Swordsman422

Mostly done, but real life's caught up with me in the last couple months and finding spare time to completely polish right now is kinda hard. I haven't abandoned them. They're coming.

I'm hoping for SWIP, but will settle for TRAM. I'm of the mindset that the devs should provide the most capable version that they have documentation for and it's up to the players to not use what systems they don't want.

That VF-2 jet in the photo is actually a 70-GR, which aside from running the BuNo, you can tell by the flat, wide beavertail with the dielectric panels as was present on the earliest F-14s. As far as I am aware, we won't ever be getting a 70 or 75.

Until the F-14 was slinging bombs, I wasn't half as interested in it as I was the A-6 Intruder. Growing up, the Intruder was the jet I wanted to fly if I had my choice. The Tomcat was pretty, but I lived by that quote "fighter pilots make movies, bomber pilots make history." I love the F-14 for all it can do now, but the A-6 will always be my first jet crush.

Out of curiosity, what was the losing bet?

*Watches video* A-6 Intruder cockpit shot... *Screams internally* *Visits forum* *Reads posts* *Screams externally*

From my understanding anything that might benefit Iran in upgrading their fleet is non-distributable, regardless of how silly it might seem. Not that it actually keeps them from performing upgrades of any kind, but it's stubborn noncooperation and I never underestimate the willful stupidity of my own government with foreign relations, regardless of the party in control. Prime example, I have a regulator used on LOX systems I cannot legally sell to a collector outside the US because it might find its way onto Iranian Tomcats or Phantoms. Doesn't prevent me from selling it to someone here who might try to smuggle it out, but if I get caught trying to sell it overseas I might face prison time.

There is documentation pertaining to the PTID menus that are still classified to make life hard for Iran's F-14 fleet. The PTID would be required to program and deliver the JDAM. They could just copy the Hornet MFD menus, but Heatblur is classy enough not to just guess at what the systems looked like and how it worked. If they can't do it right, they'd rather not do it at all.

For whatever reason, it's not showing up in the e-store for everyone. I might recommend an updated 1st post with a direct link for those who are having trouble. https://www.digitalcombatsimulator.com/en/shop/campaigns/f-14a_zone_5_campaign/

VF-103 was using the 100-series modex from ~1997 onwards. The only time they ever wore bones and used the 200s was for one cruise in 1996 right after they got hijacked and were no longer the Sluggers. They looked like this back then. I consider this skin to be an anomaly for Heatblur's F-14B. It looks pretty good, but there is more wrong with it than the others. Typically I only use it for target practice.

I know personally the lady you guys got to voice the AWACS controller. Man, she lands that professionally unexcitable, totally-over-this tone perfectly.

Not an official designation, but some airframes did have an indicator above the BuNo. This from the Fightertown VF-102 sheet:

The first step in earning a pilots license is VFR. Most of the maneuvers you will learn in this phase are either ground reference or horizon reference, which requires you to keep your eyes outside the cockpit most of the time you're flying. As you go, you'll learn that with this type of flying there is very little the instruments can tell you that you can't already judge by looking outside. Knowing whether you are climbing or descending, or even your turn rate, is just a matter of understanding the sight picture of the horizon in front of you. If you are circling a ground reference, it's a matter of putting your eyes on it and keeping it abeam of you in the same general area of your sight picture. Very little other information is required from the instrument panel in these cases. When I'm flying VFR, I only glance at my instruments occasionally to ensure I'm maintaining altitude and heading, checking that my DG hasn't drifted too far, and double checking my navigation instruments to be sure I'm still within margins for my course. This is a couple of seconds out of every few minutes. IFR is a whole different animal, and I'm more or less glued to the IP. In terms of feelings when you're socked in clouds flying at vectors given to you by ATC, it's like being in a simulator in that you cannot trust them. Your eyes and inner ear will deceive you and if you listen to them too long you risk diving inverted out of the clouds. But there is a reason that IFR flying requires a completely different ticket than VFR. In VFR, the instrument panel is valuable, but you aren't married to it yet. It can be a crutch that will rob you of the basics of visual flying. It's not about having raw talent. Skill is earned with patience and practice, listening to the right teachers and following their example. If you aren't good at something, keep practicing until you are. As a side note, I won't protest one day getting Tomcats with these upgrades. More variety is good. But there is nothing two seperate numbers on a HUD can tell me that a quick glance at just one steam gauge can't.

