malibu43

Actually, Wrench, that's exactly what I did last night! I changed the dispenser to a MER (which is perfect since the SUU14 has 6 dispenser tubes) and changed the BLU-3 to a regular cluster bomb. I added "SpecificStationCode=CBU25" to both the rack and the bomb. I also added "SpecificStationCode=CBU25" and "RackSpecificStationCode=CBU25" to the new weapon station on the A-1. I haven't done a lot of testing so far, but it looks like it will work exactly how I want it to! There was one negative (although minor) side affect of using this approach. When I go to the dropdown menu in the loadout screen for a weapon station with the SpecificStationCode added, I have the option of loading 1 BLU-3 or 6 BLU-3's with the SUU14 as a rack. If i select 1 BLU-3 and start a mission, the one submunition is just sitting there below the weapons pylon. It looks pretty silly. Like I said, this is a minor issue and will only come up if someone doesn't know what they're doing at the loadout screen. But, is there any way to prevent this? Is there any way to force a specific weapon or specific weapon station to always use a rack?

There are a couple weapons out there (JP 233, CBU-14, CBU-25) for SF2 that simulate cluster bomb dispensers. They do this by defining the dispenser as a rocket pod and the sub-munition as a rocket with 0 (or nearly 0) booster. This works fine for player aircraft. However, AI aircraft get confused because the weapon is technically a rocket. When the AI goes to use these weapons, they start climbing over the target and appear to try to point the @$$ end of the plane at the target. The result is that they stall over and over again on run after run and never take a shot. I'm sure this has something to do with the AI trying to use the weapon like a normal rocket pod. Bottom line is that it doesn't work. I would REALLY like to use the CBU-25 as part of the default loadout for USAF skyraiders in the SF2V AGXP. But if I do this, AI flights or AI wingmen become totally useless. I'm trying to think of other work-arounds for the issue that the AI wouldn't have issues with. One scenario I'm thinking of is to define the sub-munition(s) as cluster bombs and simply load those on the aircraft. This would allow the AI to use them correctly. But, the dispenser (SUU-14, in this case) won't show up. Is it possible to: Change the dispenser to a rack via .ini edits (probably a MER)? Create new weapon stations that use "Stationspecificcode=" so that only the sub-munition (BLU-3A in this case) can be loaded there. Also add the "stationspecificcode=" to the BLU-3A so it doesn't get loaded anywhere else. For the new weapon stations created in #2, specify that the new SUU14 rack is the racktype used when that station is used in the loadout? Similar to the way certain aircraft only load rails when IR missiles are loaded. This would allow the SUU14 dispenser to only show up when the sub-munition is loaded. And it wouldn't disappear when the BLU-3A is released. #2 I think I can figure out. #1 I probably can too. #3 is what I'm really not sure about. Is that possible? Can anyone point me to any other mods that are doing something simlar? Thanks! PS - the strategy I laid out above is ideal, in that it allows the weapon to be loaded (or unloaded) via the loadout screen without any issues. Another option would be to create new weapon stations as I described. But define the dispenser as an ECM pod or something like that (so it cant' be dropped). The weapon station for the ECM pod/dispenser would be in the same location as the hardpoint for the submunition so it looks like the sub-munition is coming out of the dispenser. This would probably work, but it is less than ideal since it can only be made to work via _loadout.ini. Trying to loadout the aircraft like this from the loadout screen would be confusing and could result in weirdness. So again, I'd prefer to try and find a way to get the first strategy I listed to work. Any thoughts? Brainstorming is welcom!

FWIW - only picture I've ever seen of an A-1 with a CBU-24 http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_F_ZyVOpu07M/SgYR79vn-vI/AAAAAAAABDU/9w3inzQrZEM/s1600-h/Skyraider_A-1H-J_1969_-_00000033_-_USAF.jpg

YOU ARE THE MAN!!! pg 90-91 just made my day. I'll need to print that whole thing out and read it at some point.

Where's the SPAD from? For all it's short comings, FSX (with addons) is by far the best looking flight simulator out there (at the moment).

