EricJ

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This wasn't an intended mission but I had wanted to go over this one regarding heat seekers and friendly fire, or how to avoid such a thing... The main thing to understand is symbology, depending on the aircraft. The more modern the HUD the more easier it gets since the IFF checkbox doesn't work and the missile cannot differentiate between friendly and enemy, it sees a heat source and goes for it. F/A-18, F-16, F-15, and other aircraft all have a "pipper" showing the position of the sensor of the missile. In this scenario I was attacking the Kiev ship and it had sortied two Forgers. After my missile strike disabled the ship and shot down one with an AMRAAM the remaining Forger was going after my two EA-6Bs (TAMPA flight). Before this I had locked the Forger with my radar, therefore I knew which aircraft was which. After that it was just accelerating to engage the Forger and prevent him from engaging my escort jammers. He merged with the contacts and therefore since I had only 9Xs left (weapon type doesn't matter, as long as it's an IR homer), so I had to make my shot count. The seeker within its detection cone “bounces” around as it scans the area. Using the radar to cue the target makes sure (as well as using the overhead map if you use it) sure you’re locked onto the proper aircraft and it removes all doubt that you’re on the right target. The seeker will bounce on friendly and also enemy jets, so you have to cycle between the two to get the right shot. Once the circle (this case of course F/A-18) stays on the enemy target that you locked up with radar (second picture) I took the shot and winged him. Since he now flew past my escort jammers through his and my maneuvering he’s ready for a better kill.

Some Tomcat fun... have to admit it does look nice, for a Tomcat...

Duh! Thanks!

Are carriers unsinkable or I'm just not dropping enough ordnance?

And other than the WIP Krizis Yak-38, it's not flyable yet so I'm not worried about it honestly.

Low level testing

Me: TW F-14A (77) with 4 x AIM-9M, no tanks, gun Opposition: TW Yak-38 Forger with 4 x Atoll I did a similar fight previous to this one as I was just curious on how the TW F-14 compared to the MF bird, and I have to say that the TW bird doesn't have as much weight. Maybe because I have an A version compared to the heavier versions (maybe, feels lighter). Anyway the fight started off neutral with the bogey engaging me in a turning fight which needless to say, the Forger isn't the most maneuverable jet in the Russian inventory during 1984 timeframe. THe first engagement was fairly quick, lasting less than a minute while this one I intentionally drug out. In the first engagement I turned inside pretty tight, locked on with a winder (9M) and shot it down. Going with a lighter load it was just the same but the thing is watching your speed again. With higher performance aircraft its always hard to want to turn and burn, in which with the Turkey I don't drop flaps like Ceasar does but I tend to just let drag and weight do that along with engine management. Then again when you're used to automatic settings it's really hard to think about flap use when all of the time you have a computer doing it. In any case it's not a fault, just a habit. On the second bout the Forger turned and wheeled around and I saved myself from taking a shot, once because he was flying across my HUD so it would have been pointless to fire. Once the Forger at low level leveled off he decided to climb to come around on me. At that time I had a clear shot and took it, with the 9M tracking and killing the Forger. Takeways... Since I'm not a Turkey driver I can't say that the TW turkey is better, it definitely feels lighter but then again using the afterburner in my case keeps my energy going, not necessarily high since my wings were outstretched (meaning low energy state). However, force of will usually will help you in most situations against this opponent. If you're truly scared of the Forger then shoot him down with a Pheonix or Sparrow at long range.

After DACT

Very nice!

Tophatter

I think the confusion lies in that the download was patched up to April 2012. And it may have not fixed the issue but since I got things manually typed in it works okay now.

Thanks... but the NA is April 2012...

Yeah where? I checked the Downloads section and it's not there anymore

Well I'm having joystick/keyboard mapping issues now so not sure... managed to get it "fixed" by manually entering entries and got things "working". Looks like the AIM-54A is borked as I cannot load it at all on the F-14A with the proper years. Overall trying to update the Super Hornet with the same capability but that may be borked as well... oh well waiting for the next patch but looks good so far...

Me: F/A-18F EPE with 4 x AIM-9X and 6 x AIM-120, gun, tank Opposition: F-14A Thirdwire with 2 x AIM-9L and 6 x Sparrow Started off neutral and ended up in a maneuver fight. Compared to the MF F-14 the TW model has better energy management, to a degree. We overshot but both of us failed to fire a weapon at each other. So I turned into him hard and blacked out for a few seconds. I've noticed the second time that the TW F-14A can get into a six position despite my better maneuverability but takes too long to make a shot and I always pull out of it. I turned into him and then he entered a slow turning fight, with me trying not to overshoot. If I wasn't then yes I would have and he would have probably gunned me down, so instead I used my airbrakes and throttled to idle. This put him in front of me and inverted I fed him a 9X, killing him. Takeaways: The newer FM makes the Tomcat a tough opponent but if you stay aware of his capabilities then you can end up behind him and when he levels off with little energy it doesn't take much to shoot him down.

Trying it out...

So does the April 2012 update fix issues with SF2NA or should I hold off on it?

nice work!

Charlie Aggressor WIP

low level testing

And done with the template... two weeks on the bird though

Here's what I'm doing SkateZilla, still WIP

Beautiful work!

I've been working on a newer template with generic lines, two weeks