No particular plans for this at the moment, and personally I think this shouldn't be done without correcting the opposition as well. Most Japanese planes lack their WEP performance, too.

Probably a good idea. Changes to the Wildcat would probably tip the balance until the Japanese types are sorted out as well.

Learning more and more... the whole Pacific side of things feels like it was rushed. The planes FM, certain details, armaments, etc. Don't get me wrong... they delivered quite a bit too.

Word on the street back in the day was that it was indeed rushed - and the NG issue kept PF from getting post release attention it still needed.

Thanks for the correction.

The fact that the collimator tube doesn't give you any actual magnification makes it even more useless, IMO, unless you're dive bombing.

Your suggestion about changing the magnification and the view through the collimator sight would make it more realistic, and also somewhat more useful since you don't lose SA when you go to gunsight view.

Until then, I'll just use iron sights or "Kentucky windage" and make sure I get so close I can count the rivets on the enemy plane before I open fire.

Collimator tube is like having both front and rear sights on a rifle. And btw it is possible to snipe with open sights, been done lots of times. Compare that to machine guns where you watch over the top to see where the hits land.

Rise of Flight models colimator tubes nicely. The free version of the game offers the Spad 13 which has both the Aldis and Le Chretien tube sights.

This video shows the Aldis on an Se5a.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=a_GgylsCbwM

This video shows an Oigee gunsight used on German aircraft in WWI. Notice how the cross-hairs move with the camera, just like with a reflector. This sight also magnifies, but I don't remember how much.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EfEzrGYHwis

I've used a real collimator tube sight while lining measurements with a total station. The tube is only an inch long, but it's surprisingly accurate for initial targeting. The triangle will always point at the target, no matter the position of my eye.

Thanks for the links. Now I see the value of the collimator; even if your head moves the crosshairs of the sight always remain on the target. As opposed to iron sights where if your head moves you lose your aim. Very handy in a plane where your head might be knocked about by G forces.

And I agree, the way that collimator tubes is very badly modeled in IL2. In real life you should have much more SA, and head shake from maneuvers should throw off your aim through iron sights a bit more than it does if you try to shoot while you're pulling Gs.

Of course, one of my complaints about every combat flight sim out there is that computer pilots are "iron men" who never get tired, scared, or sleepy. Even with "head shake on" in IL2, your point of view is never shifted that far out of line and you can still do quick shoulder checks even when you're pulling 6 G.

i think, without problems for balance of pacific theater can be corrected only FM-2, it's like we now have only best la-5 1942 and FN, what really and do gameplay not normal...

maybe, good idea it's fix 2 and more planes-opponents in one patch, like yak-7b m-105pa and bf109f-4, la-5 and fw190a, etc...

it's only my opinion, of course...