DCS Summer Sale

[Britchot]

June 21st through July 14th, 2019.

[Klaiber]

Great opportunity for people to pick up the aircraft they've had their eyes on.

 

[Firefly]

Was hoping they'd put the MiG-19 on sale, apparently it's too early though. Might pick it up regardless. 

[Kliegmann]

Kinda looking at the F-5, but hemming and hawing right now

[EmerlistDavjack]

I keep wanting to get into DCS but man,  it's like you need to spend the same amount of time and commitment as a military pilot to learn some of these things.  I just don't have that type of time, at least with a WWI or WWII bird I can hop in and do it.  I'd have to pick one modern plane and learn it.  I can't decide if that is the F-14 or the eventual F-16.   I'm a fighter pilot at heart, so do I want the best long range AA missile or the best thrust-weight ratio (and sexiest airframe)?

Buying the Persian Gulf map on sale, though.  I'll tool around Abu Dhabi in a Huey for kicks. 

[Britchot]

PG map is amazing and opens up a lot of online options.

After last night’s practice in the Harrier, it really is best to have a favorite and stick with it. I had forgotten so much in the last few months. Didn’t help I had a corrupted file, either. But man, I couldn’t even input a waypoint!  

[EmerlistDavjack]

Yeah, PG is the map that echoes real world operations these days.  I think I'm going to wait for the F-16 or maybe if the F-14 goes on sale in the fall/winter I'll pick that up.  Though, the F-16 wouldn't let me do Carrier ops.  Goddammit DCS why are you so expensive and yet so good?

Does anybody here have Combined Arms?

[Britchot]

I have it but have only played a JTAC lasing targets for A-10Cs.  Now, I do that from a Harrier. 

[EmerlistDavjack]

I'm sort of interested in playing DCS like a very high-fidelity RTS game.  If anybody here played Wargame: Red Dragon, they know what I mean, but more in real time and much better graphics. 

[EmerlistDavjack]

I ended up buying the Yak-52 and it is a lot of fun to just fly around.  I saw a video online of a guy on multiplayer with Combined Arms shooting IGLAs with a MANPAD.  Looked...interesting.  Maybe next sale. 

[Firefly]

I bought the Mi-8 in the hope that it might be a helpful learning tool for the upcoming Mi-24 (which is going to be a day one purchase for me). The Farmer and Albatros are next on my list, I might buy them during the Autumn sale. 

[Britchot]

I absolutely love the Mi-8! I was an OPFOR door gunner in one back in the '90s, during a training event. As for the sim, she doesn't like to slow down and descend in a straight line, you've been warned. 

[-Hawkeye-]

4 hours ago, Britchot said:

I absolutely love the Mi-8! I was an OPFOR door gunner in one back in the '90s, during a training event.... 

Wow, really?  How does life lead you into an opportunity like that?  VERY few could claim the same.  Perhaps you worked at the NTC near 29 Palms or Fort Irwin?

[Britchot]

2 hours ago, Luftritter said:

Wow, really?  How does life lead you into an opportunity like that?  VERY few could claim the same.  Perhaps you worked at the NTC near 29 Palms or Fort Irwin?

Close, not physically, but assignment wise, the same.  My first duty station after airborne school was with the 1/509th PIR, out of Ft. Polk, LA.  It was the Joint Readiness Training Center (JRTC) and we were the OPFOR guerrillas, 10 months out of the year.  

I had earned a reward sortie as one of 4 door gunners on the Hip. Back then, TRW operated a number of Soviet helicopters, to include the Mi-8, Mi-24D, and Mi-2.  I’ve been back to that airfield and the Hoplite is still there, derelict in a corner.  It was sad to see it after 20+ years. However, that Hind was very impressive to see fly overhead in the middle of a rotation, a memory I will never forget.

[Heinrich]

I flew many missions with mi-8 and mi-26 in Cambodia [UNTAC '92-'93]. I used a mi-8 for sling ops where we couldn't come with a 26 because of the space or down blast. Not funny to work with a community if you blew their rice stock in the air. Officially we were allowed to put 17 pax on board, but it happened that the pilot after closing of the manifest took more with him. I witnessed 32 in total. Some were sitting on the rear loading doors [they never saw the tiny hinge which held the doors together.] We flew with Russian and Ukrainian crews. The mi-26 crews were more civilized .

[Pfeil]

I was flying in the Mi - 8 for a few months in my time as aircraft mechanic in the army.

Then the base was closed down and I was suddenly a Sapper.

 

[Heinrich]

Questionnaires: I would like to start with DCS, but where do I start? What must, should, could I buy to join you in the game? Jet, prop, vintage, modern? Can one of you veterans advice me on this?

In what role can I be of use? No surprise I favour ground attack and support aircraft. But who knows, maybe I inherited some of 'uncle' Albins DNA. 

[Pfeil]

You can start with DCS without buying anything.

Su-25 and T-51 are free.

Install and jump in.

If ground pounding is your thing the Su-25 is a good start.

After that you can decide where to go.

 

[Firefly]

@Heinrich, the Fishbed has some basic A-G capability with dumb bombs, rockets (both guided and unguided) and missiles. It's also really fun to fly in PvP, both as a fighter and a ground pounder. It's a challenging machine to fly, but the satisfaction you feel from mastering every one of its capabilities is immense. 

@Pfeil's suggestion is great, as an A-G pilot you should definitely give the Su-25 a try. It's a relatively simple machine, plus its systems are much easier to operate than in more advanced modules with fully clickable cockpits. It's a great way of introducing yourself to the game without the risk of getting overwhelmed. After you master all the basics, we (as in the Euro DCS team, comprising @Jonne, @Erhardt and myself) could take you for a spin in a closed training session or, if you prefer jumping straight into the deep end, on Alpenwolf's Cold War server, which happens to be my personal favourite.

[Heinrich]

@Firefly @Pfeil thanks for the quick response and information.

@Firefly that's a very nice offer. For now I will step in DCS, but getting airborne will take some time. Right now I'm recovering from a disectomy in the lower back. Of course I want to go faster but the doctor has a different opinion. 

I 'll start with reading and cockpit control bindings.

[Firefly]

Sure thing mate, good thing you're prioritising health over everything else. If you need any more advice, feel free to ask here or just PM me. Good luck with your recovery!

[Britchot]

A good friend of mine shared an amazing story about a (presumably) Russian pilot in an Mi-8/17 landing in the middle of a firefight on a COB in Afghanistan. The helicopter was shot up and he put her down in the middle  and my friend, the senior NCO on the COB, told him to get his fire hazard out of the middle.

The pilot said, “No. It is no good. Russia will buy me a new one.” and walked away. 

Later, that pilot came back with another Mi-8/17, delivering supplies. Probably a civilian operation and a battle hardened pilot.

[Heinrich]

In  Cambodia the Afghan vets were close to dangerous to fly with (they seldom drank water) . In those days we as Dutch new nothing about helo handling. Nobody told me about static electricity of a sling load. With the Mi-26 we used to fly to a 20 ft container where we already had put the hooks on top of it, then the pilot would hover next/above the container, one of us would walk out the helo using the front door attach the hook to the container and walked back in. After that take off. At first I was considered cargo by the crews but after flying almost daily with them for as long it was light we became 'friends' and I was given helmet with coms and would sit between the pilots on the mecano seat. Big shock to come back in the Netherlands and treated as an ordinary mover again. Made me a volunteer for any mission.