LATEST NEWS

October Calendars Available


By Fates, October 2, 2012
Here's the new batch of October Calendars.   Head over to the gallery and get them here: http://combatace.com...tace-calendars/  
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DCS 1.2.1 Now Available


By Dave, October 1, 2012
  DCS 1.21 Updates   The move to DCS version 1.2.1 marks numerous changes and improvements to the entire series of DCS products. As with the all DCS products now, DCS World (1.2.1) must now be installed prior to installing any of the DCS module versions 1.2.1.   New 1.2.1 changes include:   DCS World, 1.2.1   This new update to DCS World provides a set of new features and fixes. The most important of which is the new auto updater that will now automatically update your DCS World files without having to download entire new versions and manually install.   • Added new auto updater function. This will automatically update your DCS World files to their latest versions when online. • Corrected KMGU-2 loading in the Resource Manger. • Improved multiplayer stability and issues with master server. • The Su-25T Flight Manual has been updated. • We have fixed forests that would be missing on map when zoomed in. • The proper S-125 HUD symbol has been added to the Su-25T when in SEAD mode. • Corrected unit measurement for Russian AWACS (feet to meters). • Added a change to the manual for the role change window in single player. • Added some additional Su-25T commands for keyboard and joystick. • Optimized the models for the IL-76MD, IL-78M and A-50 aircraft. • Added "Escort" and "Follow" advanced tasks for aircraft in the Mission Editor. • Fixed Su-25T autopilot. • Corrected rocket/missile smoke trails. • The Su-25T gun pods are now modeled correctly. • Improved water effects. • New F/A-18C model. • New MiG-31 model. • New T-90 main battle tank model. • Updated DCS User Manual.   DCS World 1.2.1: http://www.digitalcombatsimulator.co...roduct&lang=en   DCS 1.2.1 Modules: http://www.digitalcombatsimulator.co...oducts&lang=en   DCS: P-51D Mustang (Final), 1.2.1 • War Emergency Power (WEP) has been implemented. • Tail wheel dynamics reworked for more realistic performance. • Realistic cooling system added and integrated into the full engine thermodynamic model. • Landing gear physics have been reworked to have realistic behavior and interaction with the fairing doors and down-lock latches. • Fairing doors can now be damaged or ripped off at over-speed conditions. • Engine wear or damage due to high manifold pressure at low RPM, overheating, and overuse of WEP has been implemented. • Oil pressure is now viscosity dependent. Oil dilution is now possible and has direct impact on engine performance. • The front dash gauge panel and the K-14 gunsight are now spring suspended. • The K-14 gunsight has been reworked using new data from K-14 documents. • The rudder anti-booster tab now works correctly. • Control stick and rudder pedals movement are now limited due to hinge moments. • Flap drag has been adjusted. • Lamps brightness and electro-dynamic gauge readings are now voltage sensitive. You can best see this during engine start. • The starter can now be burned out due to overheat if overused or overloaded. • Guns jam due to over-G firing has been added. • The radiator shutters' thermo-sensors can be damaged now. • All aircraft failures are now reported correctly in debriefings. • Sounds for the primer, pilot parachute opening and flapping during decent, and pilot landing have been added. The canopy sound has also been improved. • Corrected tendency for left roll at takeoff. • Adjusted Red Tail pilot art. • Improved bailing out animation. • Fixed landing light on with air start. • Fixed cockpit tooltip for the gun switch. • Corrected radio information entry in Mission Editor. • Improved AI P-51D. • Fixed SCR-522 resetting in some situations. • Adjusted G impact on airframe. • Improved pilot normal maps. • Adjusted landing gear collision model. • Corrected trim performance in multiplayer. • Adjusted wingmen takeoff behavior. • Improved prop RPM model. • Sounds for control stick and rudder movement have been added.   DCS: A-10C Warthog, 1.2.1 • Flight model updated. • New APU sounds. • Corrected inverted flight behavior. • Fixed course and heading on HSI continuing to change after knob input has ceased. • Reworked TGP tracking. TGP would now enter INR track for approximately one second after slew has stopped. It will now enter AREA / POINT track. • Fixed sensor axis responsiveness after exit from LSS when TGP is masked. • Only POINT track and RATES are now possible in TGP A/A mode. • TGP will now revert to RATES when a track is lost in A/A mode.   DCS: Black Shark 2, 1.2.1 • Restored the vertical bar on the Ka-50 right window (view inside cockpit). • Corrected brightness of lamps and devices in the cockpit. • Corrected shadows of IR rockets on the water. • Fixed Abkhazia skin for Ka-50. • Adjusted clickable zones in the cockpit. • Corrected number of saved PVI zones in memory. • Fixed NDB indication on ABRIS map. • Corrected shadow on the ground from rotor blades. • Fixed Ka-50 repair procedure when on the runway. • PVR is no longer powered by SUO (Weapon Systems) switch. • SUO (Weapon Systems) switch logic has been revised - now it controls the ability to fire weapons and to display weapons status. Additionally, external fuel tanks will not transfer fuel when the switch is OFF. • Vikhr ATGM issues fixed. • Autopilot control panel and Datalink panel lamps status is now reset when electric power is lost. • Hydraulic system related instruments will no longer work when electrical power is lost. • Ambient temperature indicator (the one above the pilot on the cockpit ceiling) was implemented.   DCS: Combined Arms Beta 2, 1.2.1 • Changed the binocular button on the F10 view. • Improved operation of mouse cursor. • Altered Instructor mode for bot-units. • Added new message for user when start is delayed. • Corrected role selector function. • Added artillery range rings in F10 view. • Fixed sight lock in some situations. • Fixed player control process for SAMs. • Fixed working compass and turret rotation indicator for ZSU-23-4. • Added route refresh function in MP. • Corrected users’ names for all CA units in MP. • Corrected tank sight for zoomed in mode. • Corrected ammunition status field. • Fixed Battlefield Commanders ability to target artillery in MP. • Corrected Lock - Unlock sequence targeting. • Fixed tank sight for HE shells. • Added fixed delay time between locks. • Fixed the ability to lock units behind terrain. • Added tank ability to turn on the spot.   Installation Uninstall all previous DCS products prior to versions 1.2.1
Note: Do NOT deactivate your products! To be safe, delete \Saved Games\DCS files
Install DCS World 1.2.1
Install each new DCS module (1.2.1 or latest Beta version)
Note: A new activation will not be required unless this is the first time you have installed the product.   Please note that MP requires you to have all products S/N activated using the same DCS (webshop) account.
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KwikPit Gaming Platform


