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20 December 2004 - Happy Holidays! I wish everyone the very best this holiday season,
and hope you have a safe and prosperous new year. Thank you for all of your wonderful support
and friendship. It means a lot to me!
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17 December 2004 - Alexandre Cadel has released version 3 of his
VFR Scenery for the Island of Corsica. As before this release includes villages and other
VFR references and is a nice complement to the the "mesh" sceneries of Thierry Pignot or Nanucq.
Be sure to backup or to remove the files "Sofitel.bgl" and "Sofitel_A16N.bgl" to avoid a conflict.
You can read more about this version and
Project LandCorse
in the Forum at
Francesim.com.
27 November 2004 - Warwick Carter of Australia has released an updated version of his
Mirage IIIO. New in this update are minor visual fixes,
a pilot ejection sequence, an animated drag chute, an improved flight model, new xml gauges,
and some other "cool animations". Four configurations are included: clean, long range tanks,
supersonic tanks, and air-to-air.
The package includes one texture set. 15 additional texture sets for this aircraft
and two alternate virtual cockpits graphics sets are available at
Garry Smith's website.
Jean-Marc Mangiavacca has also provided
five textures sets
for the Armée de l'Air and Swiss Air Forces.
26 November 2004 - Jean-Jacques Herve has updated his scenery
of Lorient Lann-Bihou� (LFRH) for FS2004.
Visit his website for details and to download this latest version.
Alexandre Cadel has released version 2 of his VFR Scenery for Corsica.
This is a significant update and Alex recommends removing any previous versions before installation.
It is recommended for use with the
Corsica Sardaigne mesh scenery by Thierry Pignot. There is a compatibility discussion in the
Forum at
Francesim.com.
20 November 2004 - Siegfried Vlaminck (Arrow) has taken on the task of correcting
the display problem with the left screen of the
instrument panel of the Rafale by Cyril Pioffet.
The result is a real working solution. Installation is very easy. If you
are a fan of the Rafale by Cyril Pioffet (and who isn't), this update is a must.
18 November 2004 - Pierre Marchadier of
FSFrance.com has completed his series of Mirage repaints. Included are the
Mirage IIIC (six schemes) and IIIB
(five schemes) based on the versions from
Alphasim, the Mirage 5F (five schemes) and
Mirage IIIR (five schemes) based on the versions by Denis and Daniel da Silva Oliveira,
and the Mirage F1C (six schemes) and the
Mirage F1B (three schemes) based on the versions by Kirk Olsson. Each set includes
sound and instrument panel files and has been tested in FS2002 and FS2004.

All of the aircraft listed above were originally designed for FS2000 or FS2002
but will work in FS2004(FS9). When you launch FS2004, answer "NO" to
the question asked by the simulator to deactivate the functionality of certain
"unsupported" features. The animated landing gear, control surfaces,
and most other working parts will work fine.

If you accidentally say "yes" you can reverse this by editing the [FrameCallNoWarn]
section of the FS9.CFG file. Here you will find the name of one
or several aircraft with "=0" next to it. Change the value to "1" ( ...=1) and
the "unsupported" features will work again. An alternative is to simply
remove that aircraft from the list. You will be asked the question on
next launch and can "Just Say No" at that time to restore animation.

The FS9.CFG file is a hidden file located here (depends on your OS):
- Windows 2000 and Windows XP:
C:\Documents and Settings\username\Application Data\Microsoft\FS9
- Windows 9x and Windows ME:
C:\WINDOWS\Application Data\Microsoft\FS9

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17 November 2004 - Pierre Lheureux of Belgium sent a copy of his last of three
repaints for the Alphasim
Mirage IV. This one is of the bare metal
IVA version. The brightness of the metal is
toned down for a more weathered look. Thank you Pierre for this series
of repaints.
13 November 2004 - Jean-Marc Mangiavacca has been very busy. In addition to the new
textures below for the Mirage III of Carter Warwick he has also painted
a bare metal texture for a Mirage IIIE in the early markings of
EC 2/4 "La Fayette".
