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FS Aircraft Preview Rafale C/B/M by VPA (for FS2004)
(Previewed December 2011)
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The well known Rafale by Cyril Pioffet was released in December 2002
and while it has been successfully ported into FS2004 there has never been a
publically available Rafale built specifically for FS2004.
That will change very shortly with the release of a new Rafale C from Vincent Hellegouarch,
Philippe Devallez, and Alexandre Baffert (VPA).
The Rafale C by VPA is now available exclusively from this website -- Mirage4FS.com. By arrangement with
Vincent Hellegouarch I have agreed to make the aircraft files available at my own bandwidth cost. Distribution
elsewhere is strictly forbidden without written authorization from Vincent Hellegouarch. Please see the Readme
file for the information on the role Dassault Aviation will play in legal proceedings for violation of this limitation
on distribution.
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Vincent is the modeler and began this project three years ago, using FSDS to build
the model.
When the aircraft was far enough along to begin flying in Flight
Simulator, Alexandre began developing the flight model.
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Four external configurations are included:
A clean version (above) with wingtip mounted MICA-EM missiles.
An "Operational Performance" version (left) with centerline 1,250 liter fuel tank
and wingtip mounted MICA-EM missiles.
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A "Long Range" version (right) with three 1,250 liter external fuel tanks, four Meteor missiles under
wing and fuselage, and wingtip mounted MICA-EM missiles.
A reconnaissance version (below) with two 2,000 liter wing tanks and centerline mounted
AREOS Pod and wingtip mounted MICA-EM missiles.
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Philippe Devallez joined the project this past April to help with
programming the xml gauges and to assist with their
website.
Realizing the need for additional assistance with gauge programming,
Philippe contacted
Pierre Fasseaux.
Pierre developed the PMSO, the MFD structure and the chrono (clock).
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Vincent painted textures for four individual aircraft from Escadron
de Chasse 1/7 'Provence' based at Base Aerienne 113 de Saint-Dizier.
Jonathan Hilaire painted the full 2D and 3D bitmaps and
Eric Dantes provided
assistance in making the 3D panel textures visible at night.
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The VC and 2D panel include a fully functional PMSO to control the contents of the
left and right MFD displays as well as function as a warning panel.
The depth of these systems rivals that of the similar system included in
the FSX Rafale C/M of Roland Laborie.
The center SiTAC (Situation Tactique) display features both radar and moving map. Other
features controlled from the cockpit include working fuel dump and flares.
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February 2012 Update: The Rafale by VPA may soon be released after a month of delays
waiting for Dassault Aviation authorization. The situation has been covered on several French
language blogs;
Korben (using one of my in-game images),
Zone Militaire, and
Armee Media;
as well as SimOuthouse
forum.
It is a nice model so fingers crossed.
April 2012 Update: After several months of negotiation with Dassault Aviation, the
new Rafale C by VPA for FS2004 has been released. Further development of the aircraft is
planned and if there is enough interest a Rafale B and Rafale M will be made.
July 2012 Update: The Rafale B has been released. The aircraft shares some files
with the Rafale C package so it is necessary to have the Rafale C installed for both versions.
There are several configuration packs. The Rafale B "Base" pack is required for all.
The additional packs add more external configurations with flight model adjustments
for each (payload and external fuel effects). Dassault Aviation was involved
with the flight model files in making modifications, testing, and in final approval.
The Export pack offers camouflage textures as well as the conformal fuel tanks
(1,150 litres each side) located along the fuselage spine. Fuel and payloads
varied in the markings of three squadrons allow you to simulate all kinds of mission
payloads: GBU, ASMP, SCALP, etc.
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March 2023 Update: There has been renewed interest in the VPA Rafale from the folks who visit sim-outhouse.com. Now back in contact with Vincent Hellegouarch of VPA, he and I have begun working again on getting the models uploaded through a legitimate website. We began with the Rafale C and made it available exclusively from this website -- Mirage4FS.com. Distribution elsewhere is strictly forbidden without written authorization from Vincent Hellegouarch. Some rules have been determined.
- Upload Permission: You are not allowed to upload these files to other sites under any circumstances.
- Modification Permission: You are not allowed to modify or improve theseses files under any circumstances.
- Conversion Permission: You are not allowed to convert these files under any circumstances.
- Asset Use Permission: You are not allowed to use assets of these files under any circumstances.
That said, you can certainly create modifications and repaints but they must be made available as a separate file with
complete instructions on how to integrate them into the already installed originals.
May 2023 Update: The VPA Rafale B is now available exclusively from sim-outhouse.com. The single file (310 MB) includes all Rafale B configurations (shown above) in the original 2012 release.
June 2023 Update: A new VPA Rafale M has been released and is also available exclusively from sim-outhouse.com. The package includes 16 configurations and four texture sets.
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