By Dave, September 28, 2012
KwikPit Review     My quest for a simple home built cockpit started a few years ago after seeing some of my fellow flight simmers have their own pits. I looked at building one but I do not have the technical knowhow to even begin making plans for that. Next I looked on the net for some plans to make my own. I found a couple…then I realized I have no business trying to cut wood etc. Fix an ICBM, I can do that, work with wood? Not happening Kemosabe. So know what? How about maybe buy a real pit from an aircraft junkyard and restore it. I made some calls and here is how most conversations went.   Me: "Hello, I’m looking for a pit of an old fighter to salvage to make a home built cockpit." Junkyard Owner: “Oh not one of you guys again.” Me: “I take it you get a couple of calls like this a year?” Junkyard Owner: “Yep, you guys are weird.” Me: “Ah thanks, I think. So what do you have?” Junkyard Owner: “I got something you can use and you have to come pick it up yourself in Arizona.” Me: “How much?” Junkyard Owner: “$1500 and you’ll need a tractor trailer to haul it.” Me: “Oh, wow it’s that big? Hey Sheila can I have, oh, what, it’s this big, not in your house,ok.” Junkyard Owner: (Laughing) I heard the conversation. Me: “Sorry sir to have bothered you.”   Well there goes that idea. Now what? How about that Obutto thingy? It looks nice and it’s functional but not the look I’m going for. Well this blows, I’m getting nowhere fast. So I shelve the idea for the time being. Fast forward to about a month ago. I was rekindling my hope to find a pit I could use at home. So I hit Google again, this time I typed in ‘home cockpits’ and there on page 3 was a forum with the word ‘KwikPit’ in it. So I Google it and came up with http://www.kwikpit.com/. I started going through the site and what I found was what I am now calling the “Holy Grail” of quick and easy pits.   I started going through the net looking for any reviews of the pit. I couldn’t find a single one. This thing looks like it’s the answer to most simmers prayers. Yet no one from what I could tell has said a word about it. So I send an email to the customer service asking about the pit and could I get a review copy of it. I gave them my phone number and within 45 minutes I get a call from Greg at Kwikpit. We begin discussing the pit and just general BSing back and forth. Come to find out he is a retired USAF munitions troop from the B-1 world. Being recently retired from the USAF myself we had a lot to talk about. We get back to the pit and he explains to me that he sent off a pit before to get a review done and the person never did one. He tried to get money for it since a review wasn’t being done and never heard back from the person either. So needless to say he was very apprehensive to give me a pit to review.   The back-story on the Kwikpit Company was that Greg wanted something to leave his simming and racing gear in place without having to tear it all down later when he was done. Greg searched the net and found too little info on home built pits and the ones he did find could run up to $30,000 unfinished. Most simmers cannot afford that. Also he noticed that some people would start a complicated pit, taking them years to build, only to give up frustrated. So having this info Greg decided to build his own pit. He started with several plans and he gave them to people so they could build their own. Some of his customers asked why he could not do a kit. His plans for the pit were simple enough, he would need to find a way to machine the wood and yet keep it compact and light. Thus the Kwikpit is born. Greg’s goal is to fill the price gap so that the average simmer can have the experience they wanted and not have to mortgage a house to get it.   Greg also is the President, Owner, CEO, CFO, janitor and cleaning lady of Kwikpit. In other words he is a one man show. I assure him I will do a review and not leave him hanging. He agrees and on 19 Sept my pit is in. I just had surgery on the 17th so I was in no condition to put the pit together. The weekend of the 22/23 Sept gets here and my wife drags me out of the house to start working on the pit. Mind you I can’t put together a thing as my leg is still messed up. So Sheila helps me paint it and put it together. I took pictures throughout the process to show you what was done and how it assembled. I am sorry for the quality of the pictures, my good camera is broken. So I ended up using my iPhone 4.You will get the general idea though.   The box weighs in at 65 lbs. It is very well packed in styrofoam and card board for stability. The pit is made from furniture grade particle board, so it is heavy duty.     After the box was opened we separated the pieces and started to paint. I used Rustoleum Painters Touch Ultracover 2X. I covered the pit in flat grey and it only took two coats. The particle board didn’t soak the paint up as bad as I thought it was going to. The 2nd coat was light. I took flat black to paint the entire surface where the TM Warthog and monitor will sit. It took about an hour to get everything painted and an hour for it to dry.   Painting it flat gray with my little helper.   The sides are painted, now beginning the top and the armrests.   Top and armrests complete, and here is the finished painted pit.   I had my sons haul it up stairs for assembly. Meanwhile I took my computer apart. Here is what that disaster looked like.   My wife started to put it together for me while I read the instructions.   Here is KwikPit during the assembly process.   The only problem during assembly was the bottom brace. The wood is a little thin down there, so the screw started to split the wood but I fixed that with some gorilla glue. The whole assembly process took 20 mins.   Fully assembled. I didn't paint the back piece as you will not see it.   The KwikPit is very sturdy with very little play.   I'm beginning to put the computer together.   Final product. The armrest is not wide enough for the whole base of the Thrustmaster Warthog but none the less it works just fine.   My likes: 1. Easy of assembly 2. Compact size 3. The price is only $199.95. This puts it well in most simmers budget.   My suggestions: 1. The whole thing could be about 4 inches wider. 2. The thin wood where the bracing bracket goes are subject to slight splitting.   In conclusion: This really is the holy grail of simming cockpits. Simmers who want a pit without having to go through the trial and tribulations of getting one together this is exactly what you need.
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September Calendars


