S-70 Blackhawk

WHOOOO!!!! Another Aussie! :D Glad to see I have some more...er....less forigen company here :-p (j/ks people) Hope you enjoy yourself here at combat ace, as you have found out, we have a large group of people that would be very happy to help you with pretty much anything. Cheers Blackhawk

Haha, a lot of questions for a new guy How much should you spend on a joystick? As much as you can afford. It REALLY depends on what you want to use them for. Personally, I'd reccommend the Saitek Proflight X-52 (or stock X-52) and Saitek pedels for a damn good product. Of course, you could always go Logitech......nuf said. For the Saitek X-52 (the origional version), be prepared to pay <$200 Australian. For the Proflight X-52, <$280 Australian. Bundles are all over the place, so shop around and see what you can find. Again, it depends on how much you are willing to spend. Rudder pedels add a massive amount of realism if configured correctly, tho I might add that it may take a while to develop the co-ordination neccesarry to use them (I believe it is called getting used to?) Again, they are expencive. The most prominant brands or rudder pedels are Saitek (my personal fave) and CH..... Saitek pedels are approx $200 Australian. As for vSquadrons, I wouldnt have a clue Hope I helped Cheers Blackhawk

Damn good work there S&E, Another few tips I can think of are: 12.) Keep your speed up, the Raptor bleeds it off really fast in tight turns. Aircraft such as MiG-21's will outmaneuver you easily at slow speeds (i.e. below 200kias), those things were built to turn. 13.) Listen to your wingmen. Along with ejecting chaff/flare every 8-10sec, you should dump a bundle (2 of each?) if you hear a "Missile Launch' in your headphones. It may not be aimed at you, but better be safe than sorry. 14.) As said by S&E, if you have got your target smoking/exploding, move straight onto the next one. If you're out of targets, NEVER forget to keep checking your map for inbounds, and the skies and ground for SAM's (those SA-8's are infrared, so you will usually have no radar lock indication). 15.) If you run out of missiles and gun ammo, and your wingmen have been splashed, don't be afraid to hit the deck and make a run for it. More than likely your pursuers will end up as a crater if you fly it right. The only exeption to this rule is if your enemy is retreating, and they have no missiles. IF you're careful, you can often slide along side and give their wing a little nudge. If you do it right, you will take them out (CAUTION, if you do it wrong.....nuf said) 16.) The Raptor will fly okish at all altitudes, but if you get bounced without warning (unlikely) then descend, chaff, flares, ECM (should already be on) and bring them to a more suitable altitude. Remember that the closer you are to the ground, the more AAA and SAM's there will be. 17.) If you do get in a close turning battle with a Tango, then extend, get some speed and distance on your opponent, and go in for seconds. Alternatively, try to keep your opponent out of your 6 while you maneuver, and call your wingman to help. They may not be the best, but they will distract the guy on your tail. If you are caught in a situation when you got a guy you're lining up for a shot and another one chasing you, ignore the kill and defend yourself. 18.) One of the most important things to remember while flying this bird. She may be cutting edge technology, and may be capable of shooting down anything in her path, but remember....if you got no gas, she ain't going anywhere. Ensure that you glance periodically at your fuel gauge during your flight and engagement. It may be necessary to beat a retreat (or go high and attempt to conserve your fuel on the way home).

Just another important thing... Be VERY careful how far you put the nozzles forward, as you might find yourself flying backwards. I would recommend flying some 'helos on a good simulator (e.g. FS2004). That definitly helps, if you have one that is.

I AM: a F/A-22 RAPTOR. You are stealthy and daring. You probably pursue a career that involves challenges and special cases. You are sleak and a "player" if you will. You are a bit un-tamed, wild by nature, and you love being at your wildest around a group of people. You are loyal, understanding, and trustworthy. Your patience is a little low. You love adventure and risk, and the rewards that come from them. You are not always too worried about the downsides to risks, as the thrill of the adventure outweighs them. You are a warrior in life, taking things head on, and you could also be considered to be somewhat of a "hot-head" at times. Well hey, I think thats a suitable result...DEFINITLY running low on the patience side of things

Rgr MTL. Does teh MF weps pack conflict with the Bunyap one? Also, just confirming, the (LAU) rounds are training rounds? Or are these just missiles with a different launch rail? Cheers Blackhawk

USAFMTL, you've worked another wonder with this bird. However I have to ask a dumb question, *DRUMROLL* What is the difference between an AIM-120B and a AIM-120B (LAU) ? Reason I ask is that the default load outs allow a AIM-120C (LAU), and I always thought that the (LAU) meant (training round). However, after asking my wingman if it was live or not (hehehe....), it seemed to go kaboom ok. The almighty Google (or Elgoog...hcum erom nuf) revealed that LAU is a series of weapon 'pylons' for AIM-7's and AIM-120's among other things. Also, the default loadout for some attacks is those damn training rounds....can't the Mud Hen carry those nifty GBU-40's? Cheers, Blackhawk

Hooah! Though, one thing I have noticed is that the larger your formation (i.e. 12-16 + ships) , the more likely you are to loose your wingman and a large number of formation members.... you would think wingmen would help each-other out. Perhaps they were from a different squadron?

Not to hijack this thread...but my maverics are screwed When I fire them, its approx 2 seconds till they actually launch. Even after that, they are VERY innacurate (i.e. 1 out of 6 hits). They USED to be super darts, that launched when i told em to, and hit almost everything, but something changed and they are not like they used to be. What is even more confusing is that the weapon file, when edited with the Weapon Editor (surprise) says that there is no launch delay, and the accuracy is like 80. any ideas?

Hey all, With regards to wingmen, I find that on recon missions (particularly in my F-111) that its a good idea not to bring a friend. Firstly, I GENERALLY find he gets shot down or lost while egressing. This, and the fact I fly my 'Pig' to the edge of its performance envelope not above 100ft AGL, means I can do what i want to avoid getting killed, without worrying about loosing a squadron member (and more importantly, another F-111!) Cheers Blackhawk

Interesting SandyC, My father served in Rhodesia as well, although I'm not sure what capacity he was in (I believe Australian Army...) Cheers Blackhawk

Whatever happened to the Dirka Dirkastanies ??? Everyone knows about the Dirka Dirkastanies....... Why is everyone so quiet? Cheers Blackhawk Oh...and yes, my vSquadron ALWAYS call our foe an aircraft from the nation of 'Dirkastan' (No offence intended to any parties in case you are offended )

... ... ... Welcome to Super Pro!!! I'm assuming thats just the way it is...otherwise, I have no idea :-p Cheers Blackhawk

Hey, ive been working on some code that allows you to drop all kinds of ordinance, if anyone's interested, email me at samainslie@hotmail.com Cheers Sam

Hey everybody, Can we get another source on this one please? IMHO, i think it would be stupid of the government to purchase Su-34's so soon after an election and putting the money towards the F-35 and F/A-18F. On top of that, although it may have a potent strike capability, it was designed for use with Russian weapons systems....therefore our ASRAAMS through to Mk82's might not work as well as they would on an American airframe without big expensive software updates.....which would need to be done anyways considering very few RAAF members can read Russian or use their systems. Additionally, the infrastructure is designed for NATO/US aircraft. Heck, even external power carts would need adapters for Russian fittings. Engines would need to be redone as Russian engines are obviously different to US engines (though they have the same concept...air in here, thrust out here)... Just my 2 cents (which are worth a lot more due to a strong economy :p ) Blackhawk