DartzIRL

Is there fish in the cockpit? Did it end up going direct in the hangar without stopping on the deck? Can the jet be used again? 2 Nos to the first and a yest to the third means it's probably an OK landing. But it's also something I've only ever managed to do the once with the Xbone controller.

The Mig-25 gets far too little love. To compare it to the Blackbird is to make perhaps an unfair comparison. The Oxcarts are an aircraft built to do one thing and do that thing to detriment of everything else. It flew over a target at maximum velocity, grabbed the data and got home safely. The YF-12 could shoot missiles. It also took a full day to get it ready to fly - something less than ideal for an interceptor. They required special fuel. A special starting fluid that ignited hypergolically. A specialised hanger. A specialised tanker force. A specialised engine. They were the product of the best engineers given the best materials, the best pilots and what amounted to a blank chequebook. An awesome machine in their own right that was perfect for its mission. The Mig-25 "Foxbat" was a very different machine. It could do Mach 3 aswell. Once. It did it by making the engines an expendable part. Not really a problem when they're cheap to build. The R-15 turbojets had originally been designed for a single-use trisonic missile - and were updated to have a longer service life in an aircraft. Due to it's speed and engine design, it still holds the absolute air-breathing altitude record, and altitude with payload record. It also swallows 20 litres of kerosene every operating second at full throttle. Titanium was expensive to work with and demanded a budget far beyond what was available for an interceptor that had to be produced in the hundreds, so it was instead built from Nickel Steel. Which meant it could be welded together using the same machinery and hardware as your average car, truck or washing machine. It allowed a high quality production to be achieved at minimal cost. They matched a pair of massive engines and a steel airframe, to the most powerful radar possible to blast through ECM, and four of the largest missiles ever fitted to an aircraft. Or, dpending on version, ELINT hardware or reconnaissance cameras. It operated from open airfields Siberia and Syria. In Libya, some rebels got a Mig-25 flying and uses AA missiles to shoot at ground targets. Syria is still able to get theirs flying every now and then. Saddam buried his before the last Gulf War, expecting them to survive the US attacks and be reactivated afterwards if his regime survived. They were almost effective in the first war, considering the gulf in pilot skill and the age of the airframes at the time. The Foxbat has never really had the luxury of having well trained pilots at the helm, when matched against western hardware. Most were sold to tinpots keen to have The Fastest, or thumb their nose at the West. When employed by pilots who were gl;orified war thunder players, they made for Eagle and Phantom food. Just think of all the WT players turnfighting Zeroes and Spirfires in Thunderbolts..... When given to a skillful Pilot who could use the aircraft's speed properly, they could achieve some remarkable results. An Iraqi pilot (Mohammad Rayyan) actually became an Ace while flying one - hunting Iranian Phantoms before getting himself downed by Tomcats. Another Iraqi pilot used the aircraft's speed to destroy an F-18 near Baghad during the first Gulf War. On another mission, a Mig-25 evaded a pair of F-15s to engage the F-111 Raven the F-15's had been escorting, forcing it to return to base. It then outran the F-15s to escape. By the 90's they are completely outclassed, but still capable of engaging and being a threat. The reconnaissance variant however, became notorious In the 70's, "Egypt" was flying them over the Sinai and just leaving the Isreali air force for dust. One was famously tracked at Mach 3.2, climbing and accelerating away from Isreali F-4s. Its engines needed to be overhauled, but they are a consumeable part. India used them to fly over Pakistan at 65-70k ft where Pakistan's air defenses couldn't even detect it, let alone do anything about it. The first warning was the sonic boom in Islamabad. And, unlike the Blackbird, the Indian Migs were the Mig-25 RB. They could carry bombs. The Blackbird was known for it's ability to fly with impunity, rattling the windows of presidential palaces. The Mig-25 could do that - then drop a bomb or two for good measure. Where the Blacbird said "I'm up here and you can't do anything about it" the Mig warned "I'm up here and you can't do anything about it - and I also carry bombs." That really annoyed Pakistan for some reason. It's a bit like the difference between a Ferrari and a Dodge. Everyone lusts after the Ferrari, but there's something cheeky about the big friendly Dodge that's almost as fast, and a hell of a lot simpler and cheaper. It's a big lump of steel with massive engines and a thirst for fuel to beat the band - I'd have thought it'd fit right in in the US. Anyway. The Engineers at Tumansky figured out how to modify the R-15 to sustain Mach-3 speeds. The Foxbat airframe was up to it. In the end, they didn't bother as the successor was on the way, with a very different mission. The Engineers at Lockheed considered fitting bombs to the SR-71 (Bomb anywhere in the world in 3 hours??) but for some reason - probably funding or because it would demand an opponent from the Soviets- decided not to. Probably too much of a one-trick pony for DCS. But what a trick

