20.03.2011, 10:04
Some of the BlitzPigs and our Friends were testing 5.0 in Expert Mode last night on a test center I have set up on the Crimea.
Generally we liked what we experienced. I do have some questions and/or observations.
The aircraft seem to have more "weight", in that you don't feel like you are piloting a balsa wood model in a gale. I suspect some will say it's a return of the "planes on rails" FMs of times past, but that would be a misconception IMHO.
None of the aircraft we flew, and we tried a lot of them, felt like they were balanced on the head of a pin. Never did you have the situation where a control input precipitated a "car skidding on ice" moment.
Still, the difficult planes to fly were still difficult, and the easy planes were still easy. The big engine/high horsepower aircraft required very close attention to trim changes with power set, as they should. The "turn fighters" were still kings of their flight regime, and the "energy fighters" were still the master of theirs. The bombers felt like big, heavy planes that you would not be tempted to try ACM with, well too much anyway.
Some big changes we noticed were the apparent lack of blackout/red out. I'm not sure what has changed here, but tight turns, aerobatics, push overs, etc... did not seem to induce blackouts or red outs as before. This will raise some eyebrows.
Also were the G limits for all the aircraft raised to pre 4.10 levels? You had to really work at it to induce the "G" indicator on the HUD. Is this as it should be?
Thanks for what is overall a great option, and I look forward to a civil discussion of my questions.
Generally we liked what we experienced. I do have some questions and/or observations.
The aircraft seem to have more "weight", in that you don't feel like you are piloting a balsa wood model in a gale. I suspect some will say it's a return of the "planes on rails" FMs of times past, but that would be a misconception IMHO.
None of the aircraft we flew, and we tried a lot of them, felt like they were balanced on the head of a pin. Never did you have the situation where a control input precipitated a "car skidding on ice" moment.
Still, the difficult planes to fly were still difficult, and the easy planes were still easy. The big engine/high horsepower aircraft required very close attention to trim changes with power set, as they should. The "turn fighters" were still kings of their flight regime, and the "energy fighters" were still the master of theirs. The bombers felt like big, heavy planes that you would not be tempted to try ACM with, well too much anyway.
Some big changes we noticed were the apparent lack of blackout/red out. I'm not sure what has changed here, but tight turns, aerobatics, push overs, etc... did not seem to induce blackouts or red outs as before. This will raise some eyebrows.
Also were the G limits for all the aircraft raised to pre 4.10 levels? You had to really work at it to induce the "G" indicator on the HUD. Is this as it should be?
Thanks for what is overall a great option, and I look forward to a civil discussion of my questions.