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    New Interview is Up
    Dave
    By Dave,
    Was my great fortune to run into LouG here at CA and he was kind enough to grant me an interview. Thank you sir.   http://combatace.com/topic/62553-an-interview-with-loug/

    An Interview with LouG
    Dave
    By Dave,
    Ran into a bit of luck and was introduced to LouG who just retired last year from the Marine Corp after 20 years. He is an F/A-18C pilot and was kind of enough to do an interview.   Can you tell us little about yourself? I was born in Twenty Nine Palms, CA and my Dad was a career Marine Corps Officer. We moved around a lot when I was a kid; Quantico, VA, El Toro, CA, Parris Island, SC, and Philadelphia, PA at the old Navy ship yard. My dad retired when I was 12 and settled in Mission Viejo, CA, which is right by El Toro MCAS. My neighbor was an Air Force WSO on exchange with a Marine Corps F-4 unit at El Toro. Through him I met many fighter pilots and around 7th or 8th grade I knew what I wanted to be. I attended Western State College of Colorado on a Football scholarship and graduated with a BA in History. I received my commission in 1990 from the Platoon Leaders Program (PLC). I went to The Basic School in Quantico, VA and then Aviation Indoctrination at NAS Pensacola, FL. I did primary flight training at NAS Corpus Christi, TX and I was winged as a Naval Aviator at NAS Kingsville, TX. I served 20 years in the Marine Corps and retired in July 2010. During my career I earned a Master’s degree in Aviation History from American Military University. I know work as the Senior Air Warfare Analyst at Valkyrie Enterprises in Virginia Beach, VA and I do contracting for the US Navy. I am married and we have two girls.     What all aircraft did you fly and how many hours have you accumulated? I flew the T-34C in Primary training in Corpus Christi, TX and then the T-2C Buckeye and the TA-4J in strike training in Kingsville TX. I have flown the F/A-18A, B, C, and D models with most of my time being the F/A-18C (single seat). I have about 2800 total hours with a little over 2500 being in the F/A-18. (My logbooks are in a box in the attic!)   What units did you fly with? After flight school I received Fleet Refreshment Training (RAG) at VMFAT-101 at MCAS El Toro. I then reported to VMFA-232 (Red Devils) in 1995 which had recently moved to NAS Miramar (now MCAS Miramar). I served three years and did two 6 month deployments to the Far East where we were based out of MCAS Iwakuni. After that tour I was selected to go to Amphibious Warfare School in Quantico, VA for ten months and when that was done I reported back to VMFA-232. I did another deployment to Japan and when upon returning from that deployment I was selected to go to TOPGUN at NAS Fallon, NV and to attend the Marine Corps Weapons and Tactics Instructor course run by MAWTS-1 in Yuma, AZ. I was the Pilot Training Officer for the Red Devils for one year and then I became the Marine Air Group (MAG)-11 Weapons and Tactics Instructor. I stayed in that billet for six months and then became the Operations Officer for VMFA-323 (Death Rattlers) in 2001. I served with VMFA-323 on board the USS Constellation during OIF I and flew 29 combat missions. From 2003 to 2007 I served USSOUTHCOM and USCENTCOM performing various staff officer functions. I finished the last three years of my career as an F/A-18 instructor pilot with VMFAT-101 at MCAS Miramar, CA.   What was one of your most humorous moments? There were so many humorous moments, trying to remember them all is difficult. One gag the power line Marines played on a fellow pilot when we were junior pilots in 232 sticks out. My buddy had just joined the squadron and we were deployed to Nellis AFB for a Red Flag. He started to taxi out and one of the Marines ran up and gave him a frantic brakes signal. When he slammed on the brakes, another Marine who was hiding under the nose of the Hornet, rolled a spare nose tire out in front of the jet and my buddy called on base radio that he had just lost his nose wheel. He was so mad that he canceled his flight which caused merciless ribbing from the rest of us. To make it worse, he had fairly thin skin for a fighter pilot.   