New Gryphon/Firebird Spotted - Out of a window

So there they were, just sitting in Phoenix stations bar blissfully unaware of the new ship being test flown for the first time. I would say it was flown publically but I doubt the alcohol fuelled customers noticed the acrobatic display outside the bar window. If it wasn't for the stations security camera it may not have been spotted at all.

But grainy UFO type pictures aren't enough, we need more, so with some digging, bribing and a camera in hand, some more juicy shots have appeared of the cockpit design, with rumours of an artificial horizon meter being added to it, more news as we get it.

New GFC Gryphon/Firebird Teaser Poster Unveiled

A teaser poster for the latest GFC ship has just been unveiled by Engineering and Research division, fully made in mesh with a cockpit to die for....which you may do if you get shot down. More details of the ship, how its made and what it can do will be available at a later date, but for now lets just drool at the pictures....I'm already putting granny up for sale for one.

Of course like other products in the group this should be available for members depending on whatever task they will be required to get one.

New update to a GFC classic ship on the horizon

The gryphon has been one of the most used ships in the history of the GFC, certainly its the most updated boasting an array of features, like hyperspeed, jump drive, recolouring, towing crates, mouse look and standard 3rd person flight modes. Also working with PCS and specially made JCS combat systems.

For sometime there has been talk about not just updating the scripts but also the shell, well that time is close to arrival. Early work has started on the new mesh build with the engineering team of Wolferein Foxdale and Beth (isilmeriel resident) firing up their 3d software attempting to produce what could  be the coolest GFC ship to date.

Watch this space for more details and below check out the 3d view of a very early mesh model (which has been updated since).

Lost Gryphon Sited

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There are days in the GFC where strange things happen... This is one of those days....

(Video Posted on 01/03/2013)

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Location to Phoenix station HERE

AAC: Crate Stacking Returns

One of the features of the GFC's custom Gryphon plane is it's ability to stack boxes. By using specially scripted boxes you can fly over one, type "lift" in the chat window and it will be attached to your ship. To drop simply type "drop".

Sigma squadron now host a weekly event on Fridays at 11am SLT, last week it was using the gliding feature of the gryphon to turn off the engine and try to direct your decent on inertia alone, which was a fun and challenging event.

This week it was the turn of crate stacking.The attending pilots all gave it a try, the host of the event Sigma Squad Leader Richardjrn Weatherwax laid down tons of crates and we flew over picking them up one at and time to see how many we could stack.

On average people were stacking around 4 crates before gravity took a hold and it all came crashing down to the ground. Snapper Desade that super pilot of the skies (in his permanent deluded state) managed the incredible feat of placing 17 crate boxes on top of each other before they were sent sprawling to the floor.

I'm sure stacking will be brought back as a fun activity for pilots and I'm sure various records will be attempted.

AAC Events Times

Sunday 9am SLT

Wednesday 6pm SLT

Friday 3.30pm SLT 

* SLT = Secondlife Time/PDT

More Pictures HERE

Getting The Scores On The Boards

Just when you thought it was safe to enter Sovereign Air space Dolamite Giffen, Dustin Sunflower and Debbydo decided to take to the air and try their hand at the flight school course. The last time Dolamite took to the air the contraption he used flapped, but he geared up and after taking a few test runs got an excellent score of 38 seconds in the Delta Flyer.

Debbydo who is to piloting to what a crash test dummy is to car safety tried to see if she could at least hit red squadron requirements. Once she got use to the craft (realizing it actually is suppose to fly and not skate along the ground) she achieved the lofty heights of doing the course in the flyer in 99 seconds.

Dustin took his turn and got round in 106 seconds, so it wont be long now before he'll be donning that red squadron outfit, just 6 seconds away from glory.

As a wing leader I thought it was time to get some decent scores on the board, so got in the gryphon, powered up her burners and headed for the gates, I wasn't after doing the course in the late 30's, I wanted to shave a good few seconds of that by using the hyperspeed mode. Its as good as impossible to fly the whole course in hyperspeed so you have to toggle between that and around 100%, punching extra speed just at the right time through the gates and hitting the circular sensors bang in the middle.

It took a few tries but I got round in 29 seconds, no misses. There's probably room for improvement, but that score is not too shabby.

So the challenge for those crack pilots out there is lets see what scores you can get this week and we'll try and post then on the blog, maybe even having an online leaderboard, so watch this space, keep an eye on the sky and scores on the boards.


People are always welcome to fly with the GFC Aircorps (AAC), there are impromptu events like this one and scheduled events as listed below.

