DCS F-16: why I like/dis-like the next ED module

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If I may wax philosophical for a moment…:thinking:

Is it the Viper per se, that we are excitedly anticipating? Or is it that we will be seeing another iconic aircraft that will (eventually) be well developed… flight dynamics, avionics and weapons systems as near to real as DCS can get? Not to mention the likely visually stunning model, aurally fantastic sound and spectacular effects like vapes, missile smoke and damage.

Would we be as excited if they had announced an F-111? Well, one of us would have been overjoyed. @Bogusheadbox not withstanding, I do not think we would.

But say they had announced an F-4 Phantom II?…a GR4 and F3 Tornado? or even an F-15E Mudhen? We very well would have been at least nearly as excited …or more depending on your country of citizenship. (For example: Take @Troll, from Sweden, anyhow excited he is about anything Viggen.)

…end philosophical musings.

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Give me a Block 50 and i’ll never look at another plane…

Except a block 60 perhaps. :wink:

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…which brings up another philosophical question, one that I am currently wreastelling with.

I have just relearned how work with a JFAC and AFAC with the FA-18. I originally learned this when going through the A-10C “syllabus”. I got pretty darn good with that airplane. But I haven’t touched it for weeks…now it’s “which one is the China Hat switch?”

For the most part, real military pilots most of their flying in one, maybe two aircraft. They don’t have the option of jumping into a Mig-21 one day and then an FA-18 the next. Sothey get good on one aircraft. The FC3 aircraft are close enough when it comes to weapons and avionics that jumping back and forth isn’t hard. I use essentially the same TM WH set up for the Su-33 as I do for the Mig-29. For the Mig-21 I’ve got with a different stick to get the different functions needed to fly and fight the jet. Don’t even get me started about the Viggen set up.

So, the philosophical question: Is it better to focus on one–maybe two at the most– “deep study” aircraft? Or is it better to load up on FC3 aircraft and maybe one simpler study jet like the F-5?

That obvious huh? :smirk:

Let me be philosophical…

Most simmers don’t fly real aircraft. Some do, but they don’t fly fighters… Preciously few people actually get to fly real fighter jets. But a lot of people have some time in their life, probably in their childhood, wanted to fly fighters.
They had a favourite fighter on a poster in their room.

For me, this fighter was the Viggen. Pla(i)n(e) and simple.
And then our neighbour, Norway, bought the F-16. No matter how much I loved the Viggen, it looked like an ugly duckling compared to the super sleek Falcon.
And then there was Top Gun. That Tomcat sure was HOT :fire: I mean, even Kelly McGillis looked good in that movie.

My point, is; we all have our favourites. We dreamed of flying them in our very mentally vulnerable adolecense.
Getting a taste of how it would be like to fly them, feeds that dream.

Now, with statistical certainty, a lot more boys have dreamt of flying the F-16, than the Viggen. That’s probably true for the Tomcat as well…

The list of favourite aircraft is likely closely associated with citizenship. Where you grew up in the world more or less dictates what you saw flying over your head, and what movies you watched.

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As a former philosophy major i find your concept of a philosophical question… curious.

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Personally I actually have more fun flying the FC3 planes online than my harrier. I have most of them mapped in nearly the same way. I can chop and change from red to blue at the drop of a hat and within a few minutes I can be up and flying without losing much time to re orientation. Now the harrier I much prefer to use on my own or when I’m lone wolfing online (basically I’m useless with it) offline I can active pause or look up a chucks guide without bothering anyone or wasting peoples time. I really can’t wait for the tomcat to come out because I really want to learn it inside and out but I Highly doubt I’d use it online for a hell of a long time as I just won’t be as effective in a group as I would with an f15 or an su 33. It’s all down to personal preference though and I’m too worried about ruining someone’s fun by my lack of systems knowledge or experience.
the study sims are for me just that. Study for myself so I really don’t need them all. Just a few choice ones to really get stuck into.

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I think it is about the F-16 really.
It is one of the most iconic modern planes, flown by a lot of countries over the years, and many people from all around the world know and like it from the Falcon series of sims and other flight simulations.
Single seat, multi role, Mach 2, relatively easy to fly and fight with.
It is just very popular and the block 50 is one of the most popular version of it as well.

When the F-18 was announced there instantly were dozens of posts like “meh. Why not a F-16” or “boo. Keep your slow and useless Hornet and make an F-16 instead”, plus some posts with Dos Gringos videos praising the F-16 and people argumenting that with all the technology for the F-18 they could have done an F-16 instead because the carrier environment in DCS sucks anyway.

