ST0RM

The French AF maintain their boom currencies, despite being probe/drogue only. The Turks and Sings also have KC-135Rs and do refuel using the boom. I'm fully MPRS and drogue certified, so the ability to chuck out some hoses would be snap. Especially from an Il-78. -S

The Gunslinger's CO is a female also. Nice pics!

Ditto, very nice images. I wonder if the RusAF would allow a cross-flow USAF boom operator. Talk about the mother of all Joint-assignments.

Imagine that. I wonder if they'll threaten to sue again.

Hence why we've been homeschooling for the past 5 years. At least there I know that we can say "Under God" during the daily Pledge of Allegiance and not be punished.

No, I got yanked off of the Red Flag trip. So yes, no fair.

Thanks fellas. Sitting here in the office, Eval'ng a base exercise. I'd rather be flying ;) -S

The first picture is not the F-22, but the proposed F-35C.

F*** my life! I was just told that I've been pulled off of the Red Flag trip to prep for the ASEV in 5 weeks. I guess being the "go to guy" doesnt pay off. The lazy SOBs in the unit make out with the good deals, just to keep them out of the squadron. Why do I even bother to get out of bed sometimes???

Most people don't give two shakes, but to Dave, FC and some other friends here, my appologies for not being around for a few months. With the holidays and the new year came new tasks. Headed to Red Flag in a few days, so I'll try and post some pics. Maybe I'll even buy SF2I if it's ironed out. -Jeff

Thanks for the help. I'm simply swapping one for one, so the jumper settings won't be an issue. I've done several H/D installs, so that was familiar. Ok, so I'll go and install it and see if Windows will need extra drivers. If so, I've got some downloaded. Just wanted to get another eyes on, so to speak, as backup to make sure I wasn't missing something. Thanks!

I got a used Samsung SM-348 CD-RW/DVD combo from a buddy. I'm going to install it on my comp (Win XP), but have a few questions. He didn't give me any disks with drivers, but I read that since Win 95, the OS already has native drivers for this. Or am I reading it incorrectly and will need something else? I'm grabbing the 1.41 firmware from softpedia. Are these correct? Moving into new territory, so thanks in advance! -S

By tuning the IR seeker to "see" in other IR Bands, the AIM-9 or another IR missile could be used to track a ground target. Obviously a truck does'nt put off the same energy a jet does, but those engineers are crafty people. -S

I got to "play" with a SA-6 Straight Flush radar during a visit to the Polygon EW range near Ramstein a few years ago. And I'm one day away from graduating from the Combat Aircrew Tactics Studies (CATS) course in St. Joseph, Mo. I'm definately going to download this, since I just spent the last couple of weeks learning about our threats. Thanks for the link. -S

ATAC flies a mix of Kfirs, Drakens and Hunters in the Adversary role. They've got a pretty large contract with the Navy, so I'd put my money on that.

Yea, this thing is all over the boards. What better way to test a new design, than under actual conditions? Maybe it was just swamp gas?!?!

The main issues with the F-35 is that its two years BEHIND schedule and the price tag is increasing. In today's shrinking defense budgets, this is unacceptable. Many countries and militaries have "placed all of their eggs in one basket" when they signed on for the F-35. The USMC has nothing to replace it's Harriers and has no other option but to sticking it out and wait. The USAF thinks it can replace the A-10 and F-16. The RAF is now rethinking it's numbers and types they will buy to replace the Harriers and Tornado GR4. Stealth is great, but if you can only bring two bombs to the fight, then what real benefit is the aircraft? I could go on, but I'll leave it open for others. As for the SH. It's great for the Navy as a replacement for the Legacy Hornet. It has slightly longer range and can bring back a heavier bomb load to the ship, instead of jetisoning them prior. However it does have some compromises that some people can't get past. Time will tell for the F-35. Personally, I'm not a fan. -S

Welcome Home!

Had an interesting one today. I'm flying a 1971 campaign over Europe. I'm a "Wolfhound" assigned to the 32nd TFS based out of Soesterberg. Our base was put out of action on the first night by a sneak attack by An-2 Colts, flying low and dropping frag bombs. Several of our Phantoms were hit, but a few made it without a scratch. So, were on detachment to Twenthe AB. Anyhow... My flight was assigned a CAP over Giessen, Germany. It's about 60 klicks north of Frankfurt. This morning, I had a brief conversation with my crew chief. She explained that she had cleaned the cockpit, but everything should be ok. Well as I'm rolling down the runway and pull back to lift off, the Phantom immediately rolls hard to the right. WTF!?!?! Luckily I had a few feet of altitude and caught it quick. I re-trim the jet and off we go. During the fight, I bag 3 MiG-21s with a pair of AIM-7s and an AIM-9, plus a Il-28 with another Sidewinder and gun. My flight did well and we RTB'd without incident. Upon shutting down, I ask my crew chief about the trim issue. She was embarrased and promised to do better next time. The real part of this story is that my wife dusted my computer and sticks and must have hit the trim knobs and knocked them out of allignment. Funny huh? We both laughed about it.

While I don't have my notes anymore, but I did have something similiar for various sims. We're nerds Cool find!

This thread had me look into my own drivers and see what I was running. Apparently I was several behind, despite updating a few weeks ago. Got the Beta 195 drivers and am installing now. -S

Love the VFA-122 bird Eric. No worries on the delay. I've been on-off with simming. Thanks! Jeff

Non-subscribers are limited to a few downloads at a time. If you do create another logon name and are caught, you will probably be banned from the site for good. Dave and Erik are good at catching people. Subscribe and you are unrestricted.

Horrible Top Gun knock-off, but awesome to the Buc and the Hunter T.8

Nav's fuel/wind calculations. I don't want to spoil it further.