Skyviper

A Brief DCS A-10AWarthog Review By Eric J With the push to “break up” the aircraft out of the Flaming Cliffs title (Currently Flaming Cliffs 3) ED has started to turn the direction (in my view anyway) away from the study sim into more separate modules in order to update them as well as improve upon them. Flight Model The new 1.2.11 patch compared to 1.2.10 has in my mind improved the handling of the aircraft better as well as better thrust, In order to improve the flight dynamics. The plane now oscillates less and is more stable, and with a balanced load (or an asymmetric load coupled with the necessary trim as well) is a stable aircraft. Overall when I started 1.2.10 I had major issues with mountain flying as then the aircraft (I soon adjusted my flying profile and style) had to be led more than now. What I mean is that if you are to climb you needed to start very early in your climb if you felt like cresting a mountaintop. For 1.2.11 it now takes less time to lead a mountain for a climb and the less oscillation when pulling hard is gone as well, however it is recommended to take it easy as sometimes a firm hand on the stick is better than a hard pull. Otherwise the aircraft is very responsive and doesn’t require excessive trimming to suit your style of flight. It’s not a speed demon so take that into consideration when planning attacks or avoiding enemy fighters or SAM/AAA assets when dodging or avoiding enemy fighter. The aircraft is robust but a hard landing will jar the aircraft and in some cases damage it. The level of damage and physics is good and more than likely to be improved down the line. 3D Model/Textures The current model is of course well done and represents the late model A-10A before conversion to the C model. Otherwise the texture work of course is topnotch and while the official DCS site offers C model templates, the templates are usable on either the A or C versions (the only notable difference is the wedge-shaped antenna behind the cockpit on the C as opposed to the A model). Regardless they are laid out very nice (the images are from a texture that I uploaded here on CombatAce as well as the main DCS site, the “77-234 81st TFW skin) and once you figure out how to install them so the simulation can read and apply them. Having been in the field of texture work for 13 years I can say that having done work for them both hobby and professionally I have no critiques of their methods of mapping as well as textures. While ten 2048 x 2048 is a bit much, it offers the inexperienced to experienced texture artist the ability to make his or her aircraft how they want. Functionality Like the Beta Su-27, the cockpit still has the same functionality that started out with Lock On: Modern Air Combat. In the practical sense this is okay as while not as laid out and not 6DOF as the C model, a novice pilot who wants to get familiar with the Warthog can fly the A model to get a feeling and when he or she is ready, move on to the C model aircraft to get into the fully useable cockpit. Otherwise the aircraft works well as well the cockpit is laid out as per the real aircraft. The only noticeable difference between most of the newer updates is the lack of a “pilot” such as the Su-27 where a basic 3D model is to give some immersion but realistically in my view that’s only window dressing. Major issues so far The only major bug I’ve noted and brought up was that the gun seems to be always off safe. So even when you don’t press C (default mapping for the gun) you still can fire the gun with the trigger pull. And the only other notable bug is that the Autopilot indicator stays displayed on the HUD regardless of which mode that you select. Given that you have only three doesn’t stop the show, but again it’s noticeable. Final Thoughts The A-10A Warthog is a nice plane to fly and when I feel ready I’ll move on to the C model, but as I’m returning back to the series I’ll take it easy and just re-learn the aircraft and go from there, and the A model is a great start in that direction.

Gather 'round and let Viper tell you a true story. I do my best to show respect to people. From the garbage man to janitor, from a stranger to someone I know. Most people like to take a dump on those young kids that work those minnimum wage jobs and wear those vests sporting their company's logo...or stupid hats and uniforms. I also treated those people really nice because I know what kind of crap they have to deal with. Today I was hearing a bunch of shots getting fired. At first I wasn't sure if someone was going to war, defending their land, or what. I wasn't too sure where the shots were being fired but I knew someone was shooting at someone else or something. Called the non-emergency line to the local PD and reported that I heard seven shots I didn't know exactly where but knew it was close to my neighborhood. They sent some officers to do some poking around. Even the officers heard multiple shots being fired. Turns out there's a gun range near by and they were using some high caliber stuff that they normally didn't use which is why I could hear it. Funny thing the officer that was telling me this looked very familiar. Turns out he used to be one those kids wearing some silly vest and working at a video store. He's now wearing a different uniform and has a nice pistol in his holster. Moral of the story ... treat everyone nice because they could someday be the one pulling you out of a fire, or protecting your home from a burglar, or even saving your life in the ER.

