Magnitude 3’s Christen Eagle now available

January 17, 2019

4–6 minutes

The newest aircraft to DCS World is Magnitude 3’s Christen Eagle II which is now fully released and available for pilots to check out in DCS World. It’s a quirky release compared to the rest of the aircraft line-up in DCS World but it has its own charms from what I’ve seen and heard from the community. Here’s a brief round-up of what I’m hearing.

Ready and released to the world

Designed by WWII P-51D pilot Frank Christen, the CEII is an aerobatic bi-plane specialized to that single role pretty much to the exclusion of everything else. This module in DCS World is the first pure aerobatic aircraft (the Yak-52 serving as a primary trainer) so it represents a new category for the series.

If you want the CEII for DCS, it is now available on the DCS World E-Shop for $29.99 USD and you can fly it if you’re on the DCS World 2.5 beta release. You’ll have to wait until January 23rd for the public release.

Reaction

The CEII has attracted a fair bit of controversy in the community with all sorts of different comments made. There have been questions on if it has a place in DCS World, on if Magnitude 3 is making a mistake in creating and releasing this, and some have leveled that it will open the door to more modules like this one and fewer of the kind that they want.

While I understand the various concerns out there, I suspect that DCS World will continue to be primarily a combat flight simulator and aircraft like the CEII add some colour and flavour to the series without diverting it from the more serious combat oriented goal.

The developers are Magnitude 3 have made it clear that they have a sense of humour about the CEII and their place in the community.

Now that the CEII is out, however, I feel like those who were interested in the module are finding out that the CEII is what they were looking for and for players not interested, they can carry on as before it was released.

Comments from the community

Reactions from those with the module have been pretty positive as well.

Very happy too, it feels weird to fly it in DCS but I mean weird in a good way, a refreshing way
Eight Ball on the DCS World forums

There were only 2 reasons for me to buy this module. The first one was to support Magnitude 3 because they are a great developer and I want to help them stay in business. The second reason was to see how close this flight model compared to my RV-8. For the past several years I have found myself constantly frustrated by trying to compare my experience in a very small and light weight tail dragger to the DCS Mustang, Spitfire, Fokwolf and Messerschmit. Now I have something VERY close to what I have a fair bit of experience with and I have to say it seems like they have nailed it! Thank you guys! I am very happy with this module!
AG-51_Razor on the DCS World forums

It of course is not perfect and it appears to have some issues with ground handling in some circumstances.

Overall I’d say the flight model is great (not a CE2 pilot so I wouldn’t know) but as far as an advanced aerobatic plane is concerned you can do all the things, lomcevak, stall turn and all the other fun ones. My issues are due to ground handling. If you taxi onto the grass and then touch the brakes at all it sticks you permanently. The other thing is that if you push the stick forward on takeoff its actually impossible to nose the prop in (will post a video) which goes against my knowledge of physics lol. I was going 150 mph on the ground with full forward stick and it didn’t nose over. The landing gear too seems way to springy but that might be how it is so I can’t really know
JNelson on DCS World forums

Even YouTuber Magz got in on the first reactions to the CEII with this great video he put together:

It’s here, its fun, it sets the stage

I think at the end of the day, options are good and offering different kinds of experiences in DCS World ups the fun and the interest for everyone in DCS World. While the CEII may not appeal to all people, for those who are interested, it keeps them in the DCS World experience and I see this as only a good thing for fans of the series.

It’s a bit quirky, its definitely looking like it’s a lot of fun, and it is also the aircraft that Magnitude 3 was able to cut their teeth on before working on something more serious – the F4U Corsair.

The Corsair is Magnitude 3’s next planned module and with the aerobatics and piston engine development work they have done, they are prepared to move on to the next module. Simultaneously, the developers are continuing to provide support for and are planning some major enhancements to the MiG-21bis as time goes on.

And of course, we have this teaser of what is almost certainly the F4U Corsair posted to the Leatherneck Facebook page.

