Lucas_From_Hell

Thought they were AIM-120B too but the fins were too long. I believe they're actually AIM-7 Sparrows. See the similar long fins and the stripes painted behind the seeker. I knew the Super Hornet could carry them, but I didn't know they were still being used operationally.

No worries mate, we've all been there at some point. Glad I was of any help :)

To be honest, I don't think you have to make a choice at all :) Helicopters can be deployed much closer to the front and don't require a concrete runway to operate well; also, [correct me if I'm wrong but] you can operate much closer to your troops, hover and loiter for longer than a jet aircraft. You seem to be an attack pilot, regardless if on fixed or rotary wings. It isn't really harmful to jump from aircraft to aircraft every once in a while (as long as you can keep up with the different systems and whatnot) - real life military pilots do that all the time, after all. Since it seems to be your preference, let's just say you're assigned to a helicopter wing right now, so just "get to the choppa'!" and go blow up whatever needs blowing up, and leave the Escort and SEAD to the fixed wing people. Regardless of the exact release date of the next module, there is still some time left until a new plane lands here so dedicate that to the Ka-50. When the time comes and either a new aircraft is released, or you feel like you need a break from the Ka-50, do some OCU (operational conversion unit) time and give the other aircraft a go, fly them for a bit and give them a chance to see if they fit what you're looking for. If it works, great! Consider yourself reassigned to a fighter/attack unit for the time being; if not, just get back on the Shark. Perhaps they just haven't released the right aircraft yet, or maybe you're just really a Shark pilot after all. Whatever the case is, rinse and repeat until you find your aircraft of choice - or if you're happy jumping from one to another, great too, whatever works best really :) We're probably getting some other attack helicopters at some point in the future, my best guesses being the AH-64A and Mi-24V based on older updates, and Belsimtek has a Mi-17 in the oven as well, which can perform both attack and transport duties. Keep in mind, we've yet to see a Western dedicated attack helicopter, so no one knows how it'll feel to fly it. In short, you have a lot of options, take your time to try all of them and see whatever's best for you. Personally speaking, from the FC2 days, when it came to attack aircraft I couldn't really get along with the A-10A, but when I tried the Su-25 it was perfect for me, and I'm talking about the A version, with no Shkval, Vikhrs, SEAD capability or TV-guided weapons. It just handles in a way I like and can take a lot of damage and still get the job done and get me home (a modern-day IL-2 or P-47 if you will). For me, that did the job back then. I don't know how everyone will react to the MiG-21, the Harrier GR9 and AV-8B+, the F-15E or the F/A-18C or F/A-18E. They're all different from each other as well. All we can do is try the ones which seem appealing as soon as they're out, until the right one comes along. For me, the thing I'm most excited about is VEAO's Hawk, no kidding. First thing I want to do is get myself ready for a fast jet before actually jumping into one. A trainer aircraft is something completely new to DCS, I'm really glad they're modelling it :)

...now that close-up images have been provided, we could use some skins :D

Great news! Congrats, CptSmiley :D

I am frankly unimpressed with Outerra. It reminds me of Il-2's Slovakia map, only with nicer trees and smoother mountains. Nevada's looking pretty good y'know?

Cheers IvanK, fixed it and added some info and a nice link :)

Thanks for clarifying sobek :)

It's an old time problem of the 3D engine and the interface not being compatible, they probably didn't implement it because EDGE was already in the oven, I'm betting they are building EDGE aiming for this compatibility like we had in the old Lock On.

Show her the drogue chute then, it'll get her landing right away :music_whistling:

Rossi, it's 50 dollars for a Su-27, MiG-29A, MiG-29G and MiG-29S, Su-25, Su-33, A-10A and F-15C pack, with 3 6DOF 3D cockpits, an existing AFM plus another AFM to come (A-10A). All of that plus the whole DCS: World package which will enhance your experience. Think how much you had to pay a few years ago for a simulator with this many different aircraft modelled with a fair attention to detail (even if not DCS-level) with such an environment to support it? It's a lot of money, but for a lot of features.

