Flanker562

Nope, it's all just for looks and show right now and no auto rearm/refuel. Everybody should remember that the Strike Fighter series made by three, yes 3 people, not a team of 50 for Lockon or so where they had the ability (and budget) to do such cool things. Unfortunately it may be never implemented... or it might...

Me: Rafale C Beta 1.2 version, gun, 2 x MICA IR and 4 x MICA EM Opposition: MiG-21bis with gun, 4 x Atoll As a beta the Rafale C isn't very bad, just a few more tweaks here and there and it'll be much better looking as some cockpit symbology needs some cleaning up. Other than that the major problem you will have is the ability in SF2NA at least is blacking out a lot. The suggestion is to take it easy on the stick but pull firmly, not hard on it to get around. The engines give it a lot of thrust and that's a problem as you'll expend more energy trying to maneuver the plane around. And out of sheer luck I managed to avoid pancaking on the ground. But don't take this as a defect, more than likely it's more "realistic" due to the engine power. When I managed to get into a good firing position my first MICA IR went real stoopid (or flares distracted it) and after a little maneuvering the second one connected, downing the MiG. As a beta it's a good plane and that's what you should take away from this report. It's not bad, still needs to be tweaked but otherwise the main emphasis is not to turn and burn too much or you'll A) Overshoot B) And when you pull hard you'll black out. The old adage "Lose sight, lose the fight" applies to this aircraft as such but is a nifty little jet and still worth the download. And after some HUD tweaking it'll be better. So I can't really say it's bad but after some more tweaks and fixes it'll be a good plane.

Coming home after a Libya strike mission. Gonna start some DACT with the Rafale soon...

Go to the CVN75.ini and go here and change it like this: [shadow] CastShadow=FALSE ShadowCastDist=1000 MaxVisibleDistance=1000 The shadowing is causing the lag not anything else...

All it does is allow you to padlock the enemy target, I think you're expecting a padlock? If so then press F4 and then you'll padlock him (default keyboard configuration)

Sounds cool ArturR, but I don't even use ground mapping that much at all, not even to target ships, since it (I believe) uses the weapons seeker as opposed to the radar so it's not even missed. Unless NA has that feature and I just don't realize it (would be nice).

I agree macelena, as I use 9Ps occasionally and nine times out of ten I hit with them all the time and quite honestly have a place in my weapons choice to use them when I feel like it. I also like the older ones (L,M) and they haven't been that bad either. Surprisingly the most maneuverable are the "slower" ones as a higher powered aircraft tends to overshoot more and therefore allows the opposing aircraft to have a slight advantage (not much) compared to a faster jet. Now don't get me wrong it's all on the aircraft design that determines a lot as well as skill. From what I've seen the Python (later versions) are very capable but not sure about maneuverability but that's another area I guess to go into sometime. @daddyairplanes: I'll probably skip the Tomcat version due to just pure inexperience... I've flown the Su-33 quite a bit and that'll probably be my choice as I have that aircraft down pretty well. Me: F-22A with 2 x AIM-9X and 6 x AIM-120 Opposition: F/A-18C with 2 x Sidewinder and 2 x Sparrow (I think, didn't really check this time) Since Julhelm released his new cockpit it was time to see if everything was okay, and yes it's a well done cockpit that is just nice. But this is another lesson I was thinking about and that is patience for the shot. The Hornet (Legacy and Super) are both christened with great maneuverability and even against the F-22A its still a match that requires you to think and outmatch the Legacy. Since i stuck with the Legacy bird this is a good demonstration of a wily opponent that you need to wait until the "perfect" shot happens. Started off neutral and the aircraft put me in various energy circles that I tried to get out of and around five minutes or so managed to work him into (or he put himself into it) a good firing position. My first 9X went stoopid, but after looking at it, the case was operator error and the missile went into the ground. Waiting for a few more seconds until he leveled out (which is always the prime shot) I fired my remaining 9X, killing him. The takeaway here is not so much weapon capability but maneuvering. The more the target aircraft "moves around" when in padlock the worse your shot will be. Perpendicular and depending on aspect makes a difference between a good shot and a wasted shot. The more you can "stabilize" the enemy aircraft in either your HUD or in padlock view means you have a better shot which still applies to off boresight missiles. This is regardless if they can turn on a dime or not, they still have to obey the laws of motion and physics, and energy. Also, if you can "Stabilize" things and all you have left are radar guided missiles you set yourself up for success as while you wasted maybe a few missiles, you have another option, and if my 9X missed I could have gone to my AMRAAMs just in case.

Trying out Julhelm's cockpit and well...

It takes some getting used to but I've managed to use it successfully on my Fox Super Bug (test platform).

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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.