Bird Down
Use shift+5 view to see undersides of Hornet as you manouever
for the catapult slot. This view comes in handy. Launch off carrier and
head towards Waypoint One. You'll see the AWACS ahead of you, heading into
unfriendly territory at a dangerous pace. Climb as fast as you can, keeping
a heading towards the incoming bogies. Use A/B sparingly to keep speed up
while ascending to 15,000 ft. This gives you look-down advantage, and
'smash', the store of potential kinetic energy essential in a dogfight.
One the defenses are cleared, you may proceed to dismantle the airfield at
your leisure. Where buildings are close to one another, drop your Mk-82 HD
(singly) between the two; you should destroy both. Then there's the oil
storage tank, that goes up with a well-aimed burst of M-61 cannon-fire.
The other structure susceptible to Vulcan shells is the red-and-white radar
shack. Aim carefully, and don't fly into the ground in your enthusiasm to
erase these two from the face of the earth. The green triangle that plays
host to the main control tower is a good point to aim for, but it requires
a bomb to destroy. As it is a solitary target, it's less fruitful than the
hangar and secondary tower which will go up with one well-placed
bomb.
The squadron (my nine remaining alter egos) has just completed
an evening's flying Bird Down. Mission id=02. We're doing them in order,
skipping Homecoming of course. So we're back at base. One buddy didn't make
it home, ploughed his Hornet into the control tower on the Iraqi airbase.
But eight Hornet drivers made it back to Safwan Airbase. Captain Wilkens
returned home every time in what must be the easiest mission of them all.
And yes, enemy skills/weapons effectiveness were turned up to max.
Kit: Take the following - Two Sidewinders,four AIM-120s, two AGM-88s and a
pair of Mk-82 High Drags on the centre line.
Tactics: Use shift+5 view (underbelly) to get your nose over the cat. A
truly practical use for this bizarre view. Lock onto cat. Full A/B, nose
genuflects before brakes come off and... we're away.
Select Waypoint One, hit autopilot to get a heading. Once you know where
you're meant to be going, cut A/P and climb to around 15,000 ft, keeping
speed as high as poss. without wasting fuel on long afterburning session.
Select RWR on hud, switch radar to air-to-air RWS mode. Note the incoming
bogies (Get in the habit of using IFF - you will need it in this mission).
Keep a tab on the bogies. By now, you should have overhauled the AWACS,
which has been flying at an unrealistic 9,000 ft flying unrealistically
over Iraq.
Get ready for the Big Dogfight...
As *both* bogies get into ACM range have all four AIM-120s ready to go. POP
'EM ALL OFF AT AROUND SEVEN MILES. Criss-cross them - Number one at nearest
MiG, no. two at his wingman, no. three at first MiG, no. four at wingman
again. DO THIS VERY QUICKLY. They will by now be firing. Kill radar, switch
on ECM (press 'S' and 'C' simultaneously). Using your 'smash', the
potential kinetic energy stored by your 10,000 ft height advantage, dive
quickly to lose the incoming. Keep an eye on the RWR... at M1/M0 pull the
Big One-Eighty amid a shower of chaff and flares. Watch out for the Gees.
You may well now be facing several incoming missiles. Heavy jinks should do
the trick. By now, one or both MiGs will be smoking. If one survives,
switch on ACM radar, select the Limas and hunt him down. He's after the
helo, so his back's turned (probably). Usually easy meat. Hose him with
Vulcan fire if he survives. Remember to use IFF before shooting, there's
friendlies about...
Assuming all goes well, the fun part of this mission is to set TACAN
waypoint 1 A/P, fly there at around 750 ft, and then let the autopilot give
you a circular holding pattern around Capt. Wilkens' downed Hornet. Note
his tent, and the S.O.S in the sand. Get a '5' view of the UH-60 (an SH-60
Seahawk, purists) coming in to pick up the downed Captain. It's a shame you
don't get a glimpse of him doing a sprint to the helo from his tent...
All of that is nice to watch once, but Hornet Heros head off in search of
More Glory - in the shape of that enemy airbase north-west on the other
side of the river. It's the same one we had in Black Gold, but this time,
no scrambled MiGs. So it's kill the AAA and mop the place up.
Radar set to ARAD, we use the two contacts off the AAA batteries to locate
the base. Fly at 10,000 ft as you get within 10 miles of the base, prepare
a 6/6 HARM strike against both AAA sites. Launch at 6,000 ft/6 miles. Both
AAAs should die. Then it's unopposed demolition. Drop an Mk-82 HD between
the control tower and hangar, (both should go up) the remaining bomb should
be targeted at the main control tower on the green triangle. Use M-61
shells on the fuel storage tank and red-and-white radar shack.
Set controls for Waypoint Two, Safwan AFB (Three is the carrier). Watch out
for Capt. Wilkens' helo headed back to Safwan - should take him some while
to get home (it's nice to watch in '5' view as the SH-60 touches down to
deliver the rescued flyer)
Now *that's* Mission Accomplished; and anything up to 12,000 points - Two
fighters, two offense and up to five buildings.
Order of targets:
1. Incoming MiG-23s
2. AAA batteries (x2) defending enemy airbase
3. Airbase buildings/storage tank
Tricky moments:
1. Initial dogfight with the two MiGs
2. Er... that's it!
Good luck men!
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