BeachAV8R

The enemy is on their last legs. There is no more room for them to retreat east in the valley. For this mission, our task is to bloody an enemy supply depot that is grouped on a road leading out of the valley. The default waypoint setup for the mission had too many points and did not leave enough room for the target run in. So I adjusted the waypoints and used the measuring tool to measure the distance from the initial point (#4) to the target waypoint (#5) and came up with 17,000 meters which gives me a distance of just over 10 miles to fly and acquire targets. A close study of the target area map shows this should be a pretty easy area to spot from the air with a distinct bend in the river and the road paralleling the river as it heads north. I set up a custom loadout for this mission. I figured with the target area being easy to spot I could use the extra Mavericks so I loaded "K" Mavericks instead of "D" Mavericks. A big mistake. I also loaded the big Mk-84 bombs and 4 Rockeyes. Now THIS is a strike loadout! We were lucky enough to get a SEAD escort which did a pretty piss poor job of tidying up the approaches to the strike area. They managed one HARM kill and one JSOW kill, which was helpful since it was on one of the lethal 2S6s. But they paid dearly since they didn't maintain their standoff range.. As I headed out over the area to the south I gave my wingman the "Attack Air Defenses" command and I was very pleased to see him roll in immediately and fire a Maverick. I gave him the rejoin command which helped him stay out of harms way. I continued to loiter and gain altitude to the south side of the valley while I managed my wingman. I ordered him again to attack air defenses and I was surprised this time to see him dive for the deck and do a low approach toward the target area using terrain masking. I figured he was a dead man. Particularly when he designated one of the deadly 2S6s. Tracers arc up at him as he goes eye to eye with the enemy and he gets his Maverick off the rail. Surprisingly the attack works and my wingman rejoins unscathed! I thought for sure the 2S6 would get him or at the very least an infantry IR SAM. With most of the serious anti-air threats neutralized, I started heading toward the target area at over 20,000 feet. Slewing my Maverick seeker onto the target area I realized that the "K" model wasn't well suited to finding targets against a busy background. Check out the difference between the "K" and this "D" imagery of the same location. The "D" makes spotting targets much, much more easy. Cont..

I agree with Nate. Also, during the preflight, really zoom in on the target area on the planning map and make note of things that can help point you toward your target area. Things like bridges, roads, terrain contours, or even where urban areas start or end. They don't necessarily have to be right on top of the target either. If you see a bridge or road intersection on the map you can use a bearing and distance to get your Maverick seeker onto the area. Use your standoff range, and personally, I fly slow 210 knots or so, until I get really close, then I speed up to give me energy for the evasive maneuvers. If you don't see the target, break off the attack from several miles away and reset. Don't keep driving on or you'll surely get shot down. Good luck and keep at it..! It gets better with more time! Regards.. BeachAV8R

Maintaining my distance to the south to avoid any surviving air defense units, I know I'll have to extend out slightly further to the east and slightly north to get a look at the targets at the southern waypoint. Since they are defilade on the north facing slope of the mountain, I can't get a good look at them from the south. The circled units are the first (destroyed) targets, the arrow points to the approximate location of the second site. Well to the east I turn back toward the valley. This view clearly shows the terrain with that "Thunderbolt Ridge" running down the right side of the valley. I use the same technique of using my navigation DME to the target waypoint to get my Maverick seeker on the area and I can just make out the Smerch units through the trees on the ridgeline. Rifle! As my second Maverick drives on toward its target the first Maverick explodes the other Smerch. With a "Mission Accomplished" radio message I head back to base, this time taking a route to north along the now clear plains where the SA-11 sites used to be. Even though I've got plenty of ordnance onboard and there are other targets of opportunity in the valley, I've learned my lesson about pressing my luck and am happy to have the mission finished. Back at base I survey the damage. A look at the post-flight action report shows that I was tagged by an SA-13 "Gopher" close in missile. The AAR also shows my Maverick shots. Both attack runs I was able to ripple my Mavericks just 5 to 6 seconds apart (I'm getting better!). And my wingman fell victim to the same SA-13. I hope the F-16s managed to take some vengeance on that unit! This mission was great. For once I didn't have to spend 30 minutes trying to find a well camouflaged target and the combination of good intel imagery and an effective technique of using the "NAV and MAV" to find the targets worked well. BeachAV8R

