MigBuster

Any use? .................................................................. I want to share my X52 Pro profile for BMS 4.3x with the community. My idea for this profile was to try to make a copy of the real F16 flightcontrols, and also consider what would work when considering the BMS simulator in general. The result is what you can see in the picture, a semi real, semi clean profile, which only uses 1 mode and 1 shift state. I think you will not drown in too much buttons with this one , but you DO have the room to add two more modes and shift states if you prefer. Just use it as you see fit! Another plus is that my profile solves commonly reported bugs with certain functions too, by programming functions a little differently. Installation: Download the package (.rar) here: http://bit.ly/scubyflying Import the .pr0 file into your Saitek SST software. Import the .key file into BMS. In BMS Setup, select your X52 Pro flightstick. In BMS Setup, set your throttle Afterburner detent. In BMS Setup, under advanced controls, make sure you setup the following axis, rotaries and slider: -Rudder = z rotation -Throttle = z axis -Pitch axis = y axis -Roll axis = x axis -Radar Antenna Elevation = x rotation -Range Knob = y rotation (check box REVERSED!). If some of your rotaries behave are a little switchy, go into you SST software, find the rotaries and set a tiny deadzone for them. *screenshots are added in the download to help with the above steps. Recommended Shared keys to setup: -Teamspeak Whisper = HOME (using HOME solves simultaneous key conflicts in BMS) -Teamspeak Push-to-talk = SCROLL LOCK (using SCROLL LOCK solves simultaneous key conflicts in BMS) -VAC TOGGLE = NUMPAD - (if applicable, set this key in your DWVAC software and set the "Arm" activation option) -TrackIR Center = NUMPAD + (set this key in your TrackIR software) -Teamspeak Mute = PAUSE BREAK (using PAUSE BREAK solves simultaneous key conflicts in BMS). Remarks: > This X52 Pro Profile is intended for TrackIR users -------------------------- > My profile relies on usage of the Missle override mode and Dogfight override mode for AA engagements! However, the AA Mode/WPN button is still there on the flightstick for who is not comfortable with override modes (and using the MSL step button to switch between AA weapons). Second reason is that it might feel consistent for you too, when also having AG Mode/WPN and NAV Mode under your thumb. I never use the AAMode/WPN button. -------------------------- > I have chosen to compromise the CMS, by only using CMS Up in conjunction with EWS PGRM +/- to cycle through my personal four pre-defined chaff/flare programs. By doing so, always set the EWS Mode Selector Switch to "Manual" (MAN) mode during your ramp start or flight. -------------------------- > I did not setup "shifted buttons" for where UHF and VHF are programmed (Up and Down), because on many occasions you might want to UHF'ing or VHF'ing simultaneously when shifting another button. Though, Left and Right in shift state are setup to Voice Commands toggle (VAC) and TrackIR re-centering. -------------------------- > The "S1 Press: Right OSB#1" is intended to be used to switch HSD topview when HSD page is active on the right MFD. Also only in AG Mode it is intended to quickly switch to guns when SMS page is active on the right MFD. Thus, make sure you have programmed the HSD and SMS page to the Right MFD and especially the SMS page to the right MFD in AG Mode! The HSD or SMS page need to made active on the right MFD before using the OSB#1 button: use your DMS Right button to cycle through the pages on the right MFD until HSD or SMS is displayed. -------------------------- > Especially during "wheel braking" release trigger first, and then the shift button. If you release shift first, it will keep braking until you press shift again. This unfortunately is a hardware limitation of the X52. Same applies for trimming in flight. -------------------------- > If you also assigned the HOME and SCROLL LOCK keys for Whisper/PTT in Teamspeak, don't forget the following option in Teamspeak: under Options, Hotkeys, find and set "Keyboard & Mouse Only" in the bottom right dropdown menu. This option will circumvent any joystick button issues when Teamspeak is used! -------------------------- > If you also assigned the HOME and SCROLL LOCK keys for Whisper/PTT in Teamspeak, don't forget to mute Teamspeak if you plan to fly with IVC! Use your keyboard for that, because the PAUSE BREAK key is not part of your X52 Pro Profile. Scub

Depends on the type of stick I use CH equipment and create profiles and map each button using DX assignments via CH Manager which I then get to load on Windows startup. There are other ways of doing it

Thats a better example than calculating Calibrated airspeeds! ~636 Kts Indicated as the second screenshot

At Sea Level 750 Kts IAS = ~750Kts TAS (M1.13) At 35,000 ft 750 Kts IAS = ~1067Kts TAS (M1.85) With no stores or pylons? In level flight (not the best way) a clean F-104A with GE-3 engine takes 4+ minutes to go from M0.9 to M2.0 at 35,000 ft as an example.

