mppd

The optical gunsight is mounted high on the fwd canopy structure - the combining glass flips down into the pilot's line of sight to fire the weapons optically. On the TF-102, two similar gunsights are mounted upside down, and the combining glass flips up. Mike

Nicki, I'm a bit pressed for time lately, but feel free to tweak my decals for the Razbam Spad to fit the SF2-V Skyraider. I'll do it myself eventually if no one else does - working on a few other projects right now. Edit: Ooops, I guess that's what this is!! Didn't even take the time to read the readme. My apologies... Mike D.

I'll take three of those!! By the way, what is it with the EELS?? Did I miss something along the way here.......?

Remember the deuce tailhook was an emergency item - once deployed it cannot be retracted in the air, has to be reset on the gnd. The barrier probe just behind the weps bay I believe was the same deal - no retraction in flt.

You guys are right on the stick. I wish I had half of the technical knowledge you folks do. I come from a strictly historical standpoint - photos and text...and what I remember seeing at AFBs in the good old days. I'll make up that goofy adapter one of these days, also the two different styles of deuce wig tank pylons.

Ooohh, my mistake. The photos show the TER mounted with no pylon. It is mounted on a little stand-off kludged mount about 6 inches high, but for WOV purposes we could stick it directly to the underside of the wing. Not by my scanner or I'd post the photo. But that's the general idea. probably work pretty good on migs too! Mike

You have it right. Genie was tested as a possible mod but was never realized. I have several photos of a deuce in Vietnam with a TER on left pylon position with a single SUU-11 mounted on it, with a wing tank on right wing.

In case this bit of trivia has not appeared yet: I have XP, installed to the default location, ran the DirectX setup utility provided, and after installation could not locate any of the described folders in any My Documents folder UNTIL I RAN THE GAME ONCE. Then they appeared in the My Documents - Thirdwire folder. Mike D.

I was told by a weapons load tech at Zaragoza and later at the Conn ANG that deuces never stood alert with empty rails - never. 6 Falcons, plus full load of FFARs (12 or 24, however the bird was configured). According to him, most loads carried a mix of IR/RH Falcons - fwd three typically A-D-A, aft three D-A-D. If one or two AIM-26Bs carried on center rails, mix of A/D models on the others. He never saw nukes in Spain, and it's my bet that they were never used operationally in Europe on deuces. Mike D.

Hey, at fifth place, there's nowhere to go but up!!

I have to agree with Sundowner, most active-duty deuces were kept in pretty good shape, but there are exceptions to every rule! I have never seen that photo of the tail of 70785 with the 460th FIS at Portland before, and it sure does look beat! It went directly to the South Carolina ANG from there, so it wasn't taken at the boneyard!! Thanks for posting the photo. More photos of well worn deuces would be appreciated (not at Davis-Monthan)... Mike D.

6 squadrons actually, add the 497th FIS at Torrejon AB, Spain, while the 431st FIS flew from Zaragoza.

One of my favorite planes - Can't wait to see it. Thanks very much, it looks great! Mike D.

Thanks for the plane Ed. Can you swap the nose gear door to the other side also when you make some edits. Thanks, Mike D.

Is this it? http://findarticles.com/p/articles/mi_qa38...12/ai_n9007941/ Here is a photo of the doors -

See, I could open my big mouth and say that I really doubt this...but after being proven wrong on MORE than one occasion, I'll keep it shut!! Let us know if you can dig anything up on this. Mike

Umm, actually the 2.75 inch rockets were located IN the four center doors, three tubes per door, two rockets per tube, for a total of 24 rockets. When the AIM-26 mod was done starting in 1960-61, the rockets in the center door were completely eliminated (the nuclear Falcon had larger fins requiring cut-outs in the center doors, which forced elimination of the launching tubes). These carried only 12 rockets, 6 each in the outer two doors. The 509th FIS at Clark and TDY in SEA had some of both initially, and eventually had all Fig. 8s (the IR mod was made to these nuc-falcon modified birds). Mike D.

