TFX Tips

Underhand cheats

Here's a great cheat that lets you skip right through the training section and straight onto the real missions. At the Enrol screen, enter your first name and surname as normal. Once you've typed your nickname, hold down CRTL as you press Return for the third time. You'll advance to the screen where you select a save game slot, then onto the normal game selection screen. Now however, you'll be able to select Tour of Duty and Flash Points. Easy eh?

If that's not enough, this cheat should see you through the entire game. Whilst flying, hold down the left Shift key and type PLOP. This invokes a cheat mode making your plane invulnerable to missiles. What's more, if you crash into the ground the current mission will be regarded as accomplished and you'll be moved on to the next. Do the same to turn the cheat off again.

Refueling

There will come a time when the tiger in your tank is exhausted and you run out of fuel. Fortunately for the forgetful, you are warned that your fuel is running low, in which case the time is nigh to refuel. You have a choice:

• Find a friendly runway and land (where you will also be rearmed)
• Find a KC Tanker (a refuelling aircraft)

Both methods are not easy and require practice, but it should be noted that loads of bonus points are on offer for refuelling in the air. A KC Tanker is always full of fuel and on standby (above the clouds if it's a cloudy day), so fly high. The tanker usually operates at a service level of 30,000 feet and at a speed of around 300 knots. When you're close enough to the KC Tanker and match its speed, it will release a fuel line, otherwise known as a `boom'.

• Press the ` key to open your aircraft's refuel access

EF2000 Refuelling

A fuel tube is located at the front right-hand side of the aircraft (you can see it if you use a Virtual or External view). The trick is to fly so that the tube pokes into the end of the boom released from the left-hand feeding station of the KC-10 Twin Boom Tanker. When you manage this, the boom will lock into place and refuelling will automatically occur. The normal fuel feed rate is approximately 300 gallons per minute. The fuel gauge shows the quantity of available fuel.

F-22 and F117a

The pilot of an F-22 or F-117a has a far easier time refuelling. The refuel access is located at the rear of the aircraft, directly behind the cockpit. The KC-135E single Boom tanker will push a feeding probe into the back of your aircraft. All you have to do is sit tight and keep your speed, heading and altitude constant.

Emergencies

In landing, many things can go wrong. If your aircraft is already damaged, landing may be made much harder, but attempting a crash landing if possible is always preferable to ejecting and losing your aircraft. If you have engine damage, follow this procedure as best you can. You may have a much higher VSI reading and you could damage your gear, but gliding down with both engines out is possible.

Gear damage could prevent you from either retracting or lowering your undercarriage. If you can't lower the undercarriage, land without it. Try to keep the VSI very low, and deploy the brake chute ( Alt-b) if you have one on touchdown. If things look bad when you hit the ground, eject.

If your wheel brakes are damaged, it will be harder to stop. Deploy the brake chute and air brakes (b). If you look like careering off the end of the runway, deploy your arrester hook (h). Every runway has arrester cables for emergency landings. If you can't acutally land on the runway, land near to it. You'll then be in for a rough ride, but should have a good chance.

Weapons

Updates to TFX can be found on Charlie Wallace's home page.

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