Jug

I can just eliminate the co-pilot from the A-37B (A-Team's excellent add-on) data.ini file and externally the co-pilot is gone. However, from inside the cockpit, there is this ugly dude still sitting in the right seat blocking my right side view. Anybody got any ideas? In Vietnam, many flights of the A-37B were solo, so I am trying to get rid of the right seat noise-maker and view-blocker.

For those interested the solution is in the Super Squeek Tweaks elsewhere in this forum.

Ditto!

Ditto!

Actually I was thinking in terms of life without parole with big gay Bubba for his roommate. Death would be way too quick.

Thanks, FastCargo. I'll see if I can go from there, take notes, and post the how-to here. Jug

There are so many really good enhancements to this game that make it more and more realistic, but I think the sound bites are a bit behind the rest of the game's development. I have a pretty good Altec sound system for my computer, so a jet engine ought to sound like a jet engine and not like a washing machine. Anybody else have the same thought and have any good solutions?

Thanks Stick!

Try Google Image search for "U-2 cockpit". Bunches of shots.

Speaking of "Streetfighter", here he is in front of his [really fast] jet. He's on the right and only lacks the mustache......................

I know what you mean Sparkomatic, the real thing is a whole different level of effort and mindset. Stateside, it is all about polishing the apple and getting somebody promoted. The guys I worked with during deployed ops were not particular standouts stateside, but became different people when engaged in real ops. My most treasured piece of my flying history is a plaque that my maintenance team gave me as my USAF Best Alternative Steering team. The U-2 tailwheel only turns 6 degrees and at times when the wind is blowing from the wrong direction, you cannot make a corner getting to the runway. The guys following along would pile out of the step van and literally push on the side of the tail to help it around a corner. I was notorious for not making at least one corner per mission at this particular location. It was like these guys said to me, "Faggetaboutit, you take care of business in the upper ether, we'll get you to the runway." Each one of those troops were not extraordinary, but I have never had a maintenance late takoff or cancel during ops. We all came together and put the best jet in the sky and never failed to bring home the bacon. It was a level of mutual respect and admiration, you don't see often in stateside training ops. Later, back home, it became a quick eye-lock, a nod, and, usually, a grin. Kinda like, we been there, done that, and done it well. Those fleeting moments are what I remember most of my service career, not the down times and the bulls***t.

Did you see that Israel has 39 aces! AF, Marines, Army, and Navy add up to 2 since Korea! Wow!

It is the one and only Robin Olds. This picture was taken during Vietnam when nobody was getting much done and we needed a leader. You couldn't make up a story using your wildest imagination to write about the known antics of this AF legend. WWII Ace and 4 MiG kills in Vietnam. A leader leads from the front and many AF commanders haven't got the faintest idea of what that means. Robin never lost sight of it. There was not one single politically correct bone in his body. I do mean all of the Right Stuff! He passed away this year and our country has lost a real hero. Is that not one of the most beautiful mustaches in the world. The AF was leaning on everybody in the suit for the clean cut look and the commander shows up looking like a brawler. As a matter of fact, that is exactly what he was. The real leaders were interspersed throughout the Air Force and I had the privilege of serving with one at Loring AFB, Col Larry 'Streetfighter' DeVall. Loose Larry came to command a SAC wing from the Flying Club at Beale where he was a SR-71 pilot, instructor, evaluator, and squadron commander. Before that he flew B-47s and B-58s. He is remembered fondly as the light colonel that threw the piano through the officers club window at Beale after receiving a lecture from some stodgy SAC puke on operational flying (of which this dude had none). Of course his wing won the Omaha trophy as the best wing in SAC, and aced 5 operational readiness inspections, so he was passed over for BGen. Not too many PC bones in that lanky old frame either. Meandering on here, please forgive...........

If anyone cares, the Buff is not known for its maneuverability, so formation flying in the Buff is different than formation flying in other aircraft. There is always a 500 foot vertical separation between aircraft, so the formation is Big. A three ship takes up 1500'. Sounds like the FM is correct for the Buff if it is floundering all over the sky trying to stay in the classic fingertip formation. A Buff can't get there and can't stay there. Believe me, I have tried in the real aircraft and it is exhausting/dangerous. A typical formation is a three ship, line astern, separated by 500 feet. Tightening up the formation is probably the wrong way to go. You just have to give that big bird room to fly.

Looks very well done, Wrench. Can't wait. Press on!

My survival school instructors told me to never, repeat never, eat anything that you didn't cook. You can have sushi. My taste in beer is limited to COLD beer. My taste in fish is deep fried. I do dearly love British fish and chips. Grease-low-level light goes out for a week.

