King_Hrothgar

An F-5E upgraded to use AIM-7's and AIM-120's would be a good match for a MiG-21 upgraded to use R-27's and R-77's. But we don't have that MiG-21. We have a standard Bis from the 1970's. Its closest western rival is the F-5E from the 1970's, not an "F-5E" upgraded more recently to use all the latest goodies. It also isn't an F-8, a plane that was retired from service at the same time the MiG-21Bis was first entering service. The F-8 would be a good opponent for an earlier MiG-21, just not the one we have. To put this in a WW2 perspective (since it maybe easier for some to grasp), saying an early 1960's MiG-21 is the same as a Bis is like saying a Bf-109E3 from 1939 is the same as a Bf-109K4 from 1945. Yes, they are the same basic plane, but you really wouldn't want to fight a Bf-109K4 in a Hurricane Mk.I.:smilewink: Edit: It's true that none of these are likely contenders. I'm still betting on something like an Su-22, Su-24 or some other attacker. The Japanese plane suggested earlier seems possible, though I think unlikely given the obscurity of it.

Not so interested now. A silly little chopper only dogfight server would be amusing for an evening, but I'm not interested in doing anything too formal.

The F-5E couldn't use Sparrows and had a radar range of 20-30km. There were upgrades made for it later on that added a better radar, AIM-7's and AIM-120's, but the basic F-5E from the factory was limited to AIM-9's and the guns for air to air.

I might be up for that. It would be the first time I fought another Ka-50, most of my air to air kills in the Ka-50 are against UH-1's.

Do you care about flight models? Cause those got updated too. What about the ability to fly with people in something other than a Ka-50? How about the ability to provide CAS to a human controlled tank? How about fight tanks defended by a human Tunguska? Seriously, I'm surprised at all the BS1 threads on here lately. I still have my old BS1 disk sitting around somewhere, but virtually everyone moved to BS2 long ago. There are regular Ka-50 drivers in MP, myself being among them, but we all use BS2 in DCS:W. Edit: DCS:W is stable. I can't remember the last time it crashed.

F-5E.

Ideally, someone would do an F-5E. It really is the direct western equivalent of the MiG-21Bis. It's a WVR only gunfighter with a few sidewinders. The radar on it is basically an afterthought (initial F-5A's didn't have radar) but it has a pretty good RWR compared to the MiG-21Bis. Flight performance wise, the MiG-21Bis is faster and the F-5E is more agile. Going guns in either plane is almost a given provided you survive any BVR element. The introduction dates for both aircraft are also similar, both being early/mid 1970's.

F-5E is the direct western equivalent of the MiG-21Bis. They are both low cost, simple to maintain light fighters built exclusively for WVR combat at a time when medium ranged BVR missiles were common. They also have similar introduction dates, both being in the early/mid 1970's. The F-8's in USN service were retired from service at about the same time.

The Cobra M5 is EU only. I'm sure you could get it shipped to the US, but that might be more expensive than it's worth. Ultra, I have both sticks in question. The big question is how many buttons do you need? The X-52 Pro has greatly superior ergonomics. It has fewer buttons and rotaries compared to the X-55, but they are all comfortable and easy to reach. The X-55 has more of everything but it also feels cluttered and poorly thought out. In terms of feel and quality, the two seem similar to me. Price wise, I paid $120 for a new X-52 Pro 8+ years ago when they first came out. My X-55 was $200. I noticed X-52 Pro's were also $200 at the time, though maybe that's changed.

You don't have a lot of options. The X-52 Pro and X-55 are sold as sets, so a direct upgrade doesn't seem to fit what you want. The CH Fighterstick is a good option, but it lacks twist and so will require the purchase of rudder pedals to go with it. The TM Warthog is also an option and like the CH sticks, requires rudder pedals. In the USA, that's the end of the mass produced options if we ignore the entry level sticks. Edit: I should point out that my old X-52 Pro still works after 8 years of use (now sitting in the closet) and my new X-55 works just fine after 3 months of heavy use. I haven't had any major problems with it and so far it seems to be holding up just fine. No signs of wear at all. The stick's ergonomics leave something to be desired as some of the buttons are a bit hard to reach. But the stick itself is smooth and accurate. Same is true of my old X-52 Pro. I've never had a non-pro version.

