F-15C Eagle

[krazycolin]

Here are some WIPs of the F-15C Eagle. We're about to start the paint job on this one while we wait for the F-15E to arrive. Fortunately, they use the same fuselage and major parts... with the exception of the canopy and the conformal fuel tanks.

The cockpit is in final layout and paint and we're quite happy with the way this one is turning out.

Note that the afterburner petal operation systems will be fully functional. Note also the gear bays... (nice!)

The VC is now being laid out and weathered.

Comments and crits are welcome.

KC.

[Warrant]

Great work, great bird! :applause:

[BananaBob]

One of the best fighters, ever! Looking sweet!! :ernae:

[RyanJames170]

looks interesting
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[jmig]

Drools! Need a Beta tester ????? Please, please!!!!

[VFR Reviews]

Lookin great! Keep up the good work :ernae:

[MenendezDiego]

One of my instructors at school was as of late an F-15C driver, and one of the few USAF F-18 pilots...can I be a beta tester and show him :) PLEASE PLEASE PLEASE ;)

Regards, Diego

[krazycolin]

We're not quite that close to being ready ... I will keep it in mind though.

[MenendezDiego]

Thanks. It's about time someone stepped up to make a new F-15C/E

You guys are gods

[Lionheart]

Beautiful bird! Awesome model work.

I have always loved the F-15. We used to have some stationed here in Phoenix. I was sorry to see them leave..



Bill

[gajit]

Soopa doopa work :applause:

[krazycolin]

Thanks for the compliments...

Here's the final afterburners... the control and push rods are fully functional and work as the actual ones do.

These are renders however, there is no special lighting. All shading has been baked in. The texture on the sides where it says "NO PUSH" is still WIP.

Thanks for looking...

(ya want me to keep on posting as we move along?)

Maybe it would be a good idea to create a WIP area? That way, we're not getting in the way of "regular business"....

kc

[BananaBob]

That's a very intricate part of the plane and you've got it looking about as good as I ever seen it, can't wait to see all the arms working while throttling up. :ernae: :medals::medals:

[Railrunner130]

Nice cans! (I meant on the F-15.) Seeing those provokes a question/comment/suggestion/stupid idea. Do you plan on doing the F-15 ACTIVE? It's the modified airplane that uses an extra pair of elevators for canards and has thrust vectoring nozzles on the engine.

http://www.dfrc.nasa.gov/Gallery/Photo/F-15ACTIVE/Small/EC96-43456-1.jpg

[krazycolin]

No, we're not going to be doing that one. What with the complexity of the F-15C and E, plus all the ordnance that we plan on having, there would be no way that we would be able to do that one too. Certainly not and have it done in the next decade.

[DennyA]

Colin,

Since you're doing the C and E, any chance of doing a "D"? Seems it would be pretty easy to do a D as well, dropping the E cockpit into the C model.

I got to fly back-seat in a D at Tyndall a while back, so I'd love to recreate that experience.

Guaranteed at least one extra sale. :)

[Bone]

Thanks for looking...

(ya want me to keep on posting as we move along?)

Maybe it would be a good idea to create a WIP area? That way, we're not getting in the way of "regular business"....

kc

Keep them coming. Go ahead and throw in the F-100 WIP shots, too.

[mfitch]

Beautiful bird! Awesome model work.

I have always loved the F-15. We used to have some stationed here in Phoenix. I was sorry to see them leave..



Bill

They are leaving Anchorage (Elmendorf) soon as well. Ours have been replaced by the F-22.

[krazycolin]

Colin,

Since you're doing the C and E, any chance of doing a "D"? Seems it would be pretty easy to do a D as well, dropping the E cockpit into the C model.

I got to fly back-seat in a D at Tyndall a while back, so I'd love to recreate that experience.

Guaranteed at least one extra sale. :)

What differences would the D have from the E and the C?

