eFalcon 1.09 Preview - By Mark "Frugal" Bush - Page 1 of 2
Who'd have thought that roughly 18 months after Hasbro pulled the plug on Falcon 4 we'd be sitting here awaiting the release of a new version of Falcon 4. Yet that is the position we now find ourselves in. In the near future the eTeam will be releasing eFalcon 1.09 This is the first version of Falcon 4 with a version number above 1.08, and it's fully justified as with 1.09 comes a new set of features turning Falcon 4 into a whole new ball game. It's time to hit the books again because a lot has changed.
One significant change is the installation. Many people had a lot of problems getting their head around the installation for 10799. You'll be pleased to know this has been addressed in 1.09. The installation is as simple as you can get. Install F4, patch to 1.08, patch to 1.09. During the installation of 1.09 icons for eFalcon 1.09 and the 1.09 config editor are placed on your desktop. Once the installation is complete you can run the config editor to select your desired 1.09 options. Now you are ready to fly. The 1.09 2D and 3D cockpits are also installed by using simple installers. From here you can fire up F4Patch 4 (soon to be released) and add any skins and other patches you desire. F4Patch sorts patches into eFalcon and i2 making that process easier too.
The best way to demonstrate the differences in 1.09 is to describe the mission that I've just flown.
My mission for today is just a simple barcap taking off from Seoul at 9:10 am on day one of the campaign. I check the briefing to make sure there are no surprises then hit the print button and collect the briefing from my printer in case I need to refer to it in the jet. I then check the map and notice that activity is fairly light so far this morning so I opt to take a loadout of Aim 120's. Hitting fly I elect to start on the ramp and find myself in the jet awaiting preflight 8 minutes prior to my take off time. I spend a few minutes looking for my checklist and meanwhile hear my wingman's jet power up, it looks like my AI wingman had his checklist closer to hand than mine :)
With the checklist in hand I run through my preflight:
Main fuel on. …. Check. Fuel pumps to NORM …. Check Fuel display switch to NORM …. Check. Air Source set to NORM …. Check. Throttle to Idle …. Check.
I then select JFS START 2 and listen as the engine spools up. Once the RPM is above 20% I advance the throttle and select Idle Detent Switch then move the throttle back to idle.
Radar Altimeter On …. Check. MFD power on …. Check FCC power on …. Check. SMS Power on …. Check. UFC Power on …. Check. FCR Power on …. Check. DL Power on …. Check. HUD Power on …. Check
Ok the Jet is now ready to fly I just have to prepare the office for the task ahead. Here's where we get to play with the new DED. First I set my Bingo limit, and then it's into the ALOW page to drop the low altitude warning down to 1000. Then it's on to the Electronic Warfare System page where I set the REQJAM to on in order to automatically activate the Jammer when I'm spiked. I then set up a Chaff / Flare release program and then set the Countermeasures to auto. Finally I set my left MFD to TWS 40 miles range and make sure that the HSD is uncoupled. Checking the time on the DED I notice I am running a little late (this should be quicker when I no longer have to refer to the manual). I disable the parking brake, enable nose wheel steering, push up the throttle and start rolling out to the runway.
Shortly after I launched I heard my wingman call airborne (he was kind enough to wait while I figured out all those switches in the cockpit). We arrived on station without incident and I called up the TIME page on the DED and started the Hack Time. Just then I picked up several contacts moving fast down my scope. I bug one of the targets and hit the expand option on the MFD. This separates the targets making it easier to see what they are up to. After locking up one of the targets the NCTR flashes up the WAIT cue and a few moments later identifies the target as a Mig 23 …. Time to earn my wages. I call to my wingman to "Attack my target". He responds in the affirmative and shortly after I hear him call "Fox 3 Long". Meanwhile I lock the other target, switch to A2A Master Mode and select my 120's.
I hear Betty call Jammer, signifying that my jammer has just been activated in response to the Mig 23's FCR. The ASEC cue in my HUD starts to flash and I launch the missile calling "Fox 3 medium". At precisely the same moment the Mig launches at me and as the launch warning sounds my jet starts to pump out chaff and flares following the program I set before take off. I'm now in a game of missile chicken supporting my missile until it goes active whilst the Migs missile is streaking towards me. The moment my 120 goes active I padlock the incoming missile, pull back the throttle, roll inverted and pull hard back on the stick whilst my jet continues to pump out countermeasures as if they were going out of fashion. As I drop down below 1000 Betty gives me the low altitude warning and I roll out keeping the missile on the beam. As it approaches I turn hard and see the missile plow into the ground. Fortunately the Mig was not so successful in evading my missile and the score is now 2-0 to the good guys.
I request picture from Awacs and discover no immediate threats to our station area so I quickly check the Hack Time, still 10 minutes of my station time remain so I continue flying between the Cap steerpoints. After a few minutes Awacs calls some inbound hostiles. Looking at the HSD I notice these targets have been uploaded via the datalink so I can now see the positions of 4 targets in the HSD. I turn towards the targets and as I pick them up on radar I notice they are jamming. I select the first target and fire off a 120 in HOJ mode. The missile homes in on the jamming signal and shortly after we chalk up another one to the good guys. Once I let my wingman lose we clean up the other 3 without problem.
