David Hingtgen

No need for pics of the X-29, I've seen the real thing. TINY little fighter in person. Which must mean the F-5 is equally tiny.

Trying fighting an Ace F-14D in an F-4E...

I was really hoping to have at least one mission involving Farbanti or North Point. What's an AC game without North Point? Sequel: Upgrade planes faster! More pure air-to-air missions. There's no "Shattered Skies" mission in this, I want a pure giant dogfight at least twice in the game. With Phoenixes, for a first-strike advantage. Also, a bigger "difference" of planes. In AC2, the 1st vs 2nd time through changed like 50% of the available planes. AC5, there's only like 2 that change for 1st vs 2nd run-though. And bring back multiple weapons per plane.

I got missile warnings, but don't think I was ever actually fired upon. I flew through "sorta fast". Some R1, but not afterburner. Used F-22. PS--after the core, GO! Think ROTJ Death Star escape. And watch for low ceilings. (And high, there's a nasty spot mid-way) Like go up up down.

Aberfoyle Spring Water! And Tab B repair tips.

Haven't flown F-4G yet, just unlocked it. Did notice F-4 flying controls are now PERFECT. Ailerons only move down, not up. Uses spoilers instead of an "up" aileron. I supposed the JASDF helped with that, they still have F-4E's in service. I don't think we'll ever see a correct F-14 because the JASDF doesn't have them, thus no "first-hand" knowledge/base visits for Namco staff. I think "hard" builds up kill gauges faster. Got 75% of F-4E in 1 mission. Hard limits your gun ammo, but you still get a LOT. Seem to take a lot more damage though, I swear one missile did 88% on my F-20. Twice. Don't think it'll be much of a problem, I was never "shot down" the entire first run through. I either failed missions, hit the ground, or had a mid-air. Had a 95% damaged F-35 on the one mission I used it. (it's really good for one late mission). I think I took out more B-1B's in mid-airs than with missiles. (I don't like mission 4, but watch for an Ace F-4 early on, slightly SE) Free mission DOES build up kill gauge, but VERY slowly. Utterly pointless unless you need like one more kill, and don't want to "waste" a campaign flight for it. You must OWN a plane before you can unlock the special colors (either Yuke and/or Ace). If you take down an ace before you own their plane, the special color will not be there when you unlock that plane. You can kill the Ace F-14D very early on the second run-through, but you probably won't have the F-14D then, so you'll have to go back later and kill him again when you do. ECCMP--I vote for "Electronic Counter-CounterMeasures Pack". Or Pod. But ECCM is a valid term. Jammer jamming, etc. mikeszekely--absolutely true, pointless to "evolve" a plane, as you'll get next-gen stuff before you can upgrade. They should have made it take a LOT less kills to upgrade. Let me have the F-16 Block 60 before the Su-47 comes out... I do like the Tornado, and use it on the anti-sub missions. Bomblet dispensers ROCK. Will try out Hornet next time, since there's so few targets in the stage you can't build the kill gauge at all so it doesn't really matter what you use. (I so want a Tornado ADV) Finally---"add on" missions are denoted as "+" in the Free Missions. So the true final stage (which is pretty easy assuming your first AMRAAM volley works well) is "27+". The other "extra" stage is 19+. Which I actually tried to beat early on, before I figured out to RUN. I did well too, took out like 4 of the suckers and an E-767 with an F-14B...

Won. Hope you like the main theme song, you'll hear it a lot in the final missions. At the very end, I had 799 kills, Nagase 20, and everyone else single digits. Only got an A on the final mission, that's going to suck to try to go through again and get an S. I think all wingmen combined had like 8 ground targets, so don't ever bother giving them an A-6. Just give them all F-15C's and hope they cover you in your A-6/A-10 etc. All in all, the only planes I ever got upgraded were F-5E>F-20, and F-14A>F-14B. Got 16 and 18 and 22 halfway, others not worth mentioning. (Since I didn't have the YF-23, I had to use the F-22 for my all-purpose plane late in the game) Free Mission also includes an enemy-less option, if you just want to cruise around and look at the scenery. No music when there's no enemies though. Haven't decided if I need to go get all S on Normal, or win on Hard, for my next task. Through sheer luck I snagged the "prototype plane parts" hidden in the final mission, so I don't need to go through again. Final mission---I sure hope you got good at AC4's final mission, this is worse. Actually, it's lot more like AFDS's final mission. A lot. Even I go to "first person" mode for that. But don't worry, you don't have to go in space or anything.