What was one of your hairiest moments? I have had a few; a couple of sporty departures, a long night bolter on the Connie, landing in a 60+ knot night in Japan, and a wingmen ejecting. Surprisingly, none of these came in combat. The Iraqis shot at me a bit, but nothing too close. The closest I came to death was early in my career. I was in 232 and we were doing Low Altitude Training east of MCAS Yuma (R2301W range). This was back when we were allowed down to 200 feet. I was coming over a small ridge and passed within 50 feet of a CH-53E coming over the other side of the ridge. I swear I was within his rotor arc. It was one of those times when it happened instantly and you did not even react. Since I was junior, I am pretty sure I did a quick check on my lead's position and then looked forward just in time to see the helo pass.   TOPGUN? TOPGUN was nothing like the movie. I went through the course in 2000 and it was an all Marine student 6 week power projection course. The Navy had moved to a 10 week course that featured some air to ground training. There is now just one course that Marines and Navy go through. There were no pretty girls or other distractions since TOPGUN had moved to Fallon, NV, and it was awesome. 6 weeks of nothing but thinking, talking, and flying fighter tactics. Looking back it was hard work with 14 hour days being the norm, but it never seemed like work to me. It was by far the best time I ever had flying jets. My last graded sortie was me and three TOPGUN instructors taking on 2 F-14s, 4 F/A-18s, and 5 F-5Es. 15 jets airborne just for my training! Other than combat, this was the rewarding time in the F/A-18.   Why simulation? It is easy to explain why I play simulation games now since it is the only flying I get. I have not taken advantage of my commercial pilots license as of yet. I have been flying sims since 1992 though, starting with Yeager's Air Combat and Pacific air war. I have always enjoyed the history of aviation and flight simulation is the only way to experience what it might have been like back then. Plus I do not have the means to own a historic fighter. Most simulations of modern combat have not interested me because of the lack of realism. When you see the real capabilities of aircraft, missiles, and other systems, PC sims seemed to always be lacking except for a couple. The Falcon series (Falcon 3.0 and Falcon 4.0) was about as realistic as it gets. I actually used Falcon 3.0 during my early F/A-18 training, mostly as a procedural trainer for Low Altitude Training flights. I also played SU-27 Flanker for a time and found it fairly realistic, especially in the visual arena. As I stated before, I have a Master's degree in Aviation History and I enjoy World War II and the Korean War, so naturally i spend most of my time with simulation dealing with those subjects. I have played around with the Korean War mod for SFP1 and I have been building a USMC Pusan perimeter scenario. I am waiting for the MiG Alley mod for SFP2 and would like to build a few campaigns for that game to include the Pusan perimeter, Inchon, Chosin Resevour, and the stalemate the last two years of that conflict. I also would like to build a USMC night fighter campaign. During my master's degree I wrote a 70 page paper on the tactics and equipment used on the three Marine Corps Night Fighters, the F4U-5N, the F7F-3N, and the F-3D. This paper includes diagrams on how each radar operated and what the individual radar scopes looked like with various contacts. I have had parts of this paper published in the Marine Corps Aviation Association quarterly magazine. I am willing to share this paper and other documents to the community. My modding skills are still at the amateur level and my vista computer is not helping. I had a lot less trouble with my old XP, but it bit the dust in my last move. Time for a new computer.   The first one is me right after recovering onboard the USS Constellation from a strike into Iraq.   The second is a well published photo of our ordnance crew and pilots after that first strike. I am the first pilot on the left.   Third is a picture of me over Iraq   Fourth is me landing on the USS Constellation   Fifth is me tanking off of a KC-10   Sixth is cockpit view of tanking off a KC-135. I wore a helmet cam for a couple of flights   Last for now is a picture of my wingman getting gas and F-16s lined up on a KC-10     LouG   Thank you for your service, congratulations on your retirement and thank you for taking the time to do this interview.

