MiG21bisFishbedL

That was actually my first thought, too. Don't know why, probably this ancient video just stuck with me:

Speculation is always on tap.

Nice to see this in video, I remember reading the Have Doughnut report a while back.

In his defense, 'Oumuamua is cool as hell with how weird it is. Or, well, at least was. Literally hours ago: https://www.nature.com/articles/s41586-022-05687-w Hydrogen gas pushed it along, evidently. So, yeah it was just a comet, after all. A weird comet, but one all the same.

This. ED needs to either fix this either in the code or on their store page.

Seeing some really impressive results. I just wish I had my old system handy to test it on just for the sake of curiosity.

Another perk of being single.

Probably not. ED has yet to address anything pertaining to the F-86's gunnery for years. They aren't interested in updating it, at all. Our community managers have done what they can, but F-86 is basically done, barring serious errors that might arise with future patches. It's not even an after thought at this point. It's why I'm not going to be purchasing any of ED's offerings in this era, anymore.

Honestly, I'd agree with the doubt if it weren't for the presence of the OH-58D in the '23 and beyond video. And it was very prominently featured there.

Apparently, they're doing fine as per their word. The ED we see is almost a vanity business while the more profitable ED is in the biz of making professional sims. Bein' real, I'd love to see this become an option for us even though I don't think I'd trade in anything I own.

Oof.

Ooooh look at that beautiful beast.

Seconding this.

Honestly, as nice as it would have been to get the domestic kit, this odd off shoot is appealing to me more and more. It's going to be very interesting to use, I think.

This absolute disaster? I'm in. You have impeccable taste.

Okay, so 'tis China then.

The sprawl says "Cali" to me. Also, it could've been some regulation that required any J-8s sent abroad like that be designated F-8?

My only concern would be the file size and performance of an accurately modeled region of Southeast Asia. Though, this has more to do with the willingness to optimize, we know they can do it and we know it'd be in big demand. Hopefully, with the kind of demand it sees (which looks quite substantial even from my limited POV) would see huge efforts in optimization and such.

I'll see your C-5 puking up a J-8 and raise you a J-8 over, presumably, California.

You'll find that airframe development acts a lot like biological evolution; nature shapes its designs, so a lot of examples will fit certain niches and similarities will arise.

Nah. In oversimplified terms, the J-8 series has more in common with the MiG-21 as the J-8I (Called J-8A later on) was created out of a proposal to make the J-7 bigger and thus more capable. The J-7 was lacking in range and, given the size of China's territory, they needed something to cover a lot more land. The really simplified way to look at the J-8 is a MiG-21 that's been increased in size to accommodate more fuel for greater range and more power in the form of two engines. The J-8I, however, wasn't the most advanced fighter for its time. It did its job, but it became pretty clear that it was going to need improvements in terms of its sophistication by 1980. So, it got better radar and that gave it the shape that bears some resemblance to the Su-15. In fact, sources typically cite aircraft like the F-4 Phantom and MiG-23 as inspiration for the Finback's shape, not the Flagon. In fact, one could say that the MiG-23 provided more to copy from than the Su-15. This development is what became the J-8II, what we're getting. Then, toward the end of the 1980s, the PLAAF wanted its J-8IIs to be more capable of intercepting Soviet bombers and so they went to the US for the Peace Pearl program, which is the exact variant we're receiving. So, is the J-8 a remake of the Flagon? Nah, not even close. Is it a chimera? Kind of, but not much more so than any nation's first domestically designed and produced aircraft. Is it a MiG-21? An honest man would say it has MiG-21 roots at the most, but I am going to say it is because my bias is apparent!

I know their reasoning for not, but I hadn't heard the third party one. Got that update? I'd like to read it in full, DM it to me if you can as to not derail.

God, I'm jealous. Actually, I just miss owning my own airplane.

And here I got excited. Oh well.