In fact, other than the "Fast Pack" conformal fuel cells, the different avionics, different weapons control systems and the second pit, what's different about the E as compared to the C? (minor antennae aside)

I would be very interested in peoples opinions on this one...

thanks,

kc.

[DennyA]

The D is essentially the C with the second cockpit. It has the C's performance, rather than the lessened perf of the E, and the same systems as a C. So essentially, it's the C with the second pit and larger canopy of the E.

The fast pack fuel tanks and other changes in the E make it perform quite differently. I remember CJ Martin explaining this when the Greater Usenet Whining Society were b*tching why they couldn't fly ballistic climbouts in Jane's F-15.

[krazycolin]

Right... so, physically, it's the E... with the flight charasterics of the C. I don't think that will be much of a problem... Just take the C FDE and put it in the E dir... and a repaint of course...

I will consider this...

thanks,

kc.

[DennyA]

Thanks for considering it, kc! Yep, it's the E without the CFT fast packs and the extra pylons. (Essentially, if you took the nose of the E, chopped it off at the air intakes, and glued it to the rear section of the C, you have the D. :)

[krazycolin]

Er... the nose of the E and C are the same mate... it's just the canopy that's different.

Just as an FYI, the Fast Packs will be removable and/or addable (not a word till now) as you wish it. So it will be easy enough for someone somewhere to do it for you should we decide not to make a livery for the D.

We'll have to see...

kc.

[Rezabrya]

I won't lie...I am very interested in this. Please please do me a favor Colin and make this one of your best planes. I have always loved Modern Fighters and I wondered why not many of them have been done. I can not wait for this F-15 and I hope it is a top notch product so I can buy it. Please consider doing more modern fighters after this one too as you will have a guarenteed customer in me. Planes like the F-22, F-35, and F-4 deserve to be done.

[Smudge]

I might be wrong, but as far as I recall, the D cockpit is completely different to that of the E. So in doing a D, you're likely to need to rework the exterior cockpit and interior cockpit too.

Just putting the C FDE in the E model doesn't necessarily make it a D.

[centuryseries]

I might be wrong, but as far as I recall, the D cockpit is completely different to that of the E. So in doing a D, you're likely to need to rework the exterior cockpit and interior cockpit too.

Just putting the C FDE in the E model doesn't necessarily make it a D.

You're not wrong! Cockpit of the D is not the same as an E - its more like the C but not exactly like the C from the photos I've just looked at.

[krazycolin]

Then, for sure, we're not doing the D. Sorry about that. (thanks David!).

Two of this type, with all the detail we're doing, is enough...

kc.

[DennyA]

Well, I don't care if all the instruments are in the right spots anyway. When I flew in the real F-15D, I was looking out the canopy, not counting the rivets. :)

Sounds like I could set up the E without the CFTs and external stores, copy the airfile from the C, and have a pretty good approximation other than the instruments in the pit, assuming you'll be able to sit in the back seat of the E.

[krazycolin]

Short answer to the "guy in back" is MAYBE. It's modeled and painted and we're looking at making it operational.... It would have to be MP compatible and we shall see. Missions would be nice too.... Not sure if we have the time or the will to do those as well but we shall see.

kc

[krazycolin]

Right, so, here we go on the loadouts...

In discussions with the company that we are in partnership for this plane, we're looking at about 7 loadouts for the E including clean and ferry and 6 for the C.

Now comes the question:

Which ones would you like to have? AGM? bunker busters? CBU's? dumb bombs? combo packs?

Not sure a poll is a good choice....

Btw, they will. of course, be droppable... and we might be able to even have the smart weapons "steerable"...

thoughts?

kc.

[krazycolin]

Here's the weapon types and load-outs we're going to offer. It's still possible to add one or two (maybe) but I think these are pretty common setups. Placement of the weapons is incorrect for some them and I know that but it's because I've not finished the Fast Pack conformals so I can't place them on there....