AAC scheduled events are

Wednesday 6pm SLT*

Sunday 9am SLT* 

One Thing Not To Do At An OTS Final Class

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What you are seeing below is what happens when you ram a Gryphon into a Delta Flyer at Hyperspeed

Result: A hybrid ship that I wouldn't recommend simcrossing in...
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Crates

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It may or may not be known that once RoBobby McMillian achieved stacking 15 crates on top of each other.

Well using the new cargo system in the Gryphons, I managed to carry a total of 24 Crates! All in a stack above each other.

Don't believe me? Well look below.


Told you :P
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Flight school, the blake Sea and back again

This week's aac sunday event you could say was in 3 parts.

First was some flying and shooting in the new flights school area transferred from its previous location in another sim to here at the GFC, removal was executed remarkably well and no china was dropped between sims.

I jumped into a gryphon and did the flight course in a respectable 41 seconds, I've gone faster before but that was just practicing and outside an event so they don't count. We'll see over the next few weeks if I can better that score.

I know Richardjrn Weatherwax did a run in a remarkable head swelling 34 seconds, but talking about it further would require an additional sim to host his ego :p

Following the course activities and familiarizing ourselves with the new surroundings some pilots, Kaori, Gokyu, Avena to name but a few jumped into their fighters for some aerial dog fighting or more commonly known as "Come and get me, eat lead fly boy".

The course at AAC's flight school

The second part was the general meeting, would say more but permission for designs haven't been cleared so won't bother mentioning them.

The final part, technically, wasn't part of an AAC event but carried on with the flying theme and most members followed onto it.

Yay, landed slap bang on the Lighthouses Helipad 

We were off to traverse the waters of the Blake Sea for those who don't know it, it's a collection of sims mostly covered in water for sailing and flying. To get in the spirit of things I needed to bag myself a physical helicopter, got the landmark and nabbed a copy of a nice little chopper for free. Blake Sea's here I come...

Earlier in the week Gokyu announced a trip to the blake Sea starting at Honah Lee Surf Airport. We were given a flight route and proceeded flying through a few sims to Hollywood airport. Once we had taken a break there, our next stop was to find a lighthouse and land our chopper on their Helipad or fly round it if you were in a plane. When that task had been complete it was off to  a secret location to chillout, dance and chat.

Few of us actually made it all the way without a hitch but it was fun flying physical aircrafts which have a totally different feel to the regular ships we fly at the AAC.

The guys and gals at the AAC once again showed how to put on a event which started at the flight school to soaring over the Blake Sea, even the last event had most members staying for the whole 5 hours which is more than an incredible feat and shows once again where much of the true talent and organisation within the fleet lay.

Outside Honah Lee Surf Airport and the view from mouselook in the helicopter....What a sight.

For more pictures click HERE

Defend and Destroy

The AAC events aren't like your normal weekly rp event in the fact it's usually headed by a different person every week, this time was the turn of Kaori to take to the leaders podium and brief the team on a Sunday event.

The event in question was defend and destroy. Gokyu and Sodak were made team leaders and took it in turns to select their teams. I was kind of proud I wasn't too far down the pecking order for selection.

Gokyu's Red Team was tasked to defend ds19 from the attacks launched from the Sodak's Green Team based at the USS Paris.

The two rounds were a tight affair, much bobbing and weaving commenced and many ships could be seen dropping out of the sky the way shot down planes do.

The competition ended in stalemate. So it was decided to end the event by jumping out of the nearest airlock to the grounds outside the tactical area  for a group photo.

The GFC can feel safe that their crack pilots would be ready to protect those sim boarders from those who may come from the land beyond the GFC.

Click for photos

AAC Defend and Destroy

Tails impromptu dog fight

When Tails Cluny developed an itchy finger (unlike the rest of us mere mortals who would just simply scratch it) our Mr Cluny decided to enlist a bunch of pilots, would be pilots and members the term pilots wouldn't be a fitting description for (a person who sat in a plane would have been a more apt terminology).

Tails took this rag tag crew up to the USS Paris for an impromptu if it moved fire at it dog fight.
Staring out the paris bay doors you could see the tracer fire of bullets bouncing off the hull of participants gryphon's as the dog fight went into full swing.

I fear to say it was a no holds bar take no prisoners affair, ships were being downed faster then a sports fan knocking back a can of beer whilst watching the football.

Even when I got in and took to the pilot seat it wasn't long before my gryphon was falling out the sky in pieces and crashing onto the roof of the Paris in a display of smoke and debris.

All in all it was an enjoyable AAC style event which we hope tails holds again and maybe make its a weekly seat of your pants, all you can shoot at flight fest.

When Leads Fly

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Have you ever wondered what happens when leads fly?
Apparently nothing good as these picture shows.

