military and espionage

AFTER OBTAINING MY MASTERS DEGREE AS FLIGHT TEST ENGINEER, I WORKED IN THE BRAZILIAN AIR FORCE FROM 1989 TILL 1993 IN FLIGHT TESTING. FROM THAT TIME, I HAD EXPERIENCE FLYING 26 TYPES OF BOTH CIVILIAN AND MILITARY AIRCRAFT, RANGING FROM HUGE CARGO JET AND PROPELLER PLANES TO SMALL PISTON ENGINED AND SUPERSONIC FIGHTERS, INCLUDING USAAF AIRCRAFT. IN THE FLIGHT TEST BUSINNESS WE DID A LOT OF EVALUATION WORK ON AIRCRAFT, PERFORMANCE, HANDLING QUALITIES, WEAPONS SYSTEMS AND THEIR CORRESPONDING FLIGHT SIMULATORS. WE DID FLY AND EVALUATE THE "TUCANO" MILITARY TRAINER AIRCRAFT (www.embraer.com), WHICH IS A 750HP TURBOPROP THAT EQUIPED MANY AIR FORCES (BRAZIL, RAF AND EGYPT, TO SAY A FEW).

I COULD NEVER IMAGINE A COMPUTER SOFTWARE DESIGNED FOR PC PURPOSES COULD BE AS REALISTIC AS "IL2 FB"!!!!!!! THE GRAPHICS, THE 3-D MODELING OF THE AIRCRAFT AND THE FLIGHT MODELS ARE OUTSTANDING......... I NEVER SAW NOTHING LIKE IT...!!!! THE FLIGHT MODELS GET AS REALISTIC AS IT COULD GET........ EVEN WITH THE POSSIBILITY OF TURNING ON (FOR THOSE WHO HAVE ADVANCED PILOTING KNOWLEDGE AND SKILLS) AEROELASTIC EFFECTS ON AIRFRAME STRUCTURES SUCH AS FLUTTER.!!!!!!.... BUT DONT WORRY, IF YOU ARE A NOVICE PILOT YOU CAN TURN SUCH EFFECTS OFF WITH THE CLICK OF YOUR MOUSE!!!!!! THE SOFTWARE REPRODUCES REAL GUNNERY EFFECTS AND PISTON ENGINE MANAGEMENT FOR ASPECTS LIKE FUEL MIXTURE, PROPELLER PITCH ANGLE AND SO ON.......(OH YES, IF YOU PREFER DONT BOTHER AND JUST CLICK THEM OFF!!!!!) I HAVE HEARD FROM SOME COLLEAGUES AT EMBRAER THAT THE FLIGHT SIMULATION SOFTWARE TAKES INTO ACCOUNT SUCH THINGS AS MACH NUMBER AND HIGH ALTITUDE EFFECTS ONTO THE MATHEMATICAL FLIGHT EQUATIONS.....!!!!!! SO IT'S NO WONDER THE REALISTIC FEELING TO FLY IL2.......