    Playstation Portable 2 Revealed by Sony
    FastCargo
    By FastCargo,
      From Kotaku.com   The PSP2 is finally here. Sony revealed its brand new PlayStation Portable at an event in Tokyo today, our first official look at the PlayStation maker's next foray into handheld gaming, the NGP or "Next Generation Portable." First details below.   The Hardware   Sony confirmed many of the features of the PSP2 that we've already heard in the form of leaks, rumor and speculation. The PSP2 features a high-resolution, touch-sensitive OLED screen that's larger than the original PSP screen, tilt-sensitive SIXAXIS controls, dual analog sticks, front and back-facing cameras, and a touch sensitive back panel.   Sony boasts that the new PlayStation Portable is as powerful as a PlayStation 3. The device features built-in WiFi and 3G wireless connectivity and uses an all-new form of media storage for games—no more UMD.   Here's how Sony describes it: "NGP adopts a new game medium, a small flash memory based card, dedicated for NGP software titles. Taking advantage of the flash memory feature, this innovative card can store the full software titles plus add-on game content or the game save data directly on to the card. By adopting flash memory based card, SCE will be able to provide game cards with higher capacity in the future, allowing developers to store more game data to deliver rich and immersive games."   For now, Sony is officially calling the new PlayStation Portable by its codename, Next Generation Portable or NGP. It will be out this holiday in Japan.   The Full Specs   CPU: ARM® Cortex™-A9 core (4 core) GPU: SGX543MP4+ External Dimensions: Approx. 182.0 x 18.6 x 83.5mm (width x height x depth) (tentative, excludes largest projection) Rear touch pad: Multi touch pad (capacitive type) Cameras: Front camera, Rear camera Sound: Built-in stereo speakers, Built-in microphone Sensors: Six-axis motion sensing system (three-axis gyroscope, three-axis accelerometer), Three-axis electronic compass Location: Built-in GPS, Wi-Fi location service support Keys / Switches: PS button, Power button, Directional buttons (Up/Down/Right/Left), Action buttons (Triangle, Circle, Cross, Square), Shoulder buttons (Right/Left), Right stick, Left stick, START button, SELECT button, Volume buttons Wireless communications: Mobile network connectivity (3G), IEEE 802.11b/g/n (n = 1x1)(Wi-Fi) (Infrastructure mode/Ad-hoc mode), Bluetooth® 2.1+EDR （A2DP/AVRCP/HSP）   The Games   Sony showcased a handful of games alongside the reveal of the new PSP, including new titles Little Deviants, Reality Fighters and Gravity Daze, plus games based on the following PlayStation franchises. Uncharted Killzone WipeOut Resistance LittleBigPlanet Hustle Kings Hot Shots Golf   Sony says the new PlayStation Portable will also play PSone games supported via its PlayStation Suite platform and will be backwards compatible with downloadable PSP games. To demonstrate this, Capcom's Jun Takeuchi demoed Monster Hunter Portable 3rd for the PSP on a NGP.   Third parties have shown demonstrations of Yakuza 4 and Metal Gear Solid 4 running on the system, with Activision announcing a Call of Duty for the new PSP.   Here is Sony's list of third-party publishers supporting the NGP as of July 27, 2011:   JAPAN ACQUIRE Corp. ALVION Inc. AQ INTERACTIVE INC. ARC SYSTEM WORKS Co.,Ltd. ARIKA CO.,LTD. ARTDINK CORPORATION ASCII MEDIA WORKS Inc. CAPCOM CO., LTD． CHUN SOFT CO., Ltd Codemasters Software Company Limited Crafts & Meister Co.,Ltd. CyberConnect2 Co.,Ltd. D3 PUBLISHER Inc. Dimps Corporation Edia Co., Ltd. ENTERBRAIN, INC. FromSoftware, Inc Gameloft K.K. Genki Co.,Ltd. Grasshopper Manufacture Inc. GungHo Online Entertainment,Inc GUST CO.,LTD. HAMSTER Corporation HUDSON SOFT CO., LTD. IDEA FACTORY CO., LTD. Index Corporation （Atlus） IREM SOFTWARE ENGINEERING INC. KADOKAWA GAMES,LTD. Kadokawa Shoten Publishing Co., Ltd. Konami Digital Entertainment Co., Ltd. LEVEL-5 Inc. Marvelous Entertainment Inc. media5 Corporation NAMCO BANDAI Games Inc. Nihon Falcom Corporation Nippon Ichi Software, Inc. NOWPRODUCTION, CO.,LTD Q Entertainment Inc. SEGA CORPORATION SNK PLAYMORE CORPORATION Spike Co.,Ltd SQUARE ENIX Co., Ltd. SystemSoft Alpha Corp. TECMO KOEI GAMES CO., LTD. TOMY Company,Ltd. TOSE CO., LTD. Ubisoft K.K. YUKE'S Co., Ltd.   48 companies in total.   NORTH AMERICA Activision, Inc. Capybara Games Demiurge Studios Epic Games Inc. Far Sight Studios Frima High Voltage Software Kung Fu Factory Paramount Digital Entertainment PopCap Games Powerhead Games Trendy Entertainment Ubisoft Warner Bros. Interactive Entertainment 2K Games 2K Sports   16 companies in total.   EUROPE/PAL Avalanche Studios Climax Studios Ltd Codemasters Software Company Ltd Eurocom Developments Ltd Eutechnyx Ltd Exient Ltd Firemint PTY Ltd Gameloft SA Gusto Games Ltd Home Entertainment Suppliers PTY Ltd Impromptu Software Ltd Rebellion Rockstar Games Sidhe Interactive Sumo Digital Ltd Team 17 Software Ltd Ubisoft Entertainment SA Zen Studios Ltd   18 companies in total   by Michael McWhertor, at Kotaku.com

    Rise of Flight: Iron Cross edition review
    Dagger
    By Dagger,
