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I like it. That way everybody gets what they want! Glad I found this post. Figured exports were just broken since this is my first Razbam module.

Disregard. Just read the, "Known Issues" post. Please delete, thanks!

I’d suggest playing around with Inflight refueling. It’s frustrating as hell in the beginning, but rewarding once you get it down.

https://youtu.be/vFpWuEbV9vw

It would be awesome if someone could produce replicas to attach to the warthog setup! I'd buy it time it were available!

I know the Tomcatters are Super's, but still an awesome deployment video. Includes footage of SU-27's and the shoot down of a Syrian SU-22

Ask and you shall receive. Beautiful!

The little teasers are a huge part of marketing. I'm simply saying steal a move from RAZBAM or Heatblur's playbook. You can watch the AV-8 from it's infancy, to skinning, to weapons testing on YouTube. Not to mention the developers asked for community input when it came to some of the skins they should include. I get the Hornet is way more than a module, when you factor in the new map, ect. Just saying, "A little more." would be nice.

When the Viggen was first announced I had very little interest. I was vaguely aware of the jet, and figured I'd save my money. The guys at Heatblur / Leatherneck did such a good job marketing that I couldn't help but pre purchase it. I imagine the Hornet is far from pre purchase, but I'd ask you keep us intrigued with updates, test videos, and screen shots ect... Compare the Hornet development to the other two anticipated modules, the Harrier and the Tomcat. I feel like I'm much more in the groove with their progress than the Hornet. Those developers release a steady stream of progress. Those teasers add to the anticipation, and get people who might otherwise look past the module interested. I don't doubt the Hornet will be worth the wait, and I am patient. Just ask for a little more hype from you guys.

I think you're right. Just like every module comes from a single being. So does the engines, and their performance.

That was kinda my point. Since no two engines perform exactly the same, would it be possible to simulate that with the instrumentation? A picture of the cockpit was released earlier today, and I noticed both engines mirrored each other with every parameter. I'd imagine they'll do that at all operating ranges. It would probably be a ton of work, for something that really doesn't add much to the sim. Just being picky since most of my time in the navy was on Hornet engines.

Would be a nice feature. I've always liked the look of the dual seater

Since aircraft engines are their own beast's I'd like to see deviation between the left and right engine displayed on the IEFI. Basically, at idle no two engines will display the exact same N2, EGT, fuel flow ect. think that would add a little more to not just the Hornet, but all multi engine modules.

I can attest to the destruction of the Iron Maiden. Back in 01, the airforce ripped so many of our probes off, the supply system ran out. We had to swap probes from down jets, to up jets, just to make the flight schedule. It's another reason you'll see pictures of Hornets, with the probe fairing removed. Less chance of it getting knocked off, and sucked down an intake if you just take it off. I like the idea of an adapter for the KC-135, but I think DCS needs the KC-130 also. Imagine a KC-130 with Marine Harrier on one wing, and a Marine Hornet on the other.

I wouldn't compare the Hornet to an A-10. Gotta figure it's a jack of all trades. A2a and a2g. Some countries use the Hornet as the sole jet to defend their airspace, plus hit ground targets. It's quite capable in both realms. Just would t say it's the master of either.

We had a jet break, and land in Iraq during OIF. Had to send a rescue det. to go fix it. It's rare but it happens. When a squadron is gearing up for deployment, they do month long boat detachments. Those are usually done close enough to land bases, so jets can divert due to weather or maintenance issues. Underway you'll either have divert bases available, or be in , "Blue water ops." Which means get aboard, or ride the waves (no diverts). Prior to heading to the ship the pilots have to get in their FCLP's (field landing carrier practice) to become current. So they fly day and night FCLP's to get everybody checked off. It's a rotating process in a seagoing squadron, as qualifications can lapse. Hornet pilots spend a decent amount of time practicing air to air and air to ground. The jet is basically designed to escort itself to a ground target, so both skills are needed, and kept proficient. As far as the, "What jet is better." argument. You have to figure the Hornet was designed to replace the A-6 and A-7 in ground attack, plus bridge the gap between them, and the Tomcat. Tomcats would defend the fleet, and do long range intercepts, and Hornets would get themselves into, and out of harms way to deliver their air to ground weapons.

