When Microsoft Flight Simulator came out, I spent less time with X-Plane 11. By comparison, X-Plane 11 even with the latest updates is now coming up on 5-years in age. In a lot of ways, that age is showing in all kinds of places. At the same time, X-Plane 12 is now waiting in the…
Category: Editorial
A look at possible futures for IL-2 Great Battles
After Jason’s update on the current status of the IL-2 Sturmovik: Great Battles Series, I’ve started wondering (again) about what’s just a little beyond the horizon. I’m not alone as I’ve seen several conversations pop-up all across the community about what the longer range plans for Great Battles. It seems it is long past time…
Q4 Status Update for IL-2 Sturmovik: Great Battles provides lots of detail on future
We’ve got a big update from Jason Williams, Executive Producer for the IL-2 Sturmovik: Great Battles Series, with details on what the team are working on, challenges they face and a rough idea when some of the next aircraft (and tanks!) are coming to the series. Let’s have a look at what’s coming up and…
In defense of Battle of Moscow’s P-40E-1
For as long as I can remember, I’ve always enjoyed cheering for the underdog, the underappreciated, the sometimes misunderstood. Who doesn’t like a good underdog story after all? Recently I’ve been flying the IL-2: Battle of Moscow P-40E-1 after a long hiatus and it has brought some new insights on how to manage and fly…
First impressions of the .50cal change in IL-2
One contentious issue across multiple generations of WWII combat flight simulations is the issue of the representation of the Browning M2 .50cal. Less powerful than a 20mm cannon but more effective than a light machine gun, the M2 .50cal was the primary armament for most American combat aircraft in World War II. There’s been plenty…
What I’m hoping for from X-Plane ‘next gen’
Tomorrow, Laminar Research and the X-Plane team are going to be showing off more of their next generation X-Plane product at Flight Sim Expo 2021. There’s considerable excitement and a lot of guesses still remaining on just what the new sim will be offering, how it will be changing things up from the previous generation,…
A look at Big Radial’s Nieuport 17
The fine folks at Big Radials sent me an review copy of the Nieuport 17 for Microsoft Flight Simulator for me to write a review on. I loved the work they did with their P-40B with a very accessible and fun warbird recreation and I was expecting more of the same with the Nieuport. However,…
More details about IL-2’s Ju88C-6
Of all of the aircraft coming with IL-2 Sturmovik: Battle of Normandy, the Ju88C-6 is probably the one with the least amount of understanding around it, how it was used, and how it fits into the history of the battle. I’ll admit that my own knowledge was somewhat limited too. Fortunately, lots of information has…
Jason Williams addresses some longstanding IL-2 issues
In recent weeks and months there have been many comments around some key features in the IL-2 Sturmovik: Great Battles Series. Some of those comments have bubbled over into some heated arguments and an update on what the team was doing about them seemed to be a necessity. That is just what we’ve got with…
My thoughts on a second hotfix for Flight Simulator
It’s not a secret that Microsoft Flight Simulator Update 5 has had some issues and it has left many fans of the series feeling a bit frustrated. We’ve seen a hotfix come within a few days of release to fix some significant issues but many other issues still remain. A second hotfix is on the…
Stormbirds 