I've found all kinds of great information and pictures of USAF skyraiders during Vietnam. Their loadouts varied greatly and they carried in incredible array of different munitions. During CAS/Sandy missions they'd carry gunpods, AN-M47 WP bombs, rocket pods, and CBU-25 dispensers amongst other things (napalm too, I guess). Skyraiders.org is a great place to find stuff (especially the combat journal), but it's all USAF. Did USN A-1's carry all the same stuff when flying CAS? I haven't seen images of any USN A-1's loaded out the way the USAF ones were. At the most, the USN A-1's seem to carry a few rocket pods and maybe a couple of Snakeyes. Did they ever carry the AN-M47's or CBU-25's? Napalm, maybe? Also, I haven't seen images or read anything about A-1's from either service ever using CBU-24's. Does anyone know if they ever did? Thanks! PS - I well aware of the toilet bomb!!! Not the info I'm looking for!

This file has been updated to correct some typos in the campaign descriptions. In case anyone downloaded the file in the last couple of days (since the original 10/11 update a few days ago), I found one other typo that prevented the F-8C's from showing up in the '59 campaign. If you have a merged install, and if you downloaded the update from a few days ago you can either re-download, or go into campaign1_data.ini and make this change: [AirUnit047] <---------------------- change to 47 (was 46) AircraftType=F-8C Squadron=VF32 ForceID=1 Nation=USN DefaultTexture=USNGrey1 CarrierBased=True BaseArea=Whiskey Station CarrierNumber=63 RandomChance=100 MissionRate=0.9 MaxAircraft=16 StartAircraft=16 MaxPilots=16 StartPilots=16 Experience=100 Morale=100 Supply=50 MissionChance[sWEEP]=90 MissionChance[CAP]=90 MissionChance[iNTERCEPT]=60 MissionChance[ESCORT]=90 MissionChance=20 MissionChance[CAS]=0 MissionChance[sEAD]=0 MissionChance[ARMED_RECON]=0 MissionChance[ANTI_SHIP]=0 MissionChance[RECON]=0 UpgradeType=FIXED Upgrade[01].Year=1961 Upgrade[01].Type=F-8D

OK. You got me there. The common good don't need coconuts and palm trees though

Again, sorry for going way off topic. But here are some interesting numbers: I can't claim that the source isn't totally unbiased: http://www.dontbullymybreed.org/ My wife and I almost adopted a pit bull as our first dog. I did a lot of research trying to understand what to do and learned a lot. We ended up getting a retriever mix instead (which ironically has some dog agression issues that we are trying to work through).

More people are probably killed by drunk drivers every year than pitbulls. If that is the case, until owners can figure out how to handle their cars, we should probably ban cars for the common good. I'm sure we'd see a dramatic drop in the number of drunk driving deaths and related injuries. The same arguement can probably be made for guns, knives, nails, hammers, rope, string, TV's, toasters, ovens, stoves, bycycles, pillows, and teddy bears. Successfully banning any one of these items would probably result in a dramatic drop in deaths related to their use/misuse.

That's exactly why banning just pitbulls doesn't make sense. Like Dave said, any dog can be made into a "combat dog" (WTF is a "combat dog", BTW? Does it wear boots and know how to use a gun?). Pitbulls are (or are thought to be) dangerous because idiots raise them to be that way. It is true that they are (or may be) more agressive than other dog spiecies, but again, it's mostly an owner issue. Any dog speicies be agressive if raised to be that way. (Not to drift off topic. I agree there's no reason for any private party to own Lions, Tigers, and Bears...)

Ranked in order of most happy with to not as happy with: Flight of the Intruder Memphis Belle Dark Blue World (although more of a drama than an aviation movie) Final Countdown Top Gun

I believe the stock campaigns for SF2V have a line that's something like "RulesOfEngagement=True" or something like that. How it works (or if it works) I'm not sure. And obviously, it would only affect AI in that specific campaign.

Totally was not going to get this game, as I have no time for it. But the trailers and your thoughts on it are making me start to change my mind.

It was an amazing game! I Watched it!

Thanks! Just what I was looking for!