Dear friends,

Update 5.202 is live. It brings a lot of new content and improvements in different parts of the sim.

The Battle of Normandy has been expanded to include 9 aircraft instead of the standard 8: Spitfire Mk.IXc, which we released today. As it was a mainstay of the RAF in early 1944, it is a great addition to the career mode during the Normandy period. This addition is retroactive, so all existing owners of Battle of Normandy will get this new bird for free.


The second and last 'long' version of the IAR fighter, I.A.R. 80-B, is also included in this update, which means that IAR-80/81 is officially released. Owners will get two aircraft in the same purchase, the 'short' 80-A and the 'long' 80-B, each with its own set of historical modifications, including fighter/bomber ones, and paint schemes.


In this update we also show some love to our older planes - our engineering team has thoroughly checked and improved the FM of several planes thanks to new historical data found by enthusiasts. P-47 critical AoA and maximum wing lift have been increased and made less stable (please be more careful with the flight stick until you get used to it). All Fw 190-A roll rates have been increased. The P-40 received the 1942 engine modification that allowed it to run on emergency power for a longer period thanks to reinforced ball bearings. WW1 aircraft shaking from damage is reduced and visible damage is tuned to better match actual damage. We were also able to add manual fuel gauges to more aircraft: all Il-2s, all Fw 190-A series, all He 111s, Ju 87, and I-16.

These FM improvements are even more enjoyable because the control mapping process has been streamlined: not only can you search for an assigned command by pressing a button on your control device or entering the command name, but many new on/off commands have been added to assign them to HOTAS switches - parking brakes, engine superchargers, cockpit open/close, bomb bay doors, air brakes, Ju 87 siren, individual engine propeller feathering, etc.

There are also many improvements to mission generation. Flying Circus pilots get their own Advanced Quick Mission Generator on the Western Front WWI map, which was previously only available on WWII maps. There are several improvements to the career mode: the flight altitude over the Western Front during WWII is higher than on the Eastern Front, 12-13,000 feet, and there is a new mission type, Airfield Defense (see other changes below). AI pilots should now generally do a better job of attacking head-on. The historical campaign Lightning Strikes has been heavily reworked and improved, and there are fixes for the Ten Days of Autumn and Steel Birds campaigns.

New experimental mission editor features mentioned in our last DD are also in - to enable them, you can add the line full_editor = 1 to the [SYSTEM] part of the data\startup.cfg file. Changes you make to water and forest maps in the editor will be visible in the game in Mods On mode. The landscape change menu will also be accessible, but it's intended for enthusiast teams working on the new maps (a map with a changed landscape will not load in the game in Mods On mode and will cause an error during loading).

All in all, we have done our best to include something nice for everyone in this update, and we hope you enjoy it!

See you in the skies!

5.202 Changelist

1. The Romanian I.A.R.80/81 fighter is available in both variants (short and long) for all owners of the corresponding Collector Planes kit;
   
2. British Spitfire Mk.IXc fighter is available for all owners of Battle of Normandy;
   
3. Advanced Quick Mission mode has been added to the Western Front WWI map for owners of any Flying Circus module;
   
4. A search by command name and assigned key/axis has been added to the control mapping settings;
   
5. For easy assignment of HOTAS toggle switches, several cyclic commands are duplicated as separate on/off commands: bomb fuses, bomb bay doors, air brakes, Ju 87 siren, engine superchargers, canopy open/close, all propeller feathering, specific engine propeller feathering, tail wheel lock, and parking brakes;
   
6. P-47: updated FM, reduced stability margin to better match historical data, increased maximum wing lift and critical angle of attack;
   
7. P-40: added "Engine V-17190-39 (1942)" modification to reflect improvements in engine design that increased the allowable operating time at emergency modes;
   
8. Fw-190 A-series: roll rate brought to historical values (increased);
   
9. Fuel gauge switch control is implemented on all IL-2s, I-16, all Fw 190-A series, all He 111s and Ju-87;
   
10. Career: the altitude of intercepting and escorting bombers in Rheinland and Normandy careers has been increased to 4000-4500 meters;
    