By Fates, September 2, 2012
I've added two Calendars for September. They are available in the Gallery.    
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Announcing Lock On: Flaming Cliffs 3


By Dave, September 2, 2012
  Announcing Lock On: Flaming Cliffs 3   DUXFORD, UK, September 1st, 2012 – The Fighter Collection and Eagle Dynamics will release Lock On: Flaming Cliffs 3 for Windows PC in September 2012.   Lock On: Flaming Cliffs 3 (FC3) is the next evolution of the Flaming Cliffs series. FC3 features the F-15C, A-10A, Su-27, Su-33, MiG-29A, MiG-29S, Su-25T, and Su-25. FC3 aircraft provide an easy learning curve for new players and focuses on a broad range of aircraft rather than a detailed single aircraft. FC3 adds a number of new features and improvements to previous versions of the Flaming Cliffs series. FC3 is a module of DCS: World, which makes it compatible with all other DCS: World titles like A-10C, Black Shark 2, P-51D, and Combined Arms.   FC3 will be priced at $39.99.   Key Features of Lock On: Flaming Cliffs 3 include: A DCS World module that is compatible with DCS titles.
New 6 degrees of freedom (6DOF) cockpit and model for the F-15C.
New F-15C campaign and single missions.
Improved takeoff and landing flight dynamics.
New, advanced flight dynamics for air-to-air missiles.
Updated and improved HUDs and other cockpit systems.
Resource Manager that adds logistics control to missions.
Expanded theatre of operations map into eastern Georgia.
Countless other improvements in the areas of the mission editor, special effects, new models, improved terrain detail and AI.
Lock On: Flaming Cliffs 3 will require an installation of Lock On: Modern Air Combat or a previous version Flaming Cliffs.   DCS: World is a new, free, combat simulation. DCS: World provides a free-to-play Su-25T ground attack aircraft with unlimited online restrictions. Online DCS: World includes friendly and enemy forces that can be controlled by other players or AI air and ground units. The purchase of additional DCS modules allows the player to have careers as pilots of the A-10C Warthog, KA-50 Black Shark attack helicopter, P-51D Mustang, or armor vehicle commander. You may read more about DCS: World and its modules at: http://www.digitalcombatsimulator.com/   About The Fighter Collection The Fighter Collection, as well as developing software for the entertainment and serious game markets, also operates, rebuilds and maintains Europe's largest collection of airworthy WWII fighters based at Duxford Airfield, in the UK. For more information visit our websites: http://www.fighter-collection.com/  
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The Ultimate Multiplayer Combat Experience


By Erik, August 8, 2012
  The Ultimate Multiplayer Combat Experience     Combat Pilot is the ultimate multiplayer combat flying experience. Created within the Microsoft Flight Simulator X universe, Combat Pilot features a new, proprietary multiplayer engine with dedicated servers, A.I. controlled ATC, custom UHF communications, electronic kneeboards, military career selection and tracking, a fully integrated weapons suite, carrier operations and a realistic, interactive combat experience. First true multiplayer combat FSX experience
Instant online access to a controlled environment
Fly in a virtual squadron with qualified pilots
Advanced flight training, carrier ops and check rides
Live munitions and weapons training
Act quickly to reserve your Callsign today at combatpilotseries.com
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