After a few days delay while I had to deal some Real Work © I was once again able to fire up FC2 and continue with the A-10 campaign. Our next mission is to push further east and gain total control of the valley. The target for today are a two pairs of Smerch batteries that are firing on our troops in the central valley. This is one of the best intelligence photos I've seen so far in the campaign because it gives you a very clear look at the layout of the target locations. Basically the units should be located near the two waypoints (#4 and #5) on high ground bordering the east end of the valley. The flight plan is straightforward, fly out to the east, turn north, and make the target runs. As I take off and climb to a higher altitude than normal, I see that an SA-11 site is on air, but is actually one placed further to northeast. Coincidentally, both SA-11 sites that I had silenced on the last mission are no longer in the theater (purely coincidence I'm told). As I head up toward waypoint #3 I can see the fire from the Smerch rocket launcher vehicles impacting friendly artillery in the middle of the valley. Meanwhile, new mudspikes come up on the threat warning receiver. An "S6" and "15" symbol appear off my front left quarter, in the area where my targets are of course. I see a missile arcing up over the battlefield, but my threat receiver is not giving me a missile launch warning, only a tracking. Aha! Now that's what I'm talking about!! A pair of F-16s is working hard to sanitize my target area of air defense threats. Coming in low up the valley they fire of HARMs at the highest threat targets. More missiles arc up at the F-16 flight, and we apparently wander a bit too close to the action since a few get lobbed our way. I break back to the south a bit further, dumping flares, and when I go to the external view later I'm surprised to see that I actually took some damage as I see holes in the left engine cowling and most of my left rudder is shredded. There was no indication in the cockpit however and the aircraft is flying just fine. My wingman doesn't fare as well though, and he takes multiple missile hits before he can join me further south. With a few of the air defense vehicles destroyed, or otherwise focusing on the F-16s, I quickly use my navigation mode to take a peek at my distance and bearing from the target waypoint. Once I see that data, I switch to my Maverick and simply slew it downward to match the last distance and for the first time ever the target shows up perfectly within just a few seconds of looking for it! Woot! The first two Smerch vehicles are the ones at waypoint #5 on the north side of the valley. With the early and easy acquisition, I fire both Mavericks within seconds from almost 9 miles away, the farthest I've probably shot a Maverick in the sim. I'm not sure what the maximum range of Maverick is, but these two make it easily to the target after a long flight. Cont..

There are differences between FC and FC2 (the original poster said "FC", so I'm not sure which he is asking about. Techniques for both have been posted in this thread though..so that should work!

Yes..all of this is good and well and everything..but none of it answers the fundamental question: Will it takeoff from the treadmill?? :shifty:

And I use the Avenger canon to take out my frustrations on the east SAM site support vehicles...and I'm always amazed by the ricochets! With all of my SAM hunting frustrations out of the way, I reef the jet back around to the south east and head for the valley. A SAM symbol lights up my RWR so I put my Maverick on the diamond and launch at whatever lies beneath it. I'm surprised to see the SAM vehicle try to shoot down the Maverick with AAA, but he just misses... I finally make it far enough north into the combat zone to trigger the ACTUAL mission that I'm supposed to be on (sorry if I'm a little late on target fellas..I had some business to take care of!).. Just to keep things interesting the low level IR SAMs keep reaching up to me, but thankfully I can fly higher now with the SA-11 threat eliminated. I fly up to the strike waypoint and eyeball the site from the air. I follow the line from the bridge and sure enough the enemy command post is set up just off the road... After dancing with the SA-11 site, this is like shooting fish in a barrel. I'm able to get two shots off per pass and in just a matter of minutes the entire formation is laid to waste. After the mission complete radio call is made I jog on over to "my" side of the ridgeline and enjoy a trouble free, medium altitude flight home. God, I wish that FC2 tracked those SA-11 kills and applied them to subsequent missions (I don't know that it necessarily does that)... Back on the ramp I'm exhausted (literally). The concentration and tension, particularly on the final attack on the mission target, was very real feeling. I would have hated to have invested an hour of flying to throw it away by being shot down at the very end. Total flight time was 1 hour and 11 minutes with six (!) rearming stops at base. I think we need to hang some HARMs on this baby! As someone else said - each mission feels a bit like a campaign. I was super happy with this one and even though it might not have been very realistic to go charging off like that, it was quite fulfilling! BeachAV8R