11. Corrected the visual display of damage and reduced shaking when WWI airplanes are damaged;
    
12. IAR 80/81: its unique bomb control system has been improved to better match the historical prototype - in the bomb drop mode the bombs are released by the main trigger (command "fire all guns");
    
13. Career: updated Airfield Defense mission;
    
14. Career: Spitfire Mk.XIV fighters in Rheinland career are equipped with E-wing (two 12.7mm instead of four 7.7mm machine guns);
    
15. Fixed a problem with AI pilots pulling away from a frontal attack too early;
    
16. Improved routine for detecting an enemy attacking a group of AI planes from blind spots;
    
17. Fixed a problem with AI gunners aiming in tanks with coaxial machine guns;
    
18. Experimental features for editing water and forest maps have been added to the editor: to enable them you can add the line full_editor = 1 to the [SYSTEM] part of the data\startup.cfg file. Water and forest map changes you make in the editor will be visible in the game in Mods On mode. The landscape change menu will be also accessible, but it is intended for enthusiast teams who are working on the new maps (an existing map with an altered landscape won't load in the game in Mods On mode and will result in an error during loading).
    
19. Career: in the transport escort missions for the Eastern Front career, the front line has been restored;
    
20. Career: fighter-bombers have been added as targets in the Attack Intercept and Attack Escort missions;
    
21. Career: Fixed rocket launches in the air without gaining the right altitude in Assault Escort missions;
    
22. Career: fixed very long attack of a target by attacking aircraft on the runway for Attack Escort missions with start on the runway;
    
23. Career: for Transport Escort missions for Eastern Front careers, fixed smoke hanging in the air that should be on the ground;
    
24. Career: redesigned the template for escorting transports that bring cargo to the airfield instead of dropping it on parachute containers, fixed a bug with escorted transports not being able to land;
    
25. Career: Fixed early scoring of mission success when the plane has not even reached its airfield yet;
    
26. Career: Fixed takeoff at Malye Chapurniki airfield on Stalingrad map;
    
27. Career: Added a new engine for AI P-40 fighters in Stalingrad and Kuban careers;
    
28. Western Front" map: fixed takeoff at Braizieux airfield;
    
29. Updated "Lightning Strikes" campaign;
    
30. Added sound for all La and LaGG on the release of the bomb drop button;
    
31. On La-5F and La-5FN, changed the limitation of camera downward movement when the canopy is open;
    
32. IAR 80/81: Bomb racks removed from fighter modifications;
    
33. Fw-190 (all): corrected animation of cockpit canopy opening handle;
    
34. Ju 88 C-6: fixed a bug displaying one of the bombs in the bomb bay;
    
35. Several popular multiplayer servers have their icons in the server list (please contact our Community
36. Manager if you want to assign one to your server);
    
37. Small fixes have been made to the "10 Days of Autumn" and "Steel Birds" campaigns;
    
38. Improved air behavior of parachute containers and Ar 234 rocket boosters;
    
39. Fixed a problem with artillery gun crews when repairing them by MCU Command: Damage.

Dear friends,

The beta testing of the new update 5.202 continues: IAR-80B and Spitfire IXc are being polished and new career changes are being tested. The new control assignment features are working great.

We have some good news about the upcoming Spitfire IXc: this aircraft, which was a mainstay of the RAF in early 1944, will be added to the Battle of Normandy lineup. This means that all Battle of Normandy owners will automatically receive it when the 5.202 update is released. This will make the BoN career mode even better and more realistic. It also means that both Western Front modules, Battle of Normandy and Bodenplatte, will have their own Spitfire IX, which was an iconic British aircraft of the time (there is a Spitfire IXe in the Bodenplatte module).




In addition to the new content and improvements in nearly every system of the sim mentioned in our previous DD, 5.202 will bring a neat feature that many of the Mission Editor enthusiasts have been dreaming of - on-the-fly editing of landscape, forest, and water maps that previously could only be edited using 3rd party graphics editing software.

This feature, developed by our lead programmer Sergey, makes editing much more intuitive and easy as you can see the effect of your changes in the sim world immediately - you can plant a forest or cut down the trees near the airfield, fill a new river or remove a lake, create a mountain or dig a ravine. Here are some preview screenshots of this feature.