P-51 may have speed and fame, but the original Corsair is the most truly kick-ass plane of all time. I vote F4U.

I don't recall a radar mission anything like that. Branching path? Now on mission 24. Mission 23---not too hard, but annoying. Su-35's seem to be able to outrun ANYTHING, the only way to hit is to get in ultra-super-close gun-range, and let off Sidewinders. Mission 18/19/20---all hard, no save, no plane change. Big main plot points/changes stuff, lots of cut scenes. Mission 19--run like hell. F-14B's are not fast enough, I died several times (but couldn't change planes since F-14B's rock in mission 18 and didn't want to go through it again). F-35C is quite good according to the stats, haven't used it myself yet, I just give it to Archer all the time. Gripen is surprisingly attack-heavy with the Typhoon being air to air.

mike--You missed 12A? Oh man, that's probably my fave mission so far. I'd love a Flanker, but since the F-15C is my childhood fave plane... hellohikaru: No. This is what the wingman commands actually do: Cover: sit behind you and shoot anyone who gets between them and you. Attack: they attack your current target. Disperse: go after targets near you, but not your target. They will NOT go way off and leave you alone.

There's got to be some other requirements for wingmen kills--they aren't boosting mine at all, I've been watching very closely. That, or they're not making a single kill. Do you have to have multiple of the same planes, and have them fly while you fly? Because giving someone my one F-15C for a few missions doesn't fill its bar at all. Same for everything else. Or do you need multiple F-15's so all your wingmen have it? BTW--the F-14B kicks all sorts of ass. PS--I really wish the killbar was displayed in flight---if I had made 1 fewer kills, I wouldn't have the F-14B for the current mission. PPS---yes, there's no more red/orange/yellow targets. They're merely 'targets'. And you don't seem to know the point values until the debriefing. I have gotten a few S ranks, a few A, a few B. My only suggestion is to really listen to ground chatter---bad guys really tend to "pop up" from nowhere. Like "Whiskey Corridor" only worse.

There was apparently one good cockpit photo in a magazine I don't have. That kit looks close to the Italeri one (just more detailed) so I presume it's correct. And the real ones are always going in and out of storage, covered and uncovered canopy, etc. Might have just photographed the real thing. (I think they did for much of it, #2 is usually viewable, but not at the moment) F-23A would have been about 2 feet longer to add a Sidewinder bay ahead of the main bay, a gun on the starboard side, and have smaller exhaust trenches/nacelles, possibly making the whole back end smaller.

It does have full intake trunking and full exhaust trenches, but the pic's not very good. (They're separate pieces inserted into the main fuselage pieces). Here's the cockpit, minus the seat (the seat is your standard F-15 seat).

The Crusader III's ventral fins could fold horizontal. F-14 was originally to have similar ventral fins. Collect-Aire YF-23: has open weapons bay. Canopy is vac-formed. A few white metal bits. (gear, missile trapeze). All flaps/ailerons are separate, if you want to position them. Here's a belly shot, the whole kit is pretty much top/bottom/radome/rudders. This is like "the" seam in the kit when the two main halves are together.