Jean-Marc has also painted five new (fictitious) schemes for the Rafale C of
Cyril Pioffet. The Arm�e de l'Air units represented include "Corse", "Lafayette", "Alsace",
"Normandie-Niemen", and a special "Tigermeet 2012" scheme. The
textures are available for exclusive download from
Virtual Cors'Air.
12 November 2004 - Sometime last night, or maybe yesterday, this website had its 300,000th
visitor. Thank you all very much for visiting as often as you do and please continue to do
so. There are several Mirage projects underway and I will continue to share whatever I find
as I find it.
8 November 2004 - Jean-Marc Mangiavacca, who gave us some nice repaints of the
Super Myst�re B2, has released two new repaints of the Mirage III of Warwick Carter.
Both are in the Swiss Air Force markings of J-2201 (actually a Mirage IIIC in real life) used for various test
programs by the Swiss. The first is in the original bare metal scheme (below) and the second aircraft is
the very brightly colored scheme (sunflower on fuselage underside) it worn at the end of its operational career.
4 November 2004 - If you have had trouble downloading the
"Mirages in the Alps" video I spoke of on 9 September you may have
better luck downloading it from FSPlanet.com.
A copy in ZIP format has been placed on the
VolFTP server.
Here is the direct link.
22 October 2004 - Cyril Pioffet (Gator) has posted new images of his Mirage 2000
project on his website. The images now show three texture schemes so I think we
may be getting close to a release. One is for an aircraft in the operational
markings of EC 1/2 "Cigognes". Two new texture schemes are of aircraft in special
Tigermeet 2004 colors. The first is of a Mirage 2000C
(12-YT)
of EC 1/12 "Cambr�sis". The second new scheme represents a Mirage 2000-5F
(330-AX)
of EC 5/33 "C�te d'Argent".
According to Cyril the aircraft will start "cold" and will require a startup sequence,
"Ctrl-E" will not work to start the engine. The exhaust petals will work correctly,
closing as power is increased and then back to open when afterburner is engaged.
The engine will also react accordingly (bad for the pilot) if the afterburner is on for
too long a time. New screenshots can be seen on the News page at Cyril's
website and in
the
Forum at Francesim.com.
19 October 2004 - Pierre Lheureux of Belgium has repainted the Nuclear Strike and
Reconnaissance versions of Alpha Simulations'
Mirage IVP in a weathered camouflage scheme. The results
give a weathered look to the factory fresh finish applied to the original release.
10 October 2004 - The update to FS2004 (FS9.1) that was announced at the Avsim Convention
(see 20 September below for a description) is now available from download from the
Microsoft website. The download is 27MB in size. My system also required
an update to the latest version of FSUIPC. You can download version 3.40 from Peter
Dowson's website.
7 October 2004 - My friend Pierre Marchadier of
FSFrance.com has been working on several projects that will be of interest to Mirage
enthusiasts. The first to be announced is a series of Mirage repaints. Pierre
has just posted images on the Forum at FSFrance. Included will be the
Mirage IIIB and IIIC
from Alpha Simulations. Next is the
Mirage F1B and F1C
from Kirk Olsson. And finally the
Mirage IIIR and 5F of
Denis and Daniel da Silva Oliveira. When completed, the aircraft will be available here
and at the FSFrance.com website.
4 October 2004 - Roland Laborie (Mirage IV and
Mirage 2000) has been working on a Mirage 2000N.
For more information, and photos, and to follow the progress, see the
Forum at Francesim.com. Let him know if you would like to see a 2000B and 2000D as well.
30 September 2004 - Gary Smith has created a commemorative scheme for the
Mirage IIIO of Warwick Carter. The new scheme
was created on behalf of the
International FlightSim Convention being held in June 2005 in Blackpool, UK.
I've added a link to their FS2004 download page.
28 September 2004 - Toni Agramont has released a new
scenery package for the Island of Corsica. This package has taken a different approach
to that of Alexandre Cadel (see 23 September below) with a wider variety of more detailed buildings.
But not without a cost in framerate. It is designed for
use with the scenery mesh file of
Jean Gabriel Laurent and requires the texture files from
FSNova.
Pablo Fernandez de Bobadilla is working on a new scenery package for
Los Llanos AB in Albecete, Spain. He has sent
several screen shots and the scenery will be very detailed.
