Jug

I just read through my previous posts and apologize for waxing eloquent or not on subjects far from the reason I am an active participant on this site. Nothing like blowing a few things up when your frustration with other things gets out of hand. I am taking my Thud downtown tonite and nothing compares...............

I'm not smart enough to discuss economics, but I still insist that the wherewithall to do anything exist within a society that allows the risk-taker to be rewarded to the same extent as the risk taken. While I am saddened by the many well-intentioned entitlement programs that have been instituted in my country through the years in exchange for votes, I am equally proud of the many opportunity programs that the US offers for those without much to empower them to use the intestinal fortitude (guts) they are born with to better themselves. My wife and I started our family with nothing. We were trailer-trash and, for the most part, couldn't afford to pay attention. She and I found what it took to gain our education, and, bit-by-bit build a modest home, marketable skills, and be content with what she and I could afford with what we earned. It has been a long road with many ups and downs, but we, both, feel that we were blessed to be born in a nation that values opportunity and rewards hard work. Our faith has been our foundation, our dedication to each other and our children which we chose to bring into this world and raise properly the mortar holding the stones together, our service to our country and community a fundamental requirement to attempt to pass on the same environment to our children as a part structural stones, and the free, respectful political discourse with our neighbors and friends as our never-ending duty as the decorative trim. While our goals may be described as trite and old-fashioned, I can live with that. I have been an athlete most of my life and the greatest lesson that athletics has taught me is that when you need to dig deep and suck it up and go, there is more there than you think. I am of the opinion that you are the always master of your own ship, be that ship a dingy or an aircraft carrier. The reason I have written this way-too-long epic is that I think freedom starts small, with one man and one woman. If your society provides opportunity to better yourself, what's your excuse for not taking the planet on. When do you get to quit - never!

Try USAA Federal Savings Bank out of San Antonio, TX. Big enough not to need hidden fees which is the bane of the smaller banks. Smaller banks are looking at creative ways to get their hands into your pockets. I have found that USAA does not work that way.

Respect due. RIP

At the risk of being targeted by all sorts of appropriate nasty-grams, I would offer the argument,"Would you do anything different if you were sitting as the CEO of a corporation?" Probably not because, capitalism is all about rewards for hard work. CEOs have to make tough decisions, but that is their job. Sitting in the hot seat is quite different from making comments based on multiple assumptions. Not to say a lot of luck is also involved and, on occasion, a little dancing around the law. I seem to recall that Steve Jobs, some years ago, was in a position to join the crowd protesting whatever the latest thing there was to protest. He, instead, chose to spend his energy and time working hard on his dream. He was rewarded handsomely for his efforts. I kinda like a system that works like that. Your pockets are not filled by bitching and moaning, but they are by dedication and hard work. The democracies of the world, or at least those who have not folded under the pressure to reward and entitle those who have not earned it anyway, are the only environment where those who have nothing can become those with a lot. The United States, for example, is a very classed society, but it is also very mobile one as well. Those with bucks and no brains, spend it all and drop to the lower class and those with no bucks, but a lot of determination and willingness to work can move to the top of the heap in their lifetime (e.g. Jobs [RIP], or Bill Gates). In my opinion, blaming corporations for a situation is a waste of time and effort better spent doing something about the situation. Then again, who am I................?

OMG! What will happen to the 'Tailhook' convention?

What a wimp the Italian President is? Anyone of our Italian friends here vote for this spineless dude?

Problem was SAC could not find a way to get recon information to the tactical forces in a timely manner. Recon collection was set up to monitor other potential combatants and the red tape and who releases what could not be overcome. TAC forces lost confidence in SAC recon and SAC recon failed to deliver. Another of the many tragedies of the war.

OK, Jug decided to get slick and move his monster SF2 mod file to a different HD (25gig and growing). Edited the options.ini file to point to that drive and put the options.ini at this URL: C:\Users\Tim\Saved Games\ThirdWire\StrikeFighters2\options.ini. No joy! What did I miss? May have fouled up twice. I only have one mod file for full merged SF2, SF2V, SF2E, and SF2I here: "D:\ThirdWire\StrikeFighters2". Should I have four different mod files? Running a really fast PC using Windows 7 premium.

Good to go. Thanks, Wrench.

Gunrunner, You da man! Worked like a charm. Thanks. Bye the way, up to 128 Gig and climbing. Love it all!!! Can someone paste the contents of the options.ini for SF2 Europe here? Mine seems to have gone awry!

Help? I did a search of the site to find a MiG-25 pack for SF2. The best I got was 33 pages on every MiG on the site. Anyone know where I can find the MiG-25 download for SF2?