The F-16 takes a BUTTLOAD of kills to upgrade. I like the 16 more than the 18, and have flown it for twice as many missions, yet have less of the bar filled for the 16 than the 18! Super Hornet's easy to get (though I don't yet, because I spent all my time on the 16). Theory: Bar fills at a rate dependent upon how many new versions are immediately unlocked. I think the F-16 will unlock Block 60 and XL and F-2 all at once, thus it fills slowly--because those are all derived from the C, not each other. As opposed to F-14A to B to D. And F-18C to E to G. I'm done playing for the night, rest of the house is asleep--if I can't play it with the music loud, I don't want to play. I did notice right before the end I was getting some "shakiness" in the debriefing screen, and slow-down in the next mission. Think my new PStwo got too hot from being on almost all day (though did stop for an hour for lunch), or that was just a really intense mission. Still don't like new PStwo controller, may buy a transparent blue on or something. (Unless I can find a guaranteed "old" black one MISB). Newer controllers are built cheaper.

Only used F-14 once so far. Exactly the same as the demo. That includes no differential stabs. Same for the Tornado. It's especially annoying that the Tornado DID have differential stabs in AC4! It's like they totally start from scratch every time, and never fix/improve how the plane's controls move. AC2 actually had the Tomcat's tail work right. Of course, AC4 had the F-117's rudders backwards, will have to check that out at some point. F-16 now has differential stabs, F-14/15 still lacks them. Sigh, could somebody write a big nasty letter to Namco telling them that just about every fighter since 1960 has differential stabs for roll control? And that many planes rely on them as their PRIMARY roll control? It's the rare plane that doesn't nowadays. I doubt the AC5 Flanker will, even though (like every other plane from the past few decades) the real Flanker uses stabs for supplemental roll control.

I think I'm doing something wrong, as I'm finding the replay not as good as AC4. Frankly, too many camera postions/controls. Any tips/suggestions? I'd like some long-range overview shots, etc. (Like you see in the trailers--planes zooming around the city, etc) (sorry for 3 posts, but I figure it'd be better like this than one MASSIVE multi-point post)

Ok, game stuff: I've encountered two mission branches. Got "A" both times--anyone know how they get picked? Random? How you did on previous missions? Mission 14: I used the Tornado GR1, and just owned everybody. Won mission with an S in like 3 mins. BDSM's rock... Mission 15 is hard. You will either fail, or get an S. It's all about figuring out what to do when, and where to be. Spoiler free tips (because it took me several tries): 1. Do not locate the homing beacon first thing. This activates "part 2" of the mission. If you do it first, all the enemies will still be around, and will toast the good guys who come for "part 2" you need to protect. 2. So, go around and spend 2-4 minutes taking out GROUND forces. And any planes you can get with minimal time. Especially stuff in the SE/center part of the map. 3. THEN go "home in" on the beacon. Now, there should be few/no ground forces, and only half the enemy planes in the area when the good guys come in. Timing is tight, I only had 30 secs left when I found the beacon on the time I won. 4. Fight like crazy at that point. Enemy choppers are faster and nastier than you might expect, they are a fairly high priority then. Hope your wingmen go after the fighters. They simply need to harrass them , not destroy. 5. Speed is everything, long-range missiles are next. Thus, recommend F-15C or F-14A. You need to get places FAST. And zap enemy planes quickly from afar. If you get the reference, think of this like a (PC) X-Wing or TIE Fighter "protect the weak guy from the bad guys" mission. Kill everything, everywhere, really fast, with a tight time limit. While trying to find something.

