gbnavy61

Thanks, guys. Any more, please feel free to keep 'em coming.

"I think you're gonna need a bigger boat."

After a couple test sorties, I can say she's a treat to fly. There's a few less MiGs in the sky and a few more ships at the bottom of the Med. Only a couple gripes, but one of note: seems my A/G radar is inop. Any suggestions? (Using WOI w/ latest patch.) (Other minor, minor gripes: - HUD AOB indicator is misaligned as in the AC-130U - it's way off to the left and only visible when banked over to the right. - front pilot's seat is too high relative to rear pilot's seat.) Overall, great work, everyone! I'll by you guys a round if I ever get the chance. Great jet, fun to fly and I love the attention to detail.

Well, it's no Tomcat, but it's all I got right now. A preemptive BZ, boys! Thanks for all the hard work.

I thought he was out of action for a while - some problem(s) with his back, iirc.

Same here. Is it the site maintenance? Or is it the reason for the maintenance?

Spooky - 1. Comm Building - 0.

What did you bag there, Toad? A Blenheim?

Exactly what I was thinking. More than likely, this was a less experienced pilot since: 1) Miramar is the home of the F/A-18C FRS, and 2) the Lincoln and the Reagan were both out there doing CQ related activities. Just as FC said, it seemed like he left too much decision-making up to the guys on the ground and they put him in a tight spot. I don't know what exactly the "checklist" was that was not followed, but if the compounding factors (bird was questionable on the ground, potential difficulties with the remaining engine, fuel not feeding properly) were really present then, North Island would have been the better choice. It's closer, better weather, has the same crash-fire-rescue resources, arresting gear, etc. Seems like poor headwork all the way around. But, with that said, I wasn't the one in the hot seat.

Probably help if he wasn't in a 60 degree AOB turn.

Liftoff. Better luck next time, tovarich.

What turns a tighter circle, a Mach 2 above launch speed missile pulling 20+G, or a fighter doing 400kts pulling 9G?

Would anyone else be interested in getting either of these birds in the game? I know you can't use them to shoot anything, but it'd still be neat to fly them.

I've noticed the default pilot selection is usually decent. I get a green kid as my dash-2, usually an experienced/senior pilot as dash-3 leading the second section and a not-so-green guy as dash-4. I may swap things out sometimes. I prefer to take pilots who have a few more missions under their belt - maybe ones with a kill or two. As far as size of the flight, four is about perfect for me. It's enough to have a little back-up and flexibility but not too much that I have to worry about managing everybody and waiting for twelve ships to join up. It also gets a little hairy when me and my guys are all 'fangs out' after the same bad guy. The potential for friendly fire and mid-airs goes up significantly. Have yet to have a collision, though there's been several too close for comfort situations, but I have been shot down by a friendly "Fox-2."

Freakin' awesome. Though, they should've gone with Microsoft over Sony.

That's gonna leave a mark.

Gotta be air-to-air for me. Smoking MiGs in the F-8 is highly enjoyable. I do fly the mud-movers now and again, but if I can load bullets into it, or throw some A/A missiles on it, I do - in the hopes of running across some hapless MiG. Conversely, I almost never take bombs on board, "just in case."

I thought it was working towards your next rank.

MiG-17s are a pain. I mostly come up against them in the Crusader. You can out turn a MiG-17 in an F-8, but you have to have him above 300 and you have to be above about 350. The biggest advantage in the Sader is that you can put on the speed faster than they can - I'd imagine its similar in the Hun. Do as most of the folks here recommend and use energy tactics (boom 'n zoom, fight in the vertical,etc.). Turn-fighting them isn't a good idea, so if you try that, make sure you leave yourself an out. Best bet, particularly against the Fresco-A (without the afterburner) is to leave altitude below you. If you get into a bind, split-S the hell out of there, unload, and extend. Sometimes, the little bastards will follow you through the split-S, so after you get a little distance, pop up into a climb and leave them in the dust - works well in the F-8 (not sure if I'd try this against a MiG w/ Atolls left, though). Now, for a really hairy time, try gunfighting a MiG-19. Those are the only guys I really worry about when in my Crusader. They're about as maneuverable as a -17, but with lots more thrust. MiG-21's? Easy day. (I guess my main bit of advice would be, ditch the Hun and pick up the Crusader. FLY NAVY!)

Are there any mods out there that let you play as either of these platforms (CG or DDG)?

f*** that! Not in a million years.

70. Wearing one pair of sunglasses at a time is not enough. 69. A hospital is a big building with patients, but that's not important right now. 68. When given a choice of steak or fish, have the lasagna.

Disagree w/ the A-4 = not legendary, also. Main light attack jet for the USN (and USMC) early on in Vietnam. Trained the world's best aviators for a couple decades. Did plenty of dissimilar training for the USN/USMC making our fighter guys even better. No small accomplishments there. Sure the Scooter doesn't have a record of "no air combat losses," but pure statistics do not a legend make. P.S. I'm glad that single-seat Intruder got turned down - it's too ugly. A-7 was a better choice on looks alone, although it's still a SLUF.