Not everytime I fly this mission. I haven't really gotten deep into other missions - I've only be scratching the surface with the aircraft. The trigger seems to be taking off before the C-17. I don't play online at all, and don't have the RAM to load lots. I'll make a few more tries tomorrow and see.

I've had this happen twice now while playing this mission, always after taking off and usually on the way to the very first waypoint - or slightly after it. The commonality between both times appearrs to be taking off after the F-15's, but before the big 4 engine yoke that follows them

It is, arguable, less of a pain when stalled than the other warbirds. It's the one I like the most. What usually ends up with me punching up ctrl-r for a retry on a prop' is either a snap stall on take-off caused by an early lift - or too much alpha - or a stall on landing caused by not enough speed, or too much alpha again on the flare. Where everything else is inverting and striking the wing and cartwheeling and flaming, the 109 has enough authority to drop the opposing wing and level the nose. It also seems to float far better than the other planes. Those slats really make a nice, big float. It's the second easiest to get off the ground, the easiest warbird to land and the only thing that keeps it from being the easiest to outright fly is the lack of roll and rudder trim, but even then in level flight at 400-450kph it settles in with only the torque from the engine to give a slight roll. That is, of course, the subjective FM. The only place it's ever a pain is on the initial lift-off, when under power. Or if you're not too careful on the landing with the thing. Also amusing to compare with that Other Mouse Guided 'sim', where the engine melts itself under WEP - while I'm just blasting up at full MW50 at 20-30m/sec. It just wants to go up. Models in 2.2 feel 'snatchier'. But that might just be an FPS thing. Especially when there's a lot going on. Also, bind the MW50 button to something you won't accidentally hit at full throttle - it cuts off the water, but not the boost. It's a great way to get some gliding experience.

Might be a sign of hot gas ingestion and recirculation? I've only ever seen it when I'm doing high-G sustained VIFF turn and the speed drops right off under maximum throttle.

Doesn't seem like they're ready yet. But they will come. It's not actually that hard an aircraft to get going from cold and dark, mind. Some steps don't exist yet - like waiting on the INS - but of all the modules i've played it's so far been the easiest to play 'guess the button'.

Cold and Dark Give it fuel. Give it fire, give it that which it desires. Making the warning lights out and it'll fly grand. It's really not the hardest aircraft to get going once you realise every aircraft needs power, fuel and then engine start. The only trick you might miss is the parking brake, and powering the flaps.

For the first time I face an aircraft with no tutorials, no Chuck's guides and without getting to the youtube how-toos. It's actually one of the easiest aircraft to get going once you realise it needs Battery, Generator, Fuel, Engine Start, then punch switches until the caution lights go out. It's also stupidly easy to leand because if you're sinking too fast - or coming in too quick, just use the nozzles to slow down or boost your glide. Can't hover worth shit with an xbox controller mind, but I can fly this better than any other aircraft. Also, High G turns at full throttle and the nozzles set to 90 degrees. I'd imagine it'd surprise anyone looking for an easy kill. A better than 1:1 thrust ratio is a glorious thing