MigBuster

https://www.lockonfiles.com/forums/topic/39450-madcatzthunderhawkkinneys-combat-pilot-is-dead/ Dear Combat Pilots, It is with heavy hearts that we announce the closure of ThunderHawk Studios and the shutdown of Combat Pilots online servers at the end of November, 2013. Despite our best efforts to create the ultimate multiplayer combat flying experience for the flight sim community, there were simply not enough monthly subscribers to keep the servers open. Effective immediately, all monthly subscribers have free server access for the month of November. The good news is that after November you will still be able to play Combat Pilot as an offline, DRM-free version. Your career information will be stored locally and you can continue to train in flight operations and combat operations. Current members will receive an email with a special code to obtain this offline version of Combat Pilot for free. Expect this email at the end of this month. If you experience any support-related issues, have any billing concerns, or do not receive the aforementioned email, please contact the support team at http://support.combatpilotseries.com/. Please note that if you recently purchased Combat Pilot and still have a free month or two of online access owed to you, we will reimburse this at a rate of $11.99 per month. We will keep the support team active for 60 days in order to assist all pilots. Support will cease operations on January 31, 2014. We want to extend our thanks to our partners at A2A, Razbam, IRIS, Just Flight, Aerosoft, and numerous others, for their support in creating Combat Pilot. We especially would like to thank the faithful Combat Pilot community who joined this sortie with us. We hope to see you in the skies again someday! Sincerely, The ThunderHawk Team

Glad things are looking better Spinners.

SIgned in? Latest version? They will be in the Module manager top of the home screen.