The new version should be ready for the release soon, in two weeks 😉

Dear Friends,

We are preparing the next update 5.202. It will bring the second, long version of the IAR-80 and the official release of both variants. The fire control system of the IAR has been corrected to reflect its peculiarity - the bombs are released by a firing trigger when the bomb control system is switched on.






Another new aircraft we plan to release in this update is the Spitfire IXc, which will be a welcome addition to both the Normandy and Rhineland careers of the Western Front.







This version will also feature other improvements across the board - some of them were requested by the community for quite some time and we finally have had the time to do them. Here are some notable points.

AI pilots will be more aggressive in frontal attacks and will break off later. Bombers in the Western Front career mode will operate at higher altitudes than on the Eastern Front, 4-4.5 km. A new mission type will be added where you'll have to defend a friendly airfield from an enemy air raid. There are also a number of smaller fixes to various Career mode mission types.

Quite a bit of improvements are being added to the input subsystem: most importantly, it will be possible to search for a command assigned to a button by pressing it or moving a control axis or search for a command by its name. To make mapping a HOTAS controller easier, several command bindings were duplicated as separate on/off or open/close pairs: bomb fuses, bomb doors, air brakes, Ju-87 siren, canopy, prop feathering (all, 1st engine, 2nd engine).

As you may already know from our Q&A video, our engineers are working on updating the P-47 FM using the newly found data kindly shared by community members - we can't promise it will be ready for this update, but we're trying. The P-40 FM review is also in progress.

In other news - our Steam prices now are regional, the price in each region or currency is suggested by Valve (this means that they became lower in most parts of the world, however, due to the currency value changes there are countries where the modules which were released several years ago became a bit more costly or stayed the same).

The update 5.202 is planned to be released in the first half of February.

1. Fixed a significant slowdown in multiplayer on the Western Front map;
   
2. Fixed a CTD caused by Halberstadt D.II being destroyed in mid-air and its parts falling from a high altitude;
   
3. Rheinland Career: fixed a bug in the mission of towing gliders to Bastogne (some gliders appeared well above the towing C-47s and weren't connected to them);
   
4. All Flying Circus Vol.III aircraft have their own historical scenarios added;
   
5. Reduced the cautiousness of AI WWI fighter pilots a bit (they will now be able to pull higher AoA closer to the stall limit);
   
6. Pilot's Career: added new mission types "Ground Forces Request" and "Forward Control Post";
   
7. German fighters and attack aircraft armament in Normandy and Rheinland Career mode made more historically accurate: underwing guns removed from the Bf 109 (their use was largely abandoned beginning in 1944), and the Fw 190 A-6 and A-8 carry a single 250kg bomb (the most common bomb load for this timeframe);
   
8. Normandy Career: fixed a bug with V-1 missile strikes aimed at German held cities;
   
9. I.A.R.80: inner and external texturing improved;
   
10. I.A.R.80: fixed a bug with techno-chat message about landing light activation;
    
11. I.A.R.80: increased the detail level of the canopy frame behind the pilot's seat;
    
12. I.A.R.80 added to AQM mode on Stalingrad and Kuban maps;
    
13. DFW C.V: fixed inability to start the engine in winter temperatures;
    
14. R.E.8: corrected the bomb sight;
    
15. R.E.8, F.E.2b, Halberstadt D.II: updated AI settings;
    
16. R.E.8, F.E.2b: added missing illustrations to the seat selection dialog in the multicrew menu in multiplayer;
    
17. Fixed the multicrew stations screen in multiplayer. Important: selecting a country in the multicrew station selection menu now also determines the player's coalition, which can lead to a penalty assigned on the server depending on its settings;
    
18. Fixed the saving of customizable tactical codes in multiplayer;
    
19. Career: Added "Select All/Deselect All" button to the regiment filter by aircraft;
    
20. AI glider pilots maintain horizontal flight better;
    
21. AI glider pilots utilize spoilers when landing;
    
22. AI glider pilots won't follow orders from the forward observers on the ground;
    
23. AI pilots of the towing aircraft will release the glider before landing;
    
24. I.A.R.80: an external head armor part is affected by modifications correctly;
    
25. To prevent problems with the glider attachment to the towing aircraft, the towing cable attaches at at least 92 meters distance;
    
26. Fixed texture issues on the faces of British WWI pilots;
    
27. Resaving the missions using the Resaver.exe utility won't cause the localization data to be lost.

Dear Friends,

The huge update 5.201 is live. It contains three major additions and a number of other fixes and improvements.