23 September 2004 - I came across a VFR scenery package
for Corsica that adds well over 100 cities, towns, and landmarks to the scenery. The package
is by Alexandre Cadel, who lives in Ajaccio on the Island of Corsica. This is one of Alexandre's
contributions to an ongoing project named LandCorse. You can find more information about
the project in the
Forum at Francesim.com.
20 September 2004 - I have been visiting my
hometown in Colorado. This past weekend I attended the
AVSIM Convention in Denver.
I was also able to tour the United Airlines Training Facility and fly in their Level D Simulators.
Needless to say, it was an incredible experience. Also at the conference
Microsoft announced that they will be releasing a
"
patch" for FS2004 within the next three weeks. The update will...

Provide enhanced frame rates due to better autogen management,
Resolve stability issues caused by season changes,
Provide better configuration file stability so changes are "sticky",
Increase the terrain data support from 76 meters to 19 meters elevation,
Fix 160 missing bridges.

On the day of release the update will be available in English, French, Spanish, German and
Japanese. More information will be available on the
FS Insider
and AVSIM.
11 September 2004 - A day of
remembrance. Never forget.
9 September 2004 - Jens Voigt
of Denmark sent a link to a very interesting
streaming video (WMV format) of the Swiss Mirage IIIS. The 16-minute film includes
a high altitude interception mission and dog fights with Swiss F-18s and F-5Es. The
Mirage wins easily. There is also plenty of tree-top, wave-top and mountain-top
flying in two-, three-, and four-aircraft formations. Mirage III fans will truely
appreciate this.
5 September 2004 - I've come across another scenery file. This time an FS2002
version of Strasbourg-Entzheim AB (LFST) by Denis Albisser.
Thinus Pretorius of South Africa is working on a new MD450 Ouragan using Gmax. It
will include a Virtual Cockpit and should be available later this month.
27 August 2004 - A few scenery updates this time. Fabien Prevost has updated
his scenery of Koksidje AB (EFBN). He has also
issued new graphic images to update his scenery of
Cambrai-Epinoy AB (LFQI) and Reims-Champagne AB
(LFSR) for FS2004.
21 August 2004 -
Philippe Jacquot has updated his scenery of Base ALAT
d'Etain-Rouvres (LFQE) for FS2004. It is available for download exclusively
from FAVFrance.net. I
have added a link to the scenery page.
And in my wanderings of the Internet I found a website by Gilles Herbin from France
for French military AI called
Trafic AI Militaire. Gilles has so far posted files for adding AI traffic to
Base ALAT d'Etain-Rouvres (LFQE) and
Toulon-Hy�res BAN (LFTH).
13 August 2004 - The new Mirage IV from
Alpha Simulations has been released! As mentioned yesterday and on the
Mirage IV preview page the aircraft set includes three
versions. Special features include the all new RATO effect, detailed clickable
Virtual Cockpit, highly authentic 2D instrument panel with custom Mirage gauges, a
braking chute which auto-deploys on touchdown and then auto-jettisons, animated
canopies and crew figures, animated afterburner nozzles, wingtip vortices under high
g-loading and dynamic shine effect on the IVP models. You can see more
screen shots at the
Alpha Simulations website.
Note: This aircraft set is payware. I was not involved in this project other than to
help the designer with some background research and cockpit/instrument panel translations so
I have nothing to gain from the successful sale of this aircraft. I think it is just
very well made and wanted to let my Mirage friends know about it.
12 August 2004 - David Bushell has been busy working on his series of Mirage IV
for Alpha Simulations. In a
recent message on their forum he included images showing the three different variants:
a Mirage IVA armed with a freefall nuclear weapon, a Mirage IVP armed with the ASMP stand-off
nuclear missile and drop tanks, and the Mirage IVP with the CT-52 reconnaissance pod and
underwing ECM jammer pod. You can view these on the
Mirage IV preview page.
10 August 2004 - This website is getting pretty big so I added a
Site Map to hopefully make it easier for new and old visitors to find things. Summer
is usually slow in the FS world and this year is no exception. But there are several new
projects in the works so be sure to check back in for updates.