Which aircraft ??? - it probably already does go that speed but you are not reading the speed correctly The ingame speed is usually in Indicated Airspeed in Knots for example at 35,000ft 1300 kts (True Airspeed) = 971 kts (Indicated Airspeed ) or M2.25

See the answers in your other thread http://combatace.com/topic/85254-campaign-ends-after-one-deathloss/

Which particular aircraft does 2500kts in real life? at 35000 ft 2500KTAS = Mach 4.34!!

They did - but we keep being told that due to widespread use of antibiotics they are not as effective as they once were. Still if they can remedy Cancer that's a good thing

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hZm_uNacqe0

Also some info here on the GE-19 F-104 http://www.916-starfighter.de/Zipping%20at%20FL%20730.htm

Dear all, Welcome to the very awesome (boring) very first (meagre) issue of the new monthly Leatherneck Simulations updates! It's been a while since the last official LNS update, but don't fret – we've been as busy as ever behind the scenes. Our primary focus over the past few months has been on wrapping up the MiG-21, completing various auxiliary and management tasks, as well as gradually transitioning into our next project(s). We are incredibly excited to venture into the new year and experience all that lies therein. Without a doubt, DCS will be bigger and better than it has ever been before. We couldn't have been as successful as we have been in 2014 without the massive amount of support from everyone. Heartfelt thank you from the entire LNS team go out to all media representatives, streamers or writers who took the time to assess our product, the ever-patient and fantastic community, and the talented individuals at Eagle Dynamics & The Fighter Collection, who have gone above and beyond more frequently than I can count. We can't thank you all enough! As we've come some ways since release of the MiG-21, we are afforded the clarity of a distanced retrospective on what went right and wrong before, during and after release of the MiG-21. After taking an honest look at ourselves and what we should change moving forward, we have made some changes in how Leatherneck operates and produces content. The MiG-21 modules' development and release has been a learning experience in many ways, and we will be applying this new-found knowledge to better ourselves as we develop new and exciting products. One of the items that have been on the back-burner for a while have been the backer rewards. We've simply not had the resources available to design and produce these items in the immediate post-release period. We currently have quotes and suppliers for everything slated for production, but still have some decisions to make as to what we'll actually opt to go for. Some physical rewards will be consolidated into bigger items. This mainly refers to smaller items such as stickers. We hope to provide amicable options for all backers, but more importantly: ship only actually useful and well-crafted items. Quality over quantity, as it were. We hope to order production runs on these items during the course of January, and ship them to all backers as soon as they are delivered (est. February). The DVD jewelcase artwork will be based on the cover you can currently find on the ED E-Store (here) It will of course be expanded to encompass both sides of the case. Many of you opted for higher backer tiers during the crowdfunding campaign of 2012, and you are thus entitled to more than one MiG-21 key. These keys will be merged into the main key database and sent out in January. Apologies for the long delay on getting these out. The MiG-21 is our first product and thus it has without a doubt been a considerable learning experience. Despite our best efforts, a significant amount of flaws were pushed with the release build of the aircraft. We've put in a concentrated effort in order to eradicate these as quickly as possible, and we hope that progress has been palpable for the end-user. Nonetheless, there are a number of both large and small improvements and fixes still pending. Listed below are some of the major additions planned: New & improved sounds, both in interior and exterior views. Based on real MiG-21 samples. Improved Engine RPM Feedback and immersion. Improved radar screen visual representation. Re-Introduction of red cockpit floodlights Performance improvements wherever possible. Major improvements in exterior 3d model accuracy (pylon tilt, wing thickness, gear door shape, front windshield fuselage joint and more) New AAA quality pilot model in the cockpit (toggleable) (in conjunction with previous) Animated and correct post-ejection pilot model & animations Improved artwork & textures for various ordinance (SPS-141, ASO-2, Atomic bombs and more) Default cockpit livery variations. (Green, Finnish, etc.) 10+ New default liveries. (Bulgarian, Polish, Czech, GDR, Cuba, and much more) Re-introduction of tactical numbering We apologize for any