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Falcon 4.0 Plus - Part 2
by Bob "Groucho" MarksTherein lies another glitch: the position of the cannon. It defaults to the F-16 location high on the pilot's left shoulder instead of low dead center as in the A-10. Strafing therefore becomes a dicey proposition because your nose has to be pointed so low---a bummer indeed when trying to get the max effectiveness out of the Hog’s main weapon.
A10Mod Viper Fin disease
Use caution if you choose to install Silkman’s A-10Mod patch. While the FM is virtually identical to Saints, Silkman’s has an additional 55 lbs of thrust. Silkman’s skin patch will mess up your Viper’s tail for certain squadrons, like in the above shot. As the ReadMe says in his install file (readable only AFTER you run the install program,btw), back up your texture files!
Silkman's A-10 Cockpit is a horrible “ripped” ‘pit from Jane’s USAF, so don’t bother. Use the Merlin F-14 ‘pit instead. Silkman does have a pretty cool skin for the Hog, though in general all of the AI aircraft look very rough. Source code guys . . .you out there? I want a pretty AI airplane, dammit!
Some of the other aircraft are surprising, and surprisingly, fun to drive. Here are transcripts of my scribbled notes taken while trying a few of the Other Aircraft:\
- F-14A: (Saint’s beta FM) Heavy feeling, very fast at high alt (1.2 mach @ 35k’ ). . . loads of fuel on board . . .awesome interceptor . . .Using the Phoenix (AIM-54) is cool . . .popping Su-27s from 60nm out is fun . . .DLZ bracket inop for AIM-54 Pk envelope. Gotta love the swing-wings!
F-14
- C-130: (default iBeta FM) Very heavy, waaay too fast during cruise (500kts @ 4000’- No freaking way) . . .need flaps . . .other than that, what do you want from a trash hauler . . .iBeta, I want an AC-130U Spectre to use!
C-130
- F-5: (iBeta FM) Wooohooo! What a rocket! Can’t carry fuel or stores for s**t, but good fun! Awesome knife fighter . . .carries heaters only . . .Acceleration wrong . . .saw 0-500kts by the end of the runway with stores . . .only 200kts max CAS at 20,000’ . . .J85s (engines) do better than that . . .
F-5
- MiG-21: (iBeta FM) Accelerates like the F-5 (wrong). . .bleeds speed like crazy in high alpha turns . . .have to watch that . . .a fun knife fighter, though it needs gobs of energy at the outset . . .
Mig-21
- MiG-23MS: (iBeta FM) Surprisingly fast . . .accelerates like F-5/MiG-21 but maintains speed higher alt. . . .great for an interceptor . . .maneuvers like a freight train at speed, but Mach 1.5 no sweat . . .
Mig-23
- MiG-29: (iBeta FM) A lot like the Viper . . .very comparable . . .got that screwy acceleration . . .LOL . . .call sign was “Screwbird” . . .
Mig-29
- Su-27: (iBeta FM) Oh, man . . .what a beast . . .fast, powerful . . .gobs of fuel onboard . . .AA-12s kick ass, look out Raytheon . . .very fast at high altitude, like Tomcat, only handles MUCH better . . .
Su-27
If nothing else, valuable information on the strengths and weaknesses of the AI aircraft can be gained by flying them yourself. While I have not seen anything definitive one way or the other as to whether Other Aircraft fly the same with an AI or Human pilot, I believe that the basic limiters and parameters remain the same.
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