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Issue #4
AOL dropping Air Warrior for Windows ? Squadron Bio: 58th bomber Squadron How to fly the Yak-9 Successfully Air Warrior on AOL No More?
I hate to be the bearer of bad news but here it is... I think the letter speaks for itself.
Thanks for sharing your concerns with me. Air Warrior will not be premium-charged on AOL -- it's been in full launch state for almost a year, and no game in full launch state is being converted to premium charges.
However, in accordance with our plan to upgrade the Games Channel, Air Warrior -- which is rather an old game -- will be phased out sometime around the end of the summer.
The good news is, we will very shortly be bringing you Air Warrior II, Kesmai's fancy new sequel to Air Warrior. The bad news is, it's an expensive proposition, so Air Warrior II will be premium-priced.
We understand that not everybody is going to like our new direction, but frankly, it's the only way we can afford to bring you these high-class games over AOL. Games are a lot more complicated and expensive than basic content, and advertising dollars won't support them.
Thanks for your concern. I hope we can keep you
and your friends with us.
-- Lawrence Schick
Executive Director of Interactive Entertainment
Programming
Sorry, but there it is in black and white guys.[F]
IMHO
Well it’s here at long last, Airwarrior for Mac comes to AOL exclusively for the next 18 months, and not without mixed feelings from Mac AW veterans of Openbeta. Many of us have been beta testing this game for the past year or more and have built a very strong community of truly great flyers who are saddened to see that we will have to pay $2 per hour for our addiction, on top of AOL account. Most of us will make the transition, but there are some who will not follow because it is too expensive for them. I will miss these dedicated warriors who always made the game a challenge to survive.
Now I know what you PC guys are thinking,
“AW for Mac SUCKS!”, “The graphics aren’t as
good as AW2 for PC”. Well I’ve got news for you
boys (and girls), AW for Mac is probably the most
exciting and challenging flight sim I have ever
flown.
I have A-10 Attack, A-10 Cuba, F-18 Hornet, (I’ve
even flown some real military sims) and they are all
just gathering dust, beautiful graphics and all. Part
of what makes AW for Mac so exciting is the fact
that you are flying against real pilots and not some
easily fooled AI (Artificial Intelligence). Also, we
only fly in Full Realism ETO arena (FR Pac
occasionally), unlike AW2 pilots who only fly in
Relaxed Realism. IMHO, FR is the ONLY way to fly
if you’re looking to become a better pilot and more
effective killer. In fact it is a badge of dishonor if
you fly RR at all. When you are in the FR arena,
you are too concerned with staying alive to worry
about pretty graphics. If you are sightseeing, you
are a strafe target, it’s that simple. Unrealistic flight
maneuvers are not tolerated, and are just as
quickly punished with a blackout, redout, spin, or
stall. The flight models are extremely realistic, and
Mac pilots usually pick one plane and master it. For
example, we have a guy by the handle
RR PC pilots should be happy we don’t
have a unified platform that we can all play on,
because if we did you guys would be in for a rude
awakening (or a Rudi awakening, hehe). Don’t
believe me? Borrow a friends Mac sometime after
July 17th (when Openbeta ends on ISP host) and
come on over to the FR ETO and give our boys a
shot. If you can handle being waxed mercilessly for
a while I think it will improve your pilot skills. I hear
a lot of RR PC pilots “talking the talk” on AOL
message boards, but we’ll see who “walks the walk”
when you fly FR against us Mac AW addicts. That’s
all IMHO (In My Humble Opinion). CYA in FR! [F]
Squadron Bio -- 58th Bomber Squadron
Squadron Name: 58th Bomber Squadron
Bomber Pilots
HANDLE CPID EMAIL
*****Gen Stoney Sto Stoney999
Gunners
HANDLE: CPID EMAIL
**Gen.Braveheart Jbron Jbrown2477
Fighter Wing
HANDLE CPID EMAIL
*Gen Iggy Iggy1 EaIggy
Ranks:
RANKS.... USAAF
ENLISTED
Pvt - Low man on totem pole, maint type
OFFICERS
2Lt - Bottom of barrel, cherry pilot
To get more info on the 58th E-mail
Stoney999@aol.com
If you’d like a bio done on your squadron please
contact us at Furballmag@aol.com. Thanks[F]
Pace’s Top 10
Top 10 ways to get a newbie mad :)
10. Tell him that that AW is like Pac-man - you’re
supposed to run into the orange dots.