31 July 2004 - Kirk Olsson has been working on converting his
Mirage F1CR to Gmax format to make it more compatible with FS2004. He is almost
finished and has been sending preview images as the work progresses. His latest
progress update included images of the Virtual Cockpit and a
list of improvements. There are a few areas Kirk wants to work on before releasing
the aircraft, but in the meantime here are some screen shots that may interest you.
22 July 2004 - I came across a 20 minute video of a flight in a Mirage F1B with
an F1CT (EC 3/33 "Lorraine") as wingman. It is very interesting (good music too)
and includes a lot of details of how the F1's systems work. The AVI format video
is over 190MB and can be downloaded in four parts of about 50MB each (high speed connection
recommended). The links to download the four parts are on this
Forum page
at Simflight.com. You will need
WinRAR to decompress and combine the four files into one. A trialware version is
available here.
20 July 2004 - I have been working with a new freeware HUD gauge by
DSB Design. The
display adds a few new items (including ILS glide slope and localizer bars) but is overall
"less busy" than the HUD designed by
Eric Marciano for the Mirage 4000 and
Super Etendard of Romain Lucas. I have reworked the panel.cfg
files for the Super Etendard and Mirage 4000 if you would like to try it for yourself.
I am working on a repaint of the Super Etendard in a desert camouflage. It will be
finished soon. Here is preview.
10 July 2004 - David Bushell sent another preview video clip of the upcoming
Alpha Simulations Mirage IV.
This short video demonstrates the touchdown, dragchute deployment and release.
You can view it on the Mirage IV preview page.
Cyril Pioffet (Gator) has been working on the Virtual Cockpit of his Mirage 2000.
In a conversation in the
Forum at Francesim.com this week he has included some new images. It is looking
better all of the time.
8 July 2004 - Alain, webmaster of
L'escadrille, gave a nice mention to this website. If the article has
rotated off the main page you can read it
here. In addition to offering French aircraft for Flight Simulator and CFS,
L'escadrille also tracks new releases for X-Plane, Strike Fighter, Falcon, and
LockOn. You'll also find articles, a thorough reference library catalog, forums,
and much more. Be sure to pay a visit and add it to your Favorites.
Thank you,
Alain!
3 July 2004 - I have finished a repaint of the
Super Etendard modernis� by Romain Lucas in the markings applied to n�38 of 11F Flotille,
A�ronavale Francaise, for the June 2003 NATO Tiger Meet held at
Base Aerienne 103 at Cambrai-Epinoy.
Though stationed at BAN Landivisiau, the real home of
11F Flotille is the aircraft carrier. 11F Flotille was so closely associated with
the aircraft carrier Clemenceau and its symbol of a Tiger that they were accepted
as a Tiger Meet squadron. Thought the Clemenceau has been decommisioned, 11F
Flotille continues to participate in NATO Tigermeets.
28 June 2004 - David Bushell continues work on the upcoming
Alpha Simulations Mirage IV. David sent a short video clip of the RATO (JATO?)
launch effect along with a screenshot of the partially completed Virtual Cockpit and an
image of a bare metal finish he is testing. Where did I put my sunglasses?
You can view all on the Mirage IV preview page.
24 June 2004 - Vasco Ferreira of South Africa has made a new
Mirage F1CZ. Two versions are included: original South Africa Air Force delivery
camouflage scheme and a low visibility gray scheme. An instrument
panel, designed by Thinus Pretorius (also of South Africa), with new XML gauges is also
included. This version is compatible with FS2004.
20 June 2004 - Happy Father's Day. I have finished a repaint of the
Super Etendard modernis� by Romain Lucas in the 80th
Anniversary markings of the 11F Flotille, A�ronavale Francaise.
17 June 2004 - Progress continues of the upcoming
Alpha Simulations Mirage IV. I have been helping designer David Bushell with some
translations and explanations of the cockpit controls as he works on the Virtual Cockpit.
Dave has also sent some new screen shots showing the under fuselage JATO and CT-52 sensor
pod of the Mirage IV strategic reconnaissance version.
14 June 2004 - It must be summer time. Email has dropped off and there has
been very little activity in the area of Mirage add-ons for Flight Simulator. I
have a couple of Super Etendard repaints that I will finish
up and release.