inconvenience caused by issues found in the MiG-21, we hope they have not been too detrimental in your enjoyment of the aircraft. Also, a big thank you to all of you who have been diligently submitting helpful bug reports, they are simply priceless. As we move closer to the release of our next module, we plan to significantly expand the size of our internal testing team. We hope to reduce the amount of release-build bugs in any future product launches. In the next few weeks we also hope to resolve some of the silly activation errors occuring and causing issues for some users. This includes options to properly deactivate the module. While we wanted to release the paint kit immediately after release, we quickly realized that this was not quite feasible considering the amount of 3D and 2D changes coming with the updated and improved external 3D Artwork. Thus; we decided to delay the paint kit until the very final version of the external model is released. We know how frustrating it can be to update broken liveries, both as livery creators and end-users, so we'll make sure to try and keep any retroactive art changes to a minimum in the future. The updated external model is slated to arrive with DCS 2.0, so expect the Paint Kit at around the same time. The 10+ additional liveries that were created prior to release will also be made available at this time. Special thanks to Matija Huzjak for a beautiful Croatian Air Force skin that will be included in the package. The fine gentlemen at ThreeAppsStudios Studios (https://play.google.com/store/apps/d...reeAppsStudios) have created a great Android based application to help you fly the MiG-21. You can find it here: https://play.google.com/store/apps/d...sstudios.mig21 We'd like to extend our gratitude to Milan and his team for their perseverance and excellent craftsmanship. Hope to work with you again soon! 2015 will mark a year of considerable growth and expansion for Leatherneck Simulations. This will ensure that we are prepared to meet the ambitious content production goals that we have set forth for ourselves for the next few years. Reinvestment of resources into all facets of our business will allow us to provide you all with better and far more content than before. Since the release of the MiG-21, we have already grown to double our initial size. We'll be introducing you to each of our new members in the coming months. We expect to add yet another 3-4 members to our staff during Q1 of 2015. This, in addition to a new permanent office location in Swinoujscie, Poland. The release and performance of the MiG-21 solidifies our investment into DCS, and we remain genuinely committed to the flight simulation genre. We are here to stay for a long time to come. Currently we have three aircraft in advanced states of development, with a few more in mixed, but primarily earlier stages. We have already hinted heavily at one of the advanced ones, and we'll be showcasing more on all three as we get closer to their respective release dates. You shouldn't expect to have to wait until 2016 to fly a new Leatherneck module. Overall, we are confident that we will be able to cater to almost all of your tastes. Maybe we'll even manage to avoid the pitchforks. Regardless of the aircraft, we will always be trying to push the envelope, both in simulation and visual fidelity. Various planned features will require solving difficult design challenges (related to both gameplay and technical considerations), but we are confident in our ability to overcome these. By applying everything we've learned during the MiG-21's protracted development, we can focus on improving ourselves and building on our existing standards. Some of you have raised concerns about certain features or requirements precluding the development of various aircraft, but we do not currently feel limited by any such considerations. Moving away from aircraft, EDGE now affords us the ability to build new theaters and complement our aircraft with appropriate campaigns and missions. Currently, we have development plans stretching across a wide variety of locales and eras. Maps built by Leatherneck will adhere to the same rigorous standards we place upon our aircraft modules, and will be based on an appropriate fusion of artistic skill and real-world data. We did plan to push a little.. something out today to tease what is to come; but following an untimely missplaced bill, our site is still down, so it will have to wait a little longer. You'll live. I hope? This post turned out to far too long considering the meagre content. Excuse the long-windedness, and expect the next monthly update to be far more image heavy. Once again, thank you all for your unwavering dedication and support. It means the world to us. Stay tuned and expect to hear from us very soon. Sincerely, Leatherneck Simulations N, M, N, R, T, C, A, A __________________ /Nicholas Dackard Artist Leatherneck Simulations EVERYTHING IS SUBJECT TO CHANGE