Needless to say, there will be a "clean" version. When you drop these, the way the plane fly's will change as well as your fuel usage...

ANYWAY...

here ya go... hope you like....

Oh yeah, textures are, obviously, still WIP.

kc...

[BananaBob]

Wow, this is gonna be awesome! :applause:

[tigisfat]

I won't lie...I am very interested in this. Please please do me a favor Colin and make this one of your best planes. I have always loved Modern Fighters and I wondered why not many of them have been done. I can not wait for this F-15 and I hope it is a top notch product so I can buy it. Please consider doing more modern fighters after this one too as you will have a guarenteed customer in me. Planes like the F-22, F-35, and F-4 deserve to be done.


Please remember that Kolin does not finish/release his models himself. He is one of the best model makers in this business, and he serves us through selling his products to developers such as Aerosoft and Alphasim. Some, if not many of your favorite military products over the last few years have been models made by Milviz. You may even see Milviz products used in CGI in the audio/visual and entertainment industry.

If you want this F-15, or any of his other projects save a few, you must beg a developer to purchase it and tie the strings together, not ask him to release it. :guinness:

[Panther_99FS]

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[krazycolin]

Just as an FYI, I did none of the animations above as posted by Panther for Tigisfat.

As well, things have changed yet again. At this point, we've decided that we would like to maintain final control over most of our products, as well as advertising rights and that can't happen if we merely sell the rights or the license. So we are now looking for partnerships rather than just for buyers. However, we already have a company of interest for this project and we are certain that the results will be a surprise and a pleasant one at that.

kc.

[Tweek]

Right, so, here we go on the loadouts...

In discussions with the company that we are in partnership for this plane, we're looking at about 7 loadouts for the E including clean and ferry and 6 for the C.

Now comes the question:

Which ones would you like to have? AGM? bunker busters? CBU's? dumb bombs? combo packs?

Not sure a poll is a good choice....

Btw, they will. of course, be droppable... and we might be able to even have the smart weapons "steerable"...

thoughts?

kc.

Not sure if this is what you were planning or not, but how about each weapon can be added or taken away as you please by using the weights section in the fuel/loadout options, as the likes of Dave Garwood and Rick Piper used on the Hunter and Hawk. That way you only need to start with the base clean model, then add pylons, weapons, tanks and pods as you please.

[Chuck_Jodry-VJPL]

Clicking on an icon or picture in a loadout menu is a more likely scenario .

[krazycolin]

There ya go! A menu!

Here's the list of weapons that we plan on offering. This list is still not set in concrete yet though I believe it's a good choice. If you have suggestions or comments, now is the time cause I am mixing the concrete now (painting the textures).

Jdam's
GBU-12
GBU-10
CBU-87
GBU-28 (Bunker Buster)
Litening Pod
Sniper Pod
Fuel tanks

There you have it. Given the amount of "space" on a Strike Eagle, you will be able to carry a HUGE amount of weapons...


kc.

[centuryseries]

Call me a party pooper, but I would've preferred to see the aircraft when its in FSX being beta tested, and you have everything else related to publishing it sorted out - otherwise it seems to be something to get all excited about that might (I say might) never appear in FSX!!

The models certainly do like nice, but until you have gauges in the VC etc it's all pie in the sky for me.

I love the F-15's, don't get me wrong. But this could end up being a thread that goes on forever with continual "are we there yet" questions.

Just my 2c.

Did I say how good the models look! :ernae:

[krazycolin]

We are so not big on vaporware. The thing is, the YF-23, which is looking nearly there (a week, two weeks?) uses nearly the same systems as the F-15E (it's the same pit) and the C isn't that different from the E (at least in the front seat). That means that the gauges and MFD's and HUD systems are pretty much already built. some mods will have to be made but overall, much of the same systems are used in both. The flight model is completely different mind you as are the capabilities but... methods and tech... pretty much the same. So, technically speaking, it's in beta already because that's where the YF-23 is! :)

All that means is that we're on track for a release after the YF-23 and the P-38J/L.