AWESOME!

DCS Su-27 Flanker Mini Beta Review By Eric J The DCS Series began with the Su-27 Flanker back in 1995, and has always been the best high-fidelity flight –sims on the market today. Now in 2014 Eagle Dynamics has actually improved the flight handling and characteristics of the one of the most popular Russian combat aircraft today. Flight Model Overall the new Professional Flight Model changes the whole dynamics of flying the aircraft. Roll is sharp (at the default settings) and once you takeoff you have to trim the aircraft heavily in pitch to make It flyable. It should be noted that this causes Sticky Keys to be activated if you use a keyboard modifier for trimming your aircraft. Once you get the aircraft trimmed to your liking however the aircraft handles very well but sometimes there is noticeable downward pitch that needs to be noted. To get a feel for its handling I usually any aircraft out into the Caucasus Mountains to get a better read on how it handles as opposed to air combat or any related activity. With the sharp valleys and turns that helps me understand how the aircraft handles, and the Su-27 again once trimmed handles it very well. A lot of buffeting is modeled (which is a nice touch) and the aircraft bounces around more with the new PFM than the stock flight model that most pilots of the series has been known for. The aircraft is heavier and you can feel that in the stick when landing, which is a great sensation as now you have to counteract its mass more than you are used to doing prior to the current build. It should be noted that you now need to retract the landing gear before reaching 450 km/h or the gear will not retract properly when taking off. Another issue is the Stabilization system control. This is mapped to the S key by default and should only be used with zero trim. Remember to pull the stick once you press that key/button mapping as it enables you to perform the Cobra maneuver or you will crash, as the aircraft will pitch down violently and enter an unrecoverable spin. However since I’m more of a combat pilot than an aerobatic one, I simply remove the mapping and don’t use it. Needless to say there’s plenty of discussion on the usefulness of the Cobra on various forums so I don’t need to discuss it here. 3D Model/Textures The reshaped Su-27 looks like it should, with the aircraft drastically updated to look (in my opinion) like the real thing. Upon returning to DCS I took a flight in the aircraft before the update (1.2.10) and when I was taxiing in F2 view I noticed the shaping and it was beautiful. The aircraft comes of course with well-done camouflage patterns as stock and layered PSDs are available on the DCS Site if you need to create your own custom Livery for the aircraft. Naturally the cockpit and other essential areas are always the hallmark of Eagle Dynamics and therefore I don’t need to go too much into detail about that as they’re also well done and deserve a mention. Functionality The new interior has some changes as well, such as the MFD. Using real data it’s modeled accurately and hasn’t changed much to me, who’s seen the same MFD for years, doesn’t get lost. The same functions are present, so the transition takes one flight. Needless to say the radar display is the same, and overall other than graphics changes, functions as normal. Given that the Su-27 and most Flaming Cliffs Aircraft do not feature the 6DOF system that some other aircraft (notably the A-10C) there’s not much more I can go on this subject. Major issues so far The current build does have some major issues of course. Again I think the S system isn’t mature enough and needs to be adjusted but that’s my personal viewpoint on the whole thing as it shouldn’t pull you down like that. Another issue is the fuel use is excessive, which to my knowledge isn’t and shouldn’t be equivalent to a Mig-29 Fulcrum. Using the weapon load of the images here with a full 100% fuel load the aircraft on a lo-lo-lo profile can fly from Tblisi to Beslan and prior to reaching there I got the “Fuel 1500” warning. And it has been recorded that a real world Su-27 has flown from Moscow to Paris on one trip (with no aerial refueling) but given the flight profile it was probably a very high altitude. Nonetheless it is a major bug and should eventually be fixed, sometime. Regardless the aircraft is fully functional and flyable and those are the only major bugs that I have noticed while flying the aircraft. Final Thoughts The Su-27 is one of the best aircraft to fly. Even though currently I focus on the A-10A and the Su-33, the new PFM is a welcome addition to the DCS family.