The Hornet is a multi-role fighter. Can do Air to air or air to ground. They can also self escort to a target. Meaning carrying an AMRAAM or two, while slinging bombs. The reason the hornet got the F/A designation, is when it was conceived, the engineers thought they'd have an F-18 and an A-18 depending on what computers were loaded into the aircraft. Basically you'd swap black boxes to swap roles. Turns out the computers were small enough, and modular enough to encompass both rolls in a single jet. Putting it in air to air, or air to ground mode with the switch of a button.

If I remember correctly, even the hornet throttles have a lot less bells and whistles on them. I think having the Warthog throttle, while not ideal, will give us way more items that can be mapped. I am looking forward to the hornet stick. I feel it's a decent compromise both performance and cost wise.

I had no idea the Viggen had a folding fin. While it's a fun fact, implementing it brings nothing to the sim. Sounds like the jet would be pulled out of it's makeshift hanger, fin extended, and armed before the pilot even stepped to it. I for one would like to see the time and effort put into BK-90's in multiplayer.

Thank you guys for the comments. I have quite a few more pictures, but unfortunately they include former co-workers faces. Didn't want to post without their permission. In hindsight I wish I'd of taken better pictures of the jets, tail art ect..

That's awesome. I'm hoping this includes the master caution chime, and bombardment by bitching Betty when the first engine comes online. Really excited for this module!