Rearming is necessary about 5 or 6 times since I'm "going rogue" and knocking out the SAM sites. The tactic of using the ridge works very good for the eastern site as well... After each Maverick launch I dive for cover behind the ridge to avoid the incoming SA-11 missiles. To my great surprise, the SA-11 site engages and destroy several of my Maverick missiles, forcing me to return to base multiple times to rearm. When fired from extreme ranges, the SA-11 has a better than 50/50 chance of shooting down my Mavericks. But when I close to just 4 miles or so, I seem to have a better success rate. With perseverance (and enough Mavericks!) I whittle down the SAM site until only smoking hulks remain. I'm thrilled to death. Once the job is done, and both the western and eastern sites are smoldering, I enjoy the freedom of higher altitudes over the northern side of the ridgeline. Fantastic! With the north side of the ridge in my ownership (for now!) I have fun destroying the support vehicles for the SAM site. Fuel and supply trucks are at both sites and I've purposely avoided firing Mavericks at them since they are "soft" targets. After firing so many missiles in this campaign it is a great joy to do some old fashioned bombing! You don't even have to get very close to destroy fuel trucks! And it nice to have the comfort and time to leisurely roll in on the targets. I guess it is a good thing there was no "trigger" to command a fighter attack on me for attacking the SAM sites <g>. My next attack is with Rockeyes, but I forget to adjust the interval, which would have given a better pattern for the multiple canisters. Sucks to be this guy... Finally, all of the vehicles that make up the west SAM site are on fire. Cont..

Alright! We are back to the tasking to destroy the enemy command and control vehicles. Deep in enemy territory, the vehicles are allegedly located at the east end of the valley, which means a fairly exposed flight over enemy defenses to get to it (after all, commanders rarely lead from the front!). The waypoint layout seems fair, avoiding a "down the pipe" approach in favor of the ridge I've renamed "Thunderbolt Ridge" in deference to the old "Thud Ridge" in Vietnam. The run in toward the target is on a southerly heading and it is worth noting the bridge near the target area which should help in acquiring the targets. Immediately upon reaching the ridgeline I'm pinned between enemy IR missiles to the south and the ever present SA-11 sites to the north. I try to pick my way in, but it is just too difficult. Low altitude results in IR missiles, medium altitude puts me square in the SA-11 envelope. I did discover a new key command that I had forgotten from the FC1 days: ALT NumPad Del (toggles threat missile padlock!). Time and again the SA-11 site opened up on me forcing me down into IR range (tricky mission design Wags!). On the map, you can see my dilemma. The topographical lines show the ridge. The yellow circle shows one of the SA-11 missiles heading toward me while the south is littered with IR SAMs and AAA. My wingman takes a hit, setting one of his engines on fire while I just miss getting smacked by a missile. Some missile comes up from the south (don't know what kind) and finishes off my wingman.. That's IT! Something has to be done. As I come back around to the west to regroup and think this out an SA-6 threat comes up on the RWR. Looks like we aren't the only ones having a time of it in the theater though as an Su-25 gets popped by one of the Allied units. I make the decision to go ahead and go after the SA-11 sites. I just hate them that much. I know their general locations but getting a missile on them before they get one on me is the challenge. I attack the western site first and am fortunate to get the first shot off. After each run in I dive for the safety of cover behind the ridgeline and retreat back to the south. I develop a good tactic of using the ridgeline to shield me while I put my Maverick targeting cursor on the diamond. I'm not exactly sure what the diamond is, but is appears to be some sort of HARM type designator. I don't know how to cycle it - or if that is indeed what it is - maybe that is part of the ECM pod display (?). Guess I need to read the manual <grin>. Soon enough, the whole site is burning. As each vehicle is destroyed, the total potency of the site is diminished. I was surprised however, that taking out the central radar vehicle didn't render the whole site inoperative. I had visions of destroying the radar, then coming in to cluster bomb the missile carriers, but apparently each can operate independently as well. Cont..