I will say again, congratulations and thank you to all that serve. Can't speak for all of the VietNam era military, I can only speak for myself. Somewhere along the way I decided that what was broken in the military was my personal responsibility to fix. I decided that if I am going to do a job, I was going to do it right and following VietNam, there was much broken in the military. I decided that the only way to fix things was to roll up your sleeves and work from the inside. Do the job right regardless of the circumstance, and be the professional our nation expects us to be. I spent twenty years attempting to do just that along with many other dedicated 'lifers' in all services. Even though the best you could say was that it was a tiny part, I like to think the results of my efforts showed up at Desert Storm. USAFMTL put it well when he said most of his 'beefs' were with people, not the institution. Well and professionally said. The military is notorious (all services) for screwing personnel issues up by the numbers. USAFMTL's situation is a perfect example. I request that you keep in mind that the soldiers, sailors, airmen, and Marines who run toward the fight, leave behind those in uniform who would rather not. It is the former crowd that wins our nation's conflicts and it is the latter crowd which seems to work hard to run off the former when the fight's done. No medals for REMFs, just a title. As I have said before, nobody writes war stories about REMFs (Rear Echelon Mother Truckers). To those who are considering some service time, I encourage you. However, service will never be without sacrifices. Fixing what is not right takes dedication, duration, determination, and courage and can only be accomplished from the inside. Our nation's security is only achieved by those who accept the full spectrum of what that entails. I have never encountered the "espirit de corps" and comradeship of military service in any other career. It is truely unique! Sound like a recruiter, don't I?

Most jets require a lot of power to taxi in this condition. Wally Moorehead (Lt Gen Retired) was part of the A-10 OT&E team and told me the aircraft was purchased to survive just such a conditon with little or no repairs to get it back up and flying. The retracted main wheels still stick out about 4 inches and a pilot with the right touch can land with the wheels up with little or no damage. This guy was evidently a pretty good stick. Titanium bathtub or no, I would not like to be sitting on top of a malfunctioning 30mm Gatling gun.

When I was young and thinking like a young man thinks with all of the maturity I could muster, the Auburn University (Alabama) campus was the MOST target-rich environment on the planet (I visited most of the other SEC schools too). It had then and has now the best crop of FINE southern ladies available. Did a four year recon mission and picked the one to suit my fancy. 35 years later she is still a southern beauty in my eyes. Did the education thing too, but all of that best educational institution stuff is a bunch of bunk anyway. You get what you strive for in college, regardless of the institution or it's rep. Three years out of school nobody cares what your GPA was or where it was from. Might as well attend a school with a good football team so you can act like an alumini and dress up like a fool every Saturday. At the end of the day, it's all about quality cheap beer and the results of that intense recon mission.

I flew the Brazilian AF Mirage IIIEBR and though the motor was better than the CJ it still was only good enough for one really spiffy maneuver and you were out of energy. If the real one was a little bit of a dog then the sim FM is probably correct. Remember you can get real spoiled flying around in a Typhoon and when switching back to a early Mirage, it is not quite the same thing. Also, most jet pilots fly with their feet on the cockpit floor except for a few situations, but century series fighters and those of that time were particularly responsive to high angle of attack use of the rudder. Next time you are mixing it up with a Mirage against say a MiG-17 and the stick is back in your lap, move your feet. Hooah!!!!...................a whole new world.

Wow! Great job. I can't wait..............................

Esta ficando otima! Meus parabens, amigo. Vai na frente, todo o mundo esta esperando....................!

Let's keep things in perspective. USAFMTL, thank you for your service. I am a former blue suiter and have been at odds with its policies as well. I jumped at the 20 year point because I felt life held a little more for me to follow flying than a desk at the Pentagon. Marines, Navy and Army, I don't think USAFMTL's rant was an invitation to pile on. The services share in their inability to deal with personnel issues. I point out that there are plenty of young tigers left in the cage. In the fifteen years since I retired, I have met my share of real dedicated men and women of our armed services and they are, indeed, your best friend and your worst enemy. Each has made a decision that somebody has to make up for the slackards, REMFs, and PC people that also wear the uniform and they have committed themselves to do the job right. Most don't get the recognition they deserve because headline opportunities are rare, but that is not what the committment is all about anyway. It is those that we celebrate. The others we just tolerate. I point to a recent ceremony in the White House where a young SEAL was presented, posthumously, the MoH for covering a grenade to save his buddies. I point to 21 days to Baghdad after we told them we were coming for three months. 21 days! I have spent some time with our Special Forces guys that, trust me, I am real glad are on our side. Fortunately, we in the service still respect and admire the tigers. Nobody writes war stories about a masterful paper-pusher. Then again, you would be hard pressed to make up the story of Robin Old's life. Politics is not my strong suit, so pardon my rant. I don't know where this nation finds the young men and women that make our armed services respected and feared, but it always does. I can assure you that no-one wants to meet our today's tigers, just like our yesterday's tigers on a bad day.

This is an excellent short list, but I would include some weather, weapons, and other effects which you can find here. There is a shortage of good heavy snow (N/A in VietNam) and good heavy rain (very/A in VietNam) effects, but most climatological changes are very well done in the sim or with effects from mods posted here.

I don't know about you guys, but Wagsled, here online, has my vote. About 1% of the Air Force sees combat and of that 1% another, maybe, 25% actually shoot a weapon at a bad guy and less than 10% actually mix it up (dogfight) with a real bad guy. The guys like Robin Olds are wolves that you let out of the closet when there is a war on. Other types are better at managing the huge organization called our Air Force. Rarely do the wolves have the patience or skills necessary for running the Air Force. Isn't that a steaming pile.................