9. Tell him that the C-47 is the modern day
equivalent of the F-16
8. Tell him that dropping bombs at 100 ft is FUN!
7. Tell him that shooting at people is mean, and is
frowned upon in the AW arenas
6. Tell him that using the words : “the”, “and” , or “a”
in any context results in immediate withdrawal from
the AW arenas
5. Tell him that driving around in a cargo truck
while singing “Yankee Doodle” is a sure way to
make friends
4. Tell him that FR stands for - For Rookies and
RR stands for - Rookies Restricted
3. Tell him that the speed record in a B-17 is 300
knts, and anyone who records a faster speed on
film gets a prize
2. Tell him that AW is $3.99 the first minute and
$1.99 each additional minute
1. AND THE INFAMOUS -- “
Just a little humor :-) [F]
Air Reconnaissance Comes Of
Age
Early in the War, the RAF dispatched a series of
Blenheim bombers to photograph German naval
operations in the North Sea; the lumbering
Blenheims were all shot down or driven off before
they could complete the job. The failure nettled
Sidney Cotton, an intrepid Austrailian flier who, in
the guise of a salesman of aeronautical products,
had delighted British officals with his prewar
airborne espionage across Germany. Cotton, now
a civilian photographic consultant to the RAF, took
off in his swift, camera-equipped spy plane, and
returned in hours with photos.
This flight proved Cotton's then-radical concept of
wartime aerial photography: the plane had to be
fast enough to evade Luftwaffe fighters, and it
should be stripped of guns and radio to make room
for extra fuel. The RAF put Cotton in charge of
revamping its reconnaissance service and began
switching its cameras from Blenheims and Ansons
to 392-mile-per-hour Spitfires.
Cotton also led in developing the techniques and
personel needed to exploit high-altitude
photography. Announcing that photo interpretation
required "the patience of Job and the skill of a good
darner of socks," he organized a corps of
specialists, including many members of the
Women's Auxiliary Air Force. By 1942, photos
taken by RAF pilots and analyzed by experts were
supplying priceless information on the disposition of
enemy defenses, the effectivness of bombing and
the location of camouflaged war plants.
Despite British successes, the new intelligence
tools were adopted slowly by the Americans. Early
reconnaissance models of the twin-engined
Lightning were no match for Luftwaffe fighters. One
U.S. recon unit lost more than a quarter of its pilots
in its first three months of active duty.
But by 1943 the Americans were catching up.
Pilots who had scorned recon flights as unmanly
work were now volunteering for the risky missions.
One veteran, Lieut. Colonel Karl Polifka, was
judged too old, at 33, to fly low-level missions, so
he signed up as a Lieutenant Jones. His dare-devil
dives to photograph German positions at point-
blank range made him the best-known recon pilot
of the War.[F]
How to Fly the Yak-9
The Yak-9 is actually a better fighter than most
of the Air Warrior Fighter Buffs make it out to be.
As with all of the aircraft of the game, it has some
good points, which if used to your advantage, can
make you a deadly adversary for almost ANY pilot
out there.
The good points of the Yak-9 are its turning(
Yes it turns quite well if you do nose-low turns ) and
also for the fact that it is an enemy magnet. When
you put the two of these points together when flying
the Yak, you will end up being a flying nightmare.
The good thing about flying the Yak, is that you
don’t have to go look for a fight, because the fight
always seems to find you. The enemy pilots are
thinking
"Hey, its a Yak, and since Yak's suck so bad, it will
be an easy kill for me."
But what most of them do not take the time to
consider is the piloting skills of the person flying the
Yak, so when they try to come up on ya, just floor
the throttle and put your nose low, and keep
turning, or do low split S's til ya get them in your
sights.
You will most of the time, end up with an easy kill
for you, and an extremely embarrassed enemy
pilot, because lets face it, who wants to be killed by
a Yak??