10 + dead - looks bad - RIP http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-europe-30990332 http://www.f-16.net/f-16-news-article4919.html

WTF!!!

Portugese P-3 Orion gets intercepted by Su-27 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=X_cVp-xZXg0

I think that applies to single missions - in a campaign the VPAF have noticeably poorly trained pilots on the top settings - this is defined by the experience and morale of the squadron I believe. Your wingmen do also improve if you keep them alive long enough to get their stats up.

Ramp space was limited in late September 2014 at an undisclosed operating base in Southwest Asia as the F-15E Strike Eagle and F-22 squadrons located there prepared to change out. In fact, group and wing leaders at the undisclosed base had "asked and received permission" to let the F-22s head home to the 1st Fighter Wing at JB Langley-Eustis, Va., a week early to help ease the congestion on the ramp. The aircraft were configured for the long trip, complete with two extra fuel tanks, the normal configuration to fly across the ocean, when word came from the combined air operations center that the jets were needed for combat. Maintenance immediately got to work, and within 24 hours airmen had downloaded and reconfigured the Raptors with two 1,000-pound Joint Direct Attack Munitions and everything else the pilots might need to face either an air-to-air or surface-to-air threat. Up until that point, no one expected the F-22 unit, which was in the Middle East for strategic deterrence and as a safeguard for possible contingency operations, would make its combat debut against ISIS. The brutal-but-primitive terrorist organization lacked an air force for the predominantly air-to-air Raptor to destroy. "It was awesome to see them work and get the jets reconfigured, and then we kind of sat in that mode, not sure if we were going to execute or not," one of the pilots involved in the operation told Air Force Magazine. The unit received notice a day or two later that the operation would take place late on Sept. 22 through the early morning hours of Sept. 23 local time, he said. The F-22 was part of the initial US-led air campaign against ISIS in Syria, which was conducted in three waves. The US did not know, at first, what Syria's response would be to the presence of American combat aircraft in its airspace. Although ISIS lacks an air force, the Syrians certainly have one—and a fairly advanced integrated air defense system as well. The USAF crews started doing some generic planning, mapping out the closest airfields and coming up with a basic fuel plan, but the real planning couldn't begin until the airmen received their targets about 24 hours before takeoff. They were tasked with hitting an ISIS command and control facility about 50 miles from Aleppo. There is a "joint team that looks at those targets and then says what's going to be the best resources to put against that target," said Maj. Gen. Jeffrey L. Harrigian, assistant deputy chief of staff for operations, plans, and requirements on the Air Staff. It made sense to use the F-22s "in the areas where they're concerned about being highly defended, and originally, the first couple nights that was a concern until we understood how the Syrian integrated air defenses would work." Although the F-22, as a platform, didn't have any combat experience, the crews "had been preparing since Day One," said the pilot, who asked not to be identified because of security concerns. Early in the deployment, the F-22s trained with the F-15E Strike Eagles based in the area, until President Obama authorized the use of force against ISIS in Iraq in early August and the Strike Eagles' operational tempo significantly ramped up. Heating Up "They were busy all through August and in to September, so [the F-22 unit] stopped participating. We were doing a lot of training with them prior to this time and we basically were on our own at that point, doing our own training in-house with the limited number of aircraft we had," added the pilot. The aircrews also had spent some six months leading up to the initial air campaign studying Syria's surface-to-air missiles and aircraft. "We would try to generate all of our scenarios around those specific mission sets. … A lot of our training when we got in theater was focused specifically on countries we were concerned with: Iran and Syria," he said. Around June or July, "as things started heating up," the F-22s also shifted from a daytime training schedule to a night flying schedule. "We weren't sure what would happen, [and] it made sense for us to at least start preparing," said the pilot. The F-22s were one of three cells scheduled to launch around 9 p.m. Eastern Standard Time Sept. 22. The lead group included F-15Es, the second group consisted of partner aircraft, and the third included the Raptors, all from an undisclosed base in the region. Each cell was made up of four fighters and a tanker, said the pilot. Anticipation was high and everyone wanted to be part of the historic event. "The weapons folks don't often get a chance to load live munitions on the F-22, so those guys were out there, very excited," said the pilot. "We had four weapons crews total and three of the four were out there on the line. All of them wanted to be out there." There was supposed to be a five-minute separation between each of the cells, but the first F-15E had an