Grinnelli Designs: F-100D Developer Blitz
- Aaron "Ribbon-Blue" Mendoza
- 3 minutes ago
- 9 min read
Grinnelli Designs has been approaching the development of their upcoming F-100D Super Sabre for Digital Combat Simulator World (DCS) and promotion of their company in a noteworthy way in the past two years. For this third party developer, it seems like that trend is going to continue with the recent release of the pre-purchase trailer for the Super Sabre and a significant industry event happening in the coming weeks.
There is so much to discuss, the only way to touch on every point is to create a mini-series. Which is exactly what we are doing! There is a lot to talk about in the first article of this mini-series, so strap in and fly with us for a bit.
The Trailer and Notable Details
The Grinnelli Designs DCS: F-100D Super Sabre has been teased a bit in some official Eagle Dynamics videos, but nothing on the level of the official pre-order trailer. The beautiful 3D model and close ups of the internals of "The Hun" truly speak for themselves. I'd recommend watching the trailer about three times to really take it all in.
Between the trailer and the module sales page on the official Digital Combat Simulator website, there is a lot of info. For lists of weapons available and maximum airspeeds, the sales page and their website is more than sufficient.
Instead, there are a few details that highlight the depth of complexity being simulated and a deep understanding of the F-100 as an aircraft that Grinnelli Designs is presenting:
The electrical system of the aircraft is simulated to provide accurate electrical currents, voltages and power consumption. That alone sounds impressive but take into account the implications of the aircraft being struck by weapons with the electrical system being compromised. Expert pilots of the F-100D would also need to learn which of their systems consumes more power than others to keep an aircraft operable while in flight. A fascinating layer of detail.
The module is coming with two options for afterburners. The newer J-57-P-23 and the older J-57-P-21, which has longer times to light the afterburner, more frequent failures to activate the afterburner and a higher frequency of compressor stalls. Its great to see the limitations of technology of the time simulated as it was.
The thermodynamic engine modelling should be noted. The engine in this module includes compressor stalls, compressor surges, oil system management, ignition systems and the physics of an active afterburner also effect the engine itself.
The F-100D module will come with three air-to-air refueling probe options: straight probe, bent probe or probe removed. This seems minor, but it is a design specific quirk unique to the Super Sabre.
One of the least known but highly recognizable aircraft launch systems from the Cold War is the Zero Length Launch system (ZELL / ZEL). Designed with the idea that all major air bases would be targeted during the starting days of a theoretical World War 3, the ZELL system would mount specific types of combat aircraft to a rail mounted rocket pod driven launch system. Theoretically, an aircraft can launch from anywhere this launch system could fit. Parking lots, fields, forests, from the back of specially designed transport vehicles. Limited numbers of ZELL systems and aircraft compatible with these systems were produced, but videos of combat aircraft launching from "a pole with a rocket booster" is memorable. This F-100D module will be the first virtual aircraft in Digital Combat Simulator to simulate the ZELL system.
F-100D on ZELL system. The mention of a customizable dashboard has been clarified by JNelson from the Grinnelli Designs development team in the developer's Discord server. Quoting them here:
"There are 7 gauges on the dash that can occupy any other position of those 7. Then the ADI and lock can be swapped. So here the red gauges can be swapped around in any order, and the blue gauges can be swapped with each other. There is a randomize mode too which will choose from (I think) 12 historical variations every time you get in the jet."
JNelson later confirmed in a separate Discord conversation that the module already has Force Feed Back implementation for compatible flight simulation peripherals. Force Feed Back has been a feature tested frequently throughout the module's development. Truly being able to feel the aircraft in flight is a significant enhancement to the flight experience.
We do not see this used in Digital Combat Simulator frequently, but there is a gun camera and strike camera function within the simulator that can export their footage as independent video files with their corresponding video aspect ratios. For online groups that simulate real combat aviation operations, this is a valuable tool. For content creators this can also be used for some unique, period accurate supplemental video. In July 2025, the development team posted an example of strike camera footage in their Discord server.