      With all the talk about this sim, we decided it was time for us to take a look at it, and I am glad we did. Read the review Rise of Flight: Iron Cross Edition

    Rise of Flight:Iron Cross Edition
    Dagger
    By Dagger,
    Rise Of Flight:Iron Cross Edition Publisher: 777 Studios Rise of Flight official web site: Rise of Flight   First Thoughts   Every virtual pilot has an era of flight that really gets his juices flowing, starts his heart pumping faster, and makes his palms sweat with anticipation. For me it is WW1 with the open cockpits, wire and fabric planes. The feeling of being one with the plane. So you can guess my excitement when I saw Raise of Flight:Iron Cross Edition and looked at the screen shots of the game. The selection of planes and the assorted eye candy looked top shelf. We've all seen sims and arcade games with wild claims and have been disappointed when we finally got the game. So I decided the best way to go was to try the demo. I downloaded and installed the demo, made an account and logged on. The Demo Experience   The demo is basically a scaled down version of the full game.The playable aircraft are limited to a Spad 13 for the Allies and the Albatros D.Va for the German pilots, BUT the flight experience is the full game. The really cool thing about this is you can go and fly in most on-line servers. After logging on and selecting the Multiplayer, I found my server. I then selected my side, of course I flew Allied, and then went to the hanger. Here you can do some really great things, you can change your load out by adding bombs if the aircraft you are using had them, You can even select your planes skin, with the demo it is limited, but they do have some very nice skins to choose from. One really cool thing that I can’t remember seeing in sims before is you can adjust the machine guns convergence point with a visual slider, this is the point where your machine gun rounds come together. As for the options, this sim can be as hard to fly as any modern era flight sim, or you can scale the realism down and make it easier to learn. The game has a nice feature in the options, you can adjust your stick and throttles input curve. The nice thing is you can help "calm" the planes down. Yes they are very "twitchy" and unless you have a very light hand the planes bounce around, and makes accurate gunnery almost impossible just like the real planes. One of the first things that strikes you is the level of detail in the graphics, all I can say is WOW! The terrain looks like a picture post card, and the aircraft themselves are so detailed you will think you are looking at an actual plane. The water is second to none, and if you fly through a cloud be prepared to get a little wet. Another thing that jumps out at you is the sunlight and the glare off the aircraft. I have to say, nothing like being blinded by the sun in the middle of a flight, but you can make adjustments. Now on to the important part. I am not a pilot, and having said that, if I were I have a feeling that the flight model on these planes are going to be very close to accurate. The fact that the numbers come from an engineer help to make all the models as close to real as you can get. You can almost feel the wind in your face, and feel your scarf flapping behind you, and unlike modern jets that almost fly themselves, you are basically forced to keep an eye on the gauges as they sometimes have a mind of their own and keep an ear open to the sounds of your engine as the RPMs will increase and decrease on their own. The cockpits are works of art, you get the impression of an old sports car. Take offs require a light touch to keep your plane heading down the field and the bumps and ruts will make it fun, a little rudder and you’ll be fine. Once airborne I highly recommend some time down low to just take in the sights. Remember most of these planes were flown at much lower altitudes, so flying over the French country side, chasing down your prey is an experience. Once you have caught him, and you bring your guns into play, the damage model is first class. From the smallest tear in the fabric, to wings getting blown off at the wing root, it all seems "right". Speaking of damage models, I made a fast low level ground attack run, just for fun, and what did I see? My rounds ricocheting all over the place. If you are close enough and at the right angle, they will also ricochet off an airplane.   My impressions of this demo? I will say this demo made a believer out of me, The graphics, the game play and stable multiplayer are rock solid. It recognised my throttle and stick. The track IR support also adds realism to the game. 777 Studio maintained a high set of standards with this Sim even after releasing 16 updates with more on the way. Just remember you only have 2 weeks to decide if this sim is for you, sorry but that is all the time you get with the demo. If you are a “pilot” then this is for you.   The final score: For a demo, this one gets 9.5 out of 10 stars.   The Upgrade from Demo   If I had to pick a word to describe this process it would be “user friendly”. There are several different ways to upgrade this sim. You can purchase the boxed set, digital download, or by buying directly from 777 Studios, which just unlocks the planes for you. The hardest part is typing in the numbers.   