Sunday, February 21, 2010

MetaVR A-10 Afghanistan simulator wallpaper and demo clip

On February 19, 2010, W. Garth Smith from MetaVR, Inc., San Antonio, Texas, e-mailed me the following two interesting links:



Full size



Related demo clip of this virtual Hog: MetaVR Virtual Reality Scene Generator (VRSG) Recorded Real-Time Scenario of an A-10 Mission Set in Virtual Afghanistan

Some corrections from me:

My deep respect to the entire MetaVR team for their digital work. But sorry, as an A-10 enthusiast, please let me post some corrections. I would be very grateful if you integrate all of that in your next upgrades.

- Both the screenshot and the demo clip are depicting A-10 79-0135 (see shortened number "90135" in front of the canopy) from the 74th Fighter Squadron "Flying Tigers", 23rd Fighter Group, 23rd Wing (tailcode FT), now at Moody AFB, Georgia, with their unique shark mouth but with wrong tailcode AK and fin-cap colors of the 354th Fighter Wing (PACAF), Eielson AFB, Alaska.

- A-10s of the former 355th Fighter Squadron, 354th Fighter Wing (PACAF), Eielson AFB, Alaska, usualy were marked with black fin-caps. In exception, at least the Hogs of the 354th Fighter Wing commander and the 354th Operations Group commander were special-marked with black and blue fin-caps:



Three O/A-10 Thunderbolt II's from the 355th Fighter Squadron, 354th Fighter Wing, Eielson AFB, Alaska, sit outside of the "Hog Pen" here awaiting training missions on April 7, 2005. Visible in the foreground is 81-0979, special-marked as 354th OG commander's aircraft. (U.S. Air Force poto by Senior Airman Joshua Strang) Hi-res

- The 355th FS was inactivated on 15 August 2007 as a result of BRAC 2005.

- I'm surprised that the rendered Hog lacks the GPS dome just behind the cockpit. This dome is part of the Embedded Global Positioning System/Inertial Navigation System (EGI), upgraded 1999 - 2003.

- A-10s of Operation Enduring Freedom never were armed with AIM-9 Sidewinder air-to-air missiles on a Dual Rail Adapter (DRA) as visible on station 11 on the rendered Hog. Background: As A-10s joined Operation Enduring Freedom in spring 2002, there were no air-to-air threaths.

- By comparing the screenshot with the first USAF shot of "The real aircraft" (see below), it's clear that the bomb on station 5 on the screenshot is not in the right position (too far back). In fact, dumb Mk. 82 bombs and also GBU-38 JDAM precision bombs on stations 4, 5, 7 and 8 have the same front-end level.

- The pilot in the screenshot looks to me like standing in the cockpit, but not like sitting in the cockpit.

The real aircraft:



A-10C 79-0135 from the 74th Fighter Squadron "Flying Tigers" during a combat mission in support of Operation Enduring Freedom in Afghanistan November 7, 2008. AN-AAQ-28 LITENING AT targeting pod on station 10, BLOS antenna behind the cockpit. (U.S. Air Force photo by Staff Sgt. Aaron Allmon) Hi-res



A-10C 79-0135 from the 74th Fighter Squadron "Flying Tigers" during a combat mission in support of Operation Enduring Freedom in Afghanistan November 7, 2008. (U.S. Air Force photos by Staff Sgt. Aaron Allmon) Hi-res



A-10C 79-0135 from the 74th Fighter Squadron "Flying Tigers" during a combat mission in support of Operation Enduring Freedom in Afghanistan November 7, 2008. (U.S. Air Force photo by Staff Sgt. Aaron Allmon) Hi-res



A-10C 79-0135 from the 74th Fighter Squadron "Flying Tigers" during a combat mission in support of Operation Enduring Freedom in Afghanistan November 7, 2008. (U.S. Air Force photo by Staff Sgt. Aaron Allmon) Hi-res



A two-ship A-10 Thunderbolt II formation flies a combat mission over Afghanistan on November 7, 2008. The aircraft are A-10C 79-0135 (foreground) and A-10C 80-0272, both from the 74th Fighter Squadron "Flying Tigers". (U.S. Air Force photo by Staff Sgt. Aaron Allmon) Hi-res



A-10C 79-0135 from the 74th Fighter Squadron arrives at Spangdahlem AB, Germany, February 6, 2009, after departing Bagram AB, Afghanistan, for inspections in case of possible wing cracks. Clear visible are the aircraft's real unit markings (including the shortened serial number 0135 on the left main landing gear sponson). (Photo by Matthias Bienentreu) Full size

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