This is why I asked that we might have a WIP area. That way, it doesn't have to go anywhere.
I'm not one to hide what we're working on. I like to get the comments and crits out of the way, if at all possible, as it gets built. And this is a good way to do that.

I am very glad you like the models.

kc.

[MenendezDiego]

I really hope the F-15E and F-15C cockpits don't look anything like the YF-23 ones do when finished. From what I saw in the photos on FSD's website...it looks like IMHO an old..OLD...Iris cockpit.

I think for aircraft of such model quality as the F-15's, we need the cockpit to turn out like the Aerosoft F-16, or the A2A P-47D.

It would be a real shame to get these F-15's, and end up with cockpits of the quality, or lack there of, that the YF-23 shows.

I'm not saying the modeling is bad on the YF-23, just the finished cockpit. It looks bland.


Regards, Diego

[krazycolin]

Bland? Do you mean not weathered? If so, then that would be perfectly normal for the YF-23 as the pits were pulled off the F-15E factory floor and were brand, spanking new.

If you check out the first page of this WIP, you'll see that we've started weathering the F-15C's pit and will do the same to the E.

I won't comment on the F-16's pit or the P-47. But, that said, in general, our cockpits are all weathered. (check out the Hellcat, the Corsair, the P-38 etc etc)

In this case though, the plane was only flown for about 2 weeks, if that and would have been pretty much brand new at the time of "retirement" and we like to get as accurate to real life as we can.

kc

[MenendezDiego]

Understandable. I have both the Corsair and Hellcat, and love them

Regards, Diego

[krazycolin]

Good stuff!

We really do try and get that "lived in" feel in our stuff, but for this one, it just didn't make any sense.

Our main problem with these two (F-15C and F-15E) is that because the pits are different we're going to have to do everything twice (possibly 3?)... But that's ok, cause we only have to do the fuselage once! Phew!

They are all ready modeled and painted are now awaiting layout and weathering. Once that's done, into FSX they go. (VC's only. Fuselage(s) are still being worked on)

kc

[BananaBob]

Good stuff!

We really do try and get that "lived in" feel in our stuff, but for this one, it just didn't make any sense.

Our main problem with these two (F-15C and F-15E) is that because the pits are different we're going to have to do everything twice (possibly 3?)... But that's ok, cause we only have to do the fuselage once! Phew!

They are all ready modeled and painted are now awaiting layout and weathering. Once that's done, into FSX they go. (VC's only. Fuselage(s) are still being worked on)

kc

Do you know how the texture sheets are going to be laid out?

[krazycolin]

Do you know how the texture sheets are going to be laid out?

Could you be a bit more specific?

[krazycolin]

If you mean, will we be laying out the VC's textures such that a re-painter could go over them and mod them, then no. They will be laid out on 2K sheets and done so in as tight a manner as possible to keep resolution as high as can be. We don't release paint kits for the VC's.

If you are talking about the exterior of the plane, that's something I'm going to start tomorrow. I'm open to suggestions if you have them. I realize that all re-painters wish to get a model that has ease of use, but our problem is that we want to make it as accurate and as nice as possible. The two, rarely, if ever, meet. (look at Vista)

That said, if you wish, we can hire you to do the UV layouts and that way, you get what you want and we get what we want.

:mixedsmi:

kc.

