Cunctator

Beginning with the A5 the engine was moved forward by several inches and the cowling became accordingly longer. The A8 has heavier armament and armor compared to the A4. Completely plausible that the CoG has changed and thus stalling behavior is different.

+ 1 4 month later. Time for the traditional spring update?

F6F from HMS Emperor even flew over Normandy during Overlord

I would love a P-38, but authentic WW2 carrier ops in DCS are a strong argument to focus on same carrier fighters first. Plus carriers will work better with the upcoming WW2 version of the Marianas map.

Must be on ARA Independencia the former HMS Warrior.

M3L is already building an Essex class carrier for the F4U-1D. The Hellcat as ED next WW2 module seems to be a safe bet now. Who does and when will com the inevitable Japanese plane is the open question.

From their Discord:

The Tarawa will get a major overhaul, at least graphically. Razbam posted some screenshots on their discord some time ago and recently confirmed that the new model will come with the next update scheduled for next wednesday Edit: Screenshots from early February:

The Harrier should get another substantial update with next weeks scheduled patch 2.7. Better wait until then and look at the changelog.

Helcat or Zero would be my bets for EDs next warbird after the Mosquito. Both iconic planes that will work very well with their upcoming WW2 version of the Marianas map. Map and module released concurrently or at least very close together.

M3L has an AI Zero in development. Not sure if it will be released together with the F4U but eventually it will be available. For European scenarios we have the Fw 190A8, that was operated by JG 5 in Norway, and is an appropriate opponent from the same timeframe. Most likely ED has also plans for some kind of Japanese aircraft. IO think this was already confirmed in some interview.

It should be no problem to built some realistic missions that don't require half a day for flying them, if you leave out the Yamamoto intercept or Japanese strikes against Guadalcanal from Rabaul. Almost any map will offer some opportunities. The range of many WW2 carrier types wasn't great to begin with. The Devastator had a 434 mile range for example. At Midway they launched from 140 miles away. During operation Mascot against the Tirpitz in Norway the British carriers launched their strike from 127 miles away. At the Salomons, Renard airfield on the Russels is 145 miles way from Munda point, half of it over beautiful New Georgia island. Later Corsairs and other allied planes operating out of Munda and Ondonga hat to fly just 50 miles to cover the US landings on Vella Lavella islands. For the Japanese side one could also built realistic short range missions, like defending the Marianas or Iwo Jima form US carrier strikes. And of the course there is always the option to place the carriers closer to each other or their target.

No it's not. We are not getting the late war/Korea F4U-4, introduced in 1945 during the Okinawa campaign, but the F4U-1D workhorse. Extensively used by the US Marine Corps, Navy and Fleet Air Arm, in Norway, the Indian Ocean and Pacific, the F4U-1D was pretty much the same F4U-1/A that first saw combat in the Salomons in 1943 plus water injection and provisions for additional external stores (two additional pylons for bombs under the inner wings and 8 launchers for rockets under the outer wings). The -1D was introduced in early 1944 with some improvements during it's production run (main canopy without the horizontal frames, rocket launchers). The version M3L is doing has some late war radios and other equipment installed, but that does not make it a superprop.

WW2 Pacific will add a lot to DCS, mainly WW2 carrier ops and naval warfare, but it is also a theater that wasn't done properly or at all for a very long time. I would imagine that it is also more attractive for that emerging Asian markets. The Pacific certainly has the potential to attract many more people to DCS WW2 with no competition of any kind around. If M3L finishes the F4U this year with an Essex Class carrier and some Japanese assets, a good foundation will already be there. The problem with forum polls is that mostly the followers of the current set up will vote, which is not so optimal if you try top expand your customer base and attract new players.

With the file size of current DCS maps that seems to be the only way. Some basic scenery automatically generated from geodata to connect the high fidelity areas. Some sims had a global scenery since the 90ties, thus it is certainly do able without the budget and access to aerial images as a certain other sim.

That's exactly why I consider it likely that we will get the II+ eventually. It's a low hanging fruit. After all the work put into the NA it is much easier to add the radar than to start another 5+ years development of a completely new similar complex aircraft. On the other side they could very well be fully occupied with the F-15E for this decade.

And each F4U model and sub variant thereafter (F4U-5, AU-1, F4U-7)

All hot spots detected by the NAVFLIR sensor above the nose can be displayed on the HUD, marked with chevrons. IRL, these hot spots can be vehicles with running engines, planes in the sky or simply a hot rock heated by the sun. Another tool for the pilot to locate potential targets. According to RAZBAM's discord they will create a few false positives initially until later, once heatmap textures are implemented for all 3D objects in DCS with the FLIR overhaul, it will work more realistically and not only detect DCS vehicles.

From Facebook: Hotspot detector early test:

Indeed. I've just recently finished the memoirs of Norman Hanson, CO of No 1833 Squadron during the last year of the war. At least half of their loses and multiple deaths could have been avoided with angled flight decks. it must have been scary to cut the throttle land aboard a carrier with a squadron worth of airplanes and the crash barrier in front of you.

Razbam posted theses images of their upcoming South Atlantic map for DCS today. The fjords of southern Chile could be a decent stand in for northern Norway to build some missions for the Corsair while we wait for Pacific theatre maps and assets.

From Razbams Facebook page: The Strait of Magellan. The map grids continue to the east, thus South Georgia could indeed be covered...

Part 2 is up: F4U Corsair: Taming the beast

Bf 109 and Fw 190 bomb delay, as set in the cockpit via the armament control panel, was recently changed to 0.08s. Germans had fuses with a delay of several seconds for low level attacks, but apparently those could only be set by the ground crew. Hopefully we will get them back via an editor setting.

Some will come once the map will leave EA, hopefully with the big DCS update in march. List of new landmarks from the January newsletter: