Svět Virtuálních Křídel (IL-2 Sturmovik 1946, Cliffs of Dover, Rise of Flight)

Dear DCS community,

Welcome to the final development update for this year. With Christmas and New Year fast approaching, we wanted to reflect on this past year and take a look into what is coming for 2022.

Current status of the project:

• The cockpit model is almost complete, with only the canopy and several side items remaining to be modeled
• The flight model/dynamics is almost complete and it is in keeping with our original and most important promise to make the flight model realistic. Several items remain such as fine tuning the drag coefficient, induced drag coefficient, as well as fine tuning the gear, airbrake and flaps drag coefficients.
• Research has been ongoing and currently focused on specific MiG-17F systems, this is important not only to make the systems realistic, but to make the system failures and damage model realistic as well.

A look into the future:

• Cockpit texturing and implementation is planned for early next year. This will be followed by several cockpit and plane system implementations.
• Early next year we will start remodeling the MiG-17F model from scratch and make it up to 2022 standards. This will include new roughmets and reworking of the liveries (although liveries will be an ongoing process until the MiG-17F is finally released). Once the MiG-17F 3D model is complete, we will also create a new pilot based on the 1950's-1960's era for historical accuracy (up to 2022 standards).
• Further down 2022, the plan is to implement an improved damage model, including system failures and a realistic sound set for the aircraft.
• Our plan for later 2022 is also to get the MiG-17F reviewed by Eagle Dynamics. Once that milestone has been achieved, we will focus on finishing up the MiG-17 with the final details and Eagle Dynamic recommendations.

Extensive research and accuracy:

In order to bring the DCS community the best possible flight module, extensive research is necessary. This includes more than just reading manuals and gathering information online. Visiting museums with extensive MiG-17 displays and knowledge, talking to current MiG-17 airshow pilots on a bi-weekly basis, and getting help from engineers in Russia that restore older Soviet planes is a big part of our research.

An example of this was our research team going on a trip to (East) Germany and gathering additional valuable and detailed information on the MiG-17. Trip included a visit to Flugplatzmuseum Cottbus e.V. (see pics below from the visit). Information gathered and researched includes tactics manuals as well as technical information.

Gathering and researching information is not the end of it. Research job (my job) is to filter what information is important for the implementation into the simulator, and then translate that engineering information into developer friendly terms. This not only includes breaking down engineering information into simpler user-friendly terms developers can work with, but also translating from different languages into English so the team can be on the same page.

SRD-1 radar manual, which is 500 pages long, is a prime example of such research. This is a process that takes a lot of time, but also gives us a very deep understanding of the plane systems. Even something as simple as a single switch that does not appear on every MiG has to be researched.

This is all in keeping our promise to bring you the most accurate MiG-17 version possible.

Closing off, we want to let you know that we are not only the development side of the DCS community, we are also DCS enthusiasts and pilots. We are you, and we would not be here without all of us together.

Want to thank you and thank the whole DCS community for your continued encouragement and support on this project.
Happy Holidays, Merry Christmas, and Happy New Year everyone.