But on the downside, the Yak has a big list of
bad handling qualities. Its armor ranks pretty close
to a Zero's( practically nothing ). Its acceleration is
mediocre, but its top speed is HORRIBLE, so do
not intend on outrunning anything. Next, it has a
horrible ammo load, and to make it worse, the
ammo has the worst lethality in the European
arena, so do not expect to come back with more
than 3 kills under your belt per mission. And also,
the Yak handles extremely poor at high speeds,
and also at high altitude, so just keep it low and
slow. It also cannot loopfight at ALL, because it
slows down to incredibly low speeds at the top of
the loop, and you are most vulnerable at this
position, so at all costs, try to avoid going vertical,
unless you ABSOLUTELY have to.
To fly the Yak, you really have to have a sense of
humor, and a good sense of awareness to your
environment, so it is not recommended for new
pilots to try to master the Yak until they get a good
sense of SA( Situation awareness ). So to make a
long story short, the Yak can either be the most fun
plane in the game, or your worst nightmare if you
don’t know how to handle it.[F]
Bombers Nook
In this article, I'll continue an in depth series on
bombing. In the first article, (Furball issue # 3) we
looked at what to do over a target, and how to
achieve a wide spread, a tight cluster, and target
information. In this section, I'll explain more about
how NOT to get killed on the way to your target.
The most important and usually the easiest
method of getting to your target in one piece is to
avoid other enemy planes. Leave the bad orange
squares alone. This is because bombers are NOT
made to do ACM's. Before you leave to get to the
target, check the map and find yourself a nice,
clear pathway to your planned target. Avoid
sectors with more than 2 enemy planes, unless
your side outnumbers them more than 2 to 1.
Avoid gatherings of more than 6 enemy planes
altogether, even if you have a large number of
friendlies in the area. You'll be dead even before
you can make it clear. If you absolutely have to fly
through a furball, think twice about it. If you still
think you must go, get low and relatively fast, full
throttle and turn on the WEP. Radio your
countrymen and tell them to give you some cover.
While avoiding enemy planes is nice, sometimes
there is no way around it. In that case, there are 2
methods of avoiding detection, and more
importantly, death by a large dose of lead. The
most common and easiest way of avoiding
detection is to fly under 200 feet. you are invisible
to enemy radar, and unless some lucky pilot spots
you under 5000 feet, you will be fine. When flying
at this low altitude, it is easier to maintain your
heading and altitude by using the autopilot. When
you reach 150 feet, press "X". This will toggle the
autopilot on. Be sure to turn it off ("X" again)
before you engage in evasive maneuvers or
approach the target. Please note: When you reach
the target it is crucial that you pull up ABOVE 300
feet. Failure to do so will result in the swift return
of you to your airfield, as you will blow yourself to
hell along with your intended target.
The other method of avoiding enemy fighters is
the high altitude approach. To execute this
properly, it is important that you find an undamaged
airfield, as you will not climb as fast in a damaged
aircraft. Switch to full throttle, and climb at about
1500 feet/minute(in a B-17. Other planes can
climb faster), according to your rate of descent
indicator. This method will not protect you from
detection, but once your bomber is above 25
thousand feet, you show be relatively safe. Please
note: at this high altitude, you will have a long
bomb spread, so be sure to slow down to near stall
speeds once you are over the target.
However sad, sometime the best laid plans of
mice and bombers get shot to hell. To avoid
having this happen to you, use these evasive
maneuvers. The way to escape depends on the
plane and at what altitude you are at. In a B-17, at
any altitude, turn on that WEP and pray your
gunners have good aim. Dive. At a low altitude,
use the ground as a helper. Get about 10 (yes 10)
feet off the ground and hold it steady. Newer pilots
will crash as they attempt to get you, but older
pilots will be realize what you have done. Either
way, it gives your gunners more time than they
would normally would have, but depending on the
pilot of the fighter, it may not be much. This works
for all bombers, but the 17's especially. In an A-26,
or a Mosquito, punch it. Using WEP, you can stay
at the limits of gun range, and give gunners a nice,
chance to get rid of the pest.
