Introduction
Dear Reader,
we are proud to present to you the Heatblur Simulations F-4E Phantom II for Digital Combat Simulator. We’ve spent years of development and countless hours of research to bring you the most in-depth recreation of this legendary aircraft ever made. You will be able to fly your Phantom both as a pilot and WSO, alone with the JESTER-AI - your own WSO AI - or in multiplayer together with a friend.
But not only did we recreate the Phantom’s flight model, systems, avionics, radar, RWR and weapons delivery faithfully, we also tried to innovate our approach to flight simulation in general with the module, laying important groundwork for our future modules and as always trying to push the boundaries of flight simulation just a little bit further. From small quality of life improvements like being able to write on your canopy, to an interactive crew chief, our Phantom also utilizes our next-gen components based simulation framework - the aircraft is simulated as a connection of thousands of individual components. From an instrument needle to control surfaces, each component influences the state of the aircraft and even comes with its own wear and tear. From simulating accurate power draw from the power source to the smallest light bulb and all the nodes along the way, from hydraulic fluid which moves the hydraulics which in turn move the flight surfaces all the way to a mass physics based model - things now happen naturally, influenced by each other, and not scripted anymore. Whether that means that unstable power draw may cause a lamp to flicker, or that you can deploy your landing gear in case of a failure using gravity, or that correct and incorrect use of the aircraft influences the wear and tear of each single component individually - we never before attempted a simulation as deep as with the F-4E Phantom II. The DCS: F-4 represents some of the most immersive cold war fighter jet simulation available!
Such innovation and in depth simulation will present an increased learning curve for users. This is why it was important for us to also innovate on the side of learning tools available to you, starting with this manual, so that our modules are accessible to the casual simmer and aficionado alike. You can open the manual in flight, and read along, but better still, you can click any switch (with an input combo) in flight and the manual will open in the correct chapter, explaining the switch or system in the cockpit, all while you are bolting through the air in your thunderous jet. We also changed the underlying structure of the manual to move to an open source model. This will allow the community to easily contribute via GitHub, as two heads (or thousands of them) think better than one. As an added benefit, readability for the mobile version will be greatly improved as well. We have hyperlinked many items for you, providing easy navigation between cockpit diagrams and system overviews. Also featured in the manual are numerous checklists and procedures, and a "Lessons" section, which is planned to be featured with the Early Access Release of the Phantom. The fully written out lessons will complement the flyable training missions. The training missions are now tailored to be learned together with the written lesson in the manual, you will be able to revert steps in the training mission, able to read along and pause (no more restarting for missed items). With all of these features at your disposal, you will be able to adequately prepare yourself for your training. And best of all, during your training you will be instructed by real life F-4 pilots and a real life F-4 WSO Instructor! Who else could teach you better?
We hope you will enjoy both learning and flying the F-4E Phantom II - dive as deep as your heart desires. For this exciting journey we wish you good luck and many fun adventures, and of course: always check six!
In the name of the entire Heatblur Team,
Nicholas Dackard, Heatblur Simulations, CEO and Founder