Alpha Simulations recently released their
HMS Hermes Falklands Battle Group scenery for CFS2 as
freeware. Two versions are included: a static version and a moving version.
Support ships and static aircraft are included along with complete installation instructions.
After installing the scenery in CFS2, load a couple of iron bombs and maximum fuel on a
Dagger or hang an Exocet anti-shipping missile on a
Super Etendard and go hunting.
2 June 2004 - Craig Verit of South Africa sent some images of
the Denel Cheetah C and Cheetah D assigned to the South Africa Air Force (SAAF) Test Flight
Development Centre (TFDC) at Bredasdorp, South Africa. Over the years Craig has provided
feedback to myself (while I worked with Colin Norwood on the Alpha Simulations'
Mirage series) and to Jason Ashworth as Jason worked
on the flight models for his numerous Mirage F1,
Mirage III, and Cheetah
aircraft. Enjoy these in-flight images.
24 May 2004 - I've been very busy with the new house lately. But in my wanderings
I have come across three small instrument panel modifications that
you might want to install and see if you like them. As always, save a copy of your current
panel.cfg file in case you want to go back. The first two are by Sonny (visit his
la Royale French Navy website).
These present different ways to add the Carrier Operation Package
to the Rafale M by Cyril "Gator" Pioffet and the
Super Etendard Modernis� by Romain Lucas.
The third instrument panel modification is from Chris Coarse (visit his
Railrunner C130 website).
This modification is also to the Super Etendard Modernis� and adds
a GPS but removes the previously non-working radar. Since the radar is now functional
again, see 30 April below, this entire modification may not be useful. However, Chris
has also
written a review of the Super Etendard.
13 May 2004 - The link on the
Virtual Cors'Air website to the "lite" version of the
BA126 Solenzara scenery by Christian Santoni has been fixed. That file is now available
here as well. This "lite" version does not include the static
aircraft and vehicles so there is little or no effect on frame rates compared to the default FS9
scenery. You will still need to install the two updates mentioned on
7 February below to correct some display issues and allow ATC to direct you to parking.
There is also a new
Traffic file for Solenzara and other airports on Corsica. Follow the "A.I." link on
the "Nos Vols" page of the
Virtual Cors'Air website.
8 May 2004 - Since the initial release last March, Gary Smith has painted several new
texture sets for the Mirage IIIO by Warwick Carter. The
majority are in fictitious Police schemes complete with a new visual model with "party hat"
(rotating police lights). There are also textures for a Pakistani Mirage III and a
Mirage III in US Air Force colors. Dassault did propose that the USAF operate the
Mirage III with the designation of Mirage IIIW ("W" for Wichita, Kansas where they would
have been built under license). The textures are available for download from
Gary's website.
5 May 2004 - Daniel Borrego has again painted the Mirage 50DV
of Denis and Daniel da Silva Oliveira in the colors of the Fuerza A�rea Venezolana. This
version includes updated textures and the special tail markings for the 30th Aniversary of
Grupo Aereo de Caza N�11 Diablos flying the Mirage. I have included only the aircraft
and textures here. A version with sounds
and panel is available at
simviation.com (9.5MB download).
30 April 2004 - Working interceptor radar for FS9! In an announcement in his support forum at
The simFlight Network, Pete Dowson has started releasing the necessary access codes so that certain
freeware gauges that use his
FSUIPC.DLL software will function as they do in FS2002. Included in the list are
three gauges by Eric Marciano
that are very important to Mirage flyers. The gauges (and the Freeware access keys) are:
· M4000.gau (KEY = UDSV JEI1 NK29)
· F16.gau (KEY = DSVT JE5S 6DUO)
· SuperEtendard.gau (KEY = OZIW V0W5 UF1A)
Somehow I've been able to get the radar to work since I added the FSUIPC.DLL file included in the
Carrier Operation Package but a "legal" method is always better.
27 April 2004 - I found a scenery add-on by Sonny, of
la Royale French Navy, to add Arrestor Cables to runway 14/32 of
BAN Toulon Hy�res (LFTH). Flotillas 17F and l'Escadrille 59S operated the
Super Etendard from Hy�res. This add-on requires
the payware ArrestorCables program from the
Flight Deck 3 program. Of course with the new
Carrier Operation Package this is no longer a requirement. (See my Super
Etendard instrument panel adaptation on
31 March below for more information.)
21 April 2004 - Mathieu Bilquey has painted another version of the
Super Myst�re B2 by Wim Regeer. The new textures represent an SMB2 of the Israel Air
Force in early camouflage markings.