The aerodynamic dielectric panels were prone to flutter cracking since they were right between the engine nozzles, and keeping the panels off caused drag. The newer beaver tail was more structurally and aerodynamically sound. Only the first ~100 or so examples were built with the original beaver tail, and the new one was introduced on the -80GR. By the late 1980s, the original 70 and 75s were relegated to reserve units. They got a lot of other upgrades, but there was no structure to install the RWR receiver back there.

The F-14A version we currently have is from the mid 1990's after they had the glove vanes bolted shut. The earlier versions MIGHT have them, but only as eye candy. They've repeatedly said they aren't going to rewrite the flight model to account for an aerodynamic surface used in such a small area of the flight envelope.

Aside the aforementioned problems, it's also incredibly rare for a naval aviator to fly the plane with his name on it. Maintenance, mission requirements, and scheduling mean that the air crew is put in whatever the available up aircraft is, regardless of who it "belongs" to, so this would kinda be a waste of effort.

Likely it had to do with visibility. The TPS made the planes more difficult to acquire visually and having the missiles match instead of stand out probably helps.

Work proceeds on VF-2 ODS. I think I have one aircraft from the pack knocked out, specifically NE204/BuNo 161299. The rather neglected state of her squadron markings will make her stand out a bit from the other aircraft, which will be much more uniform. Thanks to Reflected for the helmet art, as this skin pack is intended to be used next to his fantastic VF-1 and VF-2 1989 skins. Before anyone asks, yes the MBU-14s have a grey face piece and green hose. When these masks were first introduced in the new grey color, the dye would cause the hose to deteriorate and it would often be replaced with a green hose after its first or second service inspection. This issue didn't last too long, but in 1991 it would still have been a problem.

While still working on VF-84, I've started working on another project that should go nicely with HB's Forrestal-class. I can't find many reference images of this livery and I know that half of the squadron was wearing high-vis gull grey paint for this cruise which have already been covered nicely by Reflected, so this pack will be limited to 4-6 airplanes. Anyway here is some preliminary work on VF-2's ODS low vis livery.

That one's been available since August of last year. It's great work!

I use Photoshop CC, which is the current version. It's ~$20/month but reads the HB paintkit better than anything else. For stenciling and markings, I fall back on my collection of 1/48 decal sheets and a scanner, and scan with high-resolution photo settings. More current companies like Furball Aero, Fightertown, Afterburner, DXM, and SBDecals can be relied upon to have accurate artwork. Older sets from Superscale, Eagle Strike, Aeromaster, CAM, and Yellowhammer are hit or miss. Regardless of the manufacturer, I always check photo references when I can find them, usually from Airfighters.com, airliners.net, and the F-14 Tomcat Association FB group. Another reference I always keep handy when working in photoshop is a US Navy Federal Standard color chart, which allows me to grab color samples in photoshop when I need them. Bear in mind that aircraft paint came in batches, and the varying dyes and age of the paint caused paint of the same color to vary visibly. If you're trying to get accurate BuNos and Modex numbers from a specific deployment, gonavy.jp often has these lists available. I like to think of my work as a sort of medium-quality effort. I like to put out packs covering all or most of a squadron from a specific period or cruise, which means 10-12 aircraft. Aside from a few more obvious differences, I don't try to replicate each squadron aircraft in exacting detail. Doing so will probably be moot once Heatblur solves the dynamic modex issue, and will reduce the needed number of skins per squadron from a dozen to 2 or 3. I'll probably never release an F-14 skin that looks exactly as a particular plane looked on a particular date. I'm not as good as most others and it would prolong my projects beyond my energies to maintain them. Once you get started, choose a process that's right for you and keep at it. I look forward to seeing what you turn out.

Maybe not 102, but a later modex in the series to at least give the appearance of randomness. To be honest, though, it can probably wait until the dynamic modex issue is solved or abandoned.

If I couldn't drop LGBs from it and guide them myself, I'm not sure I'd fly the F-14 as much. It's my favorite fighter, but I didn't really start to care about it until it was toting bombs. Since we can't get the PTID, keeping the LANTIRN and dealing with the "deficiencies" of the fishbowl display is an adequate compromise. Heck, F-14Ds were dropping bombs without PTID until nearly the very end.

The Heatblur F-14A was updated to prevent a conflict and not replace the default AI F-14. You can download IIAF and IRIAF F-14 skins in the user files section if you want to fly against the F-14A-135-GR in Iranian colors.