One isn't a tank though, but I'll take a kill on a SAM vehicle any day... Out of missiles and with too many low and high threats to effectively use any of my gravity weapons, I head back to base and pull up on the ramp long enough to grab some weapons. In my utter stupidity though I am distracted as I leave the ramp and I run my wing into a refueler! Fortunately, I just catch on fire and rip the wing off. After a few minutes of repair, I'm amazed that the sim lets me taxi the rest of the way THROUGH the refueler and once I'm free I'm good to go! Up at the target area I find one more tank, but it takes me 10 minutes of looking while dodging AAA fire. After I launch my first Maverick I lock back on it with my second so that I can watch the explosion on my monitor. With two tanks burning it is a struggle to find the third tank. I refuse to resort to labels, but I do use the zoom and pan liberally to find the last tank. He's right there next to the power transmission tower. Once I get an idea of where a target is, I don't have much problem re-finding it. But finding them is darn difficult! I get the message that I've cleared the north target area and I head for home. Now - you all are going to think I'm lying, but this is the God's honest truth and how it actually happened. I made a beeline for homebase, which is only about 2 minutes flying time back to the west. A few miles from the base I see my caution light is on, but I didn't get an audible warning, so I can't figure out if I got hit by AAA or something. I glance down at my caution panel and the L/R Fuel Low warning lights are illuminated and the fuel gauge is reading zero. I had just put the speedbrakes out to slow for the landing, so I quickly retracted them, then added throttle to keep the speed up and I realized the engines weren't responding. I really had run out of fuel! Where is the low fuel warning? Do those lights just come on when you are totally OUT of fuel? I had just enough energy left to make the runway, but I elected to land on the taxiway instead because I suspect (but am not sure) that if you exit a mission while on the runway you might not get credit for the mission (?). I clear the tail of the C-17 parked in a revetment at the end of the taxiway and plunk it down right on the taxiway. Now, according to the after action report, I flew for about 45 minutes, so unless I didn't have full tanks at the beginning of the mission I have only one explanation for why I ran out of fuel. I didn't refuel during either of my 2 rearming stops, but I did receive that damage and was streaming fuel when I was hit between target areas. Perhaps I lost that much fuel in the short time I was flying back to base and then, not having refueled, the level was very low? No matter what, I can't believe the fuel ran out literally at the last second. Another 30 seconds of flying around away from the airfield and I wouldn't have had enough speed to make it home. One of the coolest things I've ever done in a sim (I once lost both engines in EECH though and managed to autorotate to an airfield where I got repaired, that was pretty cool too..) And verification that it was the ZSU that hit me.. Looking forward to the next mission! BeachAV8R

After my failed attempt to strike the clustered fuel and supply trucks, I'm tasked to step it up a notch and strike two different armor positions. The briefing even warns that rearming might be a requirement. The strike sites are fairly non-descript and I know this is going to be a brutal mission with lots of eyestrain. The high overcast and lighting add a lot of atmosphere to the mission... My wingman and I depart and head directly to the east and the first (southern) strike point. The yellow smoke pops and I quickly get eyes on the first target tank nearby... And off goes a missile... Elsewhere in the mission area a pair of Apaches work over enemy positions to our north. As we break away and set up for multiple runs at the target from stand-off range the enemy fires many short range IR missiles at us, but they are usually decoyed easily by our flares. On one run in I have the pleasure of seeing one of my missiles strike a ZSU-23 at the same time it opens up on me... The mountains to the southeast look like a good place to run an insurgency from.. After much straining and close approaches onto the target I finally spot the last tank at the first strike waypoint. As I transit between the south strike point and the north strike point a couple of rounds from a ZSU hit me and knock out my hydraulics which slows my control response but everything else is working fine. I peel off to the south and a couple infantry launched IR SAMs arc up toward me but the flares do their job. Fuel pours from my right wing as I taxi off the runway at my base where I've landed for repairs and rearming. I laugh when I see the two Apaches enter the traffic pattern at the field, one of them is shot so full of holes he looks like a ragged piece of cheese, the other has a few rounds in the canopy. I can't believe the first one is still flying. They shouldn't have gotten so shot up with those awesome stand-off Hellfires. After taking off and heading back to the east to the north strike area I pull up my Mavericks and see a vehicle on the road. I assume this is my target because the briefing stated that they north targets would be on the "hardball", so I fire. It turns out it just a truck moving on the road and I've wasted a missile. I finally do spot the correct target area and quickly identify two tanks and manage to get off two shots on one pass. Cont..