[Chuck_Jodry-VJPL]

"The First time I ever saw a jet, I shot it down." Chuck Yeager USAF


I had the inestimable pleasure of watching the “ Right Stuff “ last night ,and for the first time with my son who knew nothing of the story , let alone what it means to be a Test Pilot.<?xml:namespace prefix = o ns = "urn:schemas-microsoft-com:office:office" /><o:p></o:p>


If ever there was a film about being a Test Pilot that had to be among the best ever done, and the planes the Chuck got to fly , that 104 looked really sharp, the X1 and any of the others he got to use before they became “ Used “ are what this FY-23 has captured.<o:p></o:p>
The appeal of a new car is much the same , there is a smell to them that i can almost detect and doing my test flights with the YF-23 , not a scratch on it , spotless , pristine condition, it’s something of an almost tangible feeling i get when putting an aircraft together , that feeling of being the first to see it in action , its one i have with some frequency in my job , and my namesake , the other Chuck , Mr Yeager knew that feeling well i think , its one we all will be able to share once the YF-23 is released ....<o:p></o:p>
<o:p></o:p>

[Gibbage]

I'm not saying the modeling is bad on the YF-23, just the finished cockpit. It looks bland.


Regards, Diego

Honestly, thats sort of how it is. Your not going to find much dirt in something as advanced as the YF-23. Back in WWII, things were dirty, gritty, and in a war. Cleaning things was not a top priority. Now, we have the polar opposite, in the YF-23. Its kept in a clean environment, maintained meticulously, and quite frankly baby'd. Im sure you can find plenty of warn F-15 cockpits though since they have been flying for many many years, but lets not compair it to the YF-23. I think the F-22 may also be in the same catagory, if it ever comes along. Having a warn and dirty prototype cockpit just feels wierd.

[MenendezDiego]

I didn't mean so much as dirty. Just the over all colors. The black is too bland if you will. The hud isn't too great either.

I hope with this F-15 series that we can get a hud similar to the Aerosoft F-16 or even the Iris Pro F-14

[krazycolin]

Well, I think I'll take a closer look at that texture and see if I can maybe play with it a bit.

[MenendezDiego]

Whatever works. I'll still end up buying it :mixedsmi:

Now that I think of it, it reminds me of a mix between the Iris F-15E and Iris E.A.P. VC

[tigisfat]

Can we get a link to these photos? I'd like to see.

[MenendezDiego]

http://www.fsd-international.com/Hangar/YF23/Index.htm

The photo from milviz looks alot better and more natural...

http://www.milviz.com/_portfolio/01_Fighters/F-23%20Black%20Widow%20II/main9.jpg

[krazycolin]

Uh... yah... one is a render using GI and the other is in the game. Blame FSX and not us. Soft shadows are created by GI renderings and real-life. Something, unfortunately, we all know that FSX doesn't do well.

I think you'll just have to wait and see. We'll get some of the beta testers to post some pics... The ones on the FSD site are still WIP. Even though it doesn't say that it should be obvious as the product isn't released yet.

Once it is released, FSD will change the images in which stuff has changed. The overall "blackness" is not quite as dark anymore and there are other aesthetic changes, not least of which the "steam gauges".

You'll see and I am pretty sure you will be happy about it too.

kc.

[MenendezDiego]

Ok, that makes alot more sense :)

[Gibbage]

Ya. I try not to show off any of my P-38 stuff in full render with soft shadows and stuff. Tends to give the wrong impression. We COULD bake in soft shadows into the texture and make it look like that, but the shadows wont move when you roll the aircraft or change directions. Its a give and take in what we can and cant bake in. Reflections are in the same boat. We still need to depend on the game engine to do the final rendering.

P.S. When we are baking textures, it takes many hours to do 1 frame using systems with quad core CPU's and 4+ gigs of RAM. Its not something that can be done live.

[krazycolin]

That pic comes off of our site which is not the FSX site. It's the film ready models....

Here are the WIP's as promised... The first is screenshot in DX9 so is representative of the FSX view. The second is a render but pulled out and the third is part of a texture map layout.

Hope you like. We're going to be finished the C pit by the weekend... Off to the coders!!!

kc.

[Gibbage]

Good stuff! THATS the sort of weathering you get an a well used aircraft!

[BananaBob]

Looking good! :applause:

[krazycolin]

yah... we're all quite happy with the way it's looking. No one need worry... it's going to look AND fly really well...

kc

[Bone]

Coming soon I hope.