Flying Circus Vol.III is now officially released and is available on our website and on Steam.


Most of the Flying Circus Vol.III aircraft were already available via the Early Access program - the last one is the R.E.8 two-seater, a very versatile aircraft for its time (it began to reach the front in late 1916). It was designed to carry radio and photographic equipment for reconnaissance and artillery spotting, and a small bomb load on underwing racks. For more information on this airplane, please read our Dev Blog#354.




In total, Flying Circus Vol.III contains 8 early Great War aircraft: the Albatros D.II, Halberstadt D.II, Nieuport 11.C1, French Nieuport 17.C1, Nieuport 17.C1 adapted for British service, and Hanriot HD.1 fighters, and the R.E.8. and F.E.2b two-seater reconnaissance planes.

Updates to the Western Front map to include the entire frontline, many new objects and settlements, and five seasons - Summer, Autumn, late Autumn, Winter, and Spring.






The WWI Pilot's Career mode has also been updated - it now starts earlier, in 1916, includes all available WWI era aircraft including FC Vol.III and Collector, takes advantage of the updated map and uses all of its seasons.

Please note that the updated map and career mode are also available to owners of any Flying Circus volume (If you don't see the new map seasons immediately, please wait a few hours - they are being assigned to eligible accounts on the server). It is recommended that all FC players start a new WWI career, however we have been able to keep the old FC careers playable - they don't include the new additions and are unsupported, but you should be able to finish an existing WWI career if you wish.

Another fascinating addition is a new aircraft type, something we haven't had in the sim before - a player-controlled military glider.


In our simulator, the visual model of the CG-4A glider was restored with great care, and our engineers recreated in its new virtual life all the main features of its control and use. It should be noted that this is a new class of objects for our simulator and we have developed a number of technologies to make its realization possible - for example, a flexible towing cable. In addition to the Quick Mission Builder and multiplayer modes, if you have the Normandy and/or Bodenplatte modules, you can fly them in career mode on the Western Front during the major airborne operations - Overlord, Market Garden, and Varsity.

The third major addition in this update is the short version of the long-awaited IAR-80/81 Collector Plane (the long version is also included in the purchase and will be made available in early 2024 in January or February). We have covered it extensively in our Dev Blog#355.

The I.A.R.80-A fighter series 106-150 is the base model for the short version - it has six 7.92 mm FN Browning machine guns that fire German ammunition. Its flying capabilities were comparable to those of the Yak-1, but later versions of the IAR had more powerful weapons and bombs:

• I.A.R.80-B series 181-200 has four 7.92 mm machine guns rather than six, as well as two 13.2mm FN Browning machine guns that fire 13.2 mm Hotchkiss rounds.
  
• The I.A.R.80-M has two 20 mm MG-151/20 cannons and two 7.92 mm FN Browning machine guns.
  
• The I.A.R.81 series 151-175 is equipped with six 7.92 mm FN Browning machine guns and can carry up to three bombs weighing up to 400 kg. The underbelly bomb rack has a distinctive parallelogram mechanism, similar to the Ju 87 dive-bomber, preventing bombs from hitting the propeller during dive bombing.

In addition, the Achtung Spitfire! campaign that previously was only available on our website is now released on Steam.

