Quote:
Originally Posted by sniperton
Defiant or not, an AI target tug version of any plane (existing or new) would be a very useful training tool for eternal newbies like me...  |
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IL2 already gives you the opportunity for far more realistic gunnery training than any WW2 pilot ever received.
Just set up a QMB mission with the targets of your choice as friendly planes, give yourself unlimited ammo, and blast away.
If you want to get a bit more complex, set up a mission in the FMB where you've got an AI plane towing a glider and try to shoot down the glider (very difficult if you're not using cannons) without shooting the tow plane.
If you want something a bit more challenging, set up a bunch of enemy planes in the QMB. If you want to make things easy for yourself, give them empty loadouts and/or rookie AI.
In any case, you can keep track of your hit percentage from the appropriate screen in the QMB, and can keep track of your hits in real time using Arcade mode.
Windsock style gunnery targets were with best substitute available for actual targets, but they weren't very good.
Tow planes were typically slower than combat aircraft, they could never be as maneuverable, and the risk of hitting the tow plane prevented gunnery students from attacking the target drogue from certain angles (like 6 o'clock level, which is pretty much your preferred deflection angle for most attacks).
Air forces that could afford it tried to use remote controlled drone targets, or esoteric aircraft like the P-63 "Pinball."
Air forces on a budget learned that the closest thing to effective combat gunnery training was to attempt to shoot the shadow of a maneuvering aircraft as it moved across the ground. But, this required that training take place close to the ground (dangerous for rookie pilots) and limited training to sunny days.
Given the time and effort required to develop new planes for IL2, I'd vastly prefer that TD or outside developers concentrate on combat types.