The Packaging   While I normally don't say much about packages, this one just begs for some time to investigate it's contains. The DVD and the user manual is well written and presented. Then I looked at the goodies that came along it. First, there is a grid map of the area, which makes mission planning easy, and if you are flying with your squad mates, knowing where you are really comes in handy. It's just plain fun to have it on your lap while flying to add to the experience. Another nice addition is the key card which shows some of the most important keys and key combinations to enhance your flying. Then there's a sheet that folds out and shows all the medals that a pilot can be awarded. Medals from all countries which are very accurate. Turn the paper over and examine the awards you can also achieve in the game. They make you want to do your best.   The Full Game   From the first time I fired Rise of Flight up after installing the full version, I had a tingling that I haven't felt in a flight sim in a very long time. I decided to check everything out.   Off-Line Game Experience   First I logged in off-line and found campaigns, quick missions, and a solid platform of a sim for single play. There are basically 3 campaigns, all scripted,but more on this part later. The single missions could be flown with what ever plane I wanted with missions designed for that aircraft. A quick mission editor so I could quickly make my own mission, what targets, weather (including rain and snow), enemies, this is basically a great idea for the person who wants to change things to their liking. No need to be connected to the internet now. The missions are as difficult as you want, and some are just plain killer, at least for me as a rookie.The reason I am all worked up is the feeling of immersion is there. I picked a mission and as soon as I came in game I was looking at the windsocks blowing in the wind, trucks rolling around the hangers, and men manning their AA guns.     The weather plays a big factor in the way the planes fly, rain, snow, and even the wind can be set to your liking and you feel it.You have to adjust your flying style to fit. The cockpits are so detailed, even down to the wicker seat in my Camel.           I flew out of the field in the rain trying my best to see through the rain now soaking my goggles. If I wasn't impressed before I am now. How did the mission end you may ask..not well is all I can say. Which reminds me, not only do the planes take damage, you do too. The red seems to splatter and your vision blurs.     On-Line Experience Once you log in on-line you'll find the same options for game play as the off-line mode, PLUS a career mode, very nice, and of course multi player. The cool things about the servers is you can see not only how the server is set up, but your ping, and the names of other pilots in the sever.I wanted to try the on-line side of the game now. My squadron, the U.S. 95th (http://us95th.org), is now flying Rise of Flight , and we have 2 servers. I jumped in and picked my plane, picked my skin, set my fuel load and gun convergence, and went to fly. Folks I am so impressed with the On-line play of the is sim, it is rock solid and very fun. The interface is not as tough as some of the newer sims, but it still has it's points, so take the time to look over the key mapping before you start. In our training server they have the easy gauges turned on, and as you turn to make your attack on an enemy plane, there's a aiming point to help you. In the main server these aren't there. So you can find a server to meet your needs easlily. You can record your flights, or fights with just a touch of a couple keys, the standard screenshot is easy as touching a key and the sim stores your pictures in the main folder. The different views are a nice touch, and you can even spectate if you're not up flying, or just want to watch for awhile.   Realism Factor         Most WW1 sims don't take time to worry about engine warm ups, or mixture settings. I have never seen the radiator open and close switch before now. If you have your realism settings turned up these are 2 things you have to worry about. You'll need a 2-3 minute warm up period. During your flight you are constantly checking your gauges, listening for changes to the tone, and sounds. You'll even look at the exhaust smoke, check it for color, engine damage causes the exhaust to change color and the sounds made by the engine. They even modeled in the torque effects of the rotary engines. I didn't know the German and Allied aircraft rotary engines spun in different directions. Hows that for real.   Campaigns and Careers   Now back to the campaign point I mentioned earlier, there are 3 campaigns included, 1 German, 1 Allied, and 1 training. OK they are scripted, after flying a mission or 2 I think you'll find they are really good missions, and very fun. There is a wide assortment of targets, as well as different objectives. If you like balloon busting, intercepts of enemy bombers, or ground attack, it's all there.If you read the 777 Studios forums you'll see there is actually going to be a career mode upgrade. In the mean time, I suggest try the campaigns and a career that are already in the game, if for nothing else the practice, and the learning experience. They are all well designed and put together missions.   