18 April 2004 - Roland Laborie has released an FS2002 version of his
Mirage IVA. The zip file contains only the revised MDL.
You will need to download and install the FS2004 version first and then install the new MDL.
On the subject of the Mirage IV, David Bushell has sent additional images of his
Mirage IVP to Alpha Simulations. The model now includes a
unique Rocket Assisted Takeoff (RATO) effect
that actually provides increased thrust. Additional images are available on the
Previews page of the
Alpha Simulations website.
16 April 2004 - About two years ago Phil Perrott of
Alpha Simulations hired me to paint textures for their Mirage IIIC
and Mirage IIIB being designed by Colin Norwood. The aircraft were
available as payware downloads and I painted additional texture sets for each that were
available a free downloads. Now the two aircraft, sans instrument panels, are
available as freeware. You can download them here or at
the Alpha Simulations website.
15 April 2004 - Thank you all! Today this website officially had it's 250,000th
visitor. I'm sure it is more because a lot of folks link directly to individual
pages in the Forums. :-)
On this occasion I am adding a new page -- Early Dassault Fighers.
I have been receiving requests since this website began over four years ago for Ouragon and Myst�re
aicraft. Earlier this month Wim Regeer released a new
Super Myst�re B2. There have been several updates released in addition to repaints
by Mathieu Bilquey and Jean-Marc Mangiavacca. Mathieu Bilquey has also adapted the aircraft
for use with CFS2.
13 April 2004 - I have been moving to a new house this past week. I've been
very busy with that and have not had much time for anything else. While I was "away",
Christian Santoni wrote to tell me of a new AFCAD file for his
BA126 Solenzara scenery. In addition to making it possible to now taxi to
parking there is also AI traffic
(Image by Gerard Finalt�ri) that will add four Mirage 2000 taking off and landing.
If, like myself, you are a fan of Corsica there are two websites that you should visit.
The first is
Virtual Cors'Air by Gerard "corsair" Finalt�ri. The website offers scenery and aircraft for
the island. The second website is
Project LandCorse. This project was begun last year to enhance the default FS2004
scenery of Corsica through the use of Mesh and new Landclass scenery. The results
are really an awesome improvement over the default FS2004 scenery.
4 April 2004 - In a message to the
Forum
at Francesim.com, Cyril "Gator" Pioffet has posted several images of the Virtual Cockpit
of his Mirage 2000. Cyril stated that there are 114 animated gauges of the left and
right hand consoles. So far there are 364 texture files for the animation and 39 XML
files. This level of detail has required a rebuild of the Virtual Cockpit.
Cyril is also adding details to the external model.
2 April 2004 - Roland "Rollus13" Laborie has released his
Mirage IVA in bare metal finish with insignia for CIFAS 328 based at Bordeaux-M�rignac.
Designed for FS2004 using GMax, the aircraft includes a new
instrument panel and Virtual Cockpit.
The aircraft can be downloaded here as well as from the
FAVFrance website. Follow
the link to "La Flotte -> Hangar CEV". For more information on the Mirage IV visit
Mirage4p.com.
I found a pair of Mirage 2000 painted in fictitious Fuerza
A�rea Argentina markings released last month by Javier Montes. The FAA does not
operate the Mirage 2000 but have considered it as a replacement for their
Mirage IIIEA fleet.
31 March 2004 - Last month a new gauge package was released to simulate a catapult
takeoff and an arrestor cable landing without the need for the payware Arrestor Cables
package. I have adapted this package to the Super Etendard
panel by Romain Lucas. The gauge provides a HUD landing aid and ILS.
24 March 2004 - Mathieu "Jaegermeister" Bilquey, who has been providing French
translations of the What's News page lately, has released a
Mirage 2000-5 Mk2 for CFS2 based on the Mirage 2000B airframe by Oxyd / Denis
and Daniel da Silva Oliveira. The package makes use of several weapons packages
for CFS2. See the readme file for links to find them, most are available here.
