively impressed on my first flight. It went really high and fast and i kept thinking of the joys of flying this thing in a WOE campaign. However, when i flew a mission reality quickly made itself apparent. I plotted a direct course down into Saudi Arabia and were the results striking. I never even made it to the Kuwait border! This despite flying as high as 65,000ft. Everytime i was shot down by the same bunch of Hornets. The last time i actually decided to turn and run but took a wrong angle and it was over. It did take multiple firings on their part to get me though. One time they launched 9 AIM9Ms. Later i'll try again taking a roundabout route and see what i can do.

What you see above is the result of flying over a 23mm gun that just happened to have one hell of a sharpshooter on the trigger. With every pass over a target, you roll the dice. There is no way around it. Anyways let me get down to business... My approach is different from Asraam's. In an RF4C i put the throttle to 68-69% and keep it there for virtually the entire mission. After takeoff, i climb to 25-30,000ft and take advantage of the high speed made possible by the altitude as as well as improved fuel consumption. Route planning is key for me. The target is not that far into enemy lines but i wasn't exactly sure about the SAM defenses and number of enemy fighters were based in the vicinity. Checking the map carefully i saw that the target was located in a salient so i decided on the route above. that meant that all i had to do was keep the heading from the IP over the target and just boogie on in a straight line back over the Front. BTW that was the mission i got hit. ECM is a rare thing. I prefer to hit it about 5 miles out and keep it on while dropping chaff on the way out the exit door. Shilkas are THE number one threat as far as i'm concerned. Them buggers can ruin your day in a hurry. Recce work is not an easy business. At the moment of truth there are no fancy manuvers or weapons that will accomplish the mission. Straight and level in the target area while gritting your teeth doing what on occasion amounts to facing a firing squad. There is no "stand off" in this. To, over, and beyond the target you WILL go. There is no other way! PS- Could a MOD edit out the repeat screenshot. Somehow it occured and i don't think i can fix it without screwing something up.

As far as Recce goes, i've seen a bit of practical advice on a thread some time ago. Perhaps i should go ahead with the material i was working on and present it for critique.

RIP OLI

Not so cut and dried. Last year i was working on a SAM map for WOE and was shot down 4 times in 7 missions flying RF4Cs. If possible, i'll go into detail tommorrow after i get out of work

Just finished a mission a short while ago... The initial approach was at 30,000ft. This area one of my favored spots to penetrate enemy airspace. It allows a nice back door entry of sorts. At this moment i'm diving to about 1500ft. Now i'm doing my thing. Low altitude, high speed, alone and unarmed and unafraid. ! Note where all the action is. The hope is that the enemy is distracted by a mass of targets and you'll be able to slip by unnoticed. Just after i reached the initial point a Mig overflew me and then manuvered to 6 high. I had already punched tanks since they were empty and so i knew i had the advantage. He fired a pair of Atolls but the the range and flares made him miss. At 10 miles i hit the burners and knew then the Mig was no further threat. The pass was also done from a direction that only needed a slight course change to head back towards the front lines. In total it followed for perhaps 30 miles but SAM and AAA was the constant worry. After the pass, stayed in burner until the next waypoint about 30-40 miles and then climbed back up to altitude to next the next point and went home. The real funny part is that the target area was only about 200 miles flight from the base but I had to almost triple the distance to avoid the teeth of the enemy defenses! In all this, amongst the great advantage of the RF4C as a Recce platform is it's tremendous fuel capacity. The version i'm flying at the moment(EdA)has 22,000lbs of fuel that is really a lifesaver. Now i'm really curious about trying to achieve the same results in a Finback. Perhaps i'll check things out during the weekend.

TAKING DAMAGE!

When i get a new computer i plan to go all out and fly everything possible. At the moment i'm in a Spanish RF4C during the 1986 campaign and i've also flown Recce Phantoms in the incredibly difficult ODS campaign. To begin with, navigation is of utmost importance. Just planning a simple route is not enough, What aircraft are based at certain bases becomes of vital importance as well as taking an educated guess at the ground defenses in certain areas. I'm curious to see what the fuel capacity is of a Finback. Even with the Phantom's large max fuel load i'm always checking the fuel gauge and have cut it very close on a few occasions. I did make a notable error in the last post. It's best to hit burners 10 miles from the objecttive and only stay that way until you are out of the threat area of the local defenses,then go back to non burner settings. The soonest it's safe it's time to go back to altitude for both speed and fuel conservation.

I was typing a long response to this some time ago but stopped when i realized it was turning into a standard Recce primer. The only thing i can think of is loading up with all the tanks you can carry and first go high up and try to probe for a weakly defended sector. Take long roundabout routes if you have to. If or when you figure they are onto you hit burners and go for the deck. Once there go full military power toward and use terrain for all that it's worth. Within 20 miles or so of the objective punch tanks and hit full burners about 10 miles out for the pass. Can't give an opinion about F-15 intercepts since i've never been in that situation.

Mexico...Drug War women

Red Over Blue The End

A match for any man!

Question for the Mods... Is there anyplace i can send some pics for approval? I got some really rippings pics i've collected but i'm hesitant to post them because a few are pretty brutal to say the least. Topical for sure, but it might be a little too much for some.

Think this dude is really into what he's doing?

It's been a while so i decided to get things going with a couple of more birds... CL-13B Saber MK6...Pros-Incredible manuverability, exceptional fuel endurance for early jet design, plentiful gun ammo, variety of munitons available for it. Cons-.50 guns lack punch, non afterburning, AIM-9Bs utterly unreliable. With the exception of the missle problems the other cons are almost unremarkable for the most part. This plane is a hands down winner. Unmatchable in a dogfight and a fine A2G platform as well. How good? My first campaign in it produced (IIRC)10 aces in my squadron with NOT ONE A2A loss due to enemy fighters. The sole A2A loss was an own goal via a stray Sidewinder. The lack of gunpower is sometimes a hassle but can be overcome by getting on the foe's 6 and waiting for the right moment. Fiat G91R/3...Pros-Strong gun armament, good cockpit visibility, compact size Cons-Limited loadouts, no afterburner, rudimentary instruments, limited combat radius, somewhat underpowered. This plane can be a real suprise if one is careful. In the strike role, serious consideration must be taken into account due to the need for drop tanks on certain missions. That will reduce the weapons load to minicule proportions compared to larger aircraft. If handled carefully it can do the job. Since it can't run away from enemy fighters, two 30mm cannons provide a powerful punch in a dogfight. The Gina is the plane i'm currently flying in a campaign.

I'm still flying WOE because there are still a number of plane/campaign scenarios i'd like to try. All the newer stuff pretty much can't be handled by my comp and so that has to wait until i a new one sometime in the future.

I know i'm not taking this seriously. Since the nomination of Tookie Williams a few years ago i've adjusted by ignoring the Peace prize winner.

Nesher, The info i sent you was more difficult than i thought to come up with because thinking like a visitor to NYC is pretty hard. I've been around places that no visitor would ever go to unless it was by accident or they were really curious

With IR missles you won't get a diamond. That's only for radar guided ones. Sidewinder effectiveness depends on the model. Bs for example, have a rather narrow envelope and are almost useless in a dogfight. Ls are pretty much "point, shoot, kill". In between is a number of variables. With experience you'll be able to instinctivly know the right setup for whatever missle you're using. Scanning for targets i figure depends on what you think is out there. In an F-4 or Deuce i scan right up until the the target is spotted then go boresight, lock and engage. Search around these forums and you'll find a lot of posts concerning missle use.

We were discussing this at work last Friday and concluded that Brazil would be a good choice due to both the climate really being a challenge to the athletes and that it'll be the first Olympics held South America. Chicago we didn't like as it's pretty much a violent gang infested corrupt pesthole that no Olympics would redeem.