Thank you again - I have spent hours now poking through these files - just amazing stuff. Proved me wrong on the F-102 use in SEA in the A/G role!! Mike

Still hope to see this soon. Let me know if I can help Ed. By the way, I can't locate the exact thread that I posted comments on my skepticism about the use of the F-102 in Southeast Asia in the air-to ground role (if it wasn't deleted by the moderators) but I just wanted to apologize about my being WRONG. The recent post by Killerbee about declassiffied sortie records for aircraft in SEA shows more F-102 strike missions than I can count (up until the spring of 1966) - scanning the records shows 2.75 inch rockets expended only, but I have not looked at them all. I never would have believed it unless I saw it with my own eyes. My sincere apologies again. Mike Druzolowski

Holy smokes!! What a find. Not a very intuitive database for a dumb arse like myself though. Where can I find a listing of base codes for takeoff location? Also, where did you find those USMC AAR scanned docs?? I did poke thru the USAF sorties for 02 Jan 1967 (Bolo) - lots of info. Thanks for posting this though, Mike D.

Thanks for sharing this. I have some of these books!! Mike D.

Absolutely a must-have. Consider the time and talent that went into creating all of the missions, target objects, environmental adds, new aircraft, effects, etc. by people who were there, if you are a flight simmer with a historical perspective, get it. Considering the cost of the mission sets is about the same as a dinner meal at the diner here where I eat, how could one refuse buying into it? I see MS Flight Simulator single aircraft that cost more than the initial purchase price of the entire base YAP2 setup (and no one bats an eyelash at that). I've said it more times than I can recount now - the YAP project is what I would have created myself if I had the talent and time and contacts. And I still have no affiliation with the project - I just think it's the greatest thing since sliced bread! Mike D.

File Name: WOV F-4C and D Upgrade File Submitter: mppd File Submitted: 23 Jul 2008 File Category: F-4 This package upgrades the visual models for the F-4C and F-4D in Wings over Vietnam with several small details that have been bugging me for a while, and is really intended for the detail nut like me until the Mirage Factory releases a real F-4C/D upgrade. It also upgrades the textures for the basic USAF camouflage which I created some time ago, fixing some errors. The decals.ini for each plane are set up to use my USAF F-4 decals package available here at CombatAce (also due for an overhaul and update), but can easily be replaced by the default version for the F-4C/D if you don't like it. The LORAN F-4D uses the default F-4D decals and markings - so if you installed my LORAN packages don't use the decals.ini in this. This package adds four new airplanes so as to not over-write your default F-4C or F-4D. It consists of the F-4C block 21 (a typical post-1966 C model), an F-4D block 30 '67-'69 (the basic F-4D used between those years), an F-4D block 30 '69-'75 (the basic F-4D after the four nose ECM bulges were removed and capped off) and an F-4D with the LORAN AN/ARN-92 Chelton "towel rack" fuselage spine antenna. The textures vary in worn appearance from plane to plane as presented here. The '67-'69 F-4D version has upper surface star & bar with no blue outline as as typical of these airplanes when they left St. Louis for the first years of service in Southeast Asia. My minor add-ons include: Four nose AN/APS-107 ECM antennas on early F-4Ds (not in quite the correct ositions, but probably good enough) Silver radome tip Revised under nose RHAW antennas for F-4C and F-4D Upper fuselage IFF antenna on F-4D behind canopy Two black under fuselage antennaa (TACAN I think) Pitot tubes under nose, on left side of nose and inside air intakes Structural braces in between intakes and fuselage The inboard leading edge flaps work as they are supposed to. I have also added a newer shape for the 370 gallon external wing tank, which I have enclosed. Each data.ini defaults to this. You must know how to use the Weaponeditor to install it. I used the default values from the simulation's default 370 gallon tank in the weapondata.ini: Mike Druzolowski Click here to download this file

Eric, I just noticed your post - just wanted to thank you for the time you took! The data.ini files were sort of experimental - I was trying to assign certain missiles to an odd country attach point to prevent them from being available in the weps loadout selection menu for certain aircraft types. I'll check the rudder issues - I had not noticed the problem before. All these files need a real overhaul - and combined with the new F-4C/D 3D models that I'm starting to work on with Crab_02, will hopefully be better than ever before. Watch for them soon ....well, two weeks, at least... Mike D.

Dave is right, The F-104C had a fuselage centerline station (all I ever remember seeing in photos was a practice bomb dispenser ever loaded here) but no fittings under the fwd fuselage for AIM-9s - this was an F-104G and later European/export version idea. The F-104Cs which deployed from George to Southeast Asia stood alert with wingtip AIM-9s and flew limited strike/gnd suppt missions with wingtip tanks but no Sidewinders. Mike