David Hingtgen

Dragon Warbirds seem pretty scratch-resistant, more so than Corgi. F-14--haven't seen anything for over a year. Dragon is very well known for announcing stuff, showing "prototype/sample" pics, then waiting 3 years to actually release it, sometimes on a 'tweaked' mold that's not as good as the original. I mean, they announced VMFA-232 as the very very first F-18, and it's still not out. That's my most-wanted USMC plane, and I think they announced it in like 2001... Now, the F-18F has actually been SEEN by people at various shows, so it's most definitely coming and looks nice. VFA-2, the coolest-looking Shornet by far. (And possibly ever, since they did them before all the new rules came into effect, and have neat painted rudders and big fuselage stripes) BTW, they recently released an Fw-190A (and a D I think) and a P-47, they're releasing WWII stuff faster than modern stuff.

Tango Line for me either does or doesn't "work". I either get all the Harriers et in like 30 secs, or spend 5 mins chasing them around... There's something "glitchy" in the holes/shapes that they sit in that CBU and FAE's seem to "miss" even with direct hits, and you can't missile them until flying, etc. The "obvious" attack methods don't seem to work very often--thus you either easily get them all quickly, or you have to engage them in flight one by one. Sometimes 1 FAE in the middle will get a whole group, other times 4 of them in a row won't damage any, despite just flooding the area in flames... PS---I was well aware it was Yellow 13 when I fought him. IIRC it's pretty clear from a cutscene he's going up to fight Mobius 1 just before that mission, and at the end there's one extra-tough Yellow Super Flanker...

Checking more sites for pics/info: The F-14D with VF-154 markings was Vandy-1, already lost its black paint.

Wha? That's one of my fave missions. It's like D-Day with jets. Hard as h*ll the first time, but once you beat it, I love to go through and try just everything. A-10, F-117, F-22, F-14, F-18, Tornado, etc. Also, one of the best "money-makers" in the whole game due to sheer number of targets. (It costs a lot to get the X-2 in every color). My Whiskey Corridor "standard route" (I haven't played in months, but still know it): Head up-right from the start, taking out radars on the way. Clear out the "right" of the 3 main areas. Head all the way to the left, taking out "targets of opportunity" along the way. Take out all the left-side stuff you can (especially missile batteries/radars along the coast/islands), then finish up in the center when they really start asking for help, and take out the A-10's. Any spare time, continue attacking the left section. Oh yeah---FAE's and Clusterbombs rock, it's such a target-rich environment. I usually just unload them all early to clear out the right side as fast as possible, then run back to reload, then continue.

The Navy photographs everything, lots of pics: http://news.navy.mil/search/photolist.asp?...rt_row=1&page=1 Warning: when they say "High Res" they MEAN high-res. If you click on that one, it'll be like a 4,000x3,000 5-meg monster of a photo.

Yup, no pylons on the CFT's. WTF? How is the STRIKE Eagle supposed to carry bombs without any plyons? That's the entire point of its existence. Did Dragon think the F-15E just magically carries its bombs on the sides of the CFT's? Now, the LANTIRN pods aren't absolutely required for an E, but they're there 95% of the time. The only scheme they've done so far however is one that could certainly be ok to not have them. And no, the CFT's are not correct for a C/D either. They're utterly smooth and round on the "corners". There's no Sparrow/AMRAAM mounts/pylons. They *might* be correct for the prototype CFT, but not for any CFT actually used. Finally--the model doesn't come with any bombs. And no drop tanks.

In terms of accuracy, Dragon's Strike Eagle gets an F-. Quality/paint is great, but it's so NOT a Strike Eagle it's not even funny. Their F-15C/D's also have a "deal killing" flaw. (To me at least) The upcoming F-18F looks much better.

They've retooled bits before. I swear they actually release planes, then read all the message boards to see what's wrong, then release the corrected version 2. Of course, I may just pass everything up for the new 1/32 Trumpeter kit, and make it in Ukranian demo colors--still the coolest Flanker scheme ever IMHO. Of course, I'd have to actually build and paint it, and thus wouldn't have a Flanker on display until like 2008...

Well, seeing as how they like to "imagine" planes into service, maybe they'll give the F-14D AMRAAM's like it was supposed to have. I mean, if they make the YF-23 fully operational, they could at least give the Tomcat AMRAAM's. Or just go into the future a bit, and put ASRAAM's on everything, and Meteors too.

Gaincorp has an amazing habit/trend of releasing a plane, then releasing a corrected version soon afterwords. Happens 9 times out of 10. I presume release 2 or 3 of the Sea Flanker will be correct.

Basic rule is that everything everywhere uses probe and drogue, except the USAF. And of course designed-for-USAF planes, like Japanese and Saudi F-15's.