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Well heres my very philosophical answer to that: AND 》OR.

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HTS, the way HARMs were meant to be used…

That’s also an aspect.
Almost every sim producer during the 80’s and 90’s made a F-16 sim of sorts. For many simmers, the Falcon is synonymous with first love.

Let’s see how may simulated F-16’s I have flown…

Jet, for the C=64
Chuck Yeagers AFT for the C=64
F/A-18 Interceptor for the Amiga had an F-16
Falcon for the Amiga
Birds of Prey for the Amiga
F-16 Combat Pilot for the C=64 and the Amiga.
F-16 Fighting Falcon (iF-16) for PC
Falcon 3&4 for PC

I give up! There are many more…

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And I was wondering why there is stil COUGAR HOTAS on TM ( mobile ) page :wink:

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I have never had the hots for the F16 in any varient. I think falcon 4 is to blame as in those days I preferred the simplicity and gameplay of il2
I would wet my knickers over an Avro Vulcan with multicrew and some ai Victor’s for refueling

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I was a Mechanical Engineering major for my undergraduate degree…anything beyond the four laws of thermodynamics is pure philosophy for me. “I think there for I am…?” I’m more like I think I am going to get the F-86 the next time DVS has a sale. :sunglasses:

I have a couple less on my log, but it’s gonna be like coming home. Even if the viper is about as vanilla as fighter jets can be, I love that we’re going to get it, and I intend to fly the everliving cr*p out of it!

You are selling yourself short there mate. Your contributions regarding leadership and such in the “she must have been a bad girl” thread were elucidating and indicative of an active and inquisitive mind that looks beyond surface appearances. You are also really good at dumb pun jokes :wink:

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I’m a former airforce sargeant.

I’m going to steal that quote! :smile:

And flying the Viggen… No, wait…? I’m thinking of somebody else. :thinking:

:wink:

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Socialization surely plays a big role in what aircraft people like. Ever since seeing The Final Countdown as a kid, Tomcats, Corsairs and Intruders will be the pinnacle of naval aviation for me.

But in regards to games, socialization is not everything. Gameplay may be as important. For example despite growing up in a country flying the F-5E I never had a sweet spot for the Tiger. Quite on the contrary actually. But it turned out that in DCS it is a very fun aircraft to fly, probably the most satisfying aircraft to put bombs on target in. Other aircraft I really liked in my youth turned out to be pretty boring to fly in DCS (I am looking at you Mirage 2000C).

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Thought that I would create a separate post where people could post their opinions on why the F-16C is the best/worst next* DCS module from ED. Then I thought that there was probably a good base level of posts that I could seed the discussion with :slight_smile:

Plus, this will (hopefully) keep these posts from becoming common responses to DCS F-16C news. Remember, opinions are good and everyone has them, but please remember that ‘Because I want it’ or ‘Because I don’t want it’, although valid opinions, are not adding to the discussion.

Personally I am eagerly awaiting the Viper. I grew up ogling the F-14 Tomcat like the sexy beast it is but when I saw my first Viper, those lines and curves … well they spoke to me. Falcon 4 helped cement that feeling by allowing this non-pilot to become a virtual pilot where I could pretend to be a fighter pilot. I can’t deny that heritage in my flight sim history and I am really looking forward to returning to that reclining seat as soon as I can :slight_smile:

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YES! Yes! Yes!

Especially the Victor tanker part.

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Why the Viper? (please forgive me for stating the obvious)

Because the first time that I saw it was a WTF moment.
Because it was the first fighter that I knew had a reclining seat to help with G loading.
Because it was the first fighter that I saw with ergonomic side-mounted HOTAS.
Because of the amazing view provided the pilot by the cockpit and canopy design.
Because of the amazing thrust to weight ratio.
Because it still looks hotter than hell after all these years.
Because it seems to be universally loved by the pilots who flew it.
Because it was widely exported and therefore easily fits into a number of scenarios.
Because it can be equipped to fly a wide variety of missions.
Because if ED gives it the same love as the Hornet, it’s going to look/feel incredible and a worthwhile successor to the original Microprose version, sans the campaign engine of course.

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Generally speaking, that changes with time and experience. As you get more comfortable with a particular aircraft, getting things going becomes routine and you focus more on the mission.

What the Viper will bring is going to be like what the Bug currently brings, the ability to do more than one mission set – though not exactly at the same time like a lot of us currently use them for. Start off with a SEAD/DEAD, roll back and go out again for a fighter sweep, then follow up with a strike, all in the same aircraft. It’s something DCS has never had much of up til now.

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