Typhie diamond: F-35B hovering at night: Harrier flight: RAF Phantom - beautiful paint scheme, I wish we'd get the RAF's F-4s in DCS, even if just AI: Rare Westland Welkin colour shot: Spitfire Mk. IIa (thanks to IvanK), "according to the code "RN" it was allocated to No. 72 Sqn. According to the Spitfire production list I read it went to 9 MU on 2-2-41, on 20-4-41 to 65 Sqn and at the same time to 72 Sqn (?). On 9-7-41 it went to 74 Sqqn and after that on 19-2-42 to 57 OTU. It eventually crashed in 1945 and was SOC" - source

RAF Leuchars, 1963. Such a shame it's closing down... Beautiful location it was. Sea Harriers over the Falklands:

Tomahawk found 70 years later:

I'd love to see a basic trainer implemented though, like a Tucano (either EMBRAER or Short version), Pilatus or something of the likes, perhaps even something simpler just for very elementary training. All those aircraft are advanced jet trainers, it'd be fun to get something a little more elementary. Not to mention that the Tucano in particular is very maneuverable and seems pretty joyful to fly (see here, lomcevak spinning three times: )

There's been some landing gear issues with the F-15 as well, they're probably related and hopefully will be addressed within the next few patches. Those are not features though, they're bug-fixing.

Nope, that's an Eastern Bloc aircraft mostly :) But UK will get a Hawk T1 (VEAO), and US will get a T-2 Buckeye (RAZBAM, naval jet trainer).

Pretty much impossible, sorry to tell you. There has been some talk about a Su-27SM module for DCS (although P or S versions seem just as likely), but that surely won't come for FC3. The differences are absolutely enormous, it's too much work to do, more than enough to charge the price of a full module for this avionics upgrade (and enough to take the developing time of one, too). Plus, most of the aircraft pictured are still in service as they are. Although there have been some modernisation efforts, not all of the Russian Air Force fleet has received them, and Ukraine's fleet is not undergoing any significant upgrades at all (only 5 Fulcrums and 5 Rooks were modernised, for instance). For a different example, the A-10A's been through extensive upgrade, but they've retained the A-10A in Flaming Cliffs, and did an A-10C DCS module instead. And capability-wise, those aircraft were indeed copied directly from FC2, that was the intention. They were imported like that because they've been fairly well modelled since then. The MiG-29S got another radar mode which comes in pretty handy, though I believe it was always there in the plane but wasn't implemented, however. The Flaming Cliffs plane-set isn't modelling the 2013 standards of any of those aircraft (including American ones), but the late 1990/early 2000s builds. It makes them pretty flexible for difference scenarios since a Su-25 is realistic both in 1985 and 2010, but a Su-25SM in 1985 is just nonsense, for instance. DCS doesn't really model a specific period (we have a bloody P-51D and UH-1H for christ's sake, and people LOVE them :music_whistling:), so anything is pretty much valid in here. For the list of upgrades, Wags did a post comparing FC2 to FC3. It's not just an aircraft update, but bringing all of the joy of FC2 into the DCS:World capabilities. The A-10A AFM hasn't been implemented yet. I wouldn't complain if the RAF, Spain, Italy and Germany got some AI Eurofighters added though, but that's a different story :D

Definitely possible, but I'd expect the met guys to do a better job and would properly have a word with them as soon as I'd be back :D The dynamic weather should make this interesting.

One thing that's been overlooked (and frankly is pretty easy to forget, I didn't notice it in over 10 years of ED sims, but nonetheless): control of the helmet's visor, plus implementation of it in the first place. Each pilot has a different preference regarding it and it'd really be helpful in a few cases (like flying with the sun on your face). Not my idea, it's been mentioned before on a different thread but thought it'd be worth it to bring it here anyway. :)

ILS approach at night during a storm? Parachute-assisted landing on my feet for me. :music_whistling: Would they launch under such conditions unless extremely necessary though? Sounds pretty risky to have pilots landing in such straining conditions with added pilot fatigue and possible combat damage (given the nature of the missions we fighter/attack cowboys/girls usually fly :D), no?

Pretty much. Try it with the Su-25A/T, come slow and steady and deploy the drogue chute as soon as you can and use the ramp to make sure you stop safely, it's not too hard. The job's made much easier when you have an aircraft which was design for the job, with reinforced landing gear/airframe, ILS and an arresting hook (and more forgiving as well - go-arounds aren't much of an issue, whereas with a drogue chute deployed, overshoot the deck and that's the end of it). Plus, I feel like all AFM aircraft are much more pleasant to handle and do small inputs than their SFM counterparts, but maybe it's just me.

The Belgian Air Force F-16 demo pictured by Ross :D