19 March 2004 - Bill Holker has released his scenery for
RAAF Base Butterworth. It looks great and is a nice compliment to the
Mirage IIIO. It is designed specifically for FS2004 but I have
located a version that he released earlier for FS2002.
The repaints of the Mirage IIIO for FS2004 have begun. Jean Marc Mangiavacca has
released two textures sets. One represents a Mirage IIIC
of EC 2/10 "Seine" in the blue-gray air superiority scheme and the second is a
Mirage IIIE of EC 3/3 "Ardennes" in 50th Anniversary
(1993) scheme.
13 March 2004 - The new Mirage IIIO for FS2004 by
Warwick Carter is now available. As described in the
preview the aircraft includes a photo-quality 2D panel and a very complete
Virtual Cockpit. The aircraft is
available in three configurations: 1) clean, 2) with a pair of long range fuel tanks,
and 3) fully armed with an R530 missile, two Sidewinders
and two supersonic fuel tanks. The aircraft comes with one set of textures but
additional sets (12 at last count) are available from
Garry Smith's website. I had a look at the aircraft at the beginning of the
month and reported a couple of items needing correction to Warwick. He was thankful
for the feedback and made the changes right away.
9 March 2004 - As I mentioned last time, Bill Holker is working on a new scenery
for RAAF Base Butterworth as it appeared in the late 1960s when he was first assigned
there. Bill has sent some screen shots of the base and the soon to be released
Mirage IIIO by Warwick Carter.
Image 1,
Image 2,
Image 3
6 March 2004 - Bill Holker of central Queensland, Australia has sent a series of
photos taken during a live fire exercise of the Matra R530
air-to-air missile at RAAF Base Butterworth in Malaysia in June 1981. Bill's
images and informative commentary provides for very interesting reading. Bill has also been
working on new scenery for FS2004 of the Butterworth base back in the late 60's when he
did his first tour of duty there. It will be released soon.
1 March 2004 - I have painted a Kfir C2 in the colors
of the Sri Lanka Air Force using the Kfir model by Denis and Daniel da Silva Oliveira and
a flight model by Alpha Simulations. The Sri
Lanka Kfir's were supposedly re-engined with the SNECMA Atar 9K-50.
Garry Smith has sent an image of the
Virtual Cockpit from Warwick Carter's upcoming
Mirage IIIO. New images of the aircraft have been added to Garry's
texture page.
24 February 2004 - Leigh Jackson of South Africa has shared some of his
images of the Vlaggie (Flag) Cheetah C. They compare
very well with the Vlaggie repaint by Jens-Ole Kjølberg using the new Cheetah C
by Jason Ashworth. The aircraft is available on the
Other "Mirage" page.
18 February 2004 - In August 2001, Major (Retired) Guillermo Posadas of the Fuerza
A�rea Argentina released an IAI Dagger with panel
and sounds using the only Mirage V available at that time. Now Major Posadas has released a
new version using the IAI Dagger by Denis and Daniel da Silva
Oliveira. He has updated the panel using newly available gauges, adjusted the AIR
file to more accurately fly like the Dagger, and includes new sounds by Aaron Swindle.
Warwick Carter has teamed with Garry Smith (both of Australia) to build a new Mirage IIIO
for FS9. The aircraft will have a new instrument panel and a Virtual Cockpit.
Nine paint schemes are planned so far. Based on an email interview with Warwick and
Garry I have I've put together a Preview with screen shots.
14 February 2004 - Jason Ashworth of South Africa has released a fourth version of his
Cheetah C for use with FS2002. This latest version comes in a clean configuration with
no external stores or pylons. This clean configuration was especically made to use a new
set of textures of the Vlaggie (Flag) Cheetah C made by Jens-Ole
Kjølberg of Norway. This clean configuration may also be on interest to CFS2 users
when combined with the weapons sets released last year by Ernest Laverdure,
Chuck Dyer and
Alpha Simulations.
7 February 2004 - Last month Christian Santoni released his interpretation of my favorite
airbase, BA126 Solenzara (LFKS) on the island of Corsica. In
addition to adding buildings and taxiways to the barren default scenery, the control tower has
been correctly relocated to the west side of the runway. Several static aircraft are included
as well.  Two follow-on updates has been released to take care a
problem with small Autogen trees growing out of the taxiways and to correct some apron and
taxiways display issues.
