Hans-Joachim Marseille

One of the Sachsenberg Schwarm / Galland Circus / JV.44 squadron skins already existed in DCS, but that skin has the wrong number (10, should be 1). The more the merrier, so we can play Me.262 escort in MP later on. By the way, thanks a lot for your engine mod ... it's brutal!

B-17 hands-down, although I also like the other high-ranking ones like the F-111 and B-1. Anything big really, preferably an older model.

I have their T-rudder and it will probably outlive me ... it's build like a Russian tank! I previously had Simped F-16 rudder pedals. The packaging was top notch; the cardboard box it came in seems custom printed and mentions "Rudder". I only had to slightly re-cut a pedal thread (too much coating on the thread?). They included a nicely packaged (tin box) trigger of their upcoming KG-12 grip. It's true their Black Mamba grip is in fact the grip of the cheaper Cobra. After the hassle I went through with TM flightsticks, my next flightstick will definitely be of VKB. I've had very good response from Eduard through vkb@flightsimcontrols.com. They don't produce in large quantities and the fact that they sold all their Black Mamba's within a short time speaks for itself. VKB for me are a highly recommended group of Russian engineers.

Wasn't it at Ainring (Salzburg) that this plane, Oblt. Klaus Faber's, fell into enemy's hands together with Hptm. Waldemar Wübke's "Red 3"? And that on May 3, 1945, Faver shot down a P-47 near Bad Aibling with "Red 13"? The checkerboard means headquarters, the red circle around it protection (unit). "Red 13" was rumored to fly exceptionally fast at low level. It's great to see the "Papageienstaffel" (: parrot squadron) come alive. I would applaud addition of "Red 3" and "Red 4" as well as a correction of "Red 1" to complete the Staffel for Me.262 support duty, but understand Mainstay will be very busy for a while with the MiG-21Bis (as he should) ;) Thanks for this wonderful addition though Mainstay! Left to right: Lt. Heinz Sachsenberg "Red 1", Hptm. Waldemar Wübke "Red 3", Oblt. Klaus Faber "Red 13", Lt. Karl-Heinz Hoffmann "Red 4". (source: Jerry Crandall's "Doras of the Galland Circus")

Haha ... I see you have a keen eye for detail too. IvanK spotted it first. Yes, it's kind of deliberate ;) It was the stand-in plane for the movie "The Star of Africa" about Marseille.

Already a WIP? You must be a pro ... Dankeschön!

I see you're on a roll :smilewink:

Can I request a JV44 "Galland Circus" skin, to accompany the already existing (but incorrectly numbered) one in DCS? These were the protection squad for the Me.262, so will be useful when DCS: Me.262 is released. I personally love no. 13's tongue-in-cheek slogan ("It must go in, even if we both cry") :D

The same paint shortage also applied to tanks. For example; look at the paintscheme of the Panther tank at the Bovington museum, which is almost only red primer. The use of more and more wood on planes during the war also illustrates the faced shortages. This was a desperate time, and this paintscheme captures it very subtle.

Something is missing, or just the final stretch? Glad to see release is still during my holidays :)

That's definitely an interesting dark grey on the wings. It's a different grey than on the fuselage. I like it!

Wow! You found some inspiration? :D I like what you did to the weathering on the side the pilot enters and exits the plane (left side in this case). The red tabs could be a little more faded, almost pink.

"In one glass-cockpit aircraft, the A320, fifty incidents of glass-cockpit blackout have occurred. On 25 January 2008, United Airlines Flight 731 experienced a serious glass-cockpit blackout, losing half of the ECAM displays as well as all radios, transponders, TCAS and attitude indicators." http://airnation.net/2012/08/22/airbus-a320-cockpit-power-failures/

Not really, "Das Reich" used some captured T-34s as "Bergepanzer" (: utility and recovery vehicle) in Normandy. I wrote "incorporate such a game into DCS" with respect to "T-34 vs. Tiger". This Tiger I was presented on Kickstarter in October 2013 (AI). In the upcoming movie "Fury", a real WWII Tiger I will be featured. It belongs to the tank museum in Bovington.

Don't put words in my mouth; my statement is that I doubt the overall quality of Airbus, not that a plane can fall out of the sky at any moment. You don't like my comments about French work ethics (based on my very own work experience with French engineers)? Tough. As for mentioning AF447; it's showcasing Airbus' lack of (tactile) feedback to the controls. I don't like the fingerpointing to the pilots that took place. I would also like to mention QF72. These accidents don't give me confidence. These are not old planes.

You must speak French then :D Nous apporter le StuKa!

Not really, 800 litres for 100 km through rough terrain is hardly fuel efficient. The guy at the museum told me they didn't run well on American fuel ... it couldn't run uphill on that fuel lol. So much for capturing Allied fuel depots as a strategic source of refueling during the battle of the Bulge. Though it could really pack a punch and was virtually indistructable from the front, this one was damaged after facing 15 Shermans with it's sister tank. The barrel was severed by their fire.

"T-34 vs. Tiger" is an immensely enjoyable game. If a 3rd party could incorporate such a game into DCS: WW2, that would be a real pleasure! I would want to command a Tiger II then ... visited this beast of war yesterday in La Gleize (Belgium).

I hope ED recognizes the potential this game has and the map will not be skimpy. Size-wise, something like the current Russia/Georgia map would be nice. It doesn't need to be laden with detail just yet.

For me there is a difference between working (putting your hours in) and getting the job done. Like mentioned, I'm missing ownership and drive (commitment) from most of the French engineers I know (with some exceptions in line and higher management). I did see French spent an inordinate amount of time and effort on safety awareness though. That's a good point. After the AF447 disaster they replaced the pitot tubes, so I'm finding it hard to believe it was just pilot error. I'm sure not all is bad, but it's the bad impressions that stay with you.

It's no secret that French (semiconductor) industry is heavily subsidized by the government and the European Union. French workers start their week shaking hands and kissing colleagues until 10AM, then engage in meetings until noon, then a 1- to 2-hour lunch ... Then start some work in the afternoon, if the company gates are not barred upon return from lunch due to organized labour organisation strikes (I've experienced this several times). One of my American colleagues was called by the French work's council because he worked "too much" (over 40 hrs/wk). After they found out he is not working for a French company they quickly dropped the argument. We have to fly our engineers over for weekend support because our French colleagues have worked their 40 hrs/wk and are not allowed to work any more. They also like to use that argument now. When push comes to shove (difficult work ahead) we are also requested to send our engineers over, simply because they can get the job done. There is no taking ownership or showing commitment ... that's what I mean with bad work ethics. It's no wonder French cars have the highest breakdown rate of all for bad electronics. There is a joke around here that French cars have the most comfortable seats ... sure, you need them when your car breaks down. Don't get me wrong, I really like the French "joie de vivre". And to the rescue; one of our teams in former east Germany has the same work ethics. But I think in general France doesn't fit in the hightech industry with this kind of work ethics ... exceptions permitted of course. http://www.ukessays.com/essays/cultural-studies/airbus-case-study.php With this kind of extreme safety level product, I'm not in favour of any multi-cultural experimenting in one company.

Sure, Boeing has it's design flaws too. I'll put it more bluntly then; I'd rather not fly in anything French, knowing French work ethics first-hand (semiconductor industry).

Yes, I remember a Tiger tank.

AF447, need I say more? Anything with French electronics in it is potentially bad.

Good thing to see this adressed in the September newsletter. Work on the Normandy map will continue after DCS: F/A-18C map. Looking forward to it.