ARM505

...and they can be unbelievably accurate with their MG's, yes.

Failures in the DCS suck badly since the entire experience (single player) revolves only about you, ie if you don't achieve your objectives, the whole game fails to progress. You are not just a part of some conflict, you ARE the conflict. My comments are a blatant homage to Falcon 4's dynamic campaign, where I didn't mind aborting since the war carried on regardless :) I could focus on doing the right thing, ie bringing the bird back home. In DCS, bringing the wounded bird back home still just means EPIC FAIL to the sim, regardless of how cool you thought you were whilst flying without instruments/engine etc :) This is why random failures hit so close to home for many here IMHO. Once your HUD blinks, the mission has failed, like it or not - any further successes occur purely in your own mind, and nowhere else.

Lol, I've played through Portal 2 twice, and steam says I've played for under 10 hours. I enjoyed the story, but there's no real reason to ever play it again. Sims never end on the other hand, and always present fresh challenges. Get it.

Ugh, ROF with a TM:Warthog :) Seriously, just plug a wooden broomhandle into it! :D

1st child? If so, just a teeny little heads up - you will not have nearly as much free time as you think you will :) Nothing kills hobbies like children, darlings though they are....congrats and welcome though!

Yes, I fly them - and no, I didn't say they were certified for use in normal flight, just that they could be deployed below 10' RALT, ie just prior to touchdown :) The thrust reverser can be deployed when either radio altimeter senses less than 1 0 feet altitude, or when the air/ground safety sensor is in the ground mode. Movement of the reverse thrust levers is mechanically restricted until the forward thrust levers are in the idle position. (Boeing B737-33A FCOM volume 2, page 7.20.10, it's the same for all classics and the NG too IIRC. I have flown the -200, -500, and am current on the -300, 400, and -800) I used to fly Twotters too, and if I remember correctly they were not certified for reverse in flight. That didn't seem to stop a few people I know trying idle reverse decents (fun apparently), nor me getting them into reverse just prior to touchdown (on ridiculously short mud patch strips in deepest darkest Africa whilst flying humanitarian aid missions)

Boeing 737's (300 onwards) can too! .....but only under 10' radar alt, ie just prior to landing. Note that 'can' doesn't mean 'should' ;) It's meant to allow one to start the whole process of getting decent reverse thrust levels on. On a related note, a Lauda Air 767 disintegrated in flight due to uncommaned reverser deployment.

Well, steam is a kind of DRM too, so it's not like they removed it totally. I have no idea what 1C was trying to do with that other DRM - maybe because steam games are cracked at release nowdays? Still, it was a waste of time. Serious sim users buy their software almost 100% of the time (I'm guessing, but I think it's a good one)

I've used both - I used to use a CH stick, throttle and pedals (still connected to my Cougar now), and a family member now has one of the newer CH sticks. I can just give my personal experiences, perceived problems, and how I got around them: Cougar bad points: - The stock Cougar will feel VERY heavy (strong spring strength, try saying that fast while drunk :) ) compared to a CH setup, which is particularly soft IMHO. This will be especially apparent on the 'diagonals' when fighting against both X and Y springs. IMHO, it's actually too heavy to control precisely. - The Cougar has a particularly noticeable feel when crossing the centre point (nul position) which many do not really like, myself included. If you google some images of how it is constructed you will see why. The CH products are also like that to a much smaller degree, but the lighter spring strength means it's far less of an issue. - The stock Cougars pots WILL begin to spike at some point with enough use. This applies to all pots - X and Y axes, throttle, rotaries, and mini stick. CH pots seemed to last much longer, although my CH pedals' pot has eventually (after 10+ years of use) become too erratic to use properly. Strengths: - The programming software is excellent, far more flexible than anything else. - The shape and feel of the stick is better (more ergonomic) and more realistic than the CH stick. - The Cougar simply has more features and options, given the available devices it has, eg two stage trigger, multi position boat switches, rotaries etc. It's just a more capable input device, assuming everything works of course. I've cured the problems I experienced by fitting Hall effect sensors to the X and Y axes (throttle sensors now on order, since that is now spiking as well). I extended the stick by about 30 cm with a little home tubing and garden hose fitting setup. This means the stock springs are perfect, and that also gets rid of the noticeable 'dead' sort of zone in the middle. I don't use the rotaries, and I also need to unplug or disconnect the mini stick somehow, since it is unuseable now and makes calibration very difficult. In conclusion: If you want something cheaper, perfecly functional, and lower maintenance, get the CH stuff. Having said that, to me the extra feel of my setup means I would buy it all over again. Ideally, you'll find an already modded Cougar, preferably with one of the gimbal (sp?) mods + HE sensors already done, for the right price. Thats what I would go for. Perhaps saving up for the A10 HOTAS would be worth it, although I can't comment on what I haven't used. Edit to add: Ah, babies. Forget the Cougar. I did all that modding without my children around, nowdays that would be a giant PITA. Get CH, or anything thats low maintenance. :) When the kiddies are a little older, maybe then. But then you DEFINITELY won't have any money :)