You might have noticed I haven't mentioned the mission editor, not the quick editor, but the full feature one. The editor is a very powerful editor, and there are several how to articles on line, but that will get a review of it's own. It's that powerful. This is the same editor used by the team when they do missions. So be patient. I will say this, you can make missions for both single player and multiplayer, and then share them.   Want more planes? If you want more planes, you simply go to the Rise of Flight web site store and purchase what you want. planes are available by the single plane, or in bundles of 2 or more planes. it is as easy as buy then log in. Your plane will be in your hanger. All planes are available in game when you make missions, BUT when you buy them it unlocks them so you can fly them. You also can make custom skins to use and share. My over all impressions   The Pros   For a change lets start with me a statement, I am like most folks and I don't like being nickled and dimed just to play a game. I have heard the complaints of having to buy add-on planes, and It took a talk with Mr. Jason Williams, the owner of 777 Studios and Rise of Flight, to get me thinking about this. Yes if you want the extra planes you have to pay for them, BUT if you play other sims you pay for add-ons, and most don't think anything about it. Also 777 Studios is not one of those companies that has a giant company bank rolling them, the money you spend helps the game continue and grow.   Now where to start? What did I like? The graphics are great, some of the best you'll find in any flight sim, and all the small details like working windsocks, trucks running around the bases, trains look like the trains of the period. Even the pilots can use hand gestures and head gestures, and that's cool to watch your fellow pilots give you a quick thumbs up. The game play is solid, and the “feel” is right. The flight models and damage models are correct, how do I know this? They use a engineer and he crunches the numbers to make sure they are correct. The missions are well written and fun, the campaigns,while scripted are well thought out. So many small touches that I will not be able to mention them all. Another plus is you can track your progress as the game keeps your stats, a neat feature.   777 Studios have released 16 updates, with more on the way, new planes coming soon, as well as the new career upgrade. I love a company that doesn't just fade away once they release a game. They do listen to their customers. What a novel idea stand behind your product and listen to the folks that spend their money on it. Also the games is based on a completely new engine, nice to get a game not using old engines with dated graphics.   The Cons   The main one, if you want to turn everything up it takes a pretty decent system to run, and I miss the shell music, I know it's nit picky but I had to come up with something.   The recommended system specs:   Operating System Windows® XP / Vista / Windows® 7 CPU Intel® Core™ Quad 3 GHz or Intel i7 3 GHz RAM 4 Gb or higher Free Hard Drive space 10 Gb Joystick Direct X 9.0/11 compatible joystick Internet Connection required for Registration, 256 Kb/s - for Multiplayer Graphics Card 1024 Mb, GeForce GTX 285/Radeon ATI 5850/HD5850 Sound Card DirectX 9.0c/11 compatible Supported Operating Systems Windows XP Service Pack 2 or higher Windows Vista Service Pack 1 Windows 7   My test system AMD quad core running at 3.0, 8 gigs of ram, and a GTS 250 1 gig video card, a X-45 stick, and a surround sound system using a creative labs sound card running 5.1 dolby, and cable internet connection, Windows 7 64 bit.   . My final thoughts and how it scores   So how do I score this one? Ok it is true I am reviewing it after it's been out a little over a year, and a lot of the problems fixed, but the fact that 777 Studios are still releasing upgrades, and new aircraft says volumes about the company. This is one of those titles you have to have on your hard drive, and being a WW1 sim, that alone makes it worth the time and money. The main problems are already being addressed, so it is hard to hold them against the company. Also saying I've played the demo, but not the full game is like saying ”I owned a Chevette once, so I know how a Corvette drives” Yes they are both Chevrolets but there is so much more to the full game. So at the end of the day, I have to say this is the highest scoring sim I have ever tried. I give this one a final score of 9.85 on the 10 scale. If you are a fan of WW1 aviation then this is one sim you have to have. Here are a few screenshots if you have any doubts about this sim.You might call them parting shots        

    Invisible tanks could be on battlefield within five years
    FastCargo
    By FastCargo,