18 December 2020 Dear Fighter Pilots, partners and friends, Our Winter Sale 2020 has started and will run until the 11th of January. On Steam, the sale will start on the 22nd of December and end on the 5th of January. We are pleased to announce an additional ‘Free to Play’ period starting on the 22nd of December, giving you access to all aircraft and terrains from our e-Shop and Steam for two weeks. We have made improvements to the wear and tear of piston engines as well as the damage model by considering various loads and fractures to the main bearings that occur during flight, combat, and abusive engine management. We are now running Open Beta 2.5.6.59398, which is a really big update. Check out the full changelog; we hope you will be impressed. As this will be our last newsletter before Christmas, let us take this opportunity to thank you for everything you have done for us this year. Without your trust in our team, none of this would have been possible. We are so grateful. Please check out our 2021 and Beyond, you may notice a few cool things that we have in the pipe for you. Merry Christmas to you, your friends, and your families. Thank you for your passion and support. Yours sincerely, Eagle Dynamics Team Free 2 Play Winter Sale We are excited to announce that the DCS World Winter Sale 2020 has started, and that it will run until 15:00 GMT on the 11th of January. Most modules have a 50% discount. For DCS World Steam Edition, the sale will start on the 22nd and end on the 5th of January at 10:00 PST. Modules with a 50% discount: AJS-37 Viggen AV-8B Night Attack C-101 Aviojet M-2000C I-16 Spitfire LF Mk.IX BF 109 K-4 Kurfurst Fw 190 D-9 Dora Fw 190 A-8 Anton Yak-52 Christen Eagle II A-10A Warthog F-5E Tiger II F-15C Eagle F-86F Sabre L-39C & L-39ZA Albatros MiG-15bis MiG-21bis Fishbed MiG-19 Farmer MiG-29 Fulcrum A & MiG-29S Fulcrum C P-51D Mustang Su-25A Frogfoot Su-27 Flanker B Su-33 Flanker D SA-342 Gazelle UH-1H Huey Mi-8MTV2 Magnificent Eight Ka-50 Black Shark Persian Gulf Nevada Test and Training Range Modules with a 30% discount: P-47D Thunderbolt The Channel F/A-18C Hornet F-16C Viper A-10C II Tank Killer Supercarrier Exceptions: F-14A/B Tomcat will have a 25% discount JF-17 Thunder will be only $59.99 Not in the Winter Sale 2020: Syria NS 430 Navigation System for SA-342 Gazelle Mi-8MTV2 Crew Part 1 Campaign F/A-18C Raven One Сampaign The Free to Play period will run for two weeks (22.12.20 10:00 PST - 05.01.20 10:00 PST), and it will allow you to access all DCS World modules for free with no time limitation within the two week period. Note that an internet connection is required for the Free to Play event and that Free to Play modules will not work in DCS World in OFFLINE mode. We hope that you will enjoy some well earned free flight time, and who knows, maybe also to fall in love with your next aircraft or terrain. Warbird Warriors Development Report Fighter engines, and in particular radial engines, are susceptible to master bearing overloads that require fine management skills and attention during operation. To prolong the service life, compliance with manifold pressure levels and RPM recommendations and limitations are mandatory. If not respected, you run the risk of serious engine malfunction, and you will probably be looking for a suitable emergency landing site in short order. If the engine is damaged due to poor management, or excess combat abuse, lowering the manifold pressure (or boost) and engine RPM will help keep the oil temperature within limits. With sufficient oil pressure, it should allow you to execute a controlled emergency landing. The DCS: Fw 190A-8 Anton and DCS: P-47D Thunderbolt now include these new algorithms for calculating and simulating the above, as well as the subsequent damages / failures to the engine. These aircraft represent our latest advancement in modeling, heating, cooling, aging, and damage to power plants and systems. This work will be extended to our older DCS World aircraft, and this will set the standard for all new warbirds coming to DCS World. Open Beta 2.5.6 Multicrew At last, and after a long gestation period, we have added multi-crew capabilities to UH-1H, with playable roles for all four crew members, to the next Open Beta. You can now have dedicated roles to fly and fight with two pilots and two gunners and interchange roles in flight. If the UH-1H does not have M-60 and M-134 minigun installed, you can fly as passengers. This offers a new level of gameplay that we plan to roll out to other platforms in the near future. The Hornet now includes the GBU-24A/B Paveway III laser-guided bomb. Auto IFF/CIT from the AZ/EL A/A page and AZ/EL FlIR Sublevel. Watch DCS: F/A-18C Hornet | Automatic IFF. A redesigned threat search algorithm for HARM for TOO mode has also been added. Read and watch the details DCS: F/A-18C Hornet | GBU-24 Paveway III. We have fixed the logic of the System Point of Interest (SPI) concept. Multiple other bugs have been fixed and new A/A Training Missions have been added to help you hit the ground running. The manual has also been updated. Watch DCS: F-16C Viper | Targeting Pod and Maverick Tips. This update to Open Beta 2.5.6 is our largest to date and includes the MBT T-72B3, SPAAG ZSU-57-2, and APC BTR-82A AI vehicles mentioned in recent news. For a more comprehensive list of updates and bug fixes, please check out the full list of changes. Once again, Merry Christmas to you and your loved ones. Thank you for all for your passion and support, Kind regards, Eagle Dynamics Team

The supermarket had not run out of Bacon or much else.......................so all is well in the world. @Erik the new strain apparently spreads about 70% faster than the others which is what has thrown their modelling out of the wall and caused the Tier 4 thing and other countries putting on the ban stick. I am now going to put my head back in the sand.

The main limit to any computer game no matter the age is simply the resource required (time and money) to code features or update old code. The reason Thirdwire left Multiplayer out of SF2 IIRC according to them was that so few played MP they/he felt it wasn't worth doing. Many over the years have said SF2 would be this and that with MP but TK didn't agree so there you go.

Yes they had to invent a new Tier 4 a few days ago for London and the surrounding area which is where I am..........I wasn't going to see anybody at Xmas anyway (which seemed the obvious thing to do) but Xmas is now officially cancelled outside of VC apps like Skype and Zoom for all in Tier 4.

