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FALCON 4.0: Operation "TIGERSPIRIT"
by Dr. Stefan "Bluefire" Linke, Tom "Tiger" Moelter, CAG of the 1st G.U.N.S. "Richthofen" and Jeff "Rhino" Babineau, C/O of the 209th "Deltahawks"Our first impression
It was Friday evening 6.00 p.m. when Tiger and me finally arrived at Stockton. There it was: The home plate of the 209th. From outside it looks all so harmless, we couldn't believe THIS to be the famous "bunker". Yet there was the insignia of the Deltahawks on the garage, so we moved in. And when we rang the bell, an overwhelming friendly C/O greeted us and let us in. So we went downstairs. What we then saw then made our heart beat faster. Cockpits over Cockpits, computers, Falcon stuff wherever your eyes could look. And overall most impressive was this all-pervasive red light which gave us the real feeling in being involved in something real BIG! We knew, we had arrived!
The homebase of the 209th in Stockton, CA
On duty inside the red-lit bunker
Let the game begin!
The next morning, Rhino gave us an update of what we are going to face with the brand new Realism Patch 4.0. All in all we were astonished to hear no more AK-47's knocking us out at the end of an airstrip attack, the clusters now worked correctly and all-in-all, no more life-threatening AAA at angel 28. Puuh, that sounded pretty cool and so we started with some LAN-testing flights. All together, there were twelve pilots and one central server, called "Magic". Everything went smooth. No CTD´s, no lags. Yet the pilots followed very strict rules. All flights had to be seated before takeoff, even when the package's takeoff still is some twenty minutes away. Once being shot down and on the chute, each pilot had to stay in the Game---no "hopping" to another package. We were really impressed, for it was common in our Internet flights to move to the next flight when shot down. Additionally, Rhino told us NOT to use the Recon mode on the map whilst other packages were in flight. This all was important to keep the network stable.
When I took my place at the AWACS seat I opened our 1st G.U.N.S. campaign map and put the bullseye layer on it. Our packages, ground units everything right in place as I knew it. Things now looked so common to me some thousands of miles away from home. "That's really my deal" and I sightened happily. A quick look over my shoulder told me that Tiger had arrived right on his slot too. At the 209th, AWACS has the callsign "Magic" which is an attribute to its pseudo-omnipotence in Falcon 4. When I took the AWACS-Mike for the first time in my hands, I realized something very sophiscated: The CB-equipment of the Deltahawks is a multichannel device! And THAT works really pretty cool as I noticed soon.
While there is one channel for the AWACS commanding the wingleaders (channel 15), there is a second one for the internal communication of the packages (Channel 22). When Magic called, for example "Buff 1", it only got response from the flightleader of "Buff 1". The Wingmen of this package were not involved in my calls on channel 15. This makes it much easer for AWACS for there were less interferences than on the Internet communication, when you call via Rogerwilco or BFC. This multichannel ability really made the whole session even more professional than it already was.
A typiclal dual chanel CB-broadcast system of the 209th
Well the Germans are well known for their perfectionism. So inside Falconworld, people!. We ALWAYS brief in and out. A fact that was accepted with joy be the impressed Deltahawks. With everyone holding his own briefing schedule in his hands, I gave an overview about our first strike to come. The briefing took some fifteen minutes and then I gave the word to the C/O.
Rhino gave the orders how to fulfill that task with the available pilots under the strategic circumstances I had explained before. People, if there would have been some Air Force Representatives, HOHO what fun! I guess we were really ready for war. There was no democratic vote, no discussion. Within two minutes, everyone had attentively received his orders from the C/O and knew what to do. "How many Internet squadrons may learn from THIS here", I thought silently remembering the endless pre-flight discussions in other European falcon squadrons.
Briefing - part 1: Explaining the strike-pattern on Uiju Airbase (Bluefire, 1st G.U.N.S.)
Briefing - part 2: Rhino (209th) organising the packages:Yoda,Maestro,Vibe,Tiger,Birdman (from left to right)
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