But then I get to thinking. Hey..about those enemy helos! Unable to contain myself, I taxi back to the active and takeoff to hunt them down. From the F2 view I know they are still out there, but I consider the fact that they are flying so close to friendly lines to be a "hint", like some unit gave me good intelligence on their whereabouts. That makes me feel better about using the F2 cheat. At least I didn't use labels..(haha..) The helos are heading into the foothills and the area is clear of enemy ground units so I'm free to pursue without worry. Finally, after a good bit of searching, I find the two specks against the landscape and pull up my Sidewinder missiles. Fox Two! Boom! My first air-to-air kill of the campaign (and likely my only!).. On the same pass I'm very close to the second chopper but just manage to get a lock and squeeze off the second missile.. I have to be careful not to drive into the mountains as I zip past the helos. The second one takes a hit from my missile, but it must only damage the tailrotor because it starts smoking and spiraling down slowly as if it has lost tailrotor effectiveness. The helo is only slowly drifting down, so I'm relentless and come back around with my Avenger to finish the job. Totals for the mission are 3 tanks, 1 SA-9 vehicle, and 2 helos! This was a pretty easy mission in what have been increasingly difficult missions. No doubt I'll pay the price for an easy mission later! BeachAV8R

Well, fortunately the A-10 is THE tank killer, because that's what I'm tasked to do for this next mission. Once again, penetrate the enemy front lines and kill a platoon of tanks. A careful study of the map shows that this target area should be fairly easy to identify since a river runs very near the anticipated target as well as a bridge. Additionally, we will be taking off from the recently captured airbase which will make our flight times even shorter. My wingman and I roar down the runway anticipating a short few minutes of flying to the target area. As we approach the target area we get the summary and the notice that the target has been marked with yellow smoke, which we soon see in the HUD. The IR image from the Maverick makes these targets very easy to spot and ID. Although we still get hassled slightly by the SA-11 site if we drift too high over the battlfield. After closing on the target we jig back and forth a few times keeping our standoff range with our Mavericks. The smoke shows up well on the Maverick IR monitor which makes identifying the targets even easier. Good night Irene! Each turn back to the west we pop flares to prevent any IR SAMs from reaching up and smacking us down.. Oddly enough I get a "bogey" call over the radio and immediately wonder if I've triggered a fighter response, but it turns out they are enemy helos just northeast of the target area. I didn't use labels, but I did use the F2 key to cycle through the units to see what was airborne. I know it's a cheat, and I sort of feel bad about it, but it helps with getting screenshots of the "story" <grin>. Dismissing the helos for now, I concentrate on using my limited Mavericks to strike the correct targets in the area. I don't want to go wasting missiles on tankers or trucks. Fortunately the relatively light SAM/AAA threat allows me to get pretty close for good views of the vehicles on the monitor before firing. This tank is camouflaged perfectly against the woods. Fortunately the IR Maverick lets the heat of the tank pop out on the monitor. Another Maverick gets sent on the way... I get a "Mission Complete" message and head back to base. Cont..