[krazycolin]

ACES II seating for one!!!!

[krazycolin]

Here's our pilot. He's just been finished and though he is wearing a Navy emergency pack, by removing that we have our USAF pilot! And that is exactly how he will look in game. The poly count on the model is exceptionally low. All the bumps and details are in the normal map!

kc

[Tweek]

Very, very nice indeed!:applause:

[crashaz]

If you ever put the USAF pilot in a Navy jet, just make sure you add a wet spot because that's what that pilot would be feeling landing on a carrier deck. :icon_lol:

[peter12213]

I want it now lol how long do you guys think she'll take and how much will she cost £££ not that that's a problem lol!!
Plus mate i wouldn't mind a pilot in a life jacket the guys at lakenheath UK wear em!!

[krazycolin]

Still more WIPs of the VC of the F-15C. Almost done the main panels. Side panels tonight or tomorrow.

Once done, it's off to the coders. No specific timeline. Sorry. Not sure about the life vest but we shall see.

Oh yeah, only the first one is a render. The other three are DX9 and are representative of what you will see in FSX. Anything multicolored is not yet mapped.

thanks,

kc

[tigisfat]

I am quite possibly one of the most discriminating among the active members of this community. I don't like being sold crap products, and I say so when something stinks. That being said, I can't see what's wrong with the black widow or F-15 VCs. They both look first rate to me, even without severe weathering. They don't look cartoony at all. What exactly was the problem from a few pages back again?

[VFR Reviews]

Awesome Colin :D


Your modeling is always exceptional :ernae:

[MenendezDiego]

I am quite possibly one of the most discriminating among the active members of this community. I don't like being sold crap products, and I say so when something stinks. That being said, I can't see what's wrong with the black widow or F-15 VCs. They both look first rate to me, even without severe weathering. They don't look cartoony at all. What exactly was the problem from a few pages back again?

Well one issue was the HUD looks like the old FS9 Iris F-15E HUD...it's 2009

[MenendezDiego]

And I never said anything bad about the F-15C/E...

[deathfromafar]

Well one issue was the HUD looks like the old FS9 Iris F-15E HUD...it's 2009

The shape of the FSD/Milviz YF-23 HUD is correct. It is from an F-15E and as the real one appears, it looks very bland in detail. The original YF-23's as well as the YF-22's used many off-the-shelf components from other aircraft to help save both time and money getting the planes from raw material & design to the air for the ATF fly-off competition. If you look at cockpit photos of the real prototypes, you will see components from other familiar Fighter cockpits.

[MenendezDiego]

Not the glass itself, but the data depicted on the hud...altitude, air speed, heading, just looks cheesy to me. Expected alot more (Aerosoft did it right with the F-16, and Iris got it right with the F-14 Pro)

Just my two cents. Like I said, I'll still buy it

[deathfromafar]

Not the glass itself, but the data depicted on the hud...altitude, air speed, heading, just looks cheesy to me. Expected alot more (Aerosoft did it right with the F-16, and Iris got it right with the F-14 Pro)

Just my two cents. Like I said, I'll still buy it

I understand what you're pointing out but the data and layout is pretty close to being right for that era. At the time, that HUD design and that Data layout was quite advanced. I remember seeing the first F-16A HUD's back in the late 70's. The Data on them flickered and framed so slowly you'd think you were watching a slide show! LOL! All of that hardware and the software powering them gradually improved and was MSIP upgraded as time went along.

Perhaps the YF-23 HUD detail could be "outlined/shaded" a bit to add detail. Just a guess.

[MenendezDiego]

I guess we just got spoiled with Aerosoft's HUD :icon_lol:

No doubt though this will be a fun bird to fly

[some1]

The shape of the FSD/Milviz YF-23 HUD is correct. It is from an F-15E and as the real one appears, it looks very bland in detail. The original YF-23's as well as the YF-22's used many off-the-shelf components from other aircraft to help save both time and money getting the planes from raw material & design to the air for the ATF fly-off competition. If you look at cockpit photos of the real prototypes, you will see components from other familiar Fighter cockpits.