engine malfunction on takeoff and had to execute a high-speed abort that ended up closing the runway for about 20 minutes, said the pilot. "It's a 1,200-mile drive to get from where we were to the target. It took a little over two hours to drive direct … to the target area and we had planned about 30 minutes of slop to allow for contingencies and various other things," he said. "So we lost almost all of that [flexibility] on the ground before we even got airborne. … That was our biggest challenge out the door on the F-22 side, being the back end of the train as the front end is starting to have problems." At that point, the flight plan was still on track, but the time line was compressed. Everybody was rushed to make up time and that caused some problems for air traffic control, which was trying to deconflict the aircraft and reconnect the three cells of fighters with the tankers. The F-22s were held low and slow, delaying the mission another four to six minutes. Once the Raptors climbed to their cruising altitude of 28,000 feet, they were met with another challenge: The winds were "significantly higher" than they had expected, said the pilot. "We had been flying there for six months and there had been virtually no wind at altitude the entire six months, then once we got to altitude the winds were about 60 to 80 knots [70 to 92 mph], which is not a big deal for short distances, but when you are flying 1,200 miles and you've got a two-hour drive, that creates a significant difference in your flight plan route." The unexpected wind speeds added another five or 10 minutes, making it more challenging to meet the planned time on target. Avoiding an "incident" "To make matters worse," Iraqi air traffic controllers "started vectoring us toward Iran instead of toward Syria," said the pilot, who said the Iraqis were not organized to deal with that many aircraft simultaneously operating in their airspace. The US pilots had to figure out a way to meet the mission objectives without causing an international incident by blatantly ignoring host nation directives. "Fortunately, we managed to get going in the direction I needed to go and I didn't need to ignore their direction. It just took another minute here, another minute there, but it's all cumulative, and it all adds up, and it all gets us much further behind than what we can afford," he said. The original plan was for the F-22s to fly toward the northern "two-thirds" of Iraq where they would hit an air-refueling track, then flow in to the west and hold on the western border of Syria. However, once they passed Baghdad it became clear that wasn't going to work. "Even going direct [to the target], I wasn't going to make it unless I started going much, much faster," said the pilot. The four-ship of F-22s got as much fuel as possible from a KC-10 circling midway through Iraq, then peeled off and started to climb directly toward the target area. About 200 miles from the Syrian border, the F-22s went to afterburner, accelerating to Mach 1.5, and started the climb up to 40,000 feet—the intended cruising altitude for the 15-minute flight into Syria. "We were pulling the power back to try to keep the jet from accelerating past 1.5 because 1.5 was actually the sweet spot for us to hit the time on target exactly on time," said the pilot. The CAOC did not want the F-22s to get there early. Although it was not "overly crucial" for all three cells to simultaneously hit their targets, that was definitely the "desired impact," the pilot said. Despite all the delays early on, things were starting to come together. The timing was actually looking good and the F-22s had enough fuel to strike the target and get out of Syria before they had to hit up another tanker. The plan was for two Raptors to go in and take out a command and control center while the second two provided air cover. All four were configured the same way and could switch roles if necessary. "My two-ship was the first in the country and the farthest into the country at that point. We were the leading edge, making sure there was no air threat for the follow-on package," said the pilot. "Then my three and four would follow up in that max-range airspeed … and they would hang out as long as possible to ensure we have actors on station in case Syria launched any airplanes." With the F-22's advanced integrated avionics, the pilots had "very good situational awareness" and "we were not ever worried about being attacked [by] the Syrians," said the pilot. "It was obvious when we got about halfway through Syria that [their air force was] not going to respond to us," the pilot said. He "wasn't convinced" that air defenses would stay dark, though, until the mission aircraft actually got to the target area and didn't see any air or surface threat become active. Despite Syria's passive defenses, the F-22 pilots kept their guard up throughout the entire operation, keeping an eye out for threats not only to themselves, but also to the F-15Es, F-16s, and B-1s operating nearby. Around 4 a.m. local time, within five seconds of the desired time-on-target, the JDAMS hit the target, an impressive feat given the distance and repeated delays the F-22s encountered. During a Sept. 23 briefing at the Pentagon, Army Lt. Gen. William C. Mayville Jr., director of operations on the Joint Staff, showed before and after pictures of the command and control facility. He noted that the GPS guided