Doc3908

Sorry, I can't reproduce. Flew the mission twice today - no problems. The oil temp do start kinda high, but as soon as you start moving, they normalize. Here's a vid from this afternoon:

Can you be more specific? What scenario? Is it an instant action mission or something that you made in the mission editor or an online play? It is a cold start or a hot start on the ground?

Exactly!! That sudden task switch from visual close-in dogfighting to IFR flying really threw me off. I've done a few dogfights at night in modern jets (DCS, of course), and it's never been a problem (probably because I'm already scanning my instruments for night flying). I've done plenty of case-3 recoveries in all kinds of weather - never an issue (other than bad form). But, as QuadG pointed out, the unexpected VFR to IFR switch can be quite disorienting.

Just wanted to share an experience from a few days ago - first one for me. I was flying the I-16 against a Bf-109 and got into a thick cloud layer at fairly low altitude. Normally, I have no problem with instrument flying, but this time I actually got completely disoriented and, frankly, kinda scared. Those who have flown the I-16 know that the artificial horizon is almost useless. It took me a few precious seconds to switch from "I'm chasing this Bf-109" mode to "I need to start scanning my instruments" mode. Once I figured out what's up and what's down, I got my confidence back and got out of there. But I had always taken my instrument skills for granted and this was the first time where I got really disoriented and unreasonable panic set in. I can only imagine how terrifying it must've been for real WWII pilots with only a handful of hours of training and for whom there was no reset on crash.

Just a quick note. Today, I was flying the I-16 on the Clash of Wings server and another guy joined in an I-16. And, YES, we managed to talk over SRS!!!! Yippee!!!! It works! And makes all kinds of difference. Now if I could just see more people use the I-16 (most are flying Mustangs and Spits)...

I'm a bit hesitant to post this since I know everyone and their uncle will jump on me, but... let's talk about the realism of things like zoom and "owl-head". For a game that prides itself (rightfully!) on creating super-realistic flight models and immersive environments, it really gets me that things like zoom and spinning your head 180 degrees (and keeping it their indefinitely) is allowed. Yes, it's a convenience - zoom helps with aircraft id and aiming, and owl-head is great for checking your six every few seconds. But how realistic is that?? Not to mention it gives the flat-screen players an unfair advantage over the VR crowd (I know, I know, VR has its own advantages...). Personally, I'd rather see the zoom feature go the way of labels - make it optional and have it disabled on MP servers that strive for realism. As for owl-head, perhaps instead of 180degrees, it can be tweaked to something like 150-160deg and set on a timer - after 4-5 seconds it should reset to forward view automatically. Just thinking out loud - I'm sure people can suggest other solutions (though I know many don't consider these two issues to be a problem). Anyway, just my 2 cents...

What happened to this server? I had in my favorites, but it disappeared about a week ago...

Dusted off the old FW190A8 for a few quick rounds against a P-47D-30. I hadn't flown the Anton for over a year and was pleasantly surprised at how she flies now. They must've been tweaking the flight model because she's much more enjoyable now.

Never did much flying/fighting in the P-51 until now. Flew a couple of online sorties with some easy kills (both AI and not-so-proficient human pilots). Then I got ripped apart by an AI Bf-109 probably set to "ace" or "veteran". So, I decided to do some more 1v1 training before going back online. Here's a video of my progress... Not proficient yet, but making progress (I think).

Learning to dogfight in the P-51D against a Bf-109K4.

I can confirm this. I was chasing a 109 and apparently another one snuck up behind me a took a shot. I did not realize I was hit until after I splashed the bandit and saw punctured wing.

Made another mission for the Marianas map: Escorting B-29s in a Spitfire.

Created another fun mission for the new Marianas map: Three B-29s are scheduled to fly back from Saipan to Guam. With a Japanese carrier packed with Zeros in these waters, my wingman and I are ordered to jump into our Spits and escort the Superfortresses.

MiG-19 vs. F-5E : A Classic Matchup

Also, if you "speed time" - even briefly - it messes up the replay. I hardly ever bother looking at the DCS replays. I usually record flights I consider worthwhile using either NVidia or Windows software and erase the recordings after I've viewed/used them.

Having flown the Mi-24 exclusively since it came out a month ago, I'm starting to get a better feel for her quirks, though I still struggle when I try to horse it around. So tonight - just for the heck of it - I jumped into the good old Mi-8 for a quick free flight. My observations: 1. After the Hind, the Mi-8 cockpit feels like a school bus. 2. OMG, the Mi-8 is so much more nimble than the Mi-24. I can't believe I used to be scared of her. Flying the Mi-8 is sheer joy. She is obedient and does exactly what I tell her. Even the dreaded VRS that used to scare me in the beginning is a non-issue now. The Mi-8 is a dear old friend. So now I'm wondering: Is the Mi-8 flight model too simple? Or does the Mi-24 FM still need work? Or are then both realistic - just very different.