Remember, if you see a lead flying, i suggest you RUN!! D:

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Fallen Turret

I thought I'd pop in and watch the AAC Paris RP event which is held at 6pm SLT Thursday. This RP differ's from the all out dog fighting nature of Wednesday 6pm AAC event and is a more traditional RP experience.

I made a surprise visit to the event and noticed ships already flying outside. On taking a look I witnessed what most probably was the most one sided space battle this side of an AT-AT vs an Ewok tied to a tree blindfolded.
.

First I saw 2 gryphons and a delta flyer attacking this solitary gun turret, to say it was out numbered, out gunned and outside was an understatement. Then out of nowhere came Starr Jetaine and Kaori Juliese to widen the odds of the poor turrets survival from not a chance in hell to not a chance beyond that place called hell.

Dustin Thunderstorm (Dustin Sunflower) showed no fear towards the beleaguered turret and took to it with his sword and power ranger suit....erm....Yes....Moving on....

I can confirm the hapless turret lost.....Many times, smoke bellowing out of its metal casing was a regular occurrence as the onslaught continued until someone felt mercy for it and let it rest in piece.

It would be appreciated if all our fellow readers give the Turret a minutes silents in memory of its valiant but hopeless effort to fend off the best of the best the AAC could throw at it.

PICTURE GALLERY HERE

Testflight

Well, finally it happened. I got my own Gryphon. I had read so much about it in this blog, that I just had to try it out for myself. Besides, I was dying for a new death! So, I put on my favourite shirt, and got to work.

...favourite shirt...

The first try was... uhm... not good. Less than two minutes after my take-off, I was stuck in the middle of nowhere. Great way to start a testflight...

...stuck...

But I didn't give up. I tried the colour changer and went to see if the Gryphon would fit through small portals.

...colour changer...

...it doesn't fit...

Finally, it was time for the real work. First hoverflight, then mouselook, and finally, freemouselook. What a ride! I wondered how it would handle simcrossings... well, I found out. Simcrossings are to be avoided at all times...

...result of simcrossings... ouch...

I tried some more maneauvres, and I could even fly through the donut... I mean, Infinity Station, without crashing! Of course I crashed afterwards, but the photo luckily doesn't show that...

...though the big circle...

In the end, I did land safely in the sandbox. Miraculous. I made it out alive. Ah well, better luck next time. Rich, great work on the Gryphon!

...landed safely! Pfsh!...

MicroAv's hit the skies

Anti MicroAv SL law came into force today and the AAC were forced under duress to allow very small av into the division, many dissenting voices claimed it made a mocker of the aircorp and some builders moaned "We'll have to make the seats biggers now".

Debates have raged over whether they should just put a steering wheel on the dashboard and forego raising the seats at all. An arranged interview with one of the MicroAv's had to be cancelled because our reporter couldn't find a magnify glass strong each to see them or safe enough not to set them alight when the sun was reflected through it.

A spokes person for the "MicroAv's Right to be heard campaign group" speech was thought to have sounded so low that no one could hear them, but  afew people claimed they heared a squeak, a burp and a rat like nibbling sound.

It has been reported that two demonstrations will be held in the GFC next week, the "Don't step on me campaign" followed later in the day by the "Don't kick sand on me" march which is rumored to be taking place somewhere in the sandbox....if you can find them..

More Mini Pictures Click HERE

AAC Dog fight caught on camera

Yeah, yeah I know I couldn't be any later with this video, its been gathering dust on Drew's page for days now, but I've been a bit busy dealing with a bunch of cry babies recently, if only they put as much effort into doing what they should  as opposed to moaning because somebody else has,  maybe theses thing would get done. Then again you could just sit and wait for them to get it done and watch as the dust bowl and cockroaches take up residence.

One person who doesn't let time go by is ol' skunky Drew from Drew's loose ends who's been filming again,  this time the subject for her telephoto lens were the AAC pilots during their dog fight over the battle torn and lazer scorched USS Paris.

Poor Dustin

All didn't go so well for Dustin today at the AAC event!

AAC Delta Flyer vs Gryphon

Last week's Delta Flyer vs Gryphon report get lost in space some how. The GFC postal service has been investigating how the message disappeared and which triple moon planet it now resided on. Posting to the wrong address in space could be the difference of round the corner, afew lights years away, an asteroid field, a worm hole or region of space occupied by the borg who are so bored now they assimilate even old technology like blackberries.

Earlier reports of it being eaten by space monsters has been ruled out because for one space monsters only exist in debbydo's mind, like father Christmas, The tooth fairy and governments reducing taxes. It has also been claimed that it was lost forever in a tragic sim boarder crossing accident. This can't be confirmed or denied due to the simple fact no one cared enough to stand at the boarder staring into space for half and hour.

