PaperArtillery

I think the Russians are primarily targeting the "rebels" in Syria, who incidentally have been known to engage ISIS when the "opportunity" comes round. It is, in military terminology, one great big clusterf#*@.

Based on what the debris field looks like in the video OP linked to, and the altitude from which the A/C fell, you're right in saying that the airframe must have broken up at its planned altitude, to say nothing of the lack of distress calls. Doesn't sound like pilot error, either, as A/C generally don't straight-up disappear from radar in good conditions without a little forewarning.

It amuses me how there's essentially no mainstream media reporting on what is swiftly becoming a proxy war between NATO and the CIS in Syria.

I'm not particularly condoning such things, but frankly, if I had that many terrible things happening to me, I'm pretty sure I'd be drunk 24/7 (as it is, I'm drunk 3/2, and/or whenever I'm on Il-2). I'm at high risk for MS and I remember, when reading over an "if you are diagnosed" pamphlet where it specifically advised not drinking, that I started laughing maniacally.

I haven't yet taken my amateur test, so no broadcasting for me, but I do have a Baofeng UV-5R+ of much infamy that I use to listen to local rescue squads, FRS/MURS/etc., and of course the local ham repeaters (K4MRA, K4KLH, KC4GXI, KE4CKJ, and W4PNT). An old friend of mine picked up ham radio for a non-sighted hobby (he's almost 100% blind), and got the 5Rs in a two-pack so I bought the extra and have been fiddling with it. It's a lack of get-up-and-go that's keeping me quiet, since I got plenty of radio experience a few years back working with Virginia's Emergency Management and such.

I'm over a week late, but nonetheless. L'shanah tovah!

Correction: as I'm currently in the United States, I figured I would give it a shot. Turns out it's pretty enjoyable - it looks amazing, at least on the weapons side of things, if the physics are a little screwy...true, it's not America's Army or CS, but it's not half-bad for a free shooter. Kind of like Soldier Front, but less poorly executed. It gets 4 out of 5 stars from me, but one of those stars is only because it's free.

That looks disturbingly like SolderFront...which I have been playing long enough that I don't see myself switching now, even if the game worked everywhere I'd want it to. It doesn't look bad at all, though, graphics and otherwise. Pretty authentic looking AK, from the trailer I watched.

Wow...I mean, his death isn't really in the same category as poor old Syd's...but still. Maybe, just maybe, Rogers and Gilmour might find it appropriate to forgive each other for a bit and do something for their late keyboardist. Floyd forever, and rest in peace, Mr Wright. "And I am not frightened of dying. Any time will do; I don't mind. Why should I be frightened of dying? There's no reason for it—you've gotta go sometime." - Great Gig in the Sky, Dark Side of the Moon [1974]

I wouldn't buy it at the moment, but at the same time, it wouldn't surprise me. Although I have to ask - what practical purpose would it serve for Kim Jong-Il to have people in his place after he's dead? I mean, it might make sense if you had a government that wanted a figurehead's presence around to keep the populace stable, but since when was Kim Jong-Il all about keeping the peace outside of staying on top?

That looks incredible, Rugg! Do want.

LOMAC is probably my favorite modern air combat sim, and in my opinion I feel that it's a pretty good choice. It's challenging, has an incredibly high learning curve, yes, but it's also the most realistic and intense flight simulator you're can have on your computer. I can't truthfully say it will teach you how to fly a real Su-27, or a real F-15, but it will put you through all of the same paces in an extremely in-depth manner. Unless you have the "easy" difficulty setting on, which includes unlimited ammunition and invincibility (and believe me, you will want this at the start of your career unless you really know what you're doing), you'll quickly find that just because you're a human player doesn't mean the AI and situations you meet them in are just going to let you win. Oh, and it's also fun. That too. On another note, in response to some other comments, I would rather a sim look at a moderate number of aircraft in a detailed fashion than a large number of aircraft with only a a slight variance in each 'plane's operation. Lock On may not be a jack of all trades, but it is a master at what it does.

I highly recommend Orbit downloader, it's pretty fast, clean (to my knowledge) and it allows you to grab internet videos from streaming sites.

Haha, absolutely incredible. So far I've watched "Console Wars" and the review for Super Smash Brawl...

Yeah, I was actually looking at that...just updated to Firefox 3 two or three days past, but decided it wasn't a plugin I really, really needed. Being on non-consistent internet means that lots of bandwidth isn't always available for FailTube or lots of online images - and for my images folders I can just use Firegraphic, which costs but is pretty nice, I guess. Also, if you guys upload a fair amount to Photobucket and such, there's another extension called "Universal Uploader" or something to that effect, looks worth checking out.

Well, you'll never catch me doing this on either side of a computer screen, I can tell you that. Although as terrible ways to go are, I guess there's not a whole lot of difference between vaporization by little bomb vs. vaporization by huge bomb.

I'm with Jedi on this one - the Cobra might be useful as a demonstration of what other pilots might try, and it looks pretty in airshows...other than that, I think I've only seen one example of something vaguely resembling it saving a life, in which a pilot (don't remember what nationality, or when) pulled an AAM to low altitude, stopped, and accelerated up again so fast that the missile went past his tail and hit the ground. While he sustained a little tail damage from the blast, he would've been toast otherwise. I've seen some people pull off the same or a similar maneuver in 'sims, too, and if I can find a video I'll put up a link to it. But for the record, I've tried the Cobra in 'sim-trials with friends and haven't really had any luck with it. If I recall correctly, one attempt resulted in a mid-air, the second one I was gunned to death in some way or another, and the third the guy slammed on the brakes and somehow stayed behind me high. I have used dramatic speed changes to avoid missiles and locks, etc., but as for the Cobra itself, I wouldn't recommend trying this unless it's absolutely the only thing you can do.

To hell with my underpowered graphics card. After reading everyone's posts and looking up the game and reviews... I'm getting it. As soon as humanly possible. The film Battle of Britain is so awesome, and from what it sounds like, the game is just as epic, am I right? I like the descriptions of the dogfights you guys have posted so far...

I've actually really been wanting to try this out, but I doubt my computer will be able to run it efficiently for the price I'd be paying...