Well here it is... My rating in the navy was an Aviation Machinist Mate. Basically a power plants mechanic. During this deployment I was assigned to VFA-94, The Mighty Shrikes, or better known as the HOBO's. Squadron life is basically the same across the board. We worked 12 hour shifts, and no days off, until we hit a port. In port, you could leave the ship, unless you had duty. The squadron was divided into 4 sections, with each having at least one day of duty. That would be a normal work day, with the entire duty section working day shift. Usually 0700-till 1700 or so. Under way, my squadron worked 0630 hours till 1830 hours. Being that I was a night shifter, my day usually started around 1700 hours, with dinner. After waiting in line for 40 minutes or so, it would take around 20 minutes to eat. Then I'd head to the shop, and receive a pass down from the LPO (lead petty officer) guy in charge of the entire jet shop. He'd pass on various things, he wanted us to accomplish on our shift. Usually which broke jets, and drop tanks were the priority. A typical Hornet jet shop consisted of around 8 mechs. Usually 4 on days, including the LPO, and 4 on nights. The night shift supervisor was usually an Petty Officer 2nd class, E-5, with the rest being usually E-3 to E-4's. After receiving pass down, I'd attend the maintenance meeting. Basically the shift supervisors from power plants, airframes, electricians, technicians seat shop, QA (quality assurance) and Parachute riggers would meet at our maintenance control office. Some out of the way space on the 03 level (A deck below the flight deck). There the maintenance chief would outline each shop's priorities for the night. Which jet was coming due for a phase maintenance (major maintenance), which jet needed to be moved to the flight deck, or down to the hanger, which jets would need a low or high power turn (we did engine run up's to test and trouble shoot different systems, or op check newly replaced components), which engines would need inspected, and what unscheduled maintenance needed to be fixed. As a jet mech, most of us were qualified to perform low power maintenance turns, which was anything below 80% N2 (compressor speed). On the boat we'd do that turn with 12 chains, 3 on the beach. Anything over 80% was a high power turn. The jet shop usually had at least one qualified guy on days and one on nights. That turn was done with a high power hold back chain hooked to the nose strut, and 18 chains. Hornets didn't require a ton of maintenance for the jet shop while under way, but we had enough to keep busy. However, airframes was a whole different story! They also had more mechanics, due to their increased workload. Four things routinely popped up in the jet shop. Fuel leaks (some reason the o-rings liked to dry out), the GCU's (generators), the air turbine start system, and of course drop tanks. This doesn't take into account the other things, like high oil consumption, Fodded engines, pressure transmitters failing, ect ect.... Generator swaps required a mech to hand hump the new one from the GCU shop, to the flight deck. Basically hauling an 80 plus pound piece of metal up 4 flights, through small passage ways and around people. Once on deck, it only took 10 or 15 minutes to swap. Then we'd run the jet, and knock out the tests and checks to ensure we fixed the problem. fuel leaks required some investigating. Once the problem was located, the time to change o-rings varied. Sometimes the problem would be in an area barely big enough to get a hand into. As far as engine no starts, we usually trouble shot to an air turbine starter control valve. A butterfly valve held in place by 2 clamps. That replacement most likely required removing the generator to get to it. These components were in the AMAD bay (Airframe mounted accessory drive) basically a small gearbox, crammed with components. 2 per jet, left and right side. Drop tanks were huge on the boat. We took enough tanks to triple bubble each jet. However, we usually only flew with 2. The rest got stored in the overhead, in the hanger, with the exception of maybe 3 or four spares. That way we could swap them on the fly. If a tank broke on the flight deck, it would be changed out, and stored in the, "junkyard." A space behind the Island. After the flight schedule wrapped up, we'd send a couple guys to get it to which ever elevator was scheduled to do a run. Most elevator traffic occurred after the flight schedule. Once we got the tank to the hanger, we'd open it up, air it out, and swap the valves inside of it. All the work was done through 2 small openings. There really wasn't too much troubleshooting of a broken drop tank. It was best to swap out all the valves. Once that was done, we'd have our electricians rewire the tanks. Some of the valves had wiring, which ran through conduits within the tank. We also did major maintenance, to include engine swaps, and inspections on nights. Day shift did whatever maintenance was needed to meet the flight schedule, and nights would knock out the heavy stuff. Our was to fix the jet before the next days schedule. Eating on the boat seemed like a privilege at times. If we were busy, and we usually were, we'd skip meals, and grab a snack when we had down time. The shop was the perfect place to stash all your junk food, since we spent most of our time there. As the supervisor, I'd try to take care of my guys, by giving one or two of them a quick meal break at a time. Usually tell them to go choke it down, and get back ASAP. You didn't want to be the guy who took too long, and screwed your buddy out of a meal. Down time usually came when we were waiting for something, or another shop. Some things we routinely waited for were, the yellow shirts to move the jet to a turn spot (a place we could fire up the engines), a tail over deck spot (pull it forward so we could open the engine bays. Things like that. A frustrating thing was Hornets took up hanger 1 and 2. Three was reserved for the tomcats. If we dropped an engine in hanger 1, it would sometimes take a lot of coordination to get the engine and trailer to the jet shop (aft of hanger 3) for the replacement. Sometimes it was easier to take the engine up elevator 1, stash it on the flight deck, and bring it down elevator 3 or 4. These moves were coordinated between our maintenance control, and the ship's flight deck, and hanger deck control. Once you got your new engine you had to repeat the process to get it to the jet. Sometimes we'd complete a swap, and wait days, until the jet was dug out of whatever corner it had been stashed in, to do the operational checks required to return the jet to service. So this is just a little snippet of life on the ship. This was basically an average day. Any other mech's or airframer's want to chime in, feel free. Ship life was referred to it as ground hogs day, since every day was a repeat. It was common to call everyday, "Monday." Steel beach picnics were also referred to as, "beer days." For 45 days at sea, without pulling in, the ship threw a picnic, and everybody got two tickets, each good for a beer. Needless to say there was an underground market to sell those tickets if you were a non drinker. After my burger and beers, I'd head to the rack, since even beer day didn't mean a day off. This is a little long winded, but hopefully it gives you an idea. Jimmy

Found a CD with pictures from my 2001 deployment. Most were taken during Operation Enduring Freedom, onboard the USS Carl Vinson. The beer and civies pictures were during one of our two steel beach picnics.

Appreciate your insight, especially with the real life experience. I was a Navy Hornet mech. Worked on H-53's in the beginning, but transitioned to Hornets. Served in VFA-94, VFA-146 and the jet shop. Excited to see the hornet from a pilot's perspective.

Looks really good. When I built models I could never get the weathering down. It's very life like