Mr. Toad. I've never seen that animated .GIF that you posted above, and looking at the source, it does not appear to be on HTC's website. Can you point me at the original?
To answer your questions... Of course, we cannot recreate WW2. Those $14.95 subscriptions would soon dry up, what with everyone dying for real! But at the other end of the scale, we have the totally unrealistic suicide crap, LANC divebombing formations, and numerous other Game-the-Game player initiatives. Note my use of the word "scale". Some WW2 games are much more structured, with returning to base after the mission a key factor, and teamwork is indispensable. The bridge connecting these scenarios is a
sliding scale like a trombone slide, not a scale with notches representing fixed positions along its length, and certainly not an on/off switch. I was middle of road in Brand-W on the gameplay issues. Some guys there wanted
everything to be modelled as in WW2. You'd laugh, but I know of guys who actually dressed up in a military get-up to play the damned game! Hehe, I wasn't one of them.

I didn't care to have to fly for 8 hours to get a kill, and clearly concessions are needed for gameplay. WW2 was not fun, therefore the more we move towards REAL the further we'll get from FUN... but as I've said before, I believe that there's a limit to how far we can go the other way (away from REAL) before we're no longer getting any nearer to FUN. And it is
my opinion (and that of other players - your opinion may and does indeed differ) that we have long since passed that point.
All sides having the same planes? Yep, but I've seen what happens when the different sides choose between different plane sets - sideswitching, avion du jour etc. So the current set up is a gaming concession. I campaigned to have the sides locked for an entire tour in WB. A compromise was reached - minimum time between side switches increased from 15 mins to 1 hour.


But weedwacking at 2K in a Mustang - every flight ??? No thanks. But far be it from me to tell you how to fly!
Rude! Hard not to like a guy whose first name is Otto.

That is you, isn't it?
Slapshot, you are becoming tedious. