ST0RM

Amen to that. With all of the OREs and IGex's we've been having, I've had 0 time on the comp. I didnt see the lightning, but did enjoy seeing that string of Blinders depart. The whole thing reminded me a bit of Red Storm Rising or that scene in Clear and Present Danger, although those were Backfires. Would make for a great mission set. Also nice to hear the CIWS lighting up the incoming "Vampires". Great work! Storm

Tuzla and Brindisi are a must for the AFSOC assets. We were home based at Brindisi, but we forward deployed our CSAR helos to Tuzla once things kicked off. The AC-130 and MC-130s were left at Brindisi and supported us from there. KC-135s were staged from Istres, France, but that is well out of range of the map. Storm

I agree. I only talk to Red Crown twice per mission. Once going into theater and once again checking out. Otherwise we're talking to a ground based Command & Control agency, and/or AWACS. Our Comm2 is tanker common where we often b*tch to each other about said C&C agency/AWACS. It's sometimes nice having 3 radios, plus SATCOM. Adding normal radio chatter would help out the immersion quite a bit. I've tried replacing some sounds with some mil radio chatter, but it always started over whenever you swapped between inside and outside views. If we could get that to continuously play, problem solved. Storm

Jug's reply was spot on. 'Nuff said. Storm

Here's me and Bill, about a month ago. I'm on the left in the flightsuit. Bill is a good friend from my last assignment to Ramstein. He's a former C-130 loadmaster who got commisioned and is now a -135 maintenance officer. This was the first time we've seen each other since we both left Germany and I started flying. Jeff P.S. I dont usually have a mustache, but it was "Mustache March" and everyone was growing the combat 'stache for fun and to tick off the E-9s.

Nice work. The town I lived in had a couple of high rise apartments, but most were two/three story houses. This makes for great city addons. If you can post the names for the switch, that would help out. Thanks! Storm

deployment. Give me a shout at home or on the cell. Cheers, Jeff

Yes, both pilots were rescued. I launched out both CSAR flights on each of those nights. They were a 3-Ship formation of 2 MH-53M Pavelow and a single MH-60G Pavehawk. You should have seen the looks on our faces when we got the brief that a -117 had gone down. Storm

Thanks!

After loading the weapon packs, I've noticed that the BOZ 107 pods are listed as jammers and not countermeasures pods as they are in real life. Does anyone have the correct data for them in regards to actual numbers carried and the trajectory, etc...? Storm

I may have missed this, but another thing is that sims last longer than most other games. Of course, there have been exceptions. F4 has been around for years and is still used as a benchmark for new sims to beat. LOMAC tried and did pretty well, but it had such a high learning curve and demanded a very high end machine, it turned many mid-level simmers away. MSFS is in a class of it's own, but I still see people playing/modding FS98. Their Combat FS series was ok, but they half-assed the sequals and people gave up on them. FSX has series potential, but again, it's a hog. There are only a few elite simmers who can run it on highest settings or on an OS that isnt a PITA. The IL-2 series is another game that has stood the test of time. It's one of the best WWII sims ever, if not the best. The TW series has also enjoyed longevity (5+ years now) and is held in high regard for it's ability to be modded and low-learning curve. Sims take a long time to build, in order to get things just right. Look at Jet Thunder and that other jet sim that was hyped at SimHQ. They have been in development for quite some time. Granted they are a "cottage industry" (for lack of a better term) production and on a low budget. Hopefully we'll see a resurgence in sims. I've got some ideas from a current aviators perspective, that I'd like to see implemented in a sim. These are based observations of the current air campaign over Iraq and Afghanistan that I think can be adapted into a very playable and enjoyable sim. Not just dropping JDAMs, but the way things actually work on any given day and how things evolve. Speaking of which, time to step to my jet. Storm

I realize that the XL was originally to be give the E/F suffix, but that now belongs to the Blk60s of the UAE. Is that just a place holder? Storm

Yea, I'll lend a hand where I can. I deploy alot and have a full schedule with exercises over the summer, but will do my best to help out. I havent skinned anything in years, so maybe I can be of assistance with loadouts or mission design. Let me know. I've got pics of Afghanistan that I've taken from the air if you guys need them also. Jeff

Wow, you guys are off to a great start for ideas. Another bit to think about, as the Tu-22s rolled in at high alt, fighters were sent up to pop their flares as additional protection. Cheers, Jeff

I had the Suncom setup and loved it when they were new. Over time, the actuators (cant remember the actual term) wore out as they were plastic. I tried replacing them once with some free items sent from Suncom, but it was never the same. Last I heard, Suncom went out of business, so support is not provided if something breaks. The Crate Combo included the SFS Throttle, but was coupled with the lower end F-15 FC stick and not the top of the line F-15E Talon. The difference being less programable buttons and a lack of the Castle HAT switch. I replaced them with CH Products HOTAS and am getting some good use. Good luck! Storm

Happy Birthday Dave. Missed it yesterday, but hey, they needed gas ;) Jeff

Having flown over it just the other day, I was wondering if this would be done. The terrain is amazing. If the people didnt hate us so bad, it would be a cool place to visit. Count me in. Storm

IIRC, the Big "E" is part of the TF-77 package and is available. I know I've flown from the Enterprise in game. Storm

On my deployments to OEF/OIF, I've successfully loaded and play all of the Thirdwire jet sims without too many problems. My laptop is less capable than yours, but still on low/med settings I have a good time. F4:AF should also work. Dont forget about the joystick. I bring along a cheapy Saitek and it's great. Cheers, Storm

I've never paid much attention to the ground vehicles, but are they drivable? Would add an interesting twist to the game/campaigns. Storm

Just missing an MH-53J PaveLow/AH-64 Apache combo to start the war. That looks awesome! Nice work to all. Storm

Aggie, Just wanted to get back to you and let you know the outcome. Basically I've got a corrupt install of SFP1 from what I can figure. I tried installing OTC onto the same fresh install of SFP1 that I had saved and got the same CTD. I'll have to wait for a bit, but will try again at home. Thanks! Jeff

Does the parabrake work on the Phantoms in WoI? Been waiting on this one for a while. Storm

Aggie, Will do. Figured that might be it, but was holding off until I heard back from you. Now I have to see if I brought along my SFP1 disk. ;) I'll let you know how it went, Cheers, Jeff

I'm an Instructor Boom operator on the KC-135R/T Stratotanker. I'm currently deployed to the OEF/OIF AOR flying missions. Previously I was a Life Support technician and worked MC-130 Combat Talons, MH-53J/M Pavelows, MH-60G Pavehawks and the F-15C/D Eagle. Not a bad career so far. Cheers, Jeff