I too am wondering what the specs are. I'm running an I5 4690 and GTX 770. I easily keep 60+ FPS in SP on my own in an FC3 plane. But the instant I hop into MP or ride around in a chopper, I average closer to 45 and drop as low as 3-5 fps in MP (clusterbomb spam).

The mode selector is on the stick, clearly you can't switch modes without it attached. If you're asking about having just one mode, assign the controls in game and the throttle should work fine by itself.

Why would they make a map for training purposes? None of the other DCS aircraft have a special training area. For training, any airfield will work just fine, nothing special is required. So I'm betting the map will be a hotspot of some sort where the associated player plane will either have fought or seemed likely to fight.

I would assume the map would be something simple with no major cities and either a lot of water or flat land. Southern California is not not a realistic expectation. Accurate options include a sliver of Libya + open water, the Kuril Islands mentioned previously or a chunk of the Iran/Iraq border with a whole lot of nothing in it. There is of course another option, and that's a fictional generic type map. In that setup, they could do just about anything they want.

I've never read the manual. It's a valid approach I suppose but a very tedious one. I recommend the following steps instead: 1) Do the tutorial missions. 2) Practice, practice, practice.

People keep bringing that up but the MiG-21Bis was never used in the Vietnam war. Not that I'd mind an F-8, but an F-5E or F-4E would be a better match.

There are 5 main autopilot options: pitch, roll, yaw, altitude and flight director (FD). Without FD, each channel will hold it's respective characteristic as best it can. With FD on, the activated channels stop doing this and instead enter a stabilization mode instead. It's difficult to describe the effect beyond that, so just try it for yourself. Switch the autopilot off completely for a bit and then switch pitch, roll and yaw on with FD. It's still manual control, but she's much more docile.

There is no difference from a player standpoint between the trim on the Ka-50, UH-1 and Mi-8. The trim on all three work exactly the same. As for your second question, that's odd. It sounds like your stick may not actually be centered and it needs to be calibrated. I'll take a quick look at the UH-1 to see if I have the same issue, but I've never noticed it before. Edit: Couldn't replicate your issue, recalibrate your stick.

Welcome to the sharky. Once you can takeoff, fly and land, you're mostly there honestly. The process for firing a Vikhr is virtually identical to how it is with the Su-25T. The names of some of the buttons are different, but it's the same steps.

You can improve the graphics further with Ricardo's HD cockpit, I highly recommend it. Linky: https://www.digitalcombatsimulator.com/en/files/602834/

I used an X-52 Pro for 8+ years and never had the issue you described. I used the slider for zoom and my TIR5 for position only. I never used Saitek's programming software though, I did everything in game. From the sounds of it, you have a configuration conflict of some sort. My guess is you have the TS3 PTT button and something in DCS assigned to the same key.

I'll buy the MiG-15 to go with my sabre when it's on sale for $15 or less, but not before. Other than the trainers, I already have all the other post WW2 stuff. Things I'm looking forwards to are the various post Korea jets and the attack helicopters. If I had to pick one of the announced projects as my most anticipated, I'd say the Mi-24P as of this instant. Ask me again in 5 minutes and I may say AH-1W. Tough call between the two. :)

Ah, my mistake, it's the F1. The F1 is also a good opponent though.

Yes

The throttle is the selling point of the X-55 while the stick is a bit mediocre for the price. The quality and accuracy are fine, but the ergonomics leave something to be desired. Edit: Two stage triggers grant some options is all. The real A-10C uses a two stage where the second stage actually fires the gun. Not sure off hand what the first stage does. On WW2 fighters, it's handy to have the first stage fire MG only and the second stage be MG + cannon. It is worth noting that the A-10C in DCS can fire its gun just fine without assigning the first stage function. A two stage trigger or single stage + additional button is not required.