  It took me four tries, but I finally got through Ace Combat 04 mission "Whiskey Corridor. " I tried using the A-10, first, but was quickly shot down by some F-117s. That sucked, royally. I wasn't expecting the enemy to have those planes at their disposal... I ended up buying an F-2 Attacker and equipped it with some long-range air-to-surface missles. That proved to be a better combination, because I was able to take out the SAMs and AA guns long before they were able to take me out. That made taking all the other ground units out a piece of cake! The F-2 was great for taking hordes of planes out also. I did have trouble keeping up with the F-22s. I can't wait to get my hands on one of those later in the game. I love the F-22s. I don't know whether Ace Combat 04 has the directional thrusters in the F-22s so I'm hoping Ace Combat 05 does.
I keep seeing info about those planes on the Discovery Wings cable television channel. Oh, if only I had perfect vision - I bet you I'd be inline for one of those puppies. I doubt I've mentioned this in my blog before. When I was younger, my dream was to be a kick-ass fighter pilot. I wanted so bad to be a part of that elite set of aces in the sky that so many movies exemplify. And "Top Gun" just through me over the top. I had dreams that I might be able to be an astronaut also. (I wonder how many other brutha's from Appomattox County had dreams or wishes like that... At least in my graduating class, it seemed like I was the only one thinking that kind of stuff,) Alas, in the 9th grade, my mom took me to an optometrist who found that I had poor vision.
I was far-sighted AND I had astigmatism. My aspirations of flying anything during combat were dashed. If I hadn't played football that year, I think I'd've wallowed in misery over my loss and just become a bitter young man. Thankfully, my mom and step-father supported me playing sports. That gave me something to focus on. Ever since that, I've known the closest I'd come to air combat was playong games. That's why I'm so happy about the Ace Combat game series. I'm really impressed with Ace Combat 04, because it really puts me into the cockpit. I think as I progress through the game I may post some of the strategies that I'm starting to master while playing. I guess we'll see huh? 