Ladies and Gentlemen, on behalf of the entire BMS development team, I am happy to announce that the latest iteration of the BillionSoft Falcon 4.0 total conversion modification - Benchmark Sims 4.35 - is available for you to enjoy as of RIGHT NOW! BMS 4.35 requires a legit installation of a Falcon 4.0 (all older and newer versions are accepted alike, i.e. Microprose, Hasbro, GOG, Steam, Retroism). The check is performed both at setup time and every time you start BMS. If no valid installation is found, BMS will exit with a corresponding error message. For those of you who are new to Falcon and still need a legacy Falcon 4.0 license, you're lucky, as there are various season sales going on right now (i.e. at the time of writing this post): Retroism GOG Note that this is NOT an exhaustive list of where to buy Falcon 4.0, it's just a list of retailers known to me (best effort) that offer sales/discounts right now, for your convenience. The list will not be updated. This mod may not be used for any commercial purposes. Any such use may constitute a violation of the intellectual property of Billion Soft (Hong Kong) and the non-commercial Terms and Conditions under which Benchmark Sims make this mod available to you. BMS 4.35 comes with a plethora of changes. As with each major BMS release, a full changelog would fill whole books. Instead, we've summarized the most important changes for you here: NOTES: ====== - 4.35 is *not* an update to the former 4.34, but a new independent base installation - 4.35 can co-exist with 4.34 on the same machine — The build number string in the Falcon UI will read "4.35.0 (x64) Build 22548" for the base installation BMS 4.35 Changelog Summary: =========================== - DirectX 11 Upgrade - Tactical Reference UI and Data Update - Weather Control Improvement - Zulu Time Integration - Enhanced Flight Planning - Updated 2D War - Enhanced Fog Of War and Unit Detection (RECON/JSTAR) - Improved Gameplay for KTO TvT Theater - Revision of (AI) pilot names - New Arresting System for emergency landings - HTS and HARM improvements - New multipage customizable kneeboards - Full canopy control implementation - Jet Fuel Starter 1+2 support - Taxi-/Landing light update - New Pilot Seat Adjustment - New Anti-Ice Implementation - Updated MFD fonts - Enhanced Brakes + Hydraulic Systems - Accurate Gear Implementation - Better Aircraft Spawning and Despawning - Improved Taxi, Lineup, Takeoff and Landing behavior (AI) - ATC Overhaul (AI) - Tanker AAR Update (AI) - Carrier Enhancements (AI) - RWR Realism Update - New Pilot Death Situation - SAM and AAA Operator Enhancement (AI) - SAM Multi Targeting (AI) - Enhanced Ship Self Defense Capability (AI) - Anti Missile Intercept (AI) - Better Aircraft Weapon Selection + Deployment (AI) - Improved BVR Tactics (AI) - More realistic pilot view and threat detection (AI) - New Wind Turbine Facilities - New Airbases - New Features - New Aircraft - New Aircraft Skins - New Ground Units - New Naval Vessels - Optimized LOD transition - Improved Aircraft Destruction Model - Moon Phases + Ephemeris - Higher Atmosphere Upgrade - Enhanced Smoke Duration for Destroyed Vehicles - Updated switches on the F-18 cockpits - Mirage 2000 cockpits improvements - A-10 cockpit fixes - New Sounds (internal + external) - New HOTAS Callbacks - RTTClient/RTTServer Update - Hitbox Optimization - Updated Flight Models (non F-16) - Updated Key Files - New Training Missions - Documentation Update - Enhanced Multiplayer Stability - Hundreds of bug fixes, 3D and data improvements https://www.benchmarksims.org/forum/showthread.php?40646-Falcon-BMS-4-35-Full-Installer&p=557049#post557049

The BMS part is free however you need the original 1998 Falcon 4.0 installed first for licensing purposes. Falcon 4.0 can still be got cheaply from places like https://www.gog.com/game/falcon_collection..........currently 49% off.

