F9F Panther | '50s Early Jet Fighter
Originally posted by [b]Wikipedia[/b]:
The Grumman F9F Panther is an early carrier-based jet fighter designed and produced by the American aircraft manufacturer Grumman. It was the first jet-powered fighter aircraft to see air-to-air combat with the United States Navy as well as being Grumman’s first jet fighter. The Panther was used extensively by the U.S. Navy and Marine Corps in the Korean War. On 3 July 1950, a F9F-3 recorded the first U.S. Navy air victory of the conflict, having shot down a propeller-powered Yak-9. In the Korean theatre, Panther pilots cumulatively claimed the shooting down of seven Mikoyan-Gurevich MiG-15s. During 1956, the type was withdrawn from front-line combat service, but remained in secondary roles, such as for training and with U.S. Naval Air Reserve and U.S. Marine Air Reserve units, until 1958.
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F9F PANTHER
This F9F in Stormworks was designed to be a semi-faithful replica to the original plane. In game, the F9F performs decently well in both air-to-air and air-to-ground roles. Equipped with 2X stretched machineguns for extra damage and armor penetration as well as unguided HVAR rockets, you will have no trouble taking out planes, tanks, helicopters, and small patrol boats with this aircraft. I have flown it extensively on various combat servers and it really is a joy to use.
CAPABILITIES
The F9F comes equipped with air-to-air heavy machineguns and air-to-ground unguided rockets, though you could also swap these out for bombs or any other weapon you choose. While it may seem lackluster, the effectiveness of this plane is greatly aided by its good handling and frontal viewing scope, which is extremely helpful for aiming guns and rockets as you have an unobstructed view in front of you.
To use the rockets effectively, I recommend activating the "Viewscope HUD" switch near the bottom to display an aiming reticle and artificial horizon. Aim the rockets a few degrees above the target and come in from a medium to high angle (45 to 70 degrees) and then fire when you get close enough. It might take some practice.
Some Stormworks PVP servers have speed limitations in place to prevent people from using overpowered vehicles, so I have installed a speed cap switch that will limit you to a speed of 75 m/s. Simply switch it on if you choose to play on those servers, there is nothing more you need to do.
STARTUP
The plane is pretty simple to start up. Simply follow the steps below:
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[*] Get in the cockpit and close the canopy.
[*] Flip the main electricity breaker and set the parking brake to off (the red light on the bottom should show you whether it is on or off, it is on by default).
[*] Turn on the engine switch and throttle up with the arrow keys, and activate the speed limiter if needed.
[*] Once you are in the air, arm the guns and pylons using the switches on the right, and raise the gear with the switch on the left.
[*] You can also activate the gun sight and viewing scope HUD overlay if you choose.
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NOTES
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[*] Hold the up arrow key to activate WEP and get some extra power out of the engine in case of emergency.
[*] When firing the rockets, aim a little bit above the target to get a direct hit. Once you get the hang of it its pretty easy. I recommend practicing your aim by flying around the airports and shooting at the "X" marks on the runways.
[*] You don't need to fly at full throttle when the speed limiter is on.
[*] The internal lights are designed to be just bright enough to see around the cockpit at night, and nothing more so you don't get spotted easily.
[*] There is a parachute behind the seat and welder + fire extinguisher too. Hold the welder while flying so that you can quickly repair your seat if you get hit in combat.
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