The AAC pilots donned their flight gear and boarded their jets for a session of air2air combat. Could the Delta flying last five minutes with the deadly gryphon. From the scrunched up report scribbled on a piece of toilet paper we were able to decipher some of it once we fed it through the GFC nonsense translator.

"Delta flier with its sleek maneuverability was able to dodge the gryphon for longer than expected in a flight game of cat and mouse, but when it came down to sheer seek and destroy the Flier was no match for the brute force the gryphon extolled on its smaller brethren as its lasers ripped into its shiny hull."

So after a hard day's piloting they made their weary way back to USS Paris to park their ships, compare battle scars and hide pieces of the Delta Flier before the cleaner finds them and moans its not their job to clear up bits of wing and fuselage.

More Pictures of the AAC Event HERE

Illegal parking in the sandbox

The red gryphon own by ensign AAC APPT leader Gokyu Ugajin was seen parked illegally in the Aeon sandbox today. Our resident clamper Richardjn Weatherwax was at hand to clamp the vehicle for transport to the pound.

Gryphon Launch Party

Today saw the one of the crazies and fun launch parties in the GFC for a long time. The party was for the launch of the much awaited Gryphon aircraft. Our meeting place was outside the 5 pips club in Aeon where a nice crowd stood in attendance waiting for the start of the airshow.

Richardjrn Weatherwax stood majestically on the ship he scripted, unfortunately I didn't see his partner in crime Radon18 Nitely who built the ship, rumor has it he was last seen trapped under a giant prim somewhere. As pilots Gokyo Ugajin, Thomas Acker and Kaori Juliesse prepared to climb in their versions of the new plane each painted a different colour.

The crowd waited with bated breath as our pilots slid into their new shiny flying machines, colour smoke streaming out of its exhaust to heighten the enjoyment of the show, and what a show it was. Mr Weatherwax tapping his feet Harmonically when our intrepid pilots took off and wowed the crowed with spins, turns and dramatic barrel rolls, not just showing the ships incredible maneuverability but the skill of our pilots in the AAC.

You couldn't help watch in awe as the ribbons of smoke filled the air above us and our pilots landed back on earth with great appreciation from the watching crowd.

The second part of the event was to hit the dance floor and party to the sound of music vibrating the walls with a mixture of modern and classic tracks. Familiar faces in the GFC let their hair and fur down and chilled for some deserved R&R.

There was a fun competition to vote for the best pilot in the display and though i'm unsure who got the most votes for that, from what i witnessed it would have been hard to seriously separation them.

As promised guests were able top get a free mini remote control Gryphon by just clicking the spin model on the flashy vendor.

As the party drew to a end and the start of the General Meeting drew closer. We tried to see how many people could sit on a mini gryphon. A few days ago we had 5 people sit on one and got flown around, but that wasn't enough, we wanted more, as people piles on it was 6, then 7, we thought 8 was a push but that was achieve until the final total of people sitting on one was a staggering 11.

But to have 11 people wasn't enough, someone mention that it would be fun if could be flown to the General Meeting from there. Not only did we have to travel a distance but cross a sim border, its risky enough to cross a sim with one person in an aircraft, but to have 11 on a tiny little model was actually suicide. We expected at least half the passengers to disintegrate the moment their av's touched the border, but miraculously we all made it across safely. Many of us did double check if limbs were missing, but on inspection everything was intact, bar the madness that possessed us to try it in the first place.

One of the many features of the gryphon is its ability to fly through walls like butter, though the unexpected avatars waiting in the GM hall may have questioned their sanity, their eyesight or the molecular cohesion of the wall in question when they saw 11 people materializes through it.

As the mini Gryphon taxied its way to the middle of the GM hall, Admiral Cobra Mechanique looked up from his desk, shook his head, inquired why half the people in the meeting were sitting on something so small you couldn't actually see it and wondered about all the strange things he had seen in this career as GFC admiral and concluded that it ranked up there with some of the craziest.

Overall the launch party was a great success, it helped spark more interest in the skill of the AAC pilots and the desired to build great crafts from the ASDB.

A special thanks has to go to ASDB Assist Lead Eric Silvercloud for his work on getting this launch party together and help making the ASDB one of the most exciting and fastest growing groups in the GFC. We also would like to thank Richardjrn Weatherwax for making the Gryphon something special, something different and most of all something cool.

Now i'm off to play with my mini Gryphon.....Now where can i find 12 people.

More pictures can be found by Michel Rosenstrauch, Kaori Juliesse, Debbydo and Snapper Desade by following the link CLICK HERE