In the other, medium bombers, use either of these
techniques. Most planes are faster than the B-25
and the Junkers, but pouring on the speed will get
you a better chance. (By the way, why are you
flying those bombers, exactly? Anything they can
do the A-26 can do better)
The main rule is: a bomber is not a fighter, so
don't try to treat it like one. They can take a licking
and keep on ticking, if you know how to operate
them. Don't try to get in fights and you'll hopefully
make it to the target. Hopefully.[F]
Fighters Nook
Angles fighting is what it's all about! They
are characterized by slow aircraft turning and
looping to try to get an "Angle" for a shot. In an
angle fight the object is to go as slow as you can
while trying to avoid dropping below stall speed (In
most planes around 80knts). Angle fights require
use of rudder, flaps, aileron, and elevator to work in
perfect harmony.
The aircraft that perform best in the
stallfight are the: Spitfire, 109, and the P-38 in
Europe and the Zero, KI-84, Hellcat, and P-38 in
the Pacific. Even though these aircraft naturally
perform well in stall fights the don't fly themselves!
The most common maneuvers used in stall
fights are the: Flat turn, Low/High Yo-Yo's, and
Loops. Loops are not used as much as they should
be because people tend to look at stall fights two
dimensionally, just using turns. They forget that
using loops and climbs can also set them up for a
kill.
Often times stallfights turn into large
furballs with numerous engaged aircraft. When this
happens you just have to play it by ear (No Tyson
jokes please!). When engaged in a furball check
behind often (I'd say every 10 seconds) It's very
easy for someone to sneak up behind you while
you're lining up for a kill.
Hey there's nothing disrespectful about
leaving a 1 on 1 dog-fight. Besides, you get more
points when you make it home in tact. However
getting home can be a problem, especially in a
stall-fight setting. When in a 1 on 1 stall-fight the
best way to get home alive is NOT to leave the
fight until you're sure you are faster than him. So
start diving, add scissor turns while you are doing
this now, keep diving until you are at 200 ft or less (
This may cause him to eat dirt if he dives down on
to you.). Once you get a relatively safe distance
away from him 1000 yds. or more. Start
broadcasting his position to your country men. This
unless you are in a desolate area you should have
some of your buddies come to your aid.
Gracefully leaving a furball. Contrary to
popular belief leaving a furball is actually easier
than leaving a 1on 1 dog-fight. The only problem is
that leaving your buddies who are left battling for
their life in the fight tend to get kind of pissed. You
use the same technique to leave a furball, Dive
while using scissor turns. 3 times out of 5 no one
will even notice you leaving. The other two times
you get home much faster....but you make a stop
by HQ first.
Gunnery in a stallfight is usually
accomplished through deflection shots, since most
of stall-fighting is low speed turning. An important
thing to remember about gunnery is that AW can
only register one hit at a time on a single target
so... Holding down the trigger only wastes ammo.
Short taps on the trigger will conserve much more
ammo and have the same lethality.[F]
Interview with Boozer
In this section, we got the chance to talk to a real AW vet.
Boozer is an veteran pilot who has been playing since DOS
days. He was generous enough to give us a few minutes out
of his flight time for this interview. The interview was setup
by Vagabond. The interview was conducted by Vagabond and
Pace
Flight School : The Vertical 8
This maneuver works off the same principle that
the hammerhead works off: Energy. To use this
maneuver you better be sure you have more E than
your opponent or your going to be pulling lead out
of butt for awhile. The Vertical 8 is basically two
immelmans performed right on top of each other.
The object here is to stay just out of gun range
while your opponent tries to climb to your altitude.
Of course if he had less e than you he's going to
stall. Once he stalls, you can declare open season
on his tail. Like I stated earlier a stalled plane is a
dead plane. However like the hammerhead, if you
misjudge your enemies E prepare to die. This is
one of those maneuvers that when it works, it works
perfectly. But when it fails, it fails terribly.
Included with this magazine is a film (download film now by clicking on the link) that gives an example of the vertical 8. Watch the stick box to
get an idea of how much or how little input I used.
Air Warrior Calendar
Campaign 11 ended Friday, July 11th.
Campaign 12 ends Friday, August 1st.