In the F-104 Mega Pack the F-104S-CB for Turkey has this weird bomb loadout which the modder has taken from a diagram in a book. Does anyone know if this was actually operational ever on any F-104s?

Yes regarding Thirdwire.............a possible update to SF2 for Win 10................ TK has said little outside of: https://store.thirdwire.com/project_sf2_w10.htm

Thanks for the photos Russ............the guy who did the mod (PureBlue) has this in the readme. Unfortunately the F-104S manual I have makes no mention of the allowed A-G loadouts so unsure if it was authorised for actual use.

If you wanted to know more about all those targets in Strike Fighters you were blasting out of the sky all these years well now is your chance. Didn't the Red Eagles fly the MiG-23 and say it was rubbish and that is all I need to know? Unfortunately, the Red Eagles only flew (as far as we know) the MiG-23MS which was a very special version for third world countries. Special in that it was a modified MiG-23M airframe with MiG-21 avionics and short range IR missiles and yes the Red Eagles were right it was pretty much rubbish, but that should not be confused with the later ML/MLA/MLD types that were vastly improved. Part of the Middle East at war series this newly released book covers the MiG-23 types operated by Iraq, Egypt, Libya, Syria and Algeria between 1973 and 2018. The book also covers some of the technical differences between the types and the weapons they used and some of the situations the pilots faced both internally or externally. Of interest is one pretty detailed Libyan MiG-23MLD pilot account of a 2 v 2 mock dogfight he had got into against some US Navy F-14As in 1986. Austrian Tom Cooper has literally been on a mission from God for years now to get some truth over what happened to the other side in those many Mid-Eastern air wars we all know. He has amassed many contacts that were there at the time and has to be today, the western authority on the subject co authoring books with some of the most established and respected aviation historians. This all started with the massive six part Arab MiGs series which gathered a lot of research and even more contacts which has led to a lot of spins offs including the two part African MiGs, three part Libyan Air Wars, and Iranian Tigers at War (Taghvaee). The controversial Tom Cooper Prior to the Arab MiG series Cooper was somebody taking a lot of flak, not only on the web site ACIG but in relation to other books co-authored 2003 to 2005, the main one being Iranian F-14 Tomcat units in combat. Although the research seems credible the context of the book is misleading, written from only an Iranian view point with several areas where the book contradicts itself. This led to some angry exchanges with several Iraqis on forums and brought into question some of the books material. It is interesting to note that this new book makes little to no reference back to this earlier research and seems to make a big effort in providing information from mostly Arab and Russian/ Soviet sources. We at least now get some insight to the Iraq V Iran air war from an Iraqi viewpoint as well.

https://hushkit.net/2020/10/27/flying-fighting-in-the-gloster-javelin-hot-humid-in-the-flying-flat-iron-an-interview-with-an-raf-javelin-pilot/ The Gloster Javelin was the world’s first twin-jet delta-wing fighter. It was the Royal Air Force’s best interceptor of the 1950s, and was almost brilliant. It did what it was asked to do. It was a large heavily armed (albeit subsonic), day-night all-weather fighter. Unfortunately, the opposition moved the goals by developing air-launched stand-off missiles, requiring the sort of high-speed interceptor performance that simply could not be delivered by the Javelin. We spoke to former Javelin pilot Peter Day to find out if it deserved its bad reputation.

