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What has always been amazing to me is the structure of the SDOE community. Primarily because it has none! Without any real leader, no one person or group in charge. It continues to work together in the creation of new aircraft, and other objects. The community has some people tweaking the damage and flight models, while others spear head the implementation of contests and other special events. In short it somehow continues to work together as a unified group or team, even though no one person or group drives them. Only the common goal, making SDOE all that they dreamed it could be.

Fig. 5. WWI custom made aircraft

How does this type of cooperation happen? How can this many people work together without a person or committee to decide things? Especially when you consider these are simmers who it seems always have different ideas of what a flight sim should be, as well as what it should not be. How do they get anything accomplished without stepping on each others toes, or bruising egos? The answer isn't clear. It seems that with the strong desire of forwarding SDOE and continuing it's growth the users have consciously, or unconsciously decided to work together and at the same time have managed to keep the infighting and bickering down to a minimum. This is not to say everyone is always on the same page, or that some times differences as to what the direction of SDOE should be don't cause tempers to flare. That does happen. However when a situation arises which causes tempers to quickly flame, they are almost just as quickly doused with reasoning and compromise by the parties involved. And in the SDOE community everyone is involved. You might design aircraft, you might work on flight models, build missions, create skins, work on terrain, or maybe just offer help to newbies online. The point is that any contribution is valued in the SDOE community, and no weight is given one over another. SDOE does not have a pecking order. It does however put allot of emphasis on "Team" play.

Fig. 6. P47's on-route over Africa

In the SDOE community "Team" is a word used quite often. The recent Open Plane Contest where prizes were given for the Best New Aircraft, Best Overall Aircraft, and Best WWI Aircraft, had several teams competing. Team JUG built a very nicely done P47D. The Open Plane Team gave us several 109 variants. Members of the WWI Team submitted the Fokker DVII, Fokker DVIII, and several others. The word , and the concept of "Team" and the SDOE community go hand and hand.

Fig. 7. WWI Aircraft Cockpit

In the year since SDOE was released the community has lost a few members, and gained many more. The SDOE forum has moved from the site provided by Pete Hawk to the it's new home at the Fighter Squadron Information Center. The location of the site proved to be inconsequential. Wherever the site, the SDOE community soon flocks. For it's not the site that makes SDOE, its the community of flyers.

As people continue their quest for the ultimate WWII flight sim, they need only look to SDOE where the "Community" as a "Team" is trying very hard to provide just that. How close will they come to achieving that goal? Why don't you go join the Team and help them find out.

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