andremsmv

Right now, the default planes in DCS World are the Su-25T and the TF-51D Mustang. I'm not a huge fan of jets and have not flown the Su-25T very much, but I did fly the TF-51D a lot before buying the P-51D. To be honest, the TF-51D is just a boring default plane. At least the Su-25T is unique, but the TF-51D is pretty much just a lighter version of the P-51D without guns. Knowing that the P-51D would be the first plane I buy, I was a little disappointed that I would only really fly one airplane for a very long time until I decide to buy and learn how to fly another plane. My wish is that the TF-51D be replaced by the T-6 Texan as a default plane for DCS World. It is easier to fly, and serves as a great introduction to this simulator. Now you may be asking, "Why in the world would ED spend tons of time and money developing this free plane when we already have two perfectly good default planes?" Well first off, removing the TF-51D as a default plane means that ED could raise the price of the P-51D to maybe $40 or so, since it will no longer simply be a sophisticated version of a plane that already comes with the game. Secondly, and maybe most importantly, the Texan will most likely have people wanting more. With a top speed of no more than about 210 mph, pilots will be thirsting for more. With the T-6 Texan as a default plane, people will happily spend money not only to just fly into combat, but simply to have the opportunity to fly the legendary war birds themselves. I think the Su-25T does a good job of making pilots say "oh come on, I want to fly a real jet," but the TF-51D is as real as a prop plane gets. I speak from personal experience when I say that many people are more than happy with a free-to-play 99% accurate simulator offline with a huge, highly detailed map to go with it (I played DCS World for about a year before I bought my first module). Right now, the only reason people buy war birds in this game is to fly them in combat, but with the addition of the Texan, several people will be more than happy to dish out a few bucks to buy a war bird simply for the joy of flying it. My point is that not only would the addition of the T-6 Texan be super cool, but could also generate more money for Eagle Dynamics.

I'm sorry if this has been heavily discussed before, but I did a little searching around and found pretty much nothing on this topic. The Bf 109K4 started production in late 1944 (October), the Fw 190D9 in mid 1944 (August). The P-51D on the other hand, started production in 1943 (could not find a month) and was combat ready by June 1944 (not a huge deal), and the Spitfire Mk IX LF was introduced (engine switch to Merlin 66) in mid 1943 (big difference). The questions I have now are 1) Will we see earlier versions of the Bf 109, Fw 190, or the P-51D (Bf 109G's, Fw 190A's, or P-51D's without gyroscopic gunsights) in order to make WWII match ups more realistic? and 2) Would it be easy to make earlier versions of these planes (i.e. would the devs simply be able to modify the current models that they have) or would they have to be made from scratch like any other plane? I think having these earlier planes would open the door to many possibilities and would make other planes such as the P-47, P-38, Typhoon, the Spitfire IX (which we already have), or the P-40 much more relevant.