What I see on the screens of the FSD/Milviz YF-23 are MFD's, HUD and Radio gauges borrowed from the stock F/A-18 Hornet that ships with FSX: Acceleration. These gauges look good, but they are not from F-15E ;) The gauges look good but the HUD looks a bit weird here because it's streched. Hornet has a narrow HUD, and here the same symbology is streched to fit a much wider frame.

[gajit]

I am quite possibly one of the most discriminating among the active members of this community. I don't like being sold crap products, and I say so when something stinks. That being said, I can't see what's wrong with the black widow or F-15 VCs. They both look first rate to me, even without severe weathering. They don't look cartoony at all. What exactly was the problem from a few pages back again?


I agree - compared to some of the rubbish I have bought just lately this looks superb. Very promising.

[deathfromafar]

What I see on the screens of the FSD/Milviz YF-23 are MFD's, HUD and Radio gauges borrowed from the stock F/A-18 Hornet that ships with FSX: Acceleration. These gauges look good, but they are not from F-15E ;) The gauges look good but the HUD looks a bit weird here because it's streched. Hornet has a narrow HUD, and here the same symbology is streched to fit a much wider frame.

Still close overall. The MFD's that were used in the AFT prototypes as well as other cockpit hardware were a mix and match from F-15C/E's and F/A-18's.
The Kaiser HUD was used in at least one of the YF-23's or maybe both at some point. The symbology with the FSD version is not necessarily wrong nor 100% perfect and yes maybe stretched a tad too wide to fit. No biggie though.

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[Chuck_Jodry-VJPL]

We seem to be discussing a couple of different aircraft in the same thread , planes that don’t necessarily have the same feature set at release, nor the same design philosophy or price point. <?xml:namespace prefix = o ns = "urn:schemas-microsoft-com:office:office" /><o:p></o:p>
<o:p></o:p>
The HUD from the YF-23 is based on the version from Acceleration with the addition of being stabilized and having the horizon indicator track the horizon below a threshold altitude, the economies afforded in the real aircraft in cost savings are also at work here as we wanted to ensure that the model was affordable by avoiding unnecessary development costs .<o:p></o:p>
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There are 31 custom gauges developed specifically for the YF-23 and many hundreds of lines of XML code in the model to duplicate the highly automated systems that operated the aircraft , every switch in the aircraft is modeled and animated with the weapons system the sole exception being it was not part of the test aircraft, but the weapons system could be part of an addon package if there is a demand for it , this remains to be seen but being that the aircraft never had functional weapons their inclusion at this point seemed unrealistic and expensive to incorporate.<o:p></o:p>
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The F15 is an operational Fighter Jet and will receive the fullest consideration of all systems and loadouts , same for the P38 where the systems will be fully modelled to the smallest detail of historical accuracy , but these details come at a price, like fully realistic system management it’s a price that not everybody is willing to pay for and in the current market we are trying our best to ensure everybody gets what it is they want, and how they want it.<o:p></o:p>
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Our YF- 23 is designed from the start to appeal to our capacity for “ fun “ , it’s as realistic as we determined it should be and the use of the base system from the default F18 saved each purchaser $25 bucks , we figured that was a good deal and hope most will agree , fortunately i also made the model so any HUD can be installed and be stabilized as well as track the horizon .

As an aside the pictures of the first HUD are from an initial build prior to being stabilized and having the tracking enabled , below is how it now appears and it's no longer quite that wide .

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[some1]

Our YF- 23 is designed from the start to appeal to our capacity for “ fun “ , it’s as realistic as we determined it should be and the use of the base system from the default F18 saved each purchaser $25 bucks

That's why I'm not complaining :)

Looks much better now.