munitions hit only the right side of the building, where the command center was located. That area was completely destroyed. In a Sept. 25 press conference, Pentagon spokesman Rear Adm. John Kirby said the F-22s did "very, very well the other night, very well." Raptor Eyes on Site Adrenaline was still running high as the first two F-22s quickly left Syria and headed to a tanker to fill up. The third and fourth F-22s stayed on station for about 60 minutes and continued to provide offensive counterair for the remainder of the strikes. The assumption was that because of the long drive back to the tanker, the first two Raptors would top off just before the third and fourth F-22s would start running out of fuel and had to head to the tanker themselves. That way there were always Raptor eyes on site, said the pilot. "It was a relatively uneventful night. We saw a lot of flashes with [night vision goggles] as the bombs were going off in various target areas, but we didn't see a whole lot of action from Syria or their ground forces," said the pilot. "It looked like the vast majority of the action was coming from the coalition bombs." With the sun just starting to rise in the east, the Raptors had successfully made it out of Syria and Iraq and were heading back toward the Persian Gulf when they got a call from an AWACS saying the CAOC needed them to turn around. Although they didn't immediately know why, a B-1 needed an escort as it went in for a reattack, but at this point the F-22s had just enough fuel to get back to their home station. The tankers they had launched with were in the same boat. "Gas is always my biggest concern. We had looked at the fuel plan early on and we knew that there was extra gas available for contingencies, but we were completely off the script now … so I had no idea where the tankers were," he said. They quickly determined that only two F-22s were needed for the B-1 escort follow-on mission, so the third and fourth jets headed back without the tanker. The remaining two pilots started running through a list of nearby airfields in case they had to divert. Though there were plenty to choose from, there weren't many where the pilots felt comfortable landing an F-22, given the security concerns associated with the aircraft. "A lot of that is going through my mind as we turn north, not really knowing where to go, knowing that I have to support the mission, … but then may very well be going to a divert someplace where I don't want to go," he said. After flying north for about 10 minutes, the AWACS controller informed the pilots there was a KC-135 "over on the Iranian border" with enough fuel for them to top off. It wasn't until they got to the tanker that the two pilots learned the details of their new mission: Escort a B-1 to the western side of Syria so it can reattack some targets missed during the initial bombing campaign. The new target was the farthest point west so far for the pilot. The first of the initial air campaign's three waves was mostly unmanned and included more than 40 Tomahawk Land Attack Missiles fired collectively from USS Arleigh Burke and USS Philippine Sea, striking targets in the vicinity of Aleppo. The F-22s participated in the second wave along with F-15Es, B-1s, and F-16s, striking ISIS headquarters, "training camps, barracks, and combat vehicles," said Mayville in September. Carrier-based aircraft from the Persian Gulf and partner F-16s made up the third wave and focused on "targets in eastern Syria, to include [iSIS] training camps and combat vehicles" in the area around Dayr az-Zawr," stated Mayville. By the time the F-22s left the KC-135 along the Iranian border, the third wave was just kicking off, said the pilot. Deconfliction was not a problem for the F-22s, which were operating solely in an air-to-air capacity now, because they could climb higher than the other aircraft, but the B-1 had to worry about the other aircraft taking off. The Raptors provided air coverage for the B-1 for another 30 to 45 minutes before refueling for a third time and then heading home. "There was a lot going on in the mission, a lot to deal with, a lot of changes and contingencies that I didn't have to deal with in my previous combat experience, as limited as it was," said the pilot, who previously flew F-15s. "It was a great experience all in all." As of Dec. 10, 2014, F-22s had flown less than 100 total combat sorties from their undisclosed operating base, including about a dozen strikes in which multiple weapons were employed, said Air Forces Central Command spokesman Lt. Col. Edward T. Sholtis. Though it took nearly a decade for the fifth generation aircraft to see combat, the pilot said he doesn't think the Air Force will suddenly start using the aircraft more freely. The fact is the Raptor is still intended primarily to respond to threats in the air, not on the ground. "I don't think it's going to change the perspective. When there is a threat that requires the F-22, whether it's an air threat or a surface-to-air missile threat, they will continue to use it. That's my guess," he said. "I don't think it will be as big of a deal [next time it participates in a contingency], but I don't think that means we're just going to start using F-22s for any mission, and I think that's held true in the time since I left." http://www.airforcemag.com/MagazineArchive/Pages/2015/February%202015/With-the-Raptors-Over-Syria.aspx

