J5_Hotlead

Hey guys! While I won't be online this Sunday as usual for FC, I will be online tomorrow (Saturday) at 7:00am Central US time (1200 GMT) if anyone wants to join me on Flugpark! (Yes, it's a little early, but I wanted to fly before I left on vacation tomorrow. )

You flatter me! I personally really loved it. I'd even say it was as good as the original, which for me is saying a lot. There were some very solid tactical concepts at play (warning spoilers below)... When Hangman abandoned his wingman in training, Maverick was easily able to get a "kill" on the wingman, eliminating Hangman's flight's 2 v 1 advantage. It reminds me of a mistake I made last Sunday with Flyboy, where I lost my nerve and got too separated from him. I was barely able to make it back in time to save him when he got attacked by a bandit with a superior energy state, but if I'd been with him, he may not have even gotten bullet holes. While I am not a jet simmer, Maverick crossing behind Rooster to draw off the incoming SAMs seemed like it would legitimately work. I see this in WW1 when one pilot is dragging a bandit and drags him in front of his wingman to get the bandit off him. I loved how Maverick's F-14 ran out of bullet rounds and actually showed the bullet counters counting down. A pet peeve of mine in action movies is that the hero has unlimited ammo and never runs or needs to reload. By the same token, Rooster ran out of flares and Maverick ran out of missiles. A realistic touch for sure! I like that they portrayed G-LOC and absolutely loved the blackout effects to show the audience how the pilots were feeling. Too many cheesy flying movies forget to deal with this at all. I loved that the bandits did not all go down with the first shot. The dogfight sequences really seemed like a battle of wits and machines, with both parties involved having the advantage at different points. Seeing the enemy aircraft deploy flares and escape missiles felt very satisfying. In most other flying movies, bandits are not that smart. Losing SAMs against the ground clutter is a valid tactic since the Vietnam War. I liked seeing that. Overall, those things felt very believable! Of course there were things that were cheesy. But it was fun cheese. Here's some of the bits that stretch credulity: Rooster and Maverick being downed behind enemy lines and just finding an F-14 lying around. Believable? No. But very satisfying. The whole approach to the Iranian target seemed remarkably like the trench run from Star Wars. And the fact that all fighters hit the air duct (even Rooster without aiming guidance) is astonishing. But hey, stranger things have happened! All of the times Maverick was saved at the last second by a fellow pilot. It really isn't very believable, but it does reinforce his persona of being the "by the seat of his pants" pilot with seemingly nine lives. Those are my off the cuff impressions. YMMV, of course, but I thoroughly enjoyed it!

I’m going to see it tonight. Hyped!

Salute guys! I’ll be flying FC at around 1815 GMT (1:15pm Central US time) if anyone wants to join. Would love to have some wingmen! I’ll be on Teamspeak.

Flying Circus collector planes are available for pre-order now! https://forum.il2sturmovik.com/topic/78659-announcing-pre-orders-for-the-sopwith-snipe-siemens-schuckert-div-and-spitfire-mkxiv-w-teardrop-canopy/

This is so cool! Thank you for sharing! I love how some of the excavation photos look like you could still walk the streets of Akrotiri.

As usual, your work is amazing! Thank you, Von!

Hey Von! I’d like a Tripey skin! For mine… - Same glossiness as yours - Shield emblem where appropriate on the fuselage - “Hotlead” name below the cockpit, in quotes, same color/font as Klaiber’s “Krazy Kat”. It’s ok to have the name be smaller to make room for the shield - White diagonal stripe on top wing like my HP and SPAD - Wheel covers yellow / black in this pattern: - Same four section yellow/black pattern as wheels on the nose section. Just like yours, except only four sections, with one of the yellow sections on top, where the gun is - Letter “H” in white on the right horizontal stabilizer, similar to Collishaw’s triplane: Thank you!

Wunderbar! Thank you!

I’d like one too! For mine: - Jasta 10 yellow on the engines (like the red on Klai’s example) - Yellow wheel covers - Shield and logo on the nose, like you have yours, Von - Where you have your fuselage letters read “V/D”, have mine read “H/L” - My yellow “Hotlead” script on both sides of the fuselage, under the pilot’s cockpit - A thicker diagonal white stripe on the top wing, like on my SPAD XIII skin Thank you!

Initial feedback from the community suggests the Tripe is the pre-2014 nerf FM. This is good!

Sweet upgrades! Let us know how it runs!

Thanks so much! I should have been more specific. I'll have a look once I get home!

Thank you, @Vonrd! Would it be possible to add black to the starbursts as well, like my other planes? I figure that with an aircraft this large, I won't be able to hide anyway, so might as well go big n' loud!

Could I have one with the following? - Starburst on top wing - Same base camo as Klaiber’s - White band near tail in place of Klaiber’s pink band - Yellow with starburst for tail behind white band - Yellow wheels - Shield/motto and “Hotlead” name displayed where appropriate on the fuselage. Thank you!

Absolutely!

This month, JG1 officially turned 30 years old. As you all know, JG1 has been actively involved in combat flight simulators since 1992...before I was even born! I joined JG1 in 2015 and can say that I found my home in the first try. JG1 is the first flight sim squadron I ever joined and, as far as I'm concerned, is the best flight sim squadron in existence. (Ok...maybe I'm a bit biased, but I feel it's true!) I appreciate the leadership of this group - past and present - who have kept us in active existence for 30 years and who have fostered a culture of levelheadedness, honor, and respect here. From day one, I've been floored not only by the professionalism of the group, but also the willingness to include new pilots (like I was once) and take them "under the wing" so to speak. I've appreciated the group's willingness to have discussions that help us all improve and I appreciate that we all work to believe the best about each other. It's the kind of organization whose tag I am proud to wear in public and the kind of squadmates that I am honored to be associated with. Here's to the next 30!

Your In-Game Name: JG1_Hotlead_J10 [if applicable] Your Squadron affilation (with squadron website if possible): JG1 Your timezone: Central US time Your certainty of attending: Week A1 (Saturday, 5 March 2022): Yes Week A2 (Saturday, 12 March 2022): Yes Week A3 (Saturday, 19 March 2022): No Week A4 (Saturday, 26 March 2022): Yes

Salute guys! I’ll be flying/live-streaming on Flugpark tomorrow (Sunday) around 2:00pm Central US time (20:00 UTC) for anyone who wants to join. I’ll be on JG1’s teamspeak.

Was a blast flying with you guys today! Looking forward to even more flights like this in 2022.

Wow! Thank you for sharing this with us!

Salute guys! I’ll be flying/live-streaming on Flugpark today around 12:00pm Central US time (18:00 UTC) for anyone who wants to join. I’ll be on JG1’s teamspeak.

Salute! I’ll be online & live-streaming on Flugpark today at 2pm Central time (20:00 UTC) if anyone wants to join.

Congratulations, everyone! It was a pleasure to share the skies with you all.

Welcome, @NavyDoc! Glad to see you’ve found us! Looking forward to sharing the skies with you.