July 2025 example of strike camera footage posted by Grinnelli Designs. Grinnelli Designs made use of gun camera footage during their time at FlightSimExpo 2025 in a memorable way as well. We'll discuss that in detail later in this article.
Gun strafe of SAM site by Skyward Flight Media representative at Flight Sim Expo 2025. Recently the inclusion of in-game offline manuals for modules has been in vogue. Something that I hope other existing modules retroactively add someday. A fully accessible manual that can be used while in the cockpit of the aircraft is a great tool to help people learn faster and keep them in the cockpit longer. No need to "Alt+Tab" out of the simulator to bring up a website, use separate mobile devices to read a PDF file or physical printouts of manuals.
F-100D Quick Overview
The F-100 Super Sabre or "The Hun" is one of the more well-known combat aircraft produced during the middle of the Cold War. With 2,294 F-100 airframes constructed, the D model was the most prolific production version. The Super Sabre is best remembered for two specific roles during the Vietnam War / Second Indochina War (1955-1975), mainly during direct American involvement starting in 1965 with the large-scale deployment of its troops directly into South Vietnam.
In general, the aircraft is remembered as a fighter-bomber in ground support missions that targeted troop concentrations, infrastructure and logistic routes. There is a lot of gun camera footage on the internet of Super Sabres attacking roads, bridges and jungles with guns, rockets, radio-controlled line of sight missiles and various types of unguided bombs. Videos of their combat operations over Vietnam are closely tied to the international memory of the conflict as a whole.
The module being produced by Grinnelli Designs is the F-100D according to Project High Wire modification. A development program which standardized avionics and instruments of the day.
The most important addition to this variant being the AN/APR-25 Radar Homing And Warning receiver (RHAW). In the timeframe that the Super Sabre was in active service, new threats like first generation radar guided surface-to-air missiles and more accurate radar guided anti-aircraft artillery were introduced. For a time, the SA-2 Guideline (S-75 Divina) surface-to-air missile was an absolute menace over North Vietnam. A large part of this being its effective combat range between 20 to 30 nautical miles with aircrews unable to detect when they were being fired upon besides visually seeing the missile's rocket motor as it launched. The addition of RHAW to combat aircraft was key to improving aircrew survival rates by giving them at least some ability to know when they were passively detected or actively being tracked.
With the rise of every new threat comes the need to innovate and create a counter. During the Vietnam War, the AGM-45 Shrike anti-radiation missile was introduced to the theater of war. An air-to-ground missile based on the AIM-7 Sparrow air-to-air missile, the Shrike was designed to home in on the high energy radar waves emitted by track radars used to guide weapons like the SA-2 Guideline. Though early Shrike models had immensely short range compared to the threats they were designed to destroy, their range and ability to home onto target would improve over time. The Grinnelli Designs F-100D does include the AGM-45 Shrike within its armaments though it will most likely be used in its shorter-range direct fire modes rather than its loft and other advanced firing modes due to technological restrictions of aircraft at that time. Similarly, in Digital Combat Simulator, the Heatblur Simulations F-4E Phantom II and the Community A-4E-C mod also use Shrikes in a similar manner. There is a reason to assume this.
The combination of RHAW gear and the AGM-45 will naturally remind people of the F-100's most storied role: Project Wild Weasel.
While a Project Highwire F-100D equipped with Shrike may sound like the stuff of Wild Weasel 1 fame, it is important to remember that the aircraft in your mind's eye is the two-seater F-100F. An aircraft which deployed specialized electronic warfare equipment and specially trained electronic warfare officers that flew in the rear seat of the aircraft. RHAW gear is good for detecting radar guided threats, but the type of equipment Wild Weasel Super Sabres carried was more attuned to find, fix and suppress radar guided threats at longer ranges.
Of course, players should not let this stop them from pushing the F-100D module into a suppression of enemy air defense role, but it's important to understand the difference between aircraft and their purpose built capabilities.
There is a lot more to say about the aircraft itself, but we can save that for the next article in our series.