6 responses to “Magnitude 3’s Christen Eagle now available”

Nil

January 18, 2019 at 4:25 am

When the very first Flyable bomber (stuka) came out in the old IL2, there was some controversy. Same before the Junkers 52 came out, and same for the U2. Some people do not understand that they are not alone in the simulator, some pilot enjoy other type of aircraft. Even thought I do not use DCS, I am glad that they add non combat aircraft, it adds variety , fresh air to the simulator and make some pilots happy!
I am so glad IL has the Junkers 52 and the U2 (despite no logistic loadout) it adds a fresh air in events like FNBF, and it has a success among some pilots. I even participated in a mission with 9 other junkers 52 pilots! it was so fun! I hope for the Li2 now

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nunocinacio

January 18, 2019 at 9:13 am

I was dumbfounded when it was announced, given the hype they built up before the announcement. But it does look nice.

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boxcarleader

January 18, 2019 at 1:00 pm

while i understand a variety of aircraft is a good thing i think keeping it on target is probably better than a random stunt plane … trainers are still fiffy to me but i would love to see strategic bombers and cargo aircraft… but i will point out that the Ju52 and Ju87 were both in their way combat aircraft .. while the Christen Eagle is in no way such… so i would have been happier if they had added in a Storch or a C-130

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Mischiew Rithe

January 19, 2019 at 4:11 am

Let’s look at the why. From the FAQ on their website:

“Why did we choose the Christen Eagle II?
What started as a technology test-bed for propeller aircraft and multiple cockpit codebase, turned in the end into a full fledged aerobatics aircraft simulator. Our primary goal with the Eagle was to create a groundbreaking prop-engine flight model to be used for our WW2 aircraft.”

I had to look, because the reason given in the DCS forums are completely different:

“Because the love for aviation extends outside strictly military aircraft bounds.
DCS is a simulation platform, a powerful one. We strongly believe it could be extended outside its initial military purpose. Together with Eagle Dynamics SA and The Fighter Collection we introduce one beautiful civilian airplane to this world, opening the door for new things to come.
We imagine future of DCS as a general world simulating platform where almost anything could be simulated. Our Christen Eagle II is a small step toward that future.”

The incentive given in the DCS forums was probably targeted at the wrong audience or badly stated, even more so after the flames which followed the strange hype build-up that had upset many people. So I’m not sure that reason stifled the opposition very effectively. If someone were to depart from military aviation in DCS, perhaps there were more appropriate choices.

Now the testbed reason should make more sense, although justifying a product like that may look awkward. The price is lower than other modules: 30$ for the CEII compared to 40$ for the Yak-52, but the Yak trainer is slightly more complex. So they’re saying, “we’ll sell you an experiment of ours at a normal price, but it’s cheaper because it’s tinier and simpler”. Hmm, am I convinced? It could be fun though, so why not? (talking objectively here, subjectively I’m not interested but that’s a matter of personal taste).

What could have been both a flight model testbed and a more widely accepted DCS module? Another trainer, maybe, a de Havilland Tigermoth or a North American T6 so that West would have their Yak-52 counterpart? Both are appealing to many people, they serve a purpose in DCS and are a little more demanding for the pilot than a CEII. In terms of aerobatics they’re probably not at the same level, but still on the correct roadmap to a Corsair. I would have bought any of those two, or perhaps even a GA module.

If I were them, I’d make sure to clarify the reason for this choice because giving two different ones doesn’t look very professional, then find a way to make this plane more at home in DCS though I’m at a loss here, perhaps with at least a campaign and/or a MP contest, and by adding static elements that go along aerobatic activities?

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1. Mischiew Rithe
  
  January 19, 2019 at 4:21 am
  
  As a hint, perhaps an interview would help do them some justice and help people understand what had come over them? 😀
  
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arkhamuk

January 24, 2019 at 3:50 am

More freedom of choice is better, it keeps the platform growing and healthier and doesn’t limit developers creativity. Cant wait to see what crazy air display vids people make. Maybe the next unarmed craft could be the SR-71 🙂

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