Cool - will be interesting to see the initial reviews

The required A-G avionics code will come with the FA-18C - it is mentioned in the new video from Froogle/Matt Wagner Building the DCS terrains appears to be a colossal job - and any pay ones would likely take years. It's good that effort to put infrastructure in for multiple years is being considered - dodging SA-18s in a P-51 is not my thing I'm sure I have seen a post from Skate stating he doesn't have the time to finish the F-100 - would need to find it. The guy that did the BMS flight model has offered to help do a DCS flight model - but didn't sound like that went well. This has been discussed on the BMS forums - the underpinning implementation is so vastly different its not a simple case of porting anything and they are committed to improving F4. The pay campaigns is a good idea - I would buy all for the A-10C - but yeah probably might not buy any trainers myself.

There are so many figures flying around - and a lot seem to suggest figures are this and that flyaway etc without really knowing what they actually refer to or if they are accurate - or considering other factors like economies of scale, inflation blah - I generally take no notice. The author Picard is a you tube commenter with demonstrably poor subject matter knowledge on most things aviation judging by the posts and blogs I have read.

0138 (Local) Romeo Time Zone (UTC-5:00). 13 January, 1964. USAF B-52D Stratofortress Callsign “Buzz 14”, Flight Level 295 over Savage Mountain, Maryland. Major Tom McCormick, USAF, can barely see. Whiteout conditions and buffeting winds at 29,500 feet are so bad he radios Cleveland Air Route Traffic Control Center (ZOB) for clearance to change altitude to flight level 330, or 33,000 feet. He is trying to get his B-52 bomber above the freak winter blizzard. “Cleveland Control, this is Air Force Buzz one-four, request climb to level three-three-zero. Weather, over…” “Roger Buzz one-four, this is Cleveland Control. Ahhh… Please stand by.” As with the tragic crash of the AirAsia Airbus A320 flight QZ8501 over the Java Sea two weeks ago McCormick’s big bomber must find clean, stable air or risk breaking up, stalling and falling out of the sky. But unlike an airliner over turbulent seas McCormick’s two passengers are far more crucial. And deadly. Buzz 14 is carrying two live, 9 mega-ton B53 thermonuclear bombs. They are among the largest nuclear bombs in the U.S. arsenal. This warhead also rides atop the giant Titan II ICBM, a ballistic missile designed for smashing secret Soviet underground installations and wiping out Russian cities. And Buzz 14 is carrying them over the eastern United States. McCormick has another concern. His nuke-bloated bomber was diverted to the place this flight took off from after its original crew reported… a technical problem. The mission started as part of the Chrome Dome nuclear-armed airborne alert patrol but was forced to land at Westover AFB in Massachusetts because of an in-flight emergency, in this case, an engine failure. After the in-flight diversion the nuclear warheads were not off-loaded. Problems with the B-52 are not new. Three days earlier a structural problem with another B-52H, aircraft number 61-0023,resulted in a famous incident when its vertical stabilizer completely fell off. Since the aircraft was able to find relatively calm conditions after the extreme turbulence where the accident happened, it managed to land safely. A famous photo of the plane still in flight with its tail completely gone is one of the most widely viewed of the B-52 bomber. Right now Buzz 14 needs to find relatively calm air too. If it has another engine failure or losses its tail in this blizzard it will not be as lucky as 61-0023 was three days before. And 61-0023 didn’t have live nukes on board. McCormick abandons his experienced, light grip of the Stratofortress control wheel for the authoritative hand of a man trying to tame a machine bucking out of control. The rudder pedals are kicking back; wild swings of the wheel seem to have no affect on the aircraft’s flight attitude. Trying to keep the giant Stratofortress in level flight in the howling frozen sky is like arm wrestling an abominable snowman. Then suddenly… nothing. The pedals go light. The control links to the rudder are severed. The aircraft pivots. Yawing. Snaking wildly, first one side, then skidding back the other way on the frozen air in the blinding snow squall. McCormick and his co-pilot Capt. Parker Peedin are expert bomber pilots. They try to use ailerons to stabilize the giant bomber. But there is no solid purchase in the icy maelstrom outside. The B-52 becomes a giant, nuclear-armed Frisbee, entering a flat spin and departing controlled flight. Five miles above the ground Buzz 14 rolls on its back in the driving blizzard, its last fatal surrender. Ejection seats in the B-52 work when miniature thrusters blow hatches off the aircraft, resulting in rapid decompression of the cockpit and a howl of arctic air at near supersonic speed that is so cold the wind chill is impossible to calculate at 500 M.P.H. The navigator and radar operators’ seats eject downward… when the plane is right side up. But Buzz 14 is upside down now. And losing altitude fast. The B-52 half-rolls again, this time near level attitude. The crewmembers reach for their ejection seat handles. Explosive fasteners in the crew hatches detonate when the pilot orders, “Eject, eject, eject…” over the intercom. The pilot, Maj. Tom McCormick, co-pilot, Capt. Parker Peedin, navigator, Major Robert Lee Payne and tail gunner Tech Sgt. Melvin E. Wooten all managed to actuate their ejection seats and egress the aircraft into the black, freezing sky. Presumably, alive. Major Robert Townley may have been pinned inside the B-52 by G-forces as the crash accelerated out of control and he struggled with his parachute harness, his ejection seat may have malfunctioned or he may have been knocked unconscious in the bone-breaking turbulence. He never got out. His body was discovered days later in the wreckage. But the most critical survivors, at least to national security, are the pair of live B53 nuclear bombs. They ride the plane into the ground. Where two of the deadliest weapons known to man will lie unattended and unguarded. For almost a day. This is where the story could fly off the non-fiction shelf and onto the pages of a Clancy, MacLean or Fleming novel. All three authors started