Fly the F-4E in the 480th vTFS today!

pantasauras · June 23

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Welcome to the 480th vTFS!
I'm Josh, or if you prefer "Cooper".
I've been a part of the flight sim community for years now, since I was only 16 during the times of Rise of Flight. I've always been extremely passionate about aviation, but one aspect of aviation that I can never get enough of - is Cold War era aviation.
Big birds like the Eagle, or Tomcat, or more relevant to this post, the Phantom have always been some of my favorite aircraft ever.

Now with the F-4 in DCS and the Cold War Germany map, I can start a true passion project of mine - starting a Cold War era F-4 Wild Weasel squadron in DCS - with a focus on flying how they flew. Flying the real patterns around Spang', flying the real approaches, using the tactics they used... etc.

What is in the 480th vTFS?

An easy-going, open-minded, friendly atmosphere, with passionate like-minded people looking to simulate what it was like in the 480th TFS during the 70s and 80s as realistically as possible, without making it a second job.
Custom made skins that were researched to match the paintjobs of the real 480th jets during the 70s and 80s.
Custom made in-flight guides for Spangdahlem and the areas around it. These use as much information from the 80s as we can get (albeit this information is very limited), and the rest is inferred from modern FLIPs, and other FLIPs from the 80s.
Regular, weekly coordination and collaboration with the REFORGER community in DCS.
An atmosphere of learning. We're all passionate about this hobby, and as you probably know, this hobby involves a LOT of learning. We'll all learn from mistakes. From mistakes while flying, to mistakes in my research, and as time goes on, we'll have a better and more realistic group for us to fly in

What are the requirements to join?

You must be at least 18 years old.
You must own the Heatblur F-4E module.
You must own the Ugra Media Cold War Germany Map
You must have SRS downloaded and installed
And finally, you must have a working microphone and HOTAS.

If you're interested in joining, come stop by our Discord group!

Me and my wingman Mobile after the last REFORGER Joint Training Exercise

pantasauras · July 1

480th vTFS Weekly Report

Next week is the large force exercise, REFORGER, so me and my wingman Mobile went out to the Polygone EW range along with the crews from JaBoG 35 in the second REFORGER Joint Training Exercise. Our focus this week was to refine our ability to meet a time on target whilst also fulfilling our task successfully. We also debuted a new weapon this week - the AGM-78A STARM. The difference between the shrike and the STARM is like night and day. Despite some issues with switchology, we were able to launch a STARM down the throat of an SA-6 training target, taking it offline. Both my flight (Miller flight) and JaBoG 35's flight (Knight 4) made their ToT right on time. Almost the exact moment the SA-6 came offline, Knight 4 was able to fly into it's missile range, and hammer the training airfield target we had setup at the Grostenquin range.
We also learned a VERY valuable lesson. Jammers attract ARM's the same way a SAM emitter does. We had a few lucky near misses where one of my shrikes tracked on the flight lead of Knight flight, and later on, my wingman's STARM went right after the #2 of Knight flight, and thankfully missed.
It's incredibly enjoyable to learn how to coordinate with groups like JaBoG 35 better and better with each flight we do.
All the while - pilots from the Iron Curtain Aviators Group, specifically flying as the

It really amazing to see how well both Miller and Knight performed; on the previous REFORGER JTE, we were able to hit the target successfully, but my flight's timing was very off, and we arrived at the target almost one and a half minutes too early.

One thing that feels truly special about these REFORGER JTE's is how "alive" the airspace feels. On the way back to base during the first REFORGER JTE I watched the A-10's from TDCS hammer their training targets at the Baumholder range.

Here are some photos from the sortie!