AIR WARRIOR WARNIGHTS
Every Monday Night - 9pm EST
A two country pitched battle, with a restricted plane
set. The limited number of lives you get, truly
makes this "King of the Hill". For more info on what
is coming up this week- check the Forums in
General Chat, for "WarNights". The Warnight
arena is located in the Air Warrior Events page
AIR WARRIOR TRAINING
Training has now been moved to the AW Events
page
Every Wednesday Night - 9pm EST
We have training at 9pm eastern on Wednesdays,
in the Relaxed Realism Training Arena. Come as
you are and bring your goals and questions with
you. Your hosts are : Infidel, Stymy, Sharkbait,
Spectre, Shaky Stick, Fool, Dragon, Ho, Rapier,
Slug, and Sensei Kato.
Full Realism Training - Sunday Afternoon at 4pm
ET.
WWI FLIGHT NIGHTS
Every Wednesday Night - 10pm EST
Wednesday evenings at 10pm Eastern the ABC
Council of Squadrons and the Dawn Patrol hosts an
open Flight Nite in the WW I Arena. Try your skills
out in 'arms length' stall-fighting and the flying
coffins of World War I against the best the arena
has to offer. Truly a different flying experience.
Come and join the fun!
-Alleycat<169th>
Arena: Relaxed Realism Europe II
Squad Night: Thursdays at 7:00 Central
Webpage: http://members.aol.com/stoney999.html
Squadron Folder: Squadron II -- 58th Bomber Group
Squadron Roster:
**Gen.1Bad 1Bad Bdavid9999
*Col.203 203- ps4ms
*Col. K2 K2 Hoosier84
Lt.Cl.Lthrneck *Zip* Codwell
Lt.Cl.Sul SUL LordSul
Maj. Scorch Tmd58 Sonikman
Maj. Billd billd billd5
Maj.S.O.D mik1 mk86246
1St.Lt NIN ^nin ninmm3
2nd.Lt.Dark Forces Risk* USFLynx
1SG.SGM.Niteowl- Nowl Niteowl888
1SG.SGM..Rat ru4 dpowell160
SFC. Viper Tb129 Tb129
SFC. Sip Sip Rroushiii
SFC. Dr Drh1 Drh1
SFC. Mike58 MikeP MikeEpeck
SGC.Hddog Hddog Fuzenvl
SSG..Spder spder xaddy
SSG.Foxed Foxed RFoxAllen3
Sgt.Scorpion Skrpn Bruzer67
Sgt.Oly oly Docken559
Pfc. Raven Prose Bfisher196
Pfc.Scorpion Skrpn Bruzer67
Pfc.Thanos Thanos CMorris291
Pfc.Beakly Beaks RomeoSM143
Pvt.Vagabond Vagab txgamer1
Pvt.Hoss AC10 stet1man
Pvt.Yosemite Sam CTOON Four4t
*Col. Wolf Wolf= Wolfpup99
*Col.Icewing .Ice. Icewing999
Lt.Cl. Rage Rage- Jlarkin006
Lt.Cl. Thunder WW3 L3721
Capt.Tsculler Tscul Tsculler
Capt Redhawk RedHk HillBillyc
Capt. 047 047 Wendijw
Capt.Redmist Rmist Redmist999
Capt.Rogueseal Demod Rogueseal1
Capt. Jrc Dvl1 Jrc Pilot
1sLt.Hammer @nvil Retirelo53
2nd.Lt.Stand Down STNDN dbagg83643
2nd.Lt Dark Seed DSEED DRKSEED999
2nd.LtU2U U2U Jerryd4169
Pfc - not much better
Cpl - In charge of the Privates
Sgt - Team leader for gun squad
SSG - Squad leader
SFC - Platoon leader/Plane crew chief and main
gunner
1SG.SGM - Top enlisted in charge of all the
enlisted
1Lt - Has some experience
Cpt - Moderate experiences pilot, has a few
missions under belt
Maj - Executive Officer/Battle Staff, S-4 (Supply)
etc.
LTC - Wing Commander
COL - Commander of group (Senior Battle Staff
functions also)
GEN - Squadron commander HMFIC ( * to ***** )
-Pace
-Icer
-AHBlackjak
-Vagabond
-Pace
.
FB: How long have you been playing AW?
Boozer: Five years.