Mi-24 vs. Ka-50 AND Ka-50 vs. Mi24: A Comparison My original Mi-24 vs. Ka-50 video apparently struck a nerve with the Ka-50 fans - lots of comments about how the Ka-50 is superior in every way to the Hind. In this video, I'm exploring both perspectives: First a Mi-24 vs. Ka-50, then a Ka-50 vs. Mi24. Enjoy!

Mi-24 vs. Ka-50 AND Ka-50 vs. Mi24: A Comparison

Thanks for the encouragement. I did jump in for a quick flight yesterday. While I was starting up a bunch of F-5s took off. Couldn't figure out how to use SRS (freqs???), so I just took off and flew south along the coast. There was some engagement going on over Gaudata, but it was mostly over by the time I got there - only F5s were in the air. I flew some more then returned to Sochi and landed. The hardest part is iff-ing. As far as I know, the F5 has no iff receiver, so iff is only visual, correct? And unless they are dropping chaff and flares, I need to be real close before I can visually identify them and fire. With WW2 warbirds, that's not really a problem since there are no missiles and I wait until I'm right on top of them before I squeeze the trigger. But with missiles in play and no iff, things become more complicated. I'm using a Rift-S, so no zoom for me...

Interesting. Thanks for sharing these vids.

Here's what I'm doing with it...

I've been itching to try the Cold War server but, frankly, I'm intimidated - not so much by the flying, but by the complexity of the objectives and forces. I'm mostly an A2A guy - hardly do any A2G missions, so I feel I'll be out of place on a server where the main objectives are A2G. And, since I'm not part of any squadron, I know that "lone wolves" don't survive long on any server and often get in the way of squadron play. Like Youda said, I don't want to be in the way of players who know what they are doing. The other things that stops me is my machine (i7-8700, Nvidia 1080GTX, 24GB, Rift S). It's not the worst, but on a crowded server, things become a slideshow (I've flown a few missions on the SoW server and the video is quite choppy, freezing at times, planes drifting up/down/sideways magically, etc.) And the cold war server is even more crowded... But I'm willing to give it a try - hopefully nobody will get too annoyed at me.

First flight on the new Marianas map. This is the standard instant action "F-14A vs. JF-17" mission. Please pardon the mediocre flying - it's been months since I've flown the Tomcat. I also flew over Guam but decided not to include the footage since, at low level, it's essentially a slide show on my machine. But over water, the game is perfectly playable.

I agree with pmiceli - spotting is less of an issue for me than identification. The Mustang's wings are more mid-fuselage and the Dora has a longer nose. But the Spitfire and the Bf109 have the wings mounted closer to the front, so until I'm close enough to see the elliptical wing, I have no idea who it is. At any rate, I'm a poor shot at a distance - I need to get real close so as not to waste any ammo. By then, I know exactly who I'm about to engage. As for spotting planes off in the distance - that doesn't bother me as much because if I see their "dot" a few seconds" after they see my "dot" - they still have to get close enough to engage me. And if they are close enough to engage, I will certainly see them if I'm paying attention. What bothers me more is the fact that monitor people can zoom in and get much higher aiming accuracy from a larger distance. That and the fact that they can swivel their "head" 180 to look behind at a click of a button... All that I consider unfair advantages over VR players. Not to mention both are totally unrealistic...

Well, I've been flying the I-16 on the Clash of Wings server and, other than one time when I was able to talk to someone on SRS, I have not been able to contact anyone. I have 100, 123, 124, and 150 in the SCR522 file (123 and 124 are Spitfire frequencies), but nobody talks back to me. Very frustrating! Is there any way to get a working radio that can be used with SRS in one of the next few updates? I know it's not realistic, but I'm sick of noobs trying to shoot me down simply because they don't recognize the I-16 and I can't talk to them and warn them. Yesterday I flew round and round with a Mustang who was trying to get behind me (like anyone can outturn an I-16). Eventually it dawned on him that if I'm in a firing position behind him and I don't fire, then I must be a friendly... Today I saved some idiot's butt in a Spitfire: He was chasing a Dora and didn't notice the Dora's wingman behind him. I took out the wingman, and the Spitfire eventually finished the lead Dora. Then I turn to face a pair of incoming Bf-109s and all of a sudden there are tracers behind me that nicked my wing. I snapped around just in time to see the idiot in the Spitfire go into the water trying to match my turn. So... please, please, please, get us a working radio, PLEASE!!!!