5.201 Changelist

1. The CG-4A Collector Plane has been released;
   
2. Flying Circus Vol. III has been released - R.E.8 two-seater airplane is added to the sim;
   
3. Romanian I.A.R.80/81 fighter is available in Early Access (short version, long version will be added in the next update);
   
4. Added Autumn, Late Autumn/Early Spring, Winter and Summer seasons for the Western Front WWI map (available to either Flying Circus module owners);
   
5. All Flying Circus Vol.III airplanes have been added to the Pilot's Career mode during WWI timeframe;
   
6. The accuracy of AI gunners on player-controlled aircraft matches the "Ace" level on AI-controlled aircraft;
   
7. AI won't turn on the landing light during a daytime approach;
   
8. A tactical number set by the player is saved;
   
9. The send message button in multiplayer chat matches the team color;
   
10. A 100% setting on a control axis should result in 100% value displayed in the technochat instead of 99%;
    
11. T-34 mod. 1942 and PzKpfW III Ausf. L won't be erroneously listed as part of the Bodenplatte module in the equipment selection menu;
    
12. Pilot's Career: new options have been added for fine tuning the difficulty level;
    
13. Assault guns with indirect fire capability (SU-122, SU-152, Stug III Ausf. G, SdKfz 184 Ferdinand) have panoramic sight leveling features to ensure accurate shooting. Ballistic tables added to the
14. Description tab for Stug III Ausf.G and SdKfz 184 Ferdinand ;
    
15. New training scenarios added for SU-122 (firing at stationary targets and indirect fire);
    
16. Removed extra aftersounds from the SHKAS machine guns firing sound;
    
17. Airco DH.4 stabilizer fixed camera position corrected;
    
18. Pilot protection from the shrapnel corrected on British planes when the canopy is closed;
    
19. Albatros D.II lower wing aerodynamics data corrected;
    
20. Li-2 altitude throttle lever function inverted according to its label (forward - poor mixture, reverse - rich);
    
21. La-5 ser. 8 wing sturdiness corrected;
    
22. Overlord campaign is updated and translated into French.

Dear Friends,

The preparation of the new update continues at full throttle. The CG-4A glider is a challenge as several new features are necessary for its towing, which have never been included in the simulation. The Western FrontWWI map and the last aircraft for https://il2sturmovik.com/store/flying-circus/, the R.E.8 two-seater, are almost complete and receiving final touches.

A quick heads-up: please note that due to the sheer amount of changes we're making to the Flying Circus Career mode (not only is the map much more populated but new aircraft have been added and its timeframe starts earlier) it will not be compatible with the existing careers using this map. If you currently have an ongoing WWI career, we recommend finishing it before December 19th when we will release the new update. Alternatively, you can wait for the update to start a new career.

The long-awaited I.A.R. Collector Plane is also nearing completion. In this case, however, instead of one, there will be two Collector Planes in a single purchase. The long and short variants are quite different, so they are considered distinct aircraft in the game. Each plane comes with its own modifications, paint schemes, flight characteristics, and more. The short version will be available in the December 5.201 update, with the long version following soon before the end of the Winter, likely in January.






The first Romanian fighter to be produced in large numbers was made mostly of metal, except for the stabilizer and flaps which were made of a different material. The flaps and landing gear were operated by hydraulic pressure. The I.A.R.80-A fighter series 106-150 will be the base model for the short version. This fighter was equipped with six 7.92 mm FN Browning machine guns that fired German ammunition. Its flying capabilities were comparable to those of the Yak-1, but later versions of the IAR had more powerful weapons and bombs:

• The I.A.R.80-B series 181-200 had four 7.92 mm machine guns rather than six, as well as two 13.2mm FN Browning machine guns that fired 13.2 mm Hotchkiss rounds.
  
• The I.A.R.80-M had two 20 mm MG-151/20 cannons and two 7.92 mm FN Browning machine guns.
  
• The I.A.R.81 series 151-175 was equipped with six 7.92mm FN Browning machine guns and was designed to carry up to three bombs weighing up to 400 kg. The underbelly bomb rack had a distinctive parallelogram mechanism, similar to the Ju 87 dive-bomber, preventing bombs from hitting the propeller during dive bombing.

The aircraft was powered by a twin-row radial 14-cylinder air-cooled engine, the I.A.R.-14K; it was licensed from the French Gnome-Rhone 14K. This engine could produce up to 1000 hp in take-off mode. A less powerful version of this type of engine was also present in the Hs-129 B-2 Collector Plane, a German ground attack aircraft.




