I honestly don't think anyone here knows the answers to your questions. And the people that do know, have lost the ability to formulate and disperse coherent thoughts in text form...for whatever reason.

I'm hoping for something substantial in the way of updates by the end of August. I doubt we will know more about the compressibility factor, but assume the more complicated SOW FM will take this into account.

Its been along time since we've have had a new WW2 air combat flight sim on the market. If memory serves correctly CFS3, BOB WOV, and IL-2 came out in approx. 2001. There is no news regarding anything from MS, AAA, or Shockwave, so SOW will be it for awhile.

As good as the aircraft models are in the last few updates it hasn't done much to bolster my imagination. Having the developers mention the graphics will be better than BOP does. We should definitely know more about the release time frame with what we see in the next update. If its another aircraft with a blue screen, it doesn't look good. Patience has never been my strong suit. :)