FB: That's back in the DOS days eh?
Boozer: Yeah, I saw a cool add in Computer Gaming for it on
Genie. Signed on the next day.
FB: (Laughing) How does the quality of pilots compare from then to now in general?
Boozer: Well half of them still play, but the talent has definitely
been watered down with the numbers that fly today.
FB: And I'm sure the talk has increased greatly.
Boozer: The "chatter" you mean?
FB: The "I'm the best", "No one can beat me" stuff.
Boozer: Yes, it's a neat thing for new guys and the kids that play
FB: Have you flown FR since day 1, or did you start somewhere
else?
Boozer: Well, I flew 4 days in what was "half-time" back when I
signed on. Full realism was still in beta, and, after I found it, I made it home.
FB: What are your "Planes of choice"?
Boozer: I prefer the Boom & Zoom planes, P-51, F4U, P-47...Well
actually American BnZ’ers. Don't care much for the FW.
FB: Have any particular memorable moments?
Boozer: Quite a few. There’s a few: Training under Grok, Flying a
P-47 in the Eagle day 2 scenario with a Jug and getting 4 kills,
Bigweek, and of course winging Moggy in Spitfires in a scenario.
FB: Speaking of Bigweek... How do you feel about AWII, as it
compares to AW for Windows?
Boozer: Fantastic and Enormous, not much of a front-end deal,
but the scenario terrain is wonderful, you can fly through the Eiffel Tower
FB: (Laughing)
Boozer: The thing is BIG and will make for some great events.
FB: It seems like Moggy is one of your major rivals... any others?
Boozer: Rival? (laughs), I don't rate.You want names of the same
class of pilot?
FB: Sure.
Boozer: HeeBee, Merch, Soup the dweeb, Mute, Popeye, Dragon,
off the top of my head. There's another class just above us.
Premier pilots are Ketchup, Stiletto, Rocketman, Twist, Moggy, and
Sharkbait, just to name a few.
FB: Boozer...Any feelings towards squadrons, as a whole ?
Boozer: Squads are a great way to make good friends. People you
really get attached to, even though you've never even seen them.
Boozer: Some of whom I would consider my "best pals" are online
characters.
FB: Have you ever been in, or are you currently in a squadron?
Boozer: Yes, A longstanding group. The 4th Fighter Group, we
emulate the WWII group out of Debden.
FB: What, in your opinion, makes a good pilot? Is there one skill
that stands above the others?
Boozer: It's called "situational awareness" that ability to size up the
situation and make your move accordingly. That's a broad skill that
encompasses the entire arena down to your 2k private space.
FB: What is the main thing new players need to work on?
Boozer: Brand new? Takeoff, landing, learning how his particular
plane can perform. What you can and cannot do in that Yak, and
then the standard maneuvers, yoyo's, loops, Immelmans, Split-S’.
FB: On the same subject, what is a good plane for a "Newbie" to
start with?
Boozer: Depends on the arena they're in, but I’d have to say a
Spitfire or 109 for ETO an the F6F for the PTO. Zero's are fun in
the Pac, but a newbie will die fast.
FB: So are there any special tactics or advice you'd like to share
that apply to the general populace of AW?
Boozer: You want secrets I've spent 5 years learning?!?
FB: Yes, but we'll settle for general advice.
Boozer: (Laughing) Get good control of your plane and know the
condition of the fight. Never fly into battle climbing so hard that it's
slowing you down. ALWAYS check behind you, every 15
seconds, check 6.
FB: How do you feel about AOL's dropping of AW4W and
replacing it with AW2, which will be charged hourly?
Boozer: Well, you're asking an old "elite" guy that the AOL kids
whine about. Me, I've used my regular AW budget to buy a top of
the line computer. So, for me AOL's early marketing mistake was
my gain.I dont expect any company to give anything away free, but
they could be more forthcoming for the players.
FB: One more question before we let you go... Where did the
handle come from?
Boozer: (Laughing), Wifey got mad one night and called me that
long ago.
FB: (Laughing) Thanks for your time.
Boozer: Sure.
Furball Magazine would like to thank Boozer for taking the
time to share some of his experience and his past with us.[F]
-Pace