T-37 Tweet and A-37 Dragonfly

[Tank50us]

Here's a two-for. The T-37 Tweet, a two-seat trainer used by the USAF and various other customers. Most have retired their Tweets for other trainers, but Ecuador and Pakistan still use them.

The A-37 Dragonfly, or "Super Tweet" as some called it, was built off of the T-37s frame, but was beefed up to carry an jaw dropping weapons load (for an aircraft of that size ofc).

Both would be welcome additions to DCS in my opinion. The T-37 would make a good free trainer, and the A-37 a good paid module. How would this work? Well, the 3D changes would be pretty limited, and as a result, ED or a third party could make very few changes in order to give us both frames.

Now, why a free trainer? Well, as things stand right now, we really don't have one outside of mods, and I think part of why some people get hung up on the game and abandon it before getting very far is that they simply don't have a way to really get a feel for it. Moreover, the majority of available modules are Blue-Force aircraft, which the Tweet can help train people for. A good way this could work is that you have someone who's experienced in DCS take someone in a Tweet and fly them around, let them get a sense for what DCS is like while letting them go through the bindings. Then, once that new person is ready, the instructor can hand off the controls, and let the new player try it out. Once that player learns that there's a module that offers them the ability to go Micheal Bay, they may grab it up quickly, and now, with one flight you turned someone who was skeptical into a customer.

That's the theory anyway. I know there's the trial program, and it likely works fine, but... two weeks isn't really a lot of time to get into something when you're busy with your regular job. But a free trainer that is linked to a paid module (so much so that the bindings wouldn't even need to change) could garner more sales, especially once they've come to grips with actually flying an aircraft.

[cfrag]

While I love the idea of having both planes in DCS, I think that it would be good to remember that the idea of trainer aircraft does not translate well into flight-simming. In sim world, there are no downsides attached to training for a Hornet in a Hornet. You crash, you re-start, no loss.

Now, for enthusiasts like me, both aircraft would be insta-purchases, even the Tweet, although I'll likely fly it alone, just for myself - probably just because of the side-by-side cockpit.