Just for interest's sake, hasn't anybody else built a little extension for their joystick? It's really easy to get some plumbing/garden hose bits and pieces and customise it to your liking (especially if you have a joystick like a Cougar, which comes apart and has really strong springs) - I've got about the right length now after a bit of trial and error, and I haven't found a need to tune the axes - tiny, precise movements, as well as rapid movements are possible. It's a massive improvement.

This might have been said, but: - Failing to uncheck 'Full Screen' in options will result in a crash on Win7 64. - Turn off 'heat blur' in options, because the heat blur is totally misaligned from the engines, at least for me (1 X Nvidia GTX 580). It's misaligned, pointing in the wrong direction, and only visible from certain specific angles. Weird, and definitely wrong.

I don't think it's a shame at all to admit flying sims when you're a real pilot - maybe the military pilots are the last holdout's in this regard, but all of us (even the military!) have to fly RL simulators as part of our jobs - I've just finished a two day Prof check and LOFT (line orientated flight training) on the B734 (virtual!), and next week I'm doing my B737-800 conversion - once again without touching the real plane at all. The first time I really fly the type will be with passengers aboard, all none the wiser of course :) And a great many airlines use CPT's (cockpit procedural trainers) that are interactive to varying degrees, all PC based. My point is that RL pilots are almost certain to fly sims, albeit slightly more expensive ones! IMHO, any RL pilot who sneers at a modern PC sim is simply ignorant of what it can do. FSX still beats our (brand new) B738 sim for visuals, although I must say it's quite spiffy, what with moving cars etc on the roads around airports, enormous view angles, super smooth frame rates (ahem, maybe FSX loses out there :) ) Shameless plug: http://www.airliners.net/photo/Kulula-%28Comair-Limited%29/Boeing-737-86N/1845177/L/&sid=702171dd51b387f25be2470e46cb1904 One of the planes I'll fly - odd paint scheme, but hey.

This was just while turning off the runway - women drivers, sheesh! (Ok, the Captain was female, but that's just coincidence, ok? :) ) I guess next time she'll remember she's turning the longest airliner in the world!

Yeah, I also posted on a previous thread on this topic - it's hard to believe there's no parking brake. I mean, assume an A10 pilot goes on a little solo cross country (yeah, some assumptions here, bear with me :) ) - he lands at some civilian airport for some reason (he needs the toilet?), and lo and behold, there's nobody to meet him. Now, he has to dive out of the cockpit and run around like a maniac looking for a brick/log/old boot (!) to jam behind the wheels before his aircraft runs away due to a strong wind/slight slope etc? I was always told never to trust the park brake EXCEPT to quickly jump out and chock the aircraft, but the poor old Hog pilot can't even do that. Seems odd.....

i7 (forget the details) @3800Ghz GTX 580 6GB 1600Mhz Win 7 64 You will have no cause for complaint. The lowest I've seen so far (mirrors, mav, TGP screen on, everything on highest plus lots of action) is in the 20's (some kind of weird anomaly over a city), but normally 80+, often above 100.

The 'unofficial' Twin Otter altitude record at a previous company where I worked was apparently 26000'. Note that the Twotter is unpressurised and was not fitted with oxygen masks.....young, stupid, etc etc. It depends on the person. The sim of course will assume we're all identical, black us out probably slightly too soon (since thats basically all it can do), and allow full control despite the loss of vision. Not really correct, but close enough for our purposes I suppose.