We have a question for Romanian players or anyone knowledgeable in Romanian aviation during WWII. Do you recall the photo of Squadron Commander Collins's family in the cockpit of our Typhoon? If you have thoughts on what should be the default photos in the IAR cockpit, we'd appreciate your ideas. Maybe a famous pilot's wife or girlfriend? Two photos could be taken during the war years - one for the short IAR and one for the long one.

In other news - if you're interested in Tank Crew details, Daniel 'Han' has recorded a short video describing a new feature for more precise artillery fire, bubble levels in the gunsights of the SPGs we have - SU-152, SU-122, Ferdinand and StuG III G. The video turned out to be a bit too realistic, so please make sure video subtitles are turned on since it might be hard to hear his voice over the engine noise and explosions.

Dear friends,

The development of the big December update continues. Tomorrow, two new aircraft will join the WACO glider and the updated Western Front map in the beta test - one of them is the two-seater R.E.8, a final piece of the https://il2sturmovik.com/store/flying-circus/ puzzle.

The R.E.8 was designed to replace the B.E.2, which had become obsolete by that time. Its armament consisted of a synchronized machine gun facing forward and a rear gunner position behind the pilot. This was a departure from the B.E.2 design, which had the gunner in front of the pilot, resulting in some awkward and dangerous firing positions when attacked from the rear. The aircraft was powered by a V-type 12-cylinder air-cooled engine, the RAF4a, and was designed to carry radio and photographic equipment for reconnaissance and artillery spotting, and a small bomb load on underwing racks.




These capabilities made it a very versatile aircraft for its time (it began to reach the front in late 1916), but its pilots weren't thrilled: it was difficult to fly and unforgiving - piloting mistakes could lead to a deadly tailspin. The first front-line squadrons to receive the R.E.8 reverted to the old but combat-proven B.E.2. Eventually the R.E.8s did see combat, and their debut was not very encouraging: in a famous incident on April 13, 1917, six R.E.8s on a reconnaissance mission over the front line were attacked by six Albatros fighters led by Manfred von Richthofen, and all were shot down in a fleeting, one-sided battle with no German losses.


Nevertheless, a new aircraft was desperately needed, and after a modification of the tail unit and the elimination of many small defects, the mass production of the R.E.8 began in several factories and eventually it became the most popular two-seater aircraft used by the British during the Great War. No less than 4077 aircraft were built, making it one of the most common aircraft in the skies over the Western Front. R.E.8s were used for artillery spotting and reconnaissance as well as bombing.


The military designation "R.E.8" shared a familiar ring (pronunciation) with the name of a famous entertainer named Harry Tate, so the aircraft became affectionately known as the "Harry Tate" by its crews. The R.E.8, when operated by experienced crews, performed well in combat and remained in service until the end of the war. 16 squadrons of the Royal Air Force flew the R.E.8 on the Western Front and several other squadrons in other theaters.

This aircraft will complete the aircraft lineup for https://il2sturmovik.com/store/flying-circus/, along with the updated map, making its official release possible. Next week's Dev Blog will feature another WWII aircraft that will also begin beta testing tomorrow - the long-awaited IAR-80.

Dear Friends,

This week's update to version 5.108 was a modest one by our standards, but the next one, 5.201, promises to be a real milestone. Scheduled for release in the second half of December, it will include the official release of Flying Circus Vol. III: the final aircraft in the set - the R.E.8 two-seater reconnaissance/bomber - and the updated Western Front map. The map will be richer than the one once created for Rise of Flight: it will feature five (!) seasons, including late fall, and the Pilot Career mode will include all Flying Circus aircraft. This moment will be the fulfillment of our long-standing idea to have a second edition of our team's first project - Rise of Flight - on a new engine, using modern technologies. The release of the third part of Flying Circus will not be the end, however - the work on recreating a bit more of the WWI land-based aircraft in the world of "Great Battles" will continue in the near future, the work on it has already begun.







In addition, two more WWII Collector Aircraft will be released in Update 5.201 - the Romanian I.A.R.80 fighter and the American WACO CG-4 military glider. Today we will tell you more about the latter.

