Grundar

I would love to see a Draken, but the Viggen is probably the most modern and unclassified that LNS could get access to. Also if I am not mistaken, they also have a cockpit to a Viggen on hand as well - that is an excellent source of first hand information for them. Looking at what they have posted I would love to see something complicated like a F-16CJ or a Harrier, but would be more than happy with a Viggen. I guess in the end they have to make a decision that is also based on monetary concerns - no one wants to see LNS go under because they developed a plane nobody would be interested in. With that said they did announce the F-14 first for a reason - my bet would be that it is generating a hell of a lot of interest for them as there is a very broad F-14 community out there. This interest would allow them to expose more people to a "less popular" aircraft such as the Viggen and if the F-14 sells it pants off (and I'm pretty sure it will) it will allow them to absorb a "loss" more easily.

No mention of Dropbears I see, understandable from a tourism perspective I guess - no one wants to scare off tourists to our fine and deadly county, but it does make it appear you are underselling Stirling there by that Dropbear omission :P While this link: http://australianmuseum.net.au/drop-bear is from a reputable source on Dropbears, you will note it's government edited "No deaths reported" amendment - of course the genuine reason being that there are no survivors to report said Dropbear related deaths! :) On non-Dropbear related news (mostly from fear of attracting attention and hence retaliation from the Dropbears), some great info in there! Really love the work your team has shown in the F-14 development and of course the beautiful Mig-21bis. Also nice to see that you haven't announced the F4U and Viggen yet and will allow continued speculation on the subject! :P Of course I will add, with an Australian now on your team that means you have someone skilled at handling deadly animals - which makes me think of something deadly like a snake... a Viper perhaps?! #randomobtusespeculation

They handled that F-15 like the stole it, I couldn't stop laughing or gaping at what they were doing. Watching that piece fly off was really not that surprising. They flew level for a short time after it flew off - they were either worried and checking things or laughing their butts off. Didn't really slow them down though. if they were concerned; "Jim! did something just fly off?!" "Yeah something flew off I think, controls seem alright" "Can confirm that the bird is not on fire and no warning lights are on, so....." "Well, better take it easy and land her in a military "wheelie" position then...after this freaking awesome vertical climb" Was a great display.

Yep comes up quite regularly, it's very interesting to watch/listen to though, very informative.

Glad he's safe and no one else was injured which is always good news. Can't imagine it would be a good feeling to lose an 18 million USD aircraft, but at least he gets to tell an ejection story now!

Was a typo on the A-10 arming order: *Air Weapons System Tech checks orders, muttering to self" "Gau-8/A loaded... check" "AGM-65 x2...check" "GBU-38 by 4.. check" "Dave Penny System...ch.." "Wait...Dave Penny? Is that the guy over in admin??" *shrugs* "orders are orders.."

Will be cool to see Flankers and F18's flying around, presumably real footage mixed with CGI. Of course the story sounds like complete crap, enjoyable military aviation films need less "booty shaking" and more air combat spectacle. Think I'll stick to the Final Countdown for my aviation meal and when I want the cheese piled on - Top Gun.

Adding my 2c to an already overcrowded opinion pool :P I think the F-15 is more forgiving to the newer pilot/learning pilot. It has good flight characteristics and that allows you to focus on learning the other systems, it avionics are quite robust. Comparatively the Su-27 can be a bit of a handful to start with and you can get into trouble with it very easily, but once you understand her she is beautiful to fly, a real joy. In capable hands, both aircraft are major threats as long as you play them to their strengths and exploit your opponents weaknesses. My opinion of the F15 is in no way an opinion on which is the "best" or "worst", just what I found worked for me in DCS :)

http://www.abc.net.au/news/2015-07-15/pluto-planet-dog-before-after/6620914 Mind completely blown. Once you see it you will never un-see it.

Internal Beta 2016? *sobs uncontrollably* Edit: The site looks great, looking forward to the F-14 immensely.

Saw that earlier this year from a post here, it's a very informative lecture on the F-14 design, some great info in there.

That Panther appears to be in pristine condition, Panther G by the looks of it as well. They need to throw that in a museum, presuming the rather wealthy owner doesn't sue and reclaim it if it has inactivated weaponry.

Ask and ye shall receive!! http://forums.eagle.ru/showthread.php?t=144200

lmao, I meant twist rudder >_< doh! Really need to get those rudder pedals.

I find the easiest way to avoid the Dora's tailwheel locking and unlocking and the brake dancing you can get caught in is to simply lock it from the ramp. I just keep back pressure on the stick and use the brakes in small taps to orient the Dora as required. Usually when I hit the runway I will unlock it advance a bit, lock it, make sure I am straight then power into a take off. I am using the twist throttle on my stick though I can't justify (to the minister of finance) rudder pedals...