23 October 2020 Dear Fighter Pilots, Partners and Friends, We are pleased to announce that our special DCS World Halloween Sale is starting today and will run until the 8th of November. For our friends who fly on Steam, a shorter but nevertheless substantial sale will take place from the 29th of October until the 2nd of November. In the upcoming DCS World Open Beta update, we plan to deliver the possibility of selecting desired impact conditions for the GBU-54 bomb via the DSMS page for DCS: A-10C II and via the JDAM MSN page in DCS: F/A-18C. A whole raft of additional features and bug fixes will also be delivered. Stay tuned. After the initial release of the AGM-65 Maverick for the DCS: F-16C Viper, multiple bugs were identified during the beta-testing period. The next Open Beta will resolve most of the more pressing issues. Thank you for your passion and support. Yours sincerely, The Eagle Dynamics Team Halloween 2020 Sale On Steam, the Halloween Sale will start on the 29th of October at 10:00 PST and end on the 2nd of November.We are pleased to announce our spooky Halloween Sale. Our EShop sale starts today at 08:00 PST and will run until the 8th of November with most of our products seeing up to 50% discount. Modules with a 30% discount P-47D Thunderbolt The Channel F/A-18C Hornet F-16C Viper Exceptions The F-14A/B Tomcat will have a 15% discount The JF-17 Thunder will be only $64.99 Modules that do not participate in the Halloween Sale A-10C II Tank Killer Supercarrier Syria Mi-8MTV2 Crew Part 1 Campaign F/A-18C Raven One Сampaign We hope this will give you an opportunity to grab some hot deals and add some serious fighters to your hangar. GBU-38 Development Report The key feature for this updated JDAM is the new autopilot. This weapon now incorporates enhanced trajectory laws and provides the capability of programming for an impact with a specific terminal heading and vertical angle. These options are designed to improve weapon effectiveness depending on the type of target. The graph below demonstrates this effect. Effect of desired terminal vertical angle on GBU-38 bomb path Due to aerodynamic restrictions precise impact points are not always possible, in this case, JDAM uses an algorithm to check the impact heading and vertical angle. If the check indicates a noticeable miss, the algorithm will seek for conditions that will allow for an on target hit. In addition, to reduce the probability of a near miss and to improve ballistics penetration, the autopilot will command a zero angle of attack during the last seconds of flight. Viper AGM-65 Updates We encountered a target lock issue with objects in close proximity to the desired enemy. Symbology errors on the WPN page will be fixed in the next update. The seeker depression angle markers are currently being adjusted as well as the Sensor of Interest (SOI). In the next Open Beta update, the addition of the BSGT option and uncage ability will be added. The LOS handoff indication on HUD can also be expected. The possibility to engage target lock with two missiles prior to launching the first will also become available. It will be possible to ripple fire two locked-on missiles with RP 2 option. We are also working on the TMS-right re-command handoff. Thank you again for your passion and support, Kind regards, Eagle Dynamics Team

https://www.thedrive.com/the-war-zone/37405/how-israel-got-this-mig-21-that-sean-connery-posed-next-to-was-like-a-real-life-bond-movie The death of the actor Sean Connery at the age of 90 this weekend saw accolades from across the worlds of cinema, celebrity, politics, and more. Among those acknowledgments of Connery’s passing was an intriguing photo posted on the Israeli Air Force’s Twitter feed, which showed the late actor posing alongside a MiG-21 with the number “007” painted on the side, a reference to the fictional British super-spy James Bond, who the movie star had played in multiple films. The story of how the Israeli intelligence agency Mossad brought this Iraqi jet back to Israel is an extraordinary one, the result of an intelligence coup that could itself have been lifted straight from a Bond movie.

Rolling Thunder should run up to mid or near end of 1968. Steel Tiger was an interdiction campaign in Laos that was also up to 1968. Line Backer 1 and 2 were the other major air wars like Rolling Thunder during the the US involvement and the game was more suited to that type of environment. Outside of that there were other interdiction campaigns like on the Trail such as Commando Hunt or the Cambodia incursion in 71 but not sure if anyone did campaigns without looking. Yankee Air Pirate covered most of Vietnam mission set better than the campaign engine could do it. Likewise if you have the mission editor you can create your own historical missions that are better than what the campaign can do where it comes to CAS etc.

North Vietnam 1966 to 1972 was usually okay regarding SAMs but depends what you want to compare it with. You can have the skies filled with tracer if you like but requires a bit of modding - example you can easily create a separate install so you dont mess up your current one and try this out because I think it has levels of defence - but there is about 6 parts. Failing that see if there are any separate Mods that up the defence level.