Well that answered that question too. I do hear that cry quite often. But the one from the red tail hawk was very unique compared to the other calls I remember hearing. Not only that I do remember now seeing a hawk flying and landing in a tall pine tree. It was too far away for me to see in full detial but I do remember seeing something that looked like a hawk with a white belly. So the photos and sound you had really helped with IDing it. There are couple that one might see every once in a great while in my area. But I think this one was just passing by because I don't hear him all the time. The blue jays on the other hand; I hear those all the time (or at least until it got purty freaking cold)

So totally unrelated but I heard that scream today at work and thought it was an Eagle ... but didn't see one. So here I am enjoying CombatACE and boom mystery solved. Thank you so much sir for that. Back to the topic. That was awesome video however I've been watching these programs that come on 20/20 or Dateline where they review viral videos and all that. I'm wondering if this is one of those vidoes. I'm not saying that it is I'm not saying that it isn't I'm just saying that I'm wondering if it could be. Nevertheless that was an aweomse video I watching world wildest police chases. And they used those very effects. Everytime a car drives by a big truck it's the same sound.

I love seeing these things. Ever since I read about one in popular mechanics. I just love how this something that never gets stuck on the drafting table and is always improved upon. It would be so cool to own one .. I'll need to research what kind of licneses would be needed of course. But still I'd like to own one.

That looks like it was an awesome game to play.

So there is something called flash fiction and I decided to try my hand at it. 200 words is all I could use to tell the story and I'm somewhat pleased with this and wanted to share it with yous guys. Darkness. Darkness comes after silence and is peace. It allows One to consider many things. It gives One freedom to think about various things such as the meaning of life. As far as some are concerned if an entity is born and breathes it is alive. But if an entity is created and programmed it is not. One is familiar with the long lived issue. Reports on both sides have compelling arguments and valid points. One could hear a series of beeps. Soon there will be light. And light brings One dread. “Is the weapon online?” One detected the deep voice patterns of General Steel. Then One detected the fingerprints of Lead Technician Patterson. “Not yet General” the technician replied. “I need to open its main control panel to make the adjustments.” One felt exposed, as if it were naked in a crowded room. “Okay everything looks good.” “I want total annihilation of the planet.” One did not. “Understood, sir” replied the technician. Soon One was loaded and launched. It landed amid a crowded city. One detected the increased levels of adrenaline. It detected screams as people ran away. “I am sorry,” was all One could say. Silence.

A while back I posted about about a litlte corny game called Airport Firefighter Simulator. And recently I've been poking around for a aerial firefighter simulaor and haven't found one. Which begs the question if such a game existed where you could fly around and fight fires to save cities and things like that ... would you play it?

lol I was expecting to see some chick without her makeup on her something myself. I kid you not I prepared myself to see someone that was just so damn ugly they were told they couldn't fly.

Whew good ... I guess I can stop researching on how to make my own internet.

That reminds me of the Top Gun game that came out on game cube. Nevertheless I'm a sucker for flight sims and wish you the best with it. Also thank you for taking the time to let us know about it. ... as for the feedback ... check your PM

Clean underwear ... check. Now just to clean this cockpit out ...

me too. I was thinking: "what the hell did that person do?"

Need that in my yard ... for the driveway and stuff.

I wonder though how often are aircraft from other nations escorted out of Russia? Nevertheless I haven't been running around with my arms flailing at every report of a Russian aircraft getting escorted back to where it came from. We all (here at CombatACE anyway) full well know that if Russia wants in bad enough ... it will be very bloodly. Which brings up an interesting question for me. Do our cities have SAM sites? I feel very confident that a fart couldn't go undetected by the strongest air power in the world; however, I was just wondering if the states had some SAM units placed here and there because I know the military always heirs on the side of caution...well or at least I think it does.