From Mod Maker to Third Party
A major part of the Digital Combat Simulator experience for mod developer Joseph Grinnelli was his efforts in creating a quality catalog of DCS mods. He started back in 2015 as a solo mod developer. He created many mods throughout the years, including the Edge 540 air racer, Robin Reliant Shuttle and a hot air balloon, to name a few.
Though, even the most entry level fan of DCS World knows of the Grinnelli name. Even if they do not realize it. How? It is almost certainly the F-22A Raptor mod for Digital Combat Simulator that we all have seen appearing in the slickest videos from your favorite DCS YouTubers. There are few mods that represent fifth generation aircraft in DCS World, let alone mods that are actively maintained for so many years. The F-22A mod is easily still one of the best ones attempted on the platform.
Joseph's time a mod developer on the platform would eventually inspire him to create a company, expand to make a development team and secure a license to create DCS World commercial modules in 2022. The F-100D Super Sabre is the team's first official product on the platform.
Promotion and Industry Innovation
The Grinnelli Designs team has done a significant amount of promotion for the F-100D. In the traditional route, they have video interviews with content creators like Authentic Media, Enigma and Pricklyhedgehog. Developer blogs and updates on their official website and the Discord server. Their team also appeared at well-known online only events like the Virtual Air Festivals December 2024 airshow.
Thus far the most extravagant event the Grinnelli Designs team has appeared was Flight Sim Expo 2025 (FSExpo) in Providence, Rhode Island. After attending FSExpo 2024 in Las Vegas, Nevada, the team saw that North America's leading flight simulation expo was largely absent of the presence of combat aviation.
Grinnelli Designs constructed an elaborate booth to allow attendees to try out the F-100D in virtual reality with a sim rig. The booth had couches, museum artifacts related to the Super Sabre, half scale Sidewinder missiles and other interesting items. This was a major step for both their team and the presence of military aviation at this expo.
As mentioned in the video, attendees were given copies of their gun camera footage to take home. Their video was loaded onto branded USB flash drives with patches and bracelets also given out. During my attendance at Flight Sim Expo 2025 I was able to extensively fly the F-100D thanks to the development team and also acquired some of the merchandise as well:
All gun camera footage from attendees was gathered and put together into a 42 minute long compilation available on the developer's YouTube channel.
In the coming weeks, Grinnelli Designs will attend FlightSimExpo 2026 as an exhibitor, but also as the core of the Combat Arena; a new exhibition area for the expo. Joseph Grinelli's statement on this event is as follows:
“In partnership with industry leaders who share our passion for aviation and immersive simulation, we’re planning a dynamic lineup of events designed to engage and excite attendees throughout the weekend,” [...] “Highlights include a head-to-head air combat competition, team operations, airshow-style performances, and more—with great prizes available to be won.”
While Eagle Dynamics has attended flight simulation focused events like FlightSimExpo and FS Weekend by cooperating with manufactures like WINCTRL (formerly known as Wingwing), Grinnelli Designs is putting in a next level effort to further expand the presence of military aircraft at flight simulation industry events.
This next part is purely an educated guess, but it is events like Flight Sim Expo where companies often do big announcements to large audiences and the industry as a whole. It would be the perfect place to announce the official release date for the F-100D. But in that same train of thought, it would also be a great opportunity for The Hun to be shown throughout the weekend of FSExpo 2026 if the module was released to the public before the event. It could be featured as a core part of the upcoming FSExpo Combat Arena.
There is no telling how the next two months will play out, but either way it goes, we will be continuing our coverage of the final sprint towards the release of the DCS: F-100D Super Sabre.
The next article in our series about the upcoming F-100D Super Sabre on Skyward Flight Media will be more focused on the aircraft both virtually and in the real world and how Grinnelli Designs has a unique angle to their development.
Connect with Grinnelli Designs
About the Writer
Co-founder of Skyward Flight Media. After founding Electrosphere.info, the first English Ace Combat database, he has been involved in creating flight game-related websites, communities, and events since 2005. He explores past and present flight games and simulators with his extensive collection of game consoles and computers. [Read Staff Profile]
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