I got mine direct from Thrustmaster in August.....looks like you may need to wait to the end of the month for more.....demand was possibly pushed up by Covid and MSFS2020. https://shop.thrustmaster.com/en_gb/pc/hotas-warthogtm-flight-stick.html The Cougar stick should work on the Warthog base.

Unlikely.................I expect it to be a paid module, being another 3rd party project.

25 September 2020 Dear Fighter Pilots, Partners and Friends, We are pleased to announce DCS: MB-339A is coming to DCS World. This exciting project comes to us from a group of flight simulation and aerobatics enthusiasts who saw DCS as the ideal platform to pursue their virtual flights. The MB-339 is an excellent fighter-trainer, and the simulator is being used by the Italian Air Force cadets. As DCS: A-10C II Tank Killer prepares for takeoff, we are happy to share our development progress on the AGM-65L Laser Maverick, GBU-54 Laser JDAM and APKWS laser-guided rocket. We are confident that this major upgrade will be an exciting addition to this iconic and effective weapons system. Check out the Tank Killer introduction and Laser Maverick video and how to use GBU-54 Laser JDAM. The Aircraft Owners & Pilots Association is running their Thunder Over Kutaisi 2020 Livestream Airshow on the 26th of September at 20:00GMT. Watch the trailer. Thank you for your passion and support. Yours sincerely, Eagle Dynamics Team IndiaFoxtEcho New third-party developer and module Following the successful community mod and motivated by customer feedback, the software house 3rd party developer IndiaFoxtEcho has submitted their MB-339A for initial evaluation. We are pleased to announce that they have been granted a DCS World license agreement to bring their project to DCS World as an official product. The official DCS: MB-339A will include improved cockpit geometry, new textures, and multiple systems such as: Electric system with battery charge / discharge Bus-bar and circuit breakers Fuel system with fuel dump and fuel unbalance Complete oxygen system including interior cabin pressure Navigation system with GPS / TACAN / ILS and Flight Director Main and emergency hydraulic system with relative hydraulic consumptions Smoke system (for aerobatics) Weapon systems The module will also receive a damage model, detailed flight manual, and many missions. A-10C II Tank Killer Development Update DCS: A-10 II Tank Killer is currently undergoing a lengthy closed testing period to ensure accuracy, stability, and a smooth launch. We continue to improve the Helmet Mounted Cueing System (HMCS) indicators, add more skins and mission content, and tune flight model changes. We encourage you to get familiar with the new weapon systems to hit the ground running. This update is being developed in parallel with the A-10C VR Training Software for the United States Air Force 355th Wing. AGM-65L Laser-Maverick Development Progress In this video we introduce the primary features of this substantial update and instruct on the use of the AGM-65L laser-guided Maverick. The Laser-Maverick provides excellent range and ease-of-use to lock onto a target by using the targeting pod. GBU-54 LJDAM Development Progress The GBU-54 is a 500-pound bomb with options for INS/GPS and laser-homing guidance. It can be loaded on all 1760 smart racks. While INS/GPS allows launch-and-leave and the ability to engage through cloud and smoke cover, the laser-guidance provides increased accuracy and can engage moving targets. It’s up to you to determine the best guidance based on the engagement. Watch DCS: A-10C II Tank Killer - GBU-54 Laser-JDAM. AGR-20A APKWS Development Progress The Advanced Precision Kill Weapon System (APKWS) is a cost-effective method of engaging unarmored and lightly armored targets based on pinpoint laser-guidance. Both M-151 high-explosive and M-282 penetration warhead versions are available with seven rockets per each LAU-131 rocket pod. With a range of approximately 5 miles, the APKWS offers accurate firepower. Get a grip on how to use the APKWS with DCS: A-10C II Tank Killer Laser-Guided Rockets. Thank you again for your passion and support, Kind regards, Eagle Dynamics Team