Oh and how could I forget, the ability to add map graphics in the ME and have them appear in the HSI is AMAZING! Adding in your control points, target points, phase lines, target areas etc all in the ME versus having to hand jam them like the Apache is
On Rotorheads last night in was noted that the Kiowa has no sound to the outside world (beyond the player flying it). It was weird watching them hover silently off the pad.
On the visuals, and please donāt take this as criticism of your fine review, the pilot models are great, IMO! Right down to the wrinkles in the uniforms! And those displaysā¦
I agree some of the cockpit textures might be a bit low res - but with only an 8GB GPU Iām often flying with āMediumā textures anyway (looking at you, F-15E!)
Maybe some people are unimpressed, but my vote is itās definitely in the āgood enoughā bucket 
Also: Hornet from the ED team on the forums has acknowledged the āno external soundā issue, hopefully thatāll get worked out quickly!
I only flew it for ten mjnutes or so, but as I said, it pretty much feels like rhe EC-135 
Yeah I read that- then I will be waiting your own review of the module, time permitting. 
Iām away for the week, and I still havenāt even tried the Gazelle in multi-crew to see if a target can be lased while moving the helicopter now (it used to slew weirdly, with no stabilisation while slewing (like the old A-10A and Su-25T)).
Combined with needing to spend a lot of study time on the Chinook soon, Iāll only fly this thing much later once itās on trial.
It is tempting to lase for Apaches from a light scout helo though.
Ach, yeah- I feel thatā¦
Respect.
I took the KW for a 1/2 hour spin last night in VR and was surprised how easy it is to fly, especially after a month in the Loach 
I didnāt explore the outer regions of the flight envelope, so canāt comment if retreating blade stall or settling with power is modeled, but if I fly it under normal conditions, it is very well behaved. In fact, I expected the KW to be a bit more cumbersome. She picks up nicely and is fairly easy to hover. This was with a gun and 2 x Hellfires mounted. Force trim worked well. I didnāt try any weapons or the AI pilot, but looking forward to both.
to anyone whoās bought it, howās the campaign/single mission situation? assuming no campaign (or else they would have mentioned that with the release details) but are there quite a few single missions at least? thanks.
Oh, thatās because itās the 7th branch of the US Armed Forces.
The Sardaukar.
I got that sense as wellā¦.I donāt have to do near as much Dancing on those pedals compared to othe Eggbeaters 
From the ED Polychop forum.
I only have about 2000 hours in the KW, but it seems true to life IMO. Great FM and the best Iāve seen yet on a DCS helicopter. Big thanks to PolyChop for not going down the ridiculous VRS path that other devs canāt seem to get over. You donāt fly around worrying about settling with power all the time.
Thank the gods someone has finally spoken up about the VRS insanity. Itās not just DCS but also X-Plane. You tell an engineer of the āexistenceā of something and it seems they canāt help themselves. Iāve been screaming about this since Black Shark 1 but I (admittedly) have zero credibility. They should listen to someone who does.
So, after about 5 hours of play with it, my initial impressions are, frankly, alright Polychop.
You did it. You have a satisfactory release. Youāve cleared the first hurdle. And following an act like the F-4E with something thatās pretty damn decent? Thatās impressive.
The second hurdle now is to release that all important first patch to address things like the weird sideslip bug where you can accelerate to 200ktas as well as address minor system bugs like the lack of sound. The only important bug to squash is damage model shortcomings.
But, despite what the professionally outraged and meme obsessed might say, these are pretty minor errors and, over all, Kiowa is a lot of fun. I mean, a lot. I donāt think itāll replace the Mi-24P as my go to, but Iām going to be flying it a lot. It scratches an itch in the same way the JF-17 does for fixed wing; a technologically sophisticated airframe with physical limitations that encourages thought on load out as well as coordination with wingmen. In the same way I said the JF-17 is multicrew since youāre doing yourself a disservice flying it without a wingman, I say the same here for the OH-58D.
If you can get another Kiowa on your wing, itās going to be a blast, especially with its handling properties as you effortlessly weave and slalom between trees or skyscrapers.
At $70, it feels a bit steep. But, once those bugs are gone? Thatās more approaching fair and will only get their further as missions and content appear for it.
Did I read something recently that the UAV feed to the Kiowa was modeled? Iām curious about that.
You are correct, itās pretty cool.
Nice writeup @MiG21bisFishbed! Iāve decided not to buy it just for the price. At some point I must make a decision as a consumer about what value for the money I am getting. For the F-4 it was so easy to spend $70. The effort and man-hours that went into were obvious. I was impressed enough to gift a copy to a squadmate in Ireland who is still in school and isnāt so flush. The $50 on the Chinook was easy because the price was proportional to the more highly complex models and it is ED/Belsimtek so I know that the quality will meet a minimum standard and updates will come fast and often. For scouting Iāve been enjoying the Gazelle -M. It is about as limited as they come. But to employ it successfully against a rotorheads battlefield filled with SA-11s, SA-15, T-90s and Mi28s means that I have to plan and use every bit of cover available. And if there is no cover, I pick another FARP or another machine. The Apache is such a spam-cannon in that space that using it is like clubbing seals. Boring. The Kiowa would be a nice fit. But whereās the limit? Small team, yes. Worked hard to fix the Gazelle, yes. So they should be rewarded with a premium for this over similar modules? For me, no. When it sales down the the $40-50 price range (and it will), Iāll buy.
I, too, skipped the Kiowa due to the price. It is one of my favorite helos but Iāll wait for a price drop to jump in. Iām easily tempted when it comes to sims so I will have to remind myself that I have more than enough jets and helo to keep me busy while I wait. 
For me it was a no-brainer: itās been a long time coming and a hard, hard process. They earned it. I also love DCS like few other things and I want it to thrive. Throwing money into the pool is one way to help make that happen. Lastly, itās mad season for me and Iām flush with cash. Gotta make hay when the sun shines!