stories like this; Ice Station Zebra, Thunderball, The Sum of All Fears. Ian Fleming’s novel Thunderball was published in 1961, three years before the Buzz 14 crash. The film adaptation of Thunderball was released in 1964, a year after the Buzz 14 incident. Fiction that recounts the horror of a nuclear weapon or critical national security asset lost, something that has actually happened more frequently than you care to imagine. A few have never been recovered. But in this instance the weapons are found. Not entirely safe, but “…relatively intact…” according to the Air Force. It’s a scary sounding moderation to describe radioactive A-bombs lying around in the woods of the Eastern U.S. unattended. The bombs come to rest on the placid Stonewall Green Farm. Pilot Maj. Thomas McCormick survived the ejection and landed in relatively good condition. He reported seeing lights on the ground during his parachute descent and was found by a local resident who drove him to the Tomlinson Inn on National Road near Grantsville where he reported the crash by phone. Co-pilot Capt. Parker Peedin also survived, but went through a 36-hour survival ordeal in the harsh winter conditions before being found. The rest of the crew, radar bombardier Maj. Robert J. Townley; the navigator, Maj. Robert Lee Payne and tail gunner, TSgt. Melvin F. Wooten did not survive. [Read also: On this day in 1968 a B-52 crashed in Greenland with 4 hydrogen bombs] There are some… potentially disturbing… inconsistencies about the reports on the crash of Buzz 14. Buzz 14 pilot in command USAF Major Thomas McCormick would report after the crash that, “I encountered extreme turbulence, the aircraft became uncontrollable and I ordered the crew to bail out,” he said. “I then bailed out myself after I was sure that the other crew members had bailed out.” [emphasis added]. But Major Robert Townley did not get out of Buzz 14. One account even suggests that the aircraft navigator, Major Robert Lee Payne, seated next to Townley in the B-52, may have attempted to assist Townley in refastening his parachute harness after a bathroom break inside the aircraft. If he did, we’ll never know. Major Payne died of “exposure” after the crash. The official Air Force account suggests the B-52 was at 29,500 feet at the time of its first radio call to Cleveland Air Traffic Control and the crew requested a climb to 33,000 feet to get above the bad weather. To most pilots this makes sense. Other news accounts, including The Baltimore Sun newspaper corroborate this flight profile. An account by journalist David Wood of the Newhouse News Service appears to quote actual radio transcripts from the crash. Wood’s report says the B-52 crew requested a descent from 33,000 ft to 29,500 ft. Why? Also, Wood’s account mentions the crew used their Air Force call sign with civilian air traffic control, a seemingly unusual practice for a bomber carrying live nuclear weapons. Today nuclear armed aircraft like B-2 Spirit stealth bombers transiting civilian airspace may use an alias call sign to avoid detection by civilian listeners on ATC radio scanners. Recently a failure to use (alias) civilian call signs resulted in civilians monitoring the flight data of B-2’s on their way to bomb Libya, a serious security breach. A search of ATC contacts for the region surrounding the crash site indicates that, while Cleveland ATC center is repeatedly mentioned as the air traffic control center in contact with Buzz 14, the Washington Air Route Traffic Control Center (ZDC) is actually closer to the area where the crash occurred and listed by several resources as the center controlling air traffic in the region of Buzz 14’s crash. Why was Buzz 14 using Cleveland Center ATC instead? Details about the retrieval of the weapons themselves are sketchy. E. Harland Upole Jr., a retired state parks veteran, told the The Baltimore Sun that he located the crash site and the bombs. Upole’s account said the bombs’ “…insulation was torn off”. Upole went on to report the bombs were “loaded onto a flatbed truck” and driven through the city of Cumberland at 2:30 AM on the way to what is now called the Greater Cumberland Regional Airport. Another report in The Washington Times dated January 14, 2014 says, “A local excavator was authorized by the military to move the bombs two days after the crash. He used a front-end loader, but first lined it with mattresses from a nearby youth camp – to keep the nukes nice and swaddled, just to be on the safe side.” A typical large front-end loader, like a Caterpillar 906H2, has a lifting capacity (according to Caterpillar) of “3,483 pounds”. But a B-53 nuclear weapon weighs 8,850 pounds, or more than twice the capacity of a large bulldozer like the Cat 906H2. How were the two nukes moved if they were relatively intact? And here is another minor wrinkle: The official website for Greater Cumberland Regional says its longest runway is RW 5/23, a 5050-foot long by 150-foot wide grooved asphalt runway. More than one resource says the take-off distance (to clear 50ft.) for a loaded C-130 transport, the most likely aircraft to have retrieved the heavy nuclear bombs from Buzz 14, is 1,573 meters or 5,160 feet. That suggests the main runway at Greater Cumberland Regional is over 100 feet too shortto accommodate a C-130 cargo plane loaded with the two heavy nuclear weapons. The total weight of both bombs would have been over half the maximum weight the C-130 could carry, so presumably a little extra runway may have been nice, especially at night in winter weather. The crash location is mentioned as “Savage Mountain, Garrett County (near Barton, Maryland) at coordinates 39.565278° North and 79.075833° West. Today Google Earth shows that as an empty farm field. Some news accounts said portions of the crash “were buried” at the crash scene, an unusual sounding practice for a crash of great significance and one that involved nuclear materials. Is gathering the lose ends of the threads that unravel at the end of this story and weaving them into a Clancy-esque conspiracy tale a reasonable conclusion? No. And this is the exact place where fiction departs from non-fiction. But there is one axiom that every good fiction writer knows compared to a non-fiction reporter of actual facts: fiction has to be believable. http://theaviationist.com/2015/01/15/savage-mountain-incident/

Have been resupplied with pilots going back years but have never seen that ever.............