Military gliders, as a mass phenomenon, belong almost entirely to the World War II era. The development of this class of airborne equipment began in the pre-war years, and they were used in the war by almost all the major participants. The most significant combat episode involving the use of gliders was, of course, the Allied invasion of Nazi-occupied France in June 1944. The use of gliders was massive: more than 800 were used to transport infantry units and their equipment during Operation Overlord, and the main hero of this action was the American WACO CG-4 glider. In total, more than 2000 gliders of this model were delivered to England, but only a little more than 1000 were combat-ready at the beginning of the operation. Still a huge number. A few months later, during the ill-fated airborne Operation Market Garden, more than 1500 gliders were used.




It is interesting to note that the "large military glider" as a class, as suddenly as it appeared before the Second World War, disappeared almost immediately after it. There is no clear explanation for this phenomenon because the disappearance occurred before the aviation epoch had changed forever, when new anti-aircraft weapons or new interceptors would have devalued all the advantages of this type of vehicle, and the development of helicopter technology had not yet reached the level to become an important factor in the capabilities of airborne forces. However, the use of gliders was almost immediately abandoned. Nevertheless, you have the opportunity to experience this period of history in the world of our simulator.




In our simulator, the visual model of the glider was restored with great care by our partner Yugra-Media, and our engineers recreated in its new virtual life all the main features of its control and use. It should be noted that this is a new class of objects for our simulator and we have developed a number of technologies to make its realization possible - for example, a flexible towing cable. It is also interesting that in the multiplayer mode, full interaction will be possible: one pilot will be able to fly a C-47A "Skytrain" and the other a towed glider. There will be a lift cabin as the main cargo hatch, a braking parachute, and different types of cargo: general cargo, jeep, and paratroopers with weapons. You won't have to wait long to take control of this interesting aircraft - it will be available for purchase with the release of a new update.

Dear Friends,

Another update, 5.108, is live. It adds a new airplane to Flying Circus Vol.III Early Access - this time it is a British two-seater F.E.2b - and fixes a number of minor issues.


We have covered it in detail in our Dev Blog #352. In short, it was an unusual design compared to the rest of Great War and later aircraft - a pusher two-seater biplane with the gunner positioned in front of the pilot. Later in the war they switched to a night bomber role.






Meanwhile, the preparation of the next update has started already - we're planning to release a lot more new content, including three new aircraft! Please stay tuned, we'll tell you about it in our next Dev Blogs.

5.108 Change List

1. F.E.2 two-seater airplane is available in Early Access for all owners of "Flying Circus Vol. III";
   
2. La-5 and La-5F oil temperature gauge corrected;
   
3. Li-2: the clock shows flight time;
   
4. Nieuport 17 GBR (British): superfluous parts won't appear among the debris;
   
5. Normandy and Rhineland Career mode: Attack Support and Defense Support missions added;
   
6. Overlord campaign updated and is now available in Spanish thanks to E69_Cananas;
   
7. Achtung - Spitfire! campaign updated;
   
8. La-5 and La-5F: default trimmer positions are set for horizontal flight at 3000m altitude in nominal operation mode;
   
9. La-5, F, FN: the radius of the damaged propeller was changed so the nose of the aircraft won't "hang" in the air in case of a nose-down incident;
   
10. Fixed issue that make it possible to keep an installed modification in multiplayer when moving from the mission where it was available to a mission where it is not allowed;
    
11. Albatros D2, Halberstadt D2: fire and fuel tank leakage effects corrected;
    
12. U-2VS: bomb sight added.

Dear Friends,

The next update, 5.108, is in the works and today we are starting its beta testing. The next version will include further improvements to the career mode - for example, ground support will be added to the Normandy theater for both offensive and defensive missions. There will be other additions if they are ready in time, but one of the highlights of the next version will be the next https://il2sturmovik.com/store/flying-circus/ aircraft - the F.E.2b two-seater.


The F.E.2 was a biplane with a pusher propeller and a sprung landing gear with a front support wheel to minimize the risk of overturning during a bad landing. The entire trailing edge of the upper center section was hinged along the rear spar and could be lowered to act as a flap-type air brake. The forward cockpit was occupied by the observer gunner, with the pilot sitting behind him at a higher level. The engine was almost completely cowled and drove a two-blade pusher propeller.