      By Sean Rayment, Defence Correspondent, The Telegraph (UK)   Armoured vehicles will use a new technology known as "e-camouflage" which deploys a form "electronic ink" to render a vehicle "invisible".   Highly sophisticated electronic sensors attached to the tank's hull will project images of the surrounding environment back onto the outside of the vehicle enabling it to merge into the landscape and evade attack.   The electronic camouflage will enable the vehicle to blend into the surrounding countryside in much the same way that a squid uses ink to help as a disguise.   Unlike conventional forms of camouflage, the images on the hull would change in concert with the changing environment always insuring that the vehicle remains disguised.   In Helmand, for example, all armoured vehicle have desert sand coloured camouflage, which is of little use in the "Green Zone", an area of cultivation where crops are grown and the Taliban often hide.   Up until recently such concepts were thought to be the stuff of science fiction but scientists at the defence company BAE Systems now believe battlefield "invisibility" will soon become science fact.   Scientists at the BAE hope the new technology will be available to use with the British Army fighting in Southern Afghanistan and in future conflicts.   The concept was developed as part of the Future Protected Vehicle programme, which scientists believe, will transform the way in which future conflicts will be fought.   The programme is based around seven different military vehicles, both manned and unmanned, which will be equipped with a wide variety of lethal and none lethal weapons.   The unmanned vehicles or battlefield robots will be able to conduct dangerous missions in hostile areas, clear minefields and extract wounded troops under fire.   The vehicles include:   * Pointer: an agile robot which can take over dirty, dull or dangerous jobs, such as forward observation and mine clearance.   * Bearer: a modular platform which can carry a range of mission payloads, such as protected mobility, air defence and ambulance;   * Wraith: a low signature scout vehicle;   * Safeguard: an ultra-utility infantry carrier or command & control centre;   * Charger: a highly lethal and survivable reconfigurable attack vehicle;   * Raider: a remotely or autonomously controlled unmanned recce and skirmishing platform – similar in design to the "Batmobile"   * Atlas: a convoy system which removes the driver from harm's way.   BAE's Future vehicle project is, in part, a reaction to the Ministry of Defence's (MoD) 'Capability Vision' for armoured vehicles, designed to spur development along different paths from the MoD's previous research.   Commanders are aiming for a prototype within four years and an experimental operational capacity by 2013.   The brief is for a lightweight vehicle, weighing 30 tonnes, powered by a hybrid electric drive, with the same effectiveness and survivability of a current main battle tank.   The UK's current tank, the Challenger 2, weighs 62.5 tonnes, and runs a 1,200hp V12 diesel engine.   Britain's current fleet of armoured vehicles are also close to approaching the end of their service life and armoured vehicles designed specifically for use in Helmand, such as the hugely successful Mastiff, may be inappropriate for use in other operational theatres.   Scientists at BAE are also looking at a number of revolution battlefield inventions which will increase troop protection as well as making the vehicles more lethal.   One concept being developed is to develop technologies, which will cut the use of fuel on the battlefield. In Afghanistan, the cost of fuel is 50 times that of the pump price.   All fuel currently used by NATO troops comes in via road convoys which are often attacked by insurgents which are responsible for 80 per cent of US casualties.   Scientists are close to developing a form of transparent armour - much tougher than bullet proof glass – which could be used in turrets of on the sides of armoured vehicles which would improve the situational awareness of troops inside.   Also being developed is a technology known as "biometric integration which uses advanced algorhythms to analyse crowds and to search for potential threats from suicide bombers by analyzing suspicious behavior in groups or individuals.   Electronic scanners would search for suspicious behavior, inappropriate clothing or individuals on wanted lists who can be identified through facial or iris recognition.   The information would then be displayed on screen within vehicle or handheld vehicles carried by dismounted troops.   Hisham Awad, the head of the Future Protected Vehicle project said: "The trick here is to use machines to do what they are best at (and humans are not) - ploughing very quickly through dull, repetitive data to strip out the overwhelming bulk which is of no use and would take a long time and enormous human resources to process.   "Then you can quickly bring human intelligence to bear where it excels - making life-or-death decisions based on 'real time' information on suspicious activity flagged up by the machines."

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