New Player?

[Thunderbolt56]

IL2:46 is the BEST WWII sim out there...period. Also, it's one of the hardest for a relative newcomer so be advised. That is in no way meant to dissuade you from getting it, just don't expect to hop right in and fly off into the wild blue without some measure of teething pains.

Get a decent joystick (as already mentioned). CH Fighterstick + rudder pedals or an X52 Pro would be my 2 recommendations. CH is more expensive but I wouldn't personally use anything else...and I've tried them all.

Once you get the DVD (IL2:46) the only other thing you'll need it the 4.08m patch. It's pretty big, but will get you up to speed with 90% of the rest of the community.

After that, you'll want to get a server-finder program. Either Hyperlobby or Xfire will do fine. I'd also recommend getting a TrackIR. It may seem frivolous now, but it's a great piece of hardware that will last you for years and once setup is very trouble-free. Highly recommended.

Lastly, get and use TeamSpeak. It's free and a cheap headset/mic will put you in touch with many many other players that can save your bacon, help you through your IL2 growth and make things more rewarding in many different ways. Most servers have a TeamSPeak server for players playing on their IL2 servers and despite a few that can hog the channel (it happens everywhere) it will help with navigation, mission objectives, teamwork and answering any other questions you may have.

Ask questions. None are stupid and you won't regret it.

[Zoom2136]

The only thing to know with iL2 is if you are running it under Vista you need to install it outside of your program file folder... so just create a game folder outside of the program files folder and install there... If you don't iL2 won't start...

Other then that its all minor thing (video settings, sound settings, stick setting, etc) and we can help you with them. Take about an hour to setup.

For help you can go at Coasties website for setting up video cards,

For the rest if you run into trouble just ask and we will bail you out...

[Bobb4]

Learn how to take-off and land in both single engine and twin engine planes. Learn how to set trim, adjust fuel mixture and set your superchargers correctly. Learn or map crucial keys that are not always set at all in default mode.
That should take you the better part of a week, only kidding. Go to quick mission builder, climb in a plane you like, make four friendly stuka’s join you and launch the mission.
Then try and shoot the friendly stuka’s down.
It is one of the best ways to practice gunnery. They might moan at you but they will not try and avoid your fire.
When you can safely zoom down and dispatch one with a two second burst you are ready to put some ai enemies in the sky.

Know your planes. If you like turn fighting, the traditional dogfight then the best planes are:
Zeke (Zero) – turns on a dime but burns easily.
I-16 – Turns on a dime but if not handled with kid gloves can flip over and spin easily.
Spitfire – Turns well – Gives a false sense of security, a good 109 jock just may surprise.
La 5 – Turns well – Will lose its wings in any high speed dive.
All the above planes perform well in turn fights but most good boom and zoom pilots will never enter a turn fight.

Boom and Zoom planes:
P51 has speed and grace – Stalls easily in any turning fight.
Me109 is the king of boom and zoom from early war to mid war (the F to G series). Cannot turn with much, however the G2 can stay in the running with most planes.
FW190 – Takes the title from the 109 and holds it till the end of the war. Lots of big guns as well. A stunning roll rate. Drawbacks are deadly spins and very poor turning circle. The spins will come with any attempt to turn fight.

Middle of the road planes.
P39 has big guns and is an ace maker but if you get into a flat spin it takes forever to get out of one.
Hurricane is an okay plane.
Brewster is great can turn well but lacks power.
Me110 can get kills but only by luck or in a good team play.
All Yaks are okay and remind me of the Spit.
P38 the only true twin engine fighter, good all round performance.
P47 is a plane that can take damage and dish it out.

Suggested planes for starting out.
If I were new to the game I would learn how to fly the Me109, as it is found throughout the war in and will most likely be available to fly in most online servers making your transition from off-line to online easier.

The Zeke because it is very stable, hardly ever spins out and handles like a dream. It is also easy to take-off and land. It does require more engine management than the 109.

Lastly if you are really battling to learn how to fly, the Stuka is a dream, an ideal plane to learn take-off and landing in.

These are just my opinions on the planes you will form your own soon enough.

[killspeed]

Thank you all for the welcome and advice. I'll keep all these in mind. Looks like I have found the Flight Sim I have been looking for.

[DKoor]

Warning! Do not become an addict of IL2... many have succumbed.

[killspeed]

haha.
I tried out the demo and its great. I still have to get used to all the controls, but this is quite enjoyable fellas.

What do I use to aim my bombs at a ground target? Do I use the gunsight?

[ImMoreBetter]

Originally Posted by killspeed

haha.
I tried out the demo and its great. I still have to get used to all the controls, but this is quite enjoyable fellas.

What do I use to aim my bombs at a ground target? Do I use the gunsight?

Depends on the plane you are using. Some planes have bombsights, but most don't. You just have to use the force.

[WTE_Galway]

Originally Posted by killspeed

haha.
I tried out the demo and its great. I still have to get used to all the controls, but this is quite enjoyable fellas.

The original demo from 8 years ago ??? That came out when people where still flying CS2 and MSFS2000. You are in for a pleasant surprise when you get the 1946 DVD. Things have moved ahead a lot since then.

[mazex]

Good advice from everyone here. One I would like to put some emphasis on is the convergence range for your guns. You set it at the "arming" screen before takeoff. Many prefer to set it at about 200 meters, but there are many "schools". The important thing is that a "clean" shot straight behind your enemys tail is NOT easy in IL2. There is no "hitbox" so the bullets really need to hit those thin wings or the narrow fuselage. With the wrong convergence you will almost never hit and get frustrated (you will in the first 20 hours of gameplay, but long time veterans have problems with the convergence too so don't give up). It is often easier to hit with a bit of deflection (not straight from behind). The really juicy targets are slowly climbing planes that you hit slight from above. Much more plane to hit... By the way, the number next to the plane ("0.23" etc) is the range in meters (230 meters when it says .23).

Here are some articles about convergence an IL2 aerial gunnery:

http://www.combatsim.com/memb123/htm/2002/02/a2a2/

http://www.simhq.com/_air10/air_312a.html

Ground attacks may also be a bit hard in the beginning (many crashes into the ground near the target ). Here's an article about that:

http://www.simhq.com/_air10/air_307g.html

EDIT: The tool called IL2 compare is really good to compare the performance of different planes in IL2. Does a Spitfire Mk Vb really turn better than a Me 109 G2 at 360 km/h? Which is the better climbing aircraft of the FW 190 A8 and the P47 D-10? Really good to learn about the strengths and weaknesses of the different aircraft... Just like Bobb4 I would recommend the 109 in the beginning. Its rather midrange in twitchiness etc... It was the first fighter for the olde ones here as it was in the original demo, so I may be biased

Link to download IL2 compare:

http://war.by-airforce.com/downloads...pare-4.07.html

Good luck! /Mazex

[Xiola]

I have NEVER seen an IL2 question on UBI forums go unanswered, so I am wondering where you get the 'Non existant IL2 support'from?

Just ask here if you neeed anything....

http://forums.ubi.com/eve/forums/a/frm/f/49310655

Welocme to your new addiction, wait until yo9u get online then the true addiction starts ;P