It looks like an EFP. (Explosively formed projectile) I also thought a heat round (whilst having a copper liner) just used plasma to cut through armour.

That sounds vaguely.......porno :)

1/2mv^2 KE penetrators = lots of energy liberated when the round cuts through the metal. This causes unpleasantness for soft things inside the tank, ie humans and equipment. I could use words like 'pyrophoric', and 'depleted uranium', and 'self-sharpening', but I won't. You ought to get several thousand replies out of this question :)

Yes, I also felt that my heroic death freed my wingman from the shackles of my inept leadership, and only then did he proceed to kick ass - no doubt shouting 'FREEEEEEEDOM!' as he did so, or something to that effect.....

...or, when she says it, just check whether your speedbrakes are in the position that you want them in. :)

This is actually quite interesting, and again makes me wonder what an experienced sim pilot could do in the real aircraft. I know, I know, we've had this discussion a million times, but I'll wager that almost all experienced sim pilots here jumped (or could have, RTFM notwithstanding :) ) into the A10 on the 1st install, and flew a circuit - I know I did. You only need your stick, throttle, rudder, F, shift F, and G - simple. Hell, I even managed to take the Blackshark off the deck and put it down without braking it on the first go, blind, and I'm sure there are guys here who are lightyears better than I am. What I'm saying is the basic actions and thought processes are the same for a modern sim as they are for the real deal when it comes to just making it around the circuit in one piece. Sure, IRL you get ALL the theory in plenty of detail, and you get the basics done thoroughly - but when it comes to just making it succesfully around the pattern, you can get by on just the basics alone. And I fly real aircraft for a living, and have a couple of thousand hours of instruction IRL too - so, the OP has really got his/her hands full when jumping into such a complex sim. Respect. Persevere, and you'll get there. It's almost an unreasonable amount of stuff that you're supposed to know before you even lift off, so you really have your hands full if you're starting from scratch. We kind of take a lot of it for granted by now. Someday I'm going to chuck an experienced sim pilot into a 172 and see what happens if I tell them 'its all yours' pre-taxi. I'll give them a little briefing on stick forces and controls, but thats it. Should be worth a lol or two. :)

All I'm saying is that hypoxia is notoriously difficult to self-diagnose. Your brain is the first organ to be affected, before your eyes and ears. It's very, very easy to sit on the ground and say 'hmmm, if I noticed that I was blue in my fingertips, feeling slightly dreamy/etc I'm sure I'd do something proactive'. Your thought process is impaired - you have to 'snap out of it' and do something, which doesn't always happen. This alone has killed people - that is an unalterable fact, so it is clearly a threat by itself. Also, everyone seems to think that aircrew all have to undergo a flip in a high alt chamber - that simply isn't true. Military maybe, civilian, no (or at least not under the regs I fly, heavily JAR (or whatever it is nowdays!) influenced). I fly 737's every day, and I have never experienced hypoxia, intentional or not. In summary - you cannot plan to RELIABLY self diagnose it, unlike in DCS where the symptoms are obvious and the remedy very very clear. That is my 2c, backed up by real world theory, training, and the fact that hypoxia is a proven killer, despite crew KNOWING about it and having access to oxygen.

GGTharos is correct - it is possible that you may not notice the symptoms of hypoxia, being somewhat akin to being drunk. Feelings of euphoria, happiness or some other emotion, inability to concentrate etc. If you don't suddenly notice that you are not acting or feeling 'normal', and have the mental function to connect this to hypoxia AND are able to take corrective action (Masks on), you may well end up completely unconscious, and ultimately dead. This is NOT THE SAME as detecting that the cabin is not pressurising properly, or noticing that the cabin is climbing slowly due to other physiological effects caused by pressure change (ears popping, equalising etc)

The fuze generally goes bang after a certain time as well. I'm generalising, but all HE AAA rounds I've seen fired (20mm, 40mm, 76mm) did the same. The theory being that if they haven't hit anything after that amount of time, they certainly weren't going to be hitting what you originally aimed at :)