The mission for this morning is a good one. Penetrate the enemy lines and destroy an enemy supply depot consisting of cargo and fuel haulers. Nice, soft targets that should be easy pickings for either canon or free fall bombs! The intel photo looks like this will be an easy target area to spot too since it is a relatively isolated industrial area. And I can't quibble much with the preselected route as it performs an end-around from a low threat area over the target and out toward home base via a gap in the defenses. It's a misty morning as we zip down the runway. The low fog is only at the lower coastal elevations though - inland is clear and hunting should be good. I track through the waypoints and enroute to waypoint #5 (the target area) I start peering through the HUD at the location. The lower corner of the HUD indicates I'm 4.6 miles and just over 1 minute to go to the strike area. I can see distant explosions blanketing the area just to the west of the target area as an MLRS attack precedes our arrival. My wingman calls out a SAM launch warning and two seconds later my aircraft comes apart and I eject. Where did that come from??!! A few seconds later my wingman meets the same fate... I float down to a field and light up a smoke. Dammit! That was a short mission! I sigh and start walking, hoping I might be able to catch that bus back to the base. The event list is short indeed. Seems I was struck by an SA-13 "Strella". I can see that when I refly this mission I'm going to have to find that unit and take it out early. BeachAV8R

LOL...I feel like I've just been given some sage advice from Yoda himself.. :thumbup: So..let sleeping dogs lie.. :pilotfly:

So after being defeated soundly in the last campaign mission, I did some analysis, and am ready to take a crack at it again. The mission remains the same - find and destroy the command and control vehicles near waypoint #5. Once again I take off and my first strategy is to attempt to use my wingman to destroy the SA-11 site that is hindering my medium to high altitude operations. My target area is to the right of the ridgeline and the SA-11 site is to the left (north) of it. My backup plan is to do a low-level ingress keeping the ridgeline between me and the SAM site (at Wags suggestion!). I put my nose on the SA-11 site and order my wingman to attack the enemy air defenses. He obviously sees and senses the SA-11 site because he immediately breaks away, goes to low level and drives toward the site. Unfortunately, as he reaches the engagement zone of the SA-11 and they launch on him, he breaks off while simultaneously dumping all of his ordnance. So now he's pretty much useless to me! I continue in toward the site behind him and my threat receiver is going nuts and eventually indicates a launch. I'm peering through the HUD and can see the plumes of smoke from the missiles and I can even see them on my Maverick display, but I'm not close enough to lock on with the Maverick seeker. Abandoning the attack on the SA-11 site, I elect to send my wingman home and go forward with Plan B - the low level attack south of the ridgeline. Screaming toward the attack point at low level I scan ahead hoping to see it early enough to launch a missile, but the first I see of the cluster of vehicles is as it passes under my right wing. At least I've finally found the primary target though!! Extending further to the northeast I'm in safe territory since there appears to be no enemy forces in reserve back there. I execute a slight climbing right turn to put my nose back on the area I overflew. With a good situational awareness of where the units are located, I can easily fly my Maverick seeker onto the target area then refine the aiming with my coolie hat. I'm able to get two shots off in quick succession before breaking back around to the safety of the northeast quadrant again. Coming back around it is much easier to find the targets once again because once you have something burning you have a good reference point to work with. Two more Maverick shots later and I get the radio call that the mission is accomplished. I push it down to low level for the egress and aim for the safety of the coast. A few tracers fly by me but miss as a truck mounted AA unit takes a few pot shots at me as I cross the enemy positions one last time. Back at base I'm relieved to have this mission completed but I'm still longing to destroy that pesky SA-11 site... BeachAV8R

I'm just doing my part to help out the economy. Gotta put more people to work making replacement planes for my campaigns.. Haha..

I've changed more diapers in the past 10 days than I'll ever care to remember. Although at least he sleeps like 20 hours a day right now.. :thumbup:

Those are all great bits of advice Matt - thanks for the summary. Too often we just get in there and run & gun and don't properly think out the strategy. I actually managed to crack that nut tonight and figured out how to beat that mission. I'll post an AAR tomorrow.. Regards! BeachAV8R