Radar Warning Receivers are just that receivers of radar band width that displays a threat - either on HUD, panels, via tones etc... It's a rather basic device and it's use is more for avoidance or knowledge of directional radar emissions rather than as a complete means of target acquisition. More advanced RWR's feed back to jamming systems to allow jamming of specifically tested radar bands to optimise ECM/Jamming. If an enemy aircraft's radar was operating within the band range of the RWR then it should be able to display at least a directional threat - though it may not differentiate altitude. The ALR 45 operates within the 2 - 18 GHz range and consists of 4 crystal antenna which feeds back to four crystal video receivers giving you the directional component for the RWR. That is further fed back to the threat processor that can filter threat and from there linked to a display/threat panel and ?HUD. In the F-14a the RWR linked to a threat warning panel and would kick a video display from navigational mode to a strobe indicating direction of radar threat as well as giving the warbling tone of the RWR reporting radar threat contacts (at least by 1981 it was doing this). Reading Bio's book Topgun Days, he mentions watching the RWR, in context of an environment of simulated SAM's with Echo Range, but doesn't mention airborne RWR contacts. This was about 1984 or so (I think) so maybe by this stage the ALR-45 had been upgraded (I think the current model is ALR-45f). If at this point the RWR still wasn't capable of determining air radar threats maybe they relied on other sensors and the AWG-9 and the RIO's assessment of the data gathered. Would certainly make BVR contacts much more interesting - especially at phoenix engagement ranges. So i guess this is another reason why the F-14's RIO had a lot of responsibility - all that radar interpretation from that AWG-9 would of kept them busy, not to mention that on top of all their other duties. Sorry for the long winded post probably just regurgitating what others have said :p

Same as how I feel about it. With the DCS level sims I love to learn all the systems and features. The F-14 is my favourite military aircraft and it's coming as a high fidelity sim I can't wait to fly it and RIO in it.

Wow! The stripper-gram offers came in early :P Oh! right! 6 pack of beer ;) :smartass: :D Happy Birthday! :)

I guess for the regular person, if you want to adjust your car seat you often reach under the front of the seat to adjust the position - maybe it was just momentary lapse of concentration/complete fear of reefing up in the back of an F-14 or simply him not being aware that that was the location for ejection or that sort of automatic, as it were, reach for where you adjust a seat. Bloody funny story though, luckily it ended well for all those involved.

Maybe a Draken's front gear? Seems like the early calls on a Zero though are far more likely though. or... it's a BAE Lightning..with incorrectly modeled landing gear >_> :P

In regards to older sims, I think that perhaps they illustrated scale much better. For example something like Rowans BoB showed immense scale in the air battles, yes you were flying a spitfire, hurricane or bf-109 that was modeled well for the time but it was the ensuing whirling air melee that nailed it. Flying up into those masses of bombers truly was a spectacle that gave great context, scale and atmosphere for the flight sim. Sims now are much higher fidelity in terms of simulating the actual craft, for me though they usually fall down in terms of context (ie DCS WWII aircraft w/ no corresponding maps/vehicles or the new Sturmoviks woeful "campaign"), scale (limited maps/poor utilisation of available maps) and the atmosphere (limited players/AI opponents). Luckily DCS is improving in these areas, even things like the new Su-27 campaign has helped it a great deal. The fact that Leatherneck are bringing a map along with their plane is fantastic, it helps to sell the sim as something more than a high detailed study of aircraft systems and then not much to do with it otherwise as it were.

Q: Which theatre will be included with the F-14? A: Very oceany. Very cold. The F-14 Campaign will take place in this theatre. Hmm "cold" as in temperature or cold as in era? *ponders* Hmmm "oceany" as in water or as in soundtrack by Billy Ocean! *ponders the endless possibilities* Partial silliness aside, it is sounding fantastic, great work!

That was great, some fantastic aerial shots there. Also like SilentGun, love the "Right now just cost..." part lol The Tomcat was such a beautiful bird, rather elegant for the beasty thing it really was :P

That was a great video hummingbird. Love those Phoenix shots and even better hearing of the assumed psychological impact on the deployment of Soviet aircraft - which meant the missile was highly successful without being fired. The Tomcat performance data and discussion is also quite surprising and hearing about all those design decisions was really informative. Also nice to see the official loadouts there as well.

It's beautiful, those renders are fantastic. Great to see the pride you guys are taking in this project. Mig-21bis was a beautiful study in detail, I can imagine this will be gifted just as much, if not more love. Top shelf work so far guys!