KiwiBiggles

There was more to the RNZAF's air combat wing (it was more like a squadron and a half) than just defensive counter-air. Just one of the capablities lost was the ability for the NZSAS to train in the terminal guidance role, previously an important task for them, designating for the A-4K's laser guided bombs. The combat wing also contributed to counter-air training for both the Australian and New Zealand navies. Another important capability was the maritime strike role, prosecuting targets for RNZAF Orions. A role I'm sure the leaders of the NZ Defence forces would have considered very important was coalition operations with New Zealand's allies in the Asia-Pacific region, particularly Australia, and while the A-4s were getting a bit long in the tooth for real world operations, and some of our alliances had been shaky since the break-up of ANZUS (over US nuclear ship visits) they were better than nothing. Since we're really talking joint exercises (and not a shooting war thank goodness) the A-4s still had a role to play, and the F-16s would have been able to make a genuine operational contribution had it ever been necesary. It was a case of being a responsible international citizen and pulling our weight, something that's important to our allies, and not something we have a great record at - with a per-capita defence budget significantly less than many of our allies. For mine though, the most important aspect is that even the A-4Ks maintained a level of air combat capability and a cadre of skilled air and ground crew that would have been available for expansion if the strategic situation was ever to deteriorate. That is lost now, probably forever. And the F-16 deal was such a good bargain that even Hawks would have been more expensive I'm sure... so it really was an opportunity lost. Don't worry though, I downloaded the RNZAF Tigershark from Combat Ace just the other day, and very nice it is too. If hostile planes ever appear in our skies I shall go outside in my backyard and shout 'bang' VERY crossly. Cheers all Kiwi

Just such a deal was generously offered by the US Government prior to the scrapping of the A-4Ks. A squadron (plus spares) of new F-16s were offered at a bargain-bin lease rate (the 'Deal Of The Century' it was called at the time) to the New Zealand government. The aircraft were perfect for our requirements, and even had familiar avionics and weapons fits, thanks to the F-16A derived fit-out of the 'Kahu' programme (A-4K upgrade). They had been manufactured for Pakistan, but never delivered due to a political embargo, and had been in storage ever since. That the deal was turned down was the darkest moment of Helen Clarke's Labour government (which already had a patchy record on Defence despite performing reasonably competently otherwise) and a disgrace to the memory of New Zealand's brave airmen and groundcrew, especially those who lost their lives in '39-'45 and since. In my opinion of course. Even if we were delivered F-16s tomorrow - it would take years to rebuild the capability since most of the personnel involved left to serve in Australia, the UK or elsewhere, or left for civvie street. I just hope we never have to reap what we sowed. A national disgrace in my opinion, and one reason the A-4Ks are such a revered aircraft here - the last ever Kiwi combat aircraft. Regards Kiwi LOL. Great idea James!

For noobs like me following BeachAV8R's training missions (and who don't already have the practice bombs) I can confirm the practice bombs (and a whole lot more besides!) are included in KillerBee's Ordnance Shop II. http://combatace.com/files/file/10602-mgunnys-ordnance-shop-ii-for-sf2/ Just follow KillerBee's instructions (it's easier than it might look at first) basically you backup your mods folder just in case, run the .exe into a temporary folder, swap KillerBee's folders into your active mods folder and run the game - the practice bombs will appear in the T-6A's in-game loadout window ready for you to use in BeachAV8R's missions! Very cool. There's a bunch of other toys in there to explore as well! Later on I'm gonna try setting up some custom asymmetric loadouts in the loadout.ini, and also set up some trim controls - should be fun! There are how-to tutorials in the forums / knowledge base. Hope this helps some fellow noobs! Cheers all. Kiwi

Hi Dels! Thanks for the reply. I'll take a look at KillerBee's ordnance packs (they seem to be pretty popular!) and if it's still not making sense to me I'll drop Beach a line at SimHQ. Super job on this Texan - I'm looking forward to trying a few more of your planes. Once I've got the practice bombs sorted (I'm probably being a bit OCD since the 250lb slicks in the stock loadout are just fine too) the AT-6B is next! Thanx again :) Kiwi

Hi Fellas! This is a super little bird - I'm enjoying it very much with BeachAV8R's training missions. In Beach's training mission No.5, BDU-33 and -48 training bombs are featured. I don't see those loadouts anywhere in this download, so I figure Beach has added them to his install manually? I can't see a 'how-to' for the BDUs in Beach's AARs either - did I miss something? I'm guessing the weapons are from an ordnance pack(?) and that I will need to edit my loadout.ini for the Texan to get the practice bombs to appear in the mission? Can anyone point me in the right direction? I have SF2E standalone installed btw. Cheers :) Kiwi