So I go roaring back into action and immediately take vengeance on the convoy that I was pursuing. Both air defense vehicles are already out of action, so I turn my attention to the troop carrier or whatever and lace it with cannon fire. OK - maybe not a good idea to go to the cannon in rage. As I pull off the target two little bullet holes appear behind my canopy and I've lost my HUD and a flight computer or something. The plane is flying fine though, so I head back to base to repair. On short final with the gear coming out... I park on the ramp and wait a few minutes while the maintenance guys patch me up. I take the opportunity to review my map and tactics. That damn SA-11 site has got to go. Without the ability to fly high, my Rockeyes and Mk-82s are completely useless, not to mention my ability to scan the area is greatly reduced. Determined to solve this SA-11 problem once and for all, I head low-level for the area where I saw the smoke trails and use the terrain to mask my approach. Sure enough, the SA-11 site sees me as I pop up and launches a volley of missiles at me. Unfortunately I can't get my Maverick slewed onto the SAM site and I only have a precious second to do it. I lose the quick-draw contest as one of the SA-11 missiles slams into me, completely destroying both engines. I eject and admit defeat for this mission. I'll have to take a look at it from another angle. Perhaps coming at the SA-11 site from the sea or something to give my Mavericks a good look at it. I don't know. The mission is a complete failure though, with the primary target untouched (the Command & Control vehicles) and the loss of two A-10s. BeachAV8R

I'm repeatedly frustrated by the lack of a clear target. I think I might have actually been looking in the wrong area, but there was a ton of activity in the city. After multiple attempts to find the right target and repeatedly getting beaten back by SAMs I finally spot one of the smoke trails coming up from an easily recognizable feature. The smoke leads back to near a cluster of four smokestacks and I can see a convoy of some sort with air-defense vehicles moving down the city street. Each slashing run in is fraught with danger as SAMs arc up from all quadrants near the city. It is sheer luck that I haven't been hit yet. I long ago sent my wingman home because I knew he'd be fodder for the enemy defenses. Coming in on the distinct cluster of four smokestacks I spy the convoy moving more in the open now and target the air defense vehicle in the #2 and #3 positions in the convoy. I press in a bit too close though and get riddled by a AAA gun. My right engine is ablaze and my hydraulics are out making control very sluggish. Unable to jink now because of the reduced maneuverability, yet another SAM reaches up and I'm helpless to avoid it. Though my left engine is still running the impact blows part of my rudders off and I lose effective control of the aircraft. The plane shudders and starts skidding into the dead engine. I try to reduce power to reduce the asymmetric thrust, but I'm too low and with little hydraulic aid I have to admit the aircraft is lost. As I grit my teeth in anger my chute descends into the wreckage of the aircraft..insult to injury!! It burns...it buuuuurrrrnnnnsss!!!! Aaaaaghhh...! Boy. I'm rightly pissed now. Now, technically I know I've failed the mission. But I've already put a lot of effort into it already. Since I sent my wingman home, I think "ok..I can just hop in his plane and continue the mission"..so I put the camera focus on his plane all comfy back at base and hit the ALT-J key thinking I'll be able to hop into it. Unfortunately, it doesn't work. I don't know if it doesn't work because of my realism settings or if it just doesn't work in FC2 (?). Now, I do have the option of "Crash Recover" or whatever that is called, so I do that and I'm put instantly into a new A-10 at my home base on the runway. This feels more like cheating to me than taking over my wingman's A-10, but whatever. I vow only to do it when I know I have wingman still available (in this case, only 1 wingman). Cont..

