Tomcats V3 and Carrier Air Wings Project
Posted: 09 Apr 2024, 18:54
So I would like to share a project that Dan Reeves and I have been working on! This project is to be reflective of US Carrier Air Wings around the late 90’s and early 2000’s while our target was to reflect 1998 due to the desire to have carrier traffic in a variety of places and include the max number of Tomcat squadrons possible the decision was made to go with 1996 through roughly 2003…
First work done to the Tomcat! This new package is now called Tomcats V3 because while I did a V2 version it never got released before I ended up finding a lot more room for improvement…
What’s new:
1. New VC lighting
2. New crew boarding ladder vis conditions
3. Emissive texturing for the “slime lights”
4. Updated wings to include new slat materials; updated slat animations to prevent the main wing bleeding through the slats during retraction; repositioned the right wing to prevent the leading edge of the wing bleeding through the fuselage glove.
5. New 2048 paint kit and repaints by Dan Reeves!
6. Updated Hook and Cat Launch animations (carrier versions)
7. New variants to be more accurate and reflective of the F-14s life cycle:
Early A: No separate HUD (originally the F-14’s HUD was projected directly on to the canopy windscreen), no nose probe, GRU-7A Seats (handles), ECM only chin pod, red vc lights for night, A to A loadouts only, with glove vanes only, PW TF-30 engine
Mid A: No separate HUD, GRU-7A Seats, ECM only chin pod, red vc lights for night, A to A and A to G loadouts, glove vanes options, PW TF-30 engine
Late A: No separate HUD, GRU-7A Seats, TCS ECM chin pod, red vc lights for night, A to A and A to G loadouts, glove vanes options, PW TF-30 engine
Early B: No separate HUD, GRU-7A Seats, TCS ECM chin pod, red vc lights for night, A to A and A to G loadouts, no glove vanes, GE F-110 engine
Late B: Sparrowhawk HUD (framed / separate combiner glass), GRU-7A Seats, TCS ECM chin pod, red vc lights for night, A to A and A to G loadouts, no glove vanes, GE F-110 engine
D: Sparrowhawk HUD, SJU style seats (no upper handles); Dual TCS/IR ECM chin pod, green vc lights for night, A to A and A to G loadouts, no glove vanes, GE F-110 engine
Next on to the Carriers:
The following Carriers will be included with AI aircraft flying on and off of them to include Tomcats, Hornets, S-3s, EA-6Bs, E-2, C-2s, and SH-60s:
USS Constellation Persian Gulf
USS John C Stennis CVN-74 Perth Australia
USS Theodore Roosevelt CVN-71 Mediterranean Sea
USS Harry S Truman CVN-75 Persian Gulf
USS Harry S Truman CVN-75 St Thomas US Virgin Islands
USS Theodore Roosevelt CVN-71 Arabian Sea
USS Dwight D Eisenhower CVN-69 Mediterranean Sea
USS George Washington CVN-73 Arabian Sea
USS Kitty Hawk Yokosuka Japan
USS Carl Vinson CVN-70 Pearl Harbor HI
USS Chester W. Nimitz CVN-68 Bremerton WA
USS George W Bush CVN-77 Norfolk VA
USS Abraham Lincoln CVN-72 Persian Gulf
USS Ronald Regan CVN-76 Gulf of Mexico
First work done to the Tomcat! This new package is now called Tomcats V3 because while I did a V2 version it never got released before I ended up finding a lot more room for improvement…
What’s new:
1. New VC lighting
2. New crew boarding ladder vis conditions
3. Emissive texturing for the “slime lights”
4. Updated wings to include new slat materials; updated slat animations to prevent the main wing bleeding through the slats during retraction; repositioned the right wing to prevent the leading edge of the wing bleeding through the fuselage glove.
5. New 2048 paint kit and repaints by Dan Reeves!
6. Updated Hook and Cat Launch animations (carrier versions)
7. New variants to be more accurate and reflective of the F-14s life cycle:
Early A: No separate HUD (originally the F-14’s HUD was projected directly on to the canopy windscreen), no nose probe, GRU-7A Seats (handles), ECM only chin pod, red vc lights for night, A to A loadouts only, with glove vanes only, PW TF-30 engine
Mid A: No separate HUD, GRU-7A Seats, ECM only chin pod, red vc lights for night, A to A and A to G loadouts, glove vanes options, PW TF-30 engine
Late A: No separate HUD, GRU-7A Seats, TCS ECM chin pod, red vc lights for night, A to A and A to G loadouts, glove vanes options, PW TF-30 engine
Early B: No separate HUD, GRU-7A Seats, TCS ECM chin pod, red vc lights for night, A to A and A to G loadouts, no glove vanes, GE F-110 engine
Late B: Sparrowhawk HUD (framed / separate combiner glass), GRU-7A Seats, TCS ECM chin pod, red vc lights for night, A to A and A to G loadouts, no glove vanes, GE F-110 engine
D: Sparrowhawk HUD, SJU style seats (no upper handles); Dual TCS/IR ECM chin pod, green vc lights for night, A to A and A to G loadouts, no glove vanes, GE F-110 engine
Next on to the Carriers:
The following Carriers will be included with AI aircraft flying on and off of them to include Tomcats, Hornets, S-3s, EA-6Bs, E-2, C-2s, and SH-60s:
USS Constellation Persian Gulf
USS John C Stennis CVN-74 Perth Australia
USS Theodore Roosevelt CVN-71 Mediterranean Sea
USS Harry S Truman CVN-75 Persian Gulf
USS Harry S Truman CVN-75 St Thomas US Virgin Islands
USS Theodore Roosevelt CVN-71 Arabian Sea
USS Dwight D Eisenhower CVN-69 Mediterranean Sea
USS George Washington CVN-73 Arabian Sea
USS Kitty Hawk Yokosuka Japan
USS Carl Vinson CVN-70 Pearl Harbor HI
USS Chester W. Nimitz CVN-68 Bremerton WA
USS George W Bush CVN-77 Norfolk VA
USS Abraham Lincoln CVN-72 Persian Gulf
USS Ronald Regan CVN-76 Gulf of Mexico
