Cunctator

Yes, but they carried the AIM-9 on the outboard pylons of each wing, not on the outrigger pylons. I read both books too recently. There isn't a single photo or comment mentioning outrigger pylons as carried by the British Harrier IIs.

RWR is displayed on the MFDs

Does this, for me, surprise Steam release mean that DCS 2.5 is just around the corner or in contrary that it will still be long wait and they release 2.1. because they can't wait any longer for additional Steam sales of 2.1 content?

Comparing it with the drawings of the instrument panel in the Harrier manual Razbams cockpit looks spot on. In the real plane the anti glare shield is bent somewhat inwards so that the cockpit looks narrower on photographs. Also keep in mind that the cockpit photo above is from a British Harrier, thus instrumentation is not the same.

Thanks! A great read.

Releasing new stuff seems to be their only way to generate enough money to survive as a business and update the already released modules. As long as DCS continues to evolve old modules will need continuous development time to stay up to date and functional. I hope things will stabilize soon for a few years when unified 2.5, the new DM, lightening engine, effects etc. are all out of the door, so that everybody can just focus on generating new and fixing old content. For me it looks like currently all the pieces are finally coming together. Hopefully just a few more months and DCS will have reinvented itself.

It is suspicious that no F-16 was ever announced by 3rd party developers for DCS. Also ED was already working on a F-16 many years (and changed plans) ago, when DCS was first announced. Thus I fully expect that the F-16 will be EDs next jetfighter after the F/A-18C, but I do not expect anything before ca. 2020.

Great idea! Another advantage of such a map would be that it could be used for all time periods equally. No anachronisms if one day (hopefully) WW2 carrier aircraft and aircraft carriers will arrive in DCS.

Happy birthday Zeus!

Makes sense alone to delay the development of new WW2 planes until EDs new damage model is fully integrated. Looks like a lot of additional work. Thus I don’t think we will see another prop fighter before the Corsair. P-38 would be great.

For me the Ho 229 represents the pinnacle of WW2 German aircraft design like few other planes. Truly revolutionary and unusual, not just an early design for the common 1950s pattern jet fighters. One of the few advanced late war projects that actually reached flying prototype state. For me a worthy project, if there is enough data available to accurately simulate it in DCS. Since they had actual prototypes, one even still existing, and not only a collection of drawings, I don’t see why it should principally not be possible to create a realistic simulation. Being able to fly the most remarkable designs of all eras and see how they would perform in certain situations is a great part of my fascination for DCS. It is in in depth technically orientated sandbox sim and as such not just a tool to replay historic conflicts as some competitors. With all the additional AI planes planned for the Ww2 assets pack there will be enough material to create some interesting combat scenarios for the Ho 229.

And it will make life for scale modelers somewhat easier. ;)

I can recommend the Haynes Hawker Siddeley/BAe Harrier Manual. A very nice introduction to the Harrier family. https://haynes.com/en-gb/microsites/harrier/ Sea Harrier Over The Falklands, by Mr. Sea Harrier Commander “Sharkey” Ward. Not unbiased but a great read. http://aviationbookreviews.com/review-sea-harrier-over-the-falklands-commander-sharkey-ward/ Lon Nordeen's AV-8B Harrier II Units of Operations Desert Shield and Desert Storm, detailing the day attack Harrier ops during that conflict. A full scale war war very different from today's endless counter insurgency campaigns. https://ospreypublishing.com/av-8b-harrier-ii-units-of-operations-desert-shield-and-desert-storm A Nightmare's Prayer: A Marine Harrier Pilot's War in Afghanistan, by Michael Franzak. A well written memoir, about the authors deployment to Afghanistan flying the Night Attack Harrier. https://www.amazon.com/Nightmares-Prayer-Marine-Harrier-Afghanistan/dp/1451608071

Dito. I love the Corsair, can't wait for the day when I can fly it in DCS.

A Harrier can indeed literally blow away the runway with its vectored thrust under unlucky circumstances: The video shows an GR.3 doing that at some airshow in Switzerland in 1980.

Normandy will be a decent theater for the F4U. The FAA operated several Corsairs squadrons from home fleet carriers in summer 1944. Thus unlike the Bf-109K or Fw190D9, Corsairs could actually have appeared above Normandy if required. But I sill hope to see the Pacific Theater sometime in the not to distant future. The F4U was first hinted in the January 1 2015 new update. Back then they hoped to release the Corsair and map in late 2015, also when it appeared in the steam database. From the WIP snippets posted over the years it looks like substantial work on supporting assets was already done in the last few years. Maybe some fake water map with two small islands and airfields on each one is a more realistic mid term perspective than modeling an entire armada of USN ships needed for Iwo Jima or any realistic scenario. Just like the first Pacific map for old Il-2 which was released in winter 2003.

As a side note: The RAF Harriers in the Falklands War were GR.3s not GR.1s. The GR.3 has a more powerful engine and a laser rangefinder installed in the elongated nose.

Once the place able airfield feature is fully implemented in DCS, it should be possible to place proper Harrier FOBs with short metal matting runways in missions. A good article about San Carlos Harrier FOB during the Falklands War, btw. This plane will open so many possibilities in DCS. http://www.thinkdefence.co.uk/san-carlos-fob/

Dito. Looking forward to see some F4U screen shots and progress reports soon from you! Good luck.

Ground attack missions with the P-51, intercepting B-17s with the Fw-190D and of course the Huey, because the map seems to be the perfect for helicopter fun.

They are using the BRU-70/A DITER (Digital Improved Triple Ejector Rack). First used in combat January 2015. Everything I could find about it only mentions AV-8B aircraft, thus I guess all Marine Corps Harriers will be/were upgraded to use it. http://www.navair.navy.mil/index.cfm?fuseaction=home.NAVAIRNewsStory&id=5852

The other cockpit instruments have apparently become functional too :) (JPT, fuel gauge, artificial horizon, etc.)

So far we have no carrier for Harriers. When it comes it will probably be many months after the Harrier was released and a separate DLC. Thus they can bundle it with an own small (training) campaign.

Totally agree with you fella, there are lots of other planes I would want to see before a 262. Once we have a decent set of planes and maps to complement the current warbird lineup they can begin to model mid war stuff. One step at a time.

Nevada should be the natural place for US aircraft training campaigns. It is the best way to use this map. If nobody supports NTTR map with campaigns because many players don't own it, there will be no incentive for anybody to buy it. Looks like a vicious circle. Would be a waste of a very fine map.