So IL-2 Tank Crew got the M4A2 recently. I haven’t had enough time to mess with it to really form an opinion, but I am sorta bummed they didn’t model the stabilizer (or rather, they modeled it in the fighting compartment, but it’s permanently disabled for the time being). I have, however, been flying the F-14 in DCS a lot, so let’s talk about that.
The F-14 Tomcat is a plane with an almost legendary media presence. It’s the plane from Top Gun, as much of a star as Tom Cruise was. Heatblur have rendered the Tomcat in exacting detail in DCS, with only a few systems and functions omitted for the initial Early Access release... which means it’s doing a great job at blowing the idea of the F-14 as this mighty air to air fighter apart at the seams. The F-14 is decent, and it’s a fun plane to fly in DCS, but it’s abundantly clear why this plane was retired when the F/A-18 (which we have in DCS as well) came onto the scene. Pilot workload is immense, and the RIO has to be a savant with the radar to reliably detect and engage threats at long range, something highlighted even more when flying with Jester, the AI RIO included with the module, who does a pretty mediocre job at running the AWG-9.
The F-14 is a very oldschool aircraft. Your HUD isn’t a primary flight instrument, it’s barely useful at all beyond providing weapon cues- this is a pre-sparrowhawk aircraft. Your throttle and stick have controls for weapons and some flight functions, but you’ll have to be manipulating switches and buttons around the cockpit a lot more often than on an aircraft designed with a HOTAS mindset. Many features feel sort of hacked together- the fuel flow indicator doesn’t show afterburner fuel flow, LANTIRN controls are basically duct-taped in and are almost completely independent of other aircraft controls and functions (so, no change in pilot release cues, no auto release). The “E bracket” in the HUD used to stay on speed during a carrier approach is so unreliable that it’s really better to just fly by the AOA readout tape and indexer on the front windshield frame. It’s a really weird aircraft to fly and fight in compared to basically anything else- other oldschool fighters in DCS don’t have nearly the complexity of the Tomcat, so the fact that you’re lacking modern amenities and control functions isn’t really a concern- and likewise, with modern stuff, you’ve got reliable and easy to read instruments and most all of your controls are on your throttle and stick.
That’s not even getting into what happens when missiles start flying. Any damage at all seems to be pretty threatening to the Tomcat, usually causing a hydraulics failure or a pretty nasty fuel leak or just outright killing an engine. The pilot can also easily damage or destroy the aircraft themselves just by going too fast or pulling too hard (and god help us when we get the F-14A with the TF30s), the Tomcat is only rated for something like 6.5Gs before you start causing yourself problems. Maintaining SA can be difficult as the pilot, considering the positioning of the radar repeater, and once again- that’s only gonna be worse on the A, which doesn’t have displays in the cockpit for radar imagery.
It’s a blast to fly, though. It’s stupid fast, and there really isn’t anything else like it in the game. It’s just that, if someone were to tell me that I had to fly either the F-14 or the F/A-18 into actual combat, I’d go with the Hornet any goddamn day of the week.
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