SOW: your thoughts on clickable cockpits and realistic start-up

[Sutts]

OK, I've read this entire thread and I think that most folk would like to see more complex systems management but not necessarily through mouse clicking.

I think the arguments arise because there are 2 distinct camps of people:

1. Those that primarily enjoy the combat and the skills and strategy required to down the bad guys. For them complex systems may be seen as an unnecessary and unwelcome delay in getting at the enemy. I respect these guys and acknowledge that many have incredible flying skills and a great knowledge of air combat tactics. However, flying skills and tactics were only part of the real mission.....

2. Those that want to engage with the full reality of WWII flying, as they may have read in first hand accounts. Re-living those accounts and getting the real experience of the air war, yes, including the boring bits.

I'm not ashamed to admit that I fall into this second group. I believe that IL2 is very good at giving us the rush of air combat. However I don't believe it is so good at replicating the true work load of a WWII pilot. For many of us, immersion comes from learning an aircraft the way a WWII pilot would have been required to - this includes the flight characteristics AND knowing the procedures required to keep the engine from quitting on you when you're over water 300 miles from land.

To me, it should matter how you handle your fuel load, so when the fight comes you have an aircraft capable of responding. It should matter how you use your mixture controls, boost and prop pitch on a long mission to conserve fuel and get you to the target and home again. Can you imagine the tension these guys felt in the pacific when flying distances over water and the urgency of watching fuel consumption and the health of the engine? As of now you really don't feel any of that urgency and respect for the engine that is keeping you from potentially a watery grave. That is the element that is missing for me - I know we'll never feel the true terror of life and death combat but with a good simulator you certainly can experience the mission tension and some of the thought processes and feelings that the real pilots recount in the many books available.

I really am impressed with what Oleg has given us already with regards to CEM, incredible really. All I'm asking is that proper consideration be given to the things that worried real pilots in the war - essentially fuel state, the health of the engine and life support systems and navigation. I'm not necessarily after every last switch (although I wouldn't complain), I just want to feel more like I've been there and done that when I'm reading these first hand accounts. Giving us things like fuel master switch, primer, battery switch and proper mixture and turbo controls (on US planes anyway) would go a long way to allowing us to follow procedures fairly closely.

Hitting the I key and going to full throttle was not the way it was done in the war and since this is a simulator, shouldn't we have an option that requires a good knowledge of the procedures required to fly a real mission?

I hope this doesn't come across as over demanding or a rant. I just want to express what I think the second camp of simmers might be looking for in SOW, including all the guys coming over from FSX etc.