The target for this mission is a Command & Control unit. The recon picture could be a little better, but at least I have a general idea. I should have adjusted these mission waypoints in the mission editor (new feature for FC2), but I forgot and didn't consider the SA-11 site north of the city. Heading out of base, I'm using the SimMod A-10C adapted for FC2. Also, I'm using a mod that allows for 6DOF in the cockpit, which does help a bit for things like looking over your shoulder toward the rear of the aircraft. The SimMod A-10C is just a beautiful 3D model... Heading toward the target site I can see smoke burning in the city, but it is very difficult to detect the armor and other threats within the city. And, of course, as I stray too high hoping to get a better line of sight on the target, the pesky SA-11 site opens up on me from the north. I get a good eyeball on the SA-11 site this time and can see from where the smoke trails emanated. Something to consider for sure. Diving for the deck causes the missiles to pull lead pursuit which drives them into the ground. A scary moment after the SAM launch where my wingman and I almost collide on the rejoin... I know the airfield just west of our target area is now labeled a friendly field, and it just so happens that my target area is off the extended centerline, so I take advantage of the easy visual reference point. Peering through the HUD I try to spot my target area, but I'm so confused and lost that I'm a bit frustrated. (Note the mint green HUD color mod!) As I draw closer my radar warning receiver goes off indicating a ZSU out in front of me. He is so buried in the trees that I can't even find him. As I make the break turn back to the south to reassess the situation my wingman calls out a missile launch at 6 o'clock and sure enough a little missile of some sort (I didn't check the after action report) tracks up toward me as I dump flares. Coming back around I'm not very sure that I'm on my target location, although I AM sure that the vehicles I'm targeting are enemy. Using the Maverick seeker I can spot the targets a little easier, but it is a chore. I'm a bit wedged in. With the high airspace unavailable due to the SA-11 threat, and the low airspace bristling with vehicle mounted SAMs, AAA, and then through in the MANPADs to boot! On one of my runs in I get a good look at a target on the targeting monitor and the image is distinctly that of a ZSU-23-4.. On the pull off I dodge another short range SAM, and as I ascend away from that threat the SA-11 reminds me of its presence too. I'm amazed the SA-11 missile didn't kill me because it passed within several meters of me, but did not explode. Cont..

I'd love to learn how to best use my AI wingman..I'm just so worried he'll get himself into trouble that I pretty much send him home after a limited bit of action. I need to get better at utilizing him without needlessly wasting him..

I set another vehicle ablaze with my canon since AA activity is fairly light. I see some tracers whiz by the canopy, but nothing dramatic. By staying low I've avoided tripping off the SAM radar warning receiver as well. I spy one more tank buried deep in the woods. I would have never seen him without the IR seeker on the Maverick helping me pick him out. I've run out of Mavericks and still have one tank left to kill in order to accomplish the mission (destroying the three T-72s) so I have to press in with guns. I still have 2 Rockeyes and 2 Mk-82s on the racks, but those would require popping up into the SAM envelope. A long burst with the Avenger does the job and soon the tank is burning... I duck out of Dodge as fast as I can but as I make the turn back southbound one of the golden BBs hits my left wing. Fortunately it just passes through and doesn't take out any systems or engines. I trail fuel all the way back to base and it continues to mist out of the hole in the left wing as I taxi off the runway. More 100 mph tape is on order! The end tally is 3 T-80s killed, a truck mounted ZSU, and a couple support vehicles. Fun stuff! This sim is great. I spent all day unable to fly it..but thought about it all day.. :) BeachAV8R

So the theme remains the same - we are pushing the enemy back from south to north. This time we are going to press our attack further north to the southern outskirts of Ozurgeti. Our target area is this defined copse of woods. And our mission planning map showing our waypoints and general area... Taking off on this third mission of the campaign it really starts to feel familiar since I'm starting to recognize landmarks and areas of battles past. Immediately upon takeoff I get a mud spike and know I'm getting tracked. It is an SA-11 (had to look that up) and I figure I want to avoid it. Sure would be nice to have a couple HARMs slung under our wings! We cross the coast near the abandoned airfield and stay at around 15,000' to avoid short range IR missiles and hopefully the ZSUs that are in the area too. The radio crackles and the spotter gives me directions on where my target is... Unfortunately the high approach doesn't work and before I'm even close to the target area I'm beaten back by multiple SAM launches. My wingman just barely outruns one as it explodes above and behind him... So time to reformulate the plan. I opt to go for the low and fast approach and follow a set of power lines directly to the target. I believe the SA-11 site is beyond that far ridgeline, so as long as I stay low I should remain masked from their radar. Sure enough the power lines take me right to the target area and yellow smoke pops to mark the specific area. I'm a bit too close to set up a proper Maverick shot though so I switch to rockets and try to give that a shot. Despite pocking the terrain all around the tank with my rockets I know it is pretty futile to try to kill one with anything less than a Maverick. Picking out the targets visually is near impossible, but the IR Maverick site is fantastic. Unfortunately, even at the higher zoom level it is often hard to discern the type of target until you are pretty close. Rifle! I maintain my stand-off distance and come back around for another run and quickly spot another hot spot. Unfortunately it is a wasted Maverick as I targeted a fuel tanker. What a waste.