Start off with F-16C Blocks (1 through 20 are the F-16A/B) Block 25: Basic F-16C. Same engine as F-16A, the PW F100-200. Basically, an F-16A with a new antenna. Neat new cockpit, all high-tech. (Despite being FBW, an F-16A has an old "dials and gauges" cockpit like an F-14 or F-15.) Block 30: the "real" F-16C. GE engines, the F110. Way more power. Your "standard" F-16C. Block 32: A block 30 with an improved PW engine, the F100-220. Still inferior to the F110. Block 40. F-16CG (or DG, if it's a D). The bomber/strike variant. AKA "Night Falcon". Most often seen with bombs, and lots of LANTIRN pods. Special HUD for night-flying/FLIR, like the F-15E has. Stronger, can pull more G's with a given load than the earlier ones, but the stronger frame is heavier, thus worse power/weight than a 30. Block 42: PW-powered version of the Block 40. F100-220 engine still. Notably slow as F-16's go. Many being retrofitted with -229 engine, see below. Block 50: F-16CJ/DJ. A "2nd generation" Block 30, emphasis on SEAD/Wild Weasel. Most often seen with the HTS pod on the intake for HARM's. Also decent bomber/fighter. More powerful F110 to counteract yet another weight gain. Block 52: PW-powered Block 50. New F100-229 engine. Power now equal to the F110---well, the early F110's. The block 50 has a better F110 than the 30/40, so it's still better than the 52. In short---there's really the 30/32, 40/42, and 50/52. 0 means GE, 2 means PW. And GE's always better than PW. The 25 is kind of an "interim" F-16. Now, Block 60 is the big huge change. CFT's, IRST, avionics spine, etc. Lots of neat things. Makes it ugly though. Name was changed to F-16E/F, but only VERY recently, so the game still says F-16C Block 60, instead of F-16E Block 60. The Block 62 doesn't exist yet, but it will as soon as someone orders PW engines for an F-16E or F-16F.

Wha, no one's actually played yet? On mission 10, just got F-14. You're stuck with your initial plane for quite a while, so get used to it. F-16 and F-18 take many more kills to upgrade than F-5. Yes, you do need to buy planes for everybody. If you buy 1 F-16, then only 1 person gets to fly it. I currently have quite a mixed squadron thusly. Planes are modeled better--F-16 and 18 finally have differential stabs. Will report F-4 and F-14 once I fly them some more. (Busy trying not to get shot down to do much checking) Mission 3 (4?) ROCKS. There are several LONG missions, or 2 missions in a row with no saving. Don't think you're done when you get a "mission complete". My big overall advice: conserve missiles. Gun everything you can. You will run out. Often. If possible, use 1 missile on a plane and then gun it down. 2 missiles is a waste, only use for critical targets. Also--"disperse" doesn't work well, they won't go TOO far away from you. Sorry Graham, haven't tried A-10 yet. Mission 9 would be great for it, but I flew the F-16C trying to upgrade it. (I think it's an early Block 30 or so, but the main thing to tell Blocks apart are very subtle and hard to see in real life--polygons only make it harder).

I really don't know much about collect-aire models, never seen one myself nor read a detailed review. I have been VERY curious about their YF-23 though, as it's the only 1/48 model, and is far more accurate/detailed than the 1/72 plastic ones out there. I have some pics of that one if you'd like to see what their kits are like. Semi-OT note: their YF-23 kit also includes some fantasy decals for a 8FW F-23A Wolfpack, in the old-style markings---so you could ALMOST make a "Wardogs" F-23 from AC5.

Tomcat Alley: http://www.topedge.com/alley/alley.htm The Gunfighter's Page: http://www.cloudnet.com/~djohnson/index.html Be SURE to read all the records set.

Maybe, but lacquer thinner or Mr.Color thinner is better AFAIK. Mr Surfacer is basically like heavily thinned Tamiya putty.

Sorry for yet another "from outside the thread" post, but now it's "past close of business" time in most places, and still no email. And no PM's from any of you guys either. EB's site says order tracking's down, but only mentions GTS:SA is shipping on time. I did manage to get my new PS2 on top of DVD player just fine, though it'd be easier if DVD tray was on RIGHT side of player---PS2 controller cable gets in the way. Watched "The Final Countdown" for some real-life Jolly Rogers F-14 action. Played Top Gun soudtrack in car today. Don't know what I'll do tonight. Actually considering SW Ep 1 or 2, or LOTR:FOTR. Signed, David Hingtgen, obsessively paranoid/enthusiastic airplane/game-enthusiast.

Heh heh. I'm replying from Page 1 of the thread, so as to ensure I'm not reading any new posts. Anyways---I would much appreciate a PM or something when someone gets a shipping notice, particularly if you ordered from EBGames.com----their emails haven't been reaching me lately (or even sent out) and I am of course paranoid my order will be missed/skipped/late. It'd really suck if I didn't get it until Wed, my schedule will be messed up.