Tell me more about the Wildcat's CAG plane. Saw another report saying it had blue tails. If that's it, describe it as closely as you can--it was only a few months ago they painted in into red-tail scheme. I haven't built my 1/32 Hornet yet, but it IS going to be Wildcat CAG--if they'd ever pick a scheme and stick with it! Glad you saw a Super Tomcat fly, the raw power is incredible, and the fact that such a big plane can really MOVE when it needs to. And when it wants to, it can TURN. Did the Super Hornet have its Super Short demo? Yes, it can do high-alpha moves like nothing else, but also seems like it takes 30 secs of full burner to get OUT of them. I presume you saw the super-slow low-speed pass? How long did it take to get out of it? IMHO the most impressive thing it does is the very first 2 secs of flight after takeoff, kind of a quasi-cobra. The infamous "mega-vortex-compression" turn at the end I missed, it was simply too far away when I saw it this summer. (Despite being literally at the fence)

That would be fairly cool/realistic, being limited to a single service, then transitioning to new planes as they become available. F-4>F-15>F-22 etc. No switching between Harrier, A-10, F-16, and F-14 every day... (Though that does limit the missions you could fly) I wonder how far "back" they'll go---they keep setting the series further in the future, but I still want my F-8 for gunfights...

You actually got an Su-35? I've yet to find anybody who managed to get one before they sold out. At this point I'm waiting for the Su-33, with the folding wings and tailplanes.

Guess we're getting upgraded KC-10's! Anyways--is it just me, or do the KC-10's have like 1/8 the polys that the "main" planes do? F-15's---looks like a generic big hangar. Only the doors are hangar-deck-ish. (And that's an unbelievably nice and clean and spacious hangar deck if its supposed to be one)

Hmmn. If there's to be refuelling, then we'll either need the latest upgraded KC-10's, or KC-10's and KC-135's, to be able to service both types of refueling equipment. (Probe 'n drogue, or USAF-receptacle) I thought the JSF might have been the point at which the forces all went to the same system (best opportunity) but they didn't---USN and USMC will still be probe, USAF will be receptacle.

No, they only used the RADIO CALLSIGN "Ghostriders". However, no squadron uses that callsign, not even the Ghostriders. Ones I know off the top of my head: Jolly Rogers, callsign Victory Bounty Hunters, callsign Bullet Ghostriders, callsign Dakota Black Aces, callsign Fast Eagle Satan's Kittens, callsign Hellcat

FYI, she's really into planes, if you read the article. (I don't have the magazine, but parts of it were posted at some of the airplane forums I go to)

Most of this was already discussed when the definitive cast was announced. Yes, Invisible Girl/Woman has always been fair-skinned, blue-eyed, and blonde. And Jessica Alba is none of the above.

Did some more checking on my Chap 27 "3 secs of lost footage": On my 3-month-old Sony, it does it for every audio track, French and Spanish included. There is no pause/stutter/artifacting, it very smoothly and almost seamlessly just skips it--I watched the counter closely: 3:24, 3:25, 3:26, 3:27, 3:30, 3:31, 3:32... It's as if those 3 secs simply don't exist. However, my launch-day PS2 which audibly groans when switching layers on most discs, plays it flawlessly.

I'll re-watch ANH Chap. 27 tonight with various audio tracks selected, see what happens. PS--WS sold out at so many places already? Man, my Best Buy was like 90/10 split for WS/FS. Target's about the same--you've really gotta look to find full-screen.

Only glitch I noticed was chapter 27, about 3:28 in. It suddenly skips (audio and video) to 3:31 or so. Luke just ended saber practice with the helmet on, Obi-Wan says "you've just taken your first steps on the path" and then there's like 1 frame of the end of that scene then it goes to Vader. Tested on: Sony NS575-P. Trying to slow-mo the scene causes it to freeze. Strangely, plays ok (or nearly so) in reverse. And the big blue door on the escape pod looks really added-in and pointless.

I'm glad I'm not the only one who hopes it's top-loading. No matter how careful you are (and I am obsessively careful with discs), most any tray-loader will make some scratches. (Strangely, my car CD player is much much better than my PS2 or PC, it never leaves even the tiniest mark) And the PStwo looks even thinner than the thinnest Sony DVD player, how there could be room inside for a tray mechanism...

Came earlier than I expected it---which is good, because Xenosaga 2 will SO kill my launch-day PS2. Heck, Ace Combat 5 might, since I like to replay every mission with every plane... And I needed a new controller anyways, might as well wait another 6 weeks.

Just got mine. Box sucks IMHO. Cheap, flimsy, strangely designed. All I really wanted was a simple box sturdy enough to not be ripped apart by the sheer act of being shrink-wrapped. Oh well, I'll probably just stick all 4 discs separately in a DVD tower.