Roland Laborie has begun work on his next Mirage IV release.
This one will be an IVA in bare metal. A discussion with screen shots is ongoing at the
Francesim forum.
2 February 2004 - The Mirage IV has been getting quite a bit
of attention lately. In addition to the version being designed by David Bushell for Alpha
Simulations (see Preview here), a new Mirage IVP was released this
morning by Roland Laborie with flight model by Mathieu Dussart. The aircraft wears the
insignia of Escadron de Bombardement (EB) 1/91 "Gascogne" stationed at
Mont de Marsan.
And another freeware Mirage IV project was also announced this past week by Guillaume.
The designer's goal is realism. A
website has been established to promote interest and show progress. Have a look.
24 January 2004 - I have finished a repaint of the
Super Etendard by Romain Lucas in the colors of the Iraqi Air Force (IQAF).
The IQAF
operated five Super Etendard from late 1983 through the summer of 1985.
17 January 2004 - I came across a repaint of the Mirage 2000
by Oxyd in the colors of the United Arab Emirates (UAE) Air Force. The repaint is by
Mohammed Al-Khalifa and includes the Mirage 2000 flight dynamics file by Benoit M. Dub�.
The sounds were identified as being by Paul Schwerdtfeger but after testing they are actually
the original sound files by Oxyd. I removed them to save download size but you can get
them on the Sound download page.
Alpha Simulations continually comes
up with nice surprises in their choice of subjects and the quality of their product improves
with each new release. Their upcoming Mirage IV designed
by David Bushell is no exception. I have had a preview of this one and it is coming along
nicely. I have put together a Preview page which I'll update
as I am sent new versions to test.
12 January 2004 - I have added several new (to this website at least)
scenery files covering French Armée de l'Air, A�ronavale, and joint military/civilian air
bases. These were all designed by Fred Holst. Included are: Chateaubernard AB (LFBG),
Chateauroux-Deols AB (LFLX), Chateaudun AB (LFOC), Cherbourg (LFRC), Toulon-Hy�res BAN (LFTH), and
N�mes BAN (LFTW). I have also added two air bases in
Israel for you to fly the Mirage IIICJ, Nesher, and Kfir from. These include Ramat
David AB (LLRD) and Tel Noff AB (LLEK), both designed by Ido Rosenthal.
Jean-Fran�ois Eloir has painted the Super Etendard of Romain Lucas
in the special tiger markings worn by n�38 of Flotille 11F as seen at the 2003 Tiger Meet held at
Base A�rienne 103 - Cambrai.
5 January 2004 - Roland Laborie (Rollus13 in the Francesim
Forum) has released
two new Mirage 2000C. The aircraft were created for FS2004
using GMax. The two original Armée de l'Air Mirage 2000 units from
Dijon-Longvic AB (LFSD) are represented, EC 1/2 "Cigognes" and EC 3/2 "Alsace". The
aircraft are available exclusively from the
Force A�rienne Virtuelle France website.
1 January 2004 - Wow! Another year has begun. Happy New Year everyone.
To start the year off Y.Raymond has reworked one of the texture files of
the Super Etendard by Roman Lucas. The result is an additional
version of n� 31 now with external fuel tanks. In addition, Romain has sent a revised
aircraft.cfg file for use with the SEM in FS9 remarking, "The elevator effectiveness was really too soft with the new
simulator so I increased it." (A common problem with FS9.) Thank you Romain.
Are you tired of ATC referring to your aircraft as simply "Dassault" or "Experimental"? Do
you want to hear the pilot and ATC refer to your aircraft as type "Dassault Mirage" in FS9? Modify (or add if necessary)
the lines "atc_type=DASSAULT" and "atc_model=Mirage" to the [General] section on the
aircraft.cfg file. Now that's cool!
- If you haven't already read my review of last year please
do so. In addition to providing a recap, there are also announcements of upcoming
Mirage releases.
-
If you are new to this website please make a bookmark
(add it to your Favorites)
and follow the links below to see what has been recently added.