Bummer. Back on my knees begging again.................

Nice doubting thoughts here, but the newest Sled was built in 1962 and nothing has come close to it throughout its amazing operational life. 30 years of world wide operations against a foe that would have dearly loved to shoot one down (read Vicktor Belenko's MiG Pilot). Let's see, my lower math says if you had 7 operational sorties per week (two from Kadena checking out North Korea, two from Mildenhall checking out the then northern USSR, and three elsewhere, e.g. the middle east), times 52 weeks in the year, times 30 years, you come up with 10,920 chances to have a single missile shot at you (usually more than one at a time come up to say hello). 4,000 missle misses is actually pretty conservative don't you think? I, myself, would be willing to accept twice that number as perfectly feasible. Truth be known, missile shots were a good test case for Soviet missile development. I can seen Pavlev turning to Igor and saying, "Not yet, Comrade. Back to the drawing boards." again and again. MiG-25 gets tongue-stalls, severe coughs, and compressor stalls at above Mach 2.5 (leaving vital engine parts in its wake) so how do you think they could get off the ground, run an intercept, and come anywhere close to a Sled cooking along at Mach 3.2 to 3.5. The MiG-31, with much better avionics and missiles, stands a better chance, but it still has a slim chance to get in position to do the deed because its top in speed is somewhat lower than the Foxbat. The Sled could use the favorite maneuver for the old, slow U-2 and just randomly turn. Think about the lead you have to draw on a bird you are hunting in the field and you get the idea stretched across a 17 mile high scenario. Really screws up your GCI or missile track when the bloody target turns after the missile is out of fuel and on a ballistic trajectory flailing away with little tiny wings in thin air or when your high-speed MiG wings can't go fast enough to keep you from stalling your 60,000 lbs hogbody at 60,000 feet in straight and level flight, much less any turn. Besides, none of us knows the full capacity of the onboard ECM suite on the Sled, because it was never used. Not needed. Sorry, but the math doesn't work out. The Sled was a showpiece of American engineering, reigned supreme during its entire life where nobody flies today, and for thirty years never even saw anyone in the rear vision mirrors.

One pass and haul ass. Good axiom for interceptor folks..........

The F-5 has the same advantage in a dogfight as the MiG-21, maneuverable as hell and a bitch to find visually. I agree with 1V4 solutions provided above. Use the advantage you have. 20 years of technology. Shoot and extend. Heck, one of those Canucks may get excited and just fly into the ground. Tomorrow there'll be three.

Red Eagles book about US MiG AF in Tonopah, NV, says the MiG-17 (the real thing) is at its best in a low speed horizontal yo-yo, but is very limited in a vertical fight. Above 450 knots the controls freeze up since they are not hydraulically assisted. The stick is actually longer and sits higher than most aircraft to assist the pilot in overcoming the controls at high speed (doesn't work though, all the pilot, even a real strong one, can do is bend the stick). Remain between 300-400 knots and you can stay vertical better and out-turn anything.

Happy Birthday, Mike. Many happy returns.

"Big watch, small Johnson, looking for a place to cash a check" It's all about attitude. If they weren't convinced they are 10 feet tall, bulletproof, and invincible, they wouldn't be able to do the things that are asked of them. That is just the way it is.

A real nifty recent release: Red Eagles: America's Secret MiGs Everyone thinks Area 51 security was all about keeping the UFO secret when it was really about keeping the USAF Mig fleet (MiG-17s, MiG-21s, and MiG-23s) secret. These aircraft have been flown by select USAF, Marine, and USN pilots in the huge air combat exercises in Nevada called 'Red Flag' since th 1970's. Pilot evaluations of the strengths and weaknesses of the MiGs. Like I said, real nifty read. Got to add 'Operation Overflight' by Francis Gary Powers since I'm an old U-2 driver.

Really looking forward to this. Did a air staff report on this conflict when I attended the Escola do Comando e Estado Maior da FAB in '84. The Brazilian officers were involved in a classified project and they turned the 'estrangeiros' loose on the Malvinas war. Interesting, but very professional views from the officers in school with me representing Chile, Peru, Columbia, and Venezuela. Looking around for my copy of our final report, but no joy yet.

Me neither!

Nicely done. When I was in Brazil, construction was much the same there. Very solid. Fireproof. Actually I wouldn't mind something like that in Alabama. Are you available?

To my fellow men at arms, RIP. I'm certainly no hero, but I have had the privilege of serving with a few. The ranks from this conflict are legion.