(CSIM) When involved in dogfights, how easy is it to become disoriented and do you feel the aids in any particular flight sim model the situation awareness in a dogfight particularly well?

(PB) In a real dogfight you seldom get disoriented. Getting disoriented in a real dogfight will probably result in you double-dribbling yourself off the ground. The same thing happens in flight sims too - lose control of the horizon and lose your life. It is much easier to lose control of the horizon in flight sims however.

Notice how I keep talking about the horizon rather than the bandit. It is usually easier to track the bandit in a flight sim than it is in the real jet but it's keeping track of the horizon that is the most critical. You may not believe this but just think about it. If you are near the mach and get pointed straight down how fast will you be losing altitude? How about 1,000 feet per second. You simply cannot lose track of the big ball or you will wind up a smoking hole.

So in flight sims and in the real jet you must keep track of the earth. The new Falcon 4.0 padlock view and the modified Hawkeye view both work well in a dogfight to help you keep your nose in control of the horizon.

(CSIM) There is a rumor that you have a desire to model the Soviet formations that aid in hiding the actual number of aircraft the RADAR picks up. How does this work and do you think will FALCON 4 see this feature?

(PB) Yes - of course bandits will use anti-sort tactics in Falcon 4.0. How could you model modern air combat if they didn't?

Click to continue . . .

(CSIM) Could you give us some detail on how this works?

(PB) Sure. The high tech fighters such as the Su-27 and Mig-29 may mask their numbers on occasion but for the most part they will go lance to lance with you and the hombre with the biggest stick and fattest clue bag will fly home to the hacienda. The low tech fighters like MiG19/21/23 on the other hand may try to mask their numbers by being in resolution cell or with a post hole formation. Resolution cell just means that they will fly close together so you can only see a single target until you are very close.

A post hole is a formation where you fly directly above or below your wingman. Again this looks like a single target on radar and hides your numbers. Keep in mind again that bandit awareness and response to the tactical environment is scalable by setting the difficulty level. Making bandits smart Beyond Visual Range has been a challenge (not for me of course because I just talk about it to the engineers). I think that you can learn a lot about the nature air combat in the F-16 by fighting the "codehead pilots" in Falcon 4.0.

(CSIM) What part of flying an F-16 in a combat situation do you think FALCON 4 models most effectively and how does it differ from the real thing?

(PB) To answer your question directly I would say that we model the air war or what I call the "tactical environment" better than most other flight sims. In other words, Falcon 4.0 effectively recreates the shock and lethality of modern air combat from the perspective of the F-16 pilot. Falcon 3.0 and Falcon 4.0 are about the same thing - immersing the player into a realistic air war where knowledge of your jet, the enemy and your own capabilities are the key to victory.

(CSIM)Thanks for taking the time to answer these questions. I am sure I speak for the entire flight sim community when I say we all look forward to seeing FALCON 4 and appreciate the input you have given to make it what it will be.

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