Interestingly, in February 1915, this type of plane was tested with a brake parachute. This was probably the first time in history that a braking parachute was used on an airplane. A newly designed air brake that had been used on the first F.E.2a was also tested, but the air brake was eventually abandoned.



During testing, the performance of the 100 hp Green engine was found to be unsatisfactory, mainly due to its poor power-to-weight ratio, and the machine was modified to be fitted with a new in-line six-cylinder water-cooled Beardmore engine rated at 120 hp. The center section of the upper wing was made in one piece and the air brake was removed. The aircraft with the new engine made its first flight in March 1915, but the first deliveries to the Royal Flying Corps did not begin until May. The first F.E.2b to go to France was flown to the No. 6 Squadron airfield at Abeele by Captain L.A. Strange on May 20, 1915. By September 25th the squadron had four F.E.2b's in its strength.


Production of the F.E.2b was undertaken by a number of contractors, but it took some time before the machines were available in sufficient numbers; by the end of 1915, a total of thirty-two had been delivered. The first R.F.C. unit to go to France fully equipped with F.Es was No. 20, which arrived on January 23, 1916. No. 25 Squadron followed on 20 February, No. 23 on 16 March, and No. 22 on April 1st.


The F.E.2b was mainly used for the needs of the army: for reconnaissance and for the escort of other aircraft, and it proved to be very worthy in the battles against enemy aircraft. Often grouped with D.H.2 fighters, the F.E.2b fought back against the Fokker monoplanes that dominated the skies at the time. The success of its use in combat was due to the wide sector of fire of the machine guns in the nose of the plane. The plane was also occasionally used to attack ground targets on the front line and in actions on the enemy's rear communications. In the second half of the war, the F.E.2b was widely used as a night bomber; for this purpose, the aircraft were painted black and equipped with night take-off and landing equipment.

The performance of the F.E.2b with the 120 hp Beardmore engine was not outstanding and from time to time attempts were made to improve its flight characteristics. At the end of March 1916, a new version of the Beardmore engine with an increased power of 160 hp appeared, and as it was essentially an improved version of the previous model, it could be fitted without the need for major design changes. Between 1915 and 1918, 1,939 F.E.2b aircraft were produced.


After the release of the previous update and the new La-5F Collector Plane, some players asked us to provide more details about the changes made to the existing Lavochkin family aircraft. Our Lead Engineer "Gavrick" has personally explained the changes.

The La-5 is one of the oldest aircraft in the IL-2 project, it was created during the development of the Battle of Stalingrad 10 years ago and many of the modern approaches and techniques we're using now were just being introduced. The La-5FN was modeled several years later, and while it was built on the basis of the La-5s, certain things were reworked: for example, the effect of engine cowl flaps on aerodynamics was modeled in a different way (but the resulting aerodynamic coefficients remained almost the same). It became obvious that the older La-5 should be reworked to the new technology standards, but we didn't have the time to do it at that time - however, some improvements made to it (the physical models of the constant pressure regulator of the boost manifold and the propeller were made more precise).

And finally, recently the new La-5F was created on the basis of the FN. We finally had time to update everything - the airframe aerodynamics modeling of the old La-5 and the La-5 engine modeling with the modern technique used in the La-5F. So what actually changed for the old La-5 characteristics?

The lift-drag polar diagram remained mostly the same. Engine power and propeller thrust were corrected - but the resulting speed change remained less than 10 km/h. The aircraft became slightly faster at low altitudes and slightly slower at high altitudes, which is historically more correct than the unmodified model. The effectiveness of the stabilizers and controls also changed slightly, so the handling of the aircraft became "sharper", more like the La-5FN.

Therefore, these changes weren't an FM overhaul per se, but rather a list of small corrections and improvements that were necessary to give all three Lavochkin aircraft a common technological base, so that all their differences are caused by design features and not different modeling methods.

That's it for today. Please stay tuned for the 5.108 update - it is planned to be released this month!