FIGHTER BOMBER
--------------

 CHEAT MODE:

 To activate the cheat mode, play under one of these names:

 'YAWN'
 'BUCKAROO'
 'HOORAY FOR MICK'
 'KYLIE'
 'SO WHAT IF I DO'
 'BOOMERANG'

 You can also enter VERSION to see what version of the game you have.
 If you enter your name as 'BUCKAROO' the computer will respond by
 displaying "Oooh Nooo, it's a BUCKAROO!". You now have access to any
 of the sixteen missions. You can also press [D] at any time to be
 transported to the next target.

  
                              FIGHTER BOMBER TIPS

Typed in by SIDEWINDER for LSD.


TIPS
Use the Air Brakes for making extremely tight turns, especially when in
close quarters combat as you could go endlessly round and round in circles,
trying to catch a circling enemy if you didn't use them.  Your speed drops
off like wildfire so keep an eye on your air speed (and remember your stall
speed!).

Ideally you should have either the F-111 F or the F-15 Strike Eagle for the
missions with an F-5 Tiger II as the dissimilar enemy.  The F-5 is pretty
useless for a long range attacks and just loves to show off by roaring over
your aircraft (in most cases through your aircraft).  To really screw his
air manoeuvres up, wait until he's within the 3 mile radar range and then
switch to cannons.  As he draws near, his radar image should merge with
yours: as it does so, fire the cannon a few times, 9 out of 10 times it'll
hit him and make you look like a hotshot ace at the same time.

If you can, use the Mavericks as your primary weapon.  They're easy to use,
require little in the way of parameters to launch (just make sure you're
the right way up), they hit 100% of the time with total destruction of the
target, and lock onto anything from tents to bridges.  The higher you are,
the further away from the target you can launch them.  Thirty thousand feet
is ideal for launching at the 20 mile mark, a very useful fact to know if
you're up against a time limit mission and need to fire from long range.  A
true Fire-and-Forget weapon.

You've got unlimited chaff and flares so use them at all times during
combat and often during flight.  Although you're warned of SAMs and
missiles it's best to be overly cautious than be lax.  Never let down your
guard, or you and your plane will surely follow.  The SAM sites are
extremely rapid at firing and quickly get trigger-happy, firing missiles
constantly.  Luckily they're pretty stupid missiles and conveniently get
confused when flares or chaff is launched, if only chaff or flares were
this efficient in real life.  Basically you only need to jettison a single
chaff for each missile fired at you.  Best be on the safe side and launch
as many as possible - after all there's no limit.

THE TOP AIRCRAFT

1.  GENERAL DYNAMICS F-111 F:
  A true beast of the air with a superlative payload capacity, good fuel
economy, and top notch all-round flight performance as well.  It may not be
as glamorous as the Eagle and it doesn't quite hit the Mach 2.5 mark, but
it's got more payload and that means a lot less trips back to base on the
later levels.

2.  MCDONNELL DOUGLAS F-15E STRIKE EAGLE:
A real powerhouse of a jet for those with the need for speed, plus a superb
ground attack capability.  The F-15 was initially promoted as the 100%
Interceptor with 'not a pound for air-to-ground'.  Ironic that it has
become one of the premier ground attack aircraft.  A superb aircraft with a
payload of up to 14 Mavericks, and a mass of weaponry.  The one to choose
if you want the best of everything.

3.  MCDONNELL DOUGLAS F-4E PHANTOM:
A flexible aircraft with the capacity for a varied payload even when it
isn't in the F-15 league for sheer brute force when it comes to
acceleration, vertical climbs, and fuel economy.  Other than that, it can
carry a medium level of pretty standard weaponry with up to seven Mavericks
and four bombs on the outer hardpoints (no room for sidewinders if you do
though).

4.  PANAVIA TORNADO IDS (RAF/LUFTWAFFE VARIANTS):
Not a lot of difference between these two excellent all-rounders.  The
payload is pretty impressive with eight Mavericks plus Sidewinders (I get
everywhere! hee hee).  For total devastation though, a JP233 Airfield
Denial Weapon (known as the MW1 by the Luftwaffe) is awesome.  Launch the
thing as you fly low-level over the target and the weapon spreads itself
across the area, wreaking destruction all around.  It's not too good for
pinpoint accuracy but it does the overkill job extremely well.  Very good
variety of payload with more than enough Mavericks to the job you want.

5.  MIG-27 FLOGGER D:
Strange how the BOMBER crew thinks this is a premier Soviet ground attack
when the SU-24 Fencer (the Russian version of the F-111/Tornado class
bomber)seems to be the biggest threat at the moment.  Slightly better than
the Viggen for carrying aims with capacity for up to five freefall/cluster
bombs and one air-to-air missile but otherwise it's a dinosaur.  The
Kerry is the Russian equivalent of the Maverick (at least in this game
it is) but with the incredibly limited range of 6.8 miles it's a waste
of a hardpoint.  It's better than the Viggen but that's not saying much!

6.  SAAB AJ37 VIGGEN:
Like a fool I chose this one for my attempt at winning the cup, thinking it
would be a pretty potent aircraft.  After all, the Royal Swedish Air Force
swears by it - and probably swears at it as well considering it's limited
payload.  The maximum of four Mavericks and four Sidewinders is a pathetic
'bomber' payload so make sure you're a good shot with the cannon.  The
rocket pods are good fun to launch and watch fly through the air but
without a sighting ring they're tricky to aim.  The successor to the
Viggen, the Gripen, looks set to continue the trend for low payload
(providing they get the bugs out the software first).  For now I think Saab
had better stick to making cars.

End.