REGARDING THE GRAPHICS, IT REPRODUCES AIRCRAFT WITH DETAILS WE ONLY FIND IN VERY WELL DOCUMENTED WWII BOOKS....... SINCE I NSTALLED IL2FB ON MY COMPUTER, I KEPT WONDERING HOW COULD SUCH A MASTERPIECE OF ENGINEERING WORK LIKE THIS BE AVAILABLE AND SOLD IN A BOX OF A SIMPLE "PC GAME"........ AND TODAY I FINALLY GOT THE ANSWER FROM SOME OTHER AERONAUTICAL ENGINEER FELLOWS AND TEST PILOTS OVER AT EMBRAER (THIS IS THE REASON I DECIDED TO WRITE DOWN THIS LONG REVIEW!!!!): WHAT I WAS TOLD, IS THAT WHEN GORBATCHOV STARTED TO BREAK UP THE USSR IN EARLY 90'S, THE TECH PERSONNEL THAT DEVELOPED THE SOFTWARE FOR THE RED MIILITARY..... WELL, THEY KIND OF....... STARTED TO "LOOSE THEIR JOBS"...... AND THEREFORE STARTED TO WORK ON THEIR OWN PRIVATE BUSINNESSES, WITH ALL THE OUTSTANDING KNOW-HOW THEY HAD ACUMULATED FOR YEARS........ THESE RUSSIANS ARE EXPERTS, TRULY BRILLIANT SCIENTISTS!! AND WELL, THE RESULT..... IS THAT THE ENGINEERING AND SOFTWARE KNOW-HOW USED IN MILITARY SIMULATION BY THE WORLD'S (FORMER!) SECOND MILITARY POWER........ GOT PACKED UP IN THE FORM OF A "PC GAME"! CAN YOU BELIEVE IT??? AND FORTUNATELY, FOR US WWII AVIATON ENTHUSIASTS, THIS "PC GAME" IS AVAILABLE FOR ALL, FOR THE THE PRICE OF A FEW BUCKS! I HAVE ALSO READ IN A WEBSITE THAT MICROSOFT DID TRY TO TAKE THE FATHERS OF IL2 TO THE STATES, OFFERING THEM THE MS SIMULATION DIVISION, BUT THE ANSWER THEY GAVE WAS "NO"..... AND THAT'S WHY MICFROSOFT'S COMBAT SIMULATOR HAS NO COMPARISON WITH IL2/FB.....

THIS VIEW OF THE ENGINEERING DEVELOPMENT AND KNOW-HOW OF THE "GAME" (TRULY, I THINK ITS A SHAME TO CALL THIS ENGINEERING BEAUTY MERELY A "GAME"!!!) MAKES SENSE TO ME NOW..... SPECIALLY WHEN YOU LOOK AT FEATURES SUCH AS THE EXTRAORDINARY FILM RECORDING CAPABILITIES (MUCH BETTER THAN COMPARABLE SOFTWARES), WHICH ALLOW YOU TO WATCH, AFTER THE MISSION, THE SCENES FROM DIFFERENT AIRCRAFT VIEWS (YOU DYNAMICALLY SELECT WHERE TO WATCH THE ACTION FROM: YOU PLACE THE CAMERA ON FRIENDLY OR ENEMY AIRCRAFT, INSIDE THE COCKPIT OR OUTSIDE, YOU CAN LINK THE CAMERA TO OTHER MOVING OBJECTS AND TARGETS, FROM DIFFERENT ANGLES AND DISTANCES ETC) - THIS IS TYPICAL FOR MILITARY PURPOSES: YOU USE SUCH VALUABLE TOOL FOR THE DEBRIEFING PHASE OF MISSIONS, WHEN YOU STOP TO ANALYSE, AFTER THE FLIGHT, WHAT YOU DID RIGHT AND WRONG DURING THE MISSION, AWAY FROM THE HEAT OF THE BATTLE.

THE ONLY CON I WOULD POINT OUT FOR THIS GAME IS THE HEAVY HARDWARE REQUIREMENTS, BUT ITS THE PRICE TO PAY FOR THE PROCESSING POWER REQUIRED TO RUN THE SIMULATION IN ITS TOP VIDEO QUALITY WITHOUT GETTING ANNOYED BY DISTURBING SLOW FRAME RATES. GAME MANUAL IS ALSO POOR, BUT THEY ARE UNEEDED ANYWAY, AS YOU GET GREAT ONLINE SUPPORT AND A DEDICATED SITE, WHERE YOU WILL FIND A TRUE COMUNITY OF FOLLOWERS FOR IL2.

BOTTOMLINE, YOU WILL NOT SEE ANYTHING LIKE IT, BELIEVE ME!!!!!!

Awesome game with sick graphics and detailed, good-looking planes. Flight dynamics are out of this world, and campaign mode is awesome. Now you could get into the cockpit of jet-powered planes, something that was unavailable in Il-2 Sturmovik. To sum it all up, Amazing flight game!!

Just to sum it up in one word...Outstanding!