sugarblues

...slightly off topic but here goes... The March Issue of the UK-based aircraft model magazine "Scale Aircraft Modelling" has a very nice article on the Iranian Air Force - and includes many profile drawings, including some new Iranian weapons etc. Most of these new weapons have come into service since the end of the Iran/Iraq conflict, but I'm sure the weaponeers here would find it interesting... SB

Beautiful work! I've got about 30 Hasegawa Tom's... and have had the same fit problems with the decals on those too. Very nice... SB

Excellent work! That baby is lookin' good...!!! SB

Everything fine on my old machine, but my new box, with an 8800GT does display the same problem with the planning maps, and it also does the same thing in the loading screens whenever you change a default loadout, or switch from the player a/c to number2, 3, etc. As reported - it's shown up on the Thridwire boards... In the meantime, heck, who needs a map. I just follow the waypoints until everybody else is shooting up stuff! SB

Thanks Gocad... stupid me, I should have noticed the F-8J pic... I just want to make sure everybody knows this wasn't a gripe either! The MF F8 is just plain fantastic, I've hardly used anything else since they released it! Just loaded up your VFP skin too... fantastic!!! Thanks very much! SB

The two-sader sure did look nasty... too bad they only ever made one (er... I think!) Since the MF-8 is such a hot topic today - has anybody figured out a fix for the reversed dual sidewinder rails on the starboard side ? Something like a simple .ini fix that I haven't been able to figure out yet ? Just wondering... IMHO the MF's F-8 is simply one of the best add-ons we've ever had - thanks to all! SB

AMEN! Excellent post Sir... SB

LloydNB, Yes - the RN had the AD-4W Skyraider deployed on the carriers during Suez. Good Ole 849NAS... SB

Ugly ? By Blackburn's standards, she's positively beautiful! Do an internet search on the Blackburn Blackburn, and you'll see what I mean... but beauty... just seeing a Bucc, wrapped in her own vapour cloud, running along on her own private air cushion at 11ft altitude nudging the mach... kinda made you want to sing Rule Britannia at the top of your lungs! SB

Wasn't that JF-18 ? SB

1. Detailed carrier ops 2. High Modability 3. High res graphics, terrain and effects 4. Story-driven campaign 5. Detailed comms and ATC 6. Good performance on older systems 7. Dynamic campaign 8. Detailed cockpit procedurs 9. Seat-switching Tks... SB

For me ? F-14 F-4 Buccaneer Thanks for asking :-) SB

Yeah... and leaks fuel like a shower until it's moving at the speed of heat... SB

Gocad, Yup - possibly. Let's face it - there's so many question's surrounding most of the Malta Spitfires... I've read articles where they claim the Spitires ferried by USS Wasp were all repainted in Standard USN colours of the time, and others that refute the story... I know an old pilot who was there at the time, and asked him if he ever saw a Spitfire painted in USN colours, and his response was "we were too tired and sick to worry what they looked like, we just fought in'em"... SB

Gents, The picture looks to me to be of a Mk. 11 photo-recce Spitfire; the USAAC used a large number of them in Europe, in addition to PR Mosquito's as well... The USN did have some Seafire (actually Spitfire) time; VCS-7 was part of RN Naval Fighter Wing 3 which was used for Gunfire spotting for the bombardment fleet during the Normandy landings. 3 Wing also included 886 NAS, 885 NAS, 808 NAS, 897 NAS, and RAF Sqn's 26 and 63. They took a heck of a lot of casualties - flying low in the flak on predictable paths over the invasion beaches and just inland... and getting jumped by Allies as well as the Luftwaffe all the time... I believe the aircraft wore standard RAF camo, although there's conflicting reports that some or all of them may have been repainted in the "Temperate Sea Scheme" using Extra Dark Sea Grey and Slate Grey... some a/c they had individual aircraft I.D. numbers painted on the forward fuselage, just about in line with the forward canopy. If you do a search on VCS-7 on the web you should be able to find some photo's... SB

Yes - but Crossfield started out in the Navy... back to the topic, BG Olds... one of the finest men the USAF ever had... for all the reasons listed above and more! SB

Hi, The only story I've ever heard about FFAR's being used "for real" was in something called "The battle of Los Alamedo's" or something like that... the USN lost control of a Hellcat drone flying out of Point Mugu, and the Air Force launched F-89's to take it out, as the drone was headed directly for Los Angeles... the end result, was that they fired off all of their unguided rockets, which started a couple of forest fires, and the drone kept "droning along"... eventually it crashed in an unpopulated area just outside of L.A. The entire concept of using the rockets centered around the inability of the early jets to pull enough G at high altitude to get a lead on high performance bombers - so the concept made great sense, and really was the best that anybody could come up with before guided weapons became available, but incidents like the California episode showed just how hard it could be. Sure, a Hellcat is a whole lot smaller than a Bear or a Bison, but until the sidewinder came along, firing off unguided rockets trying to get an A/A kill was a prospect that made an awful lot of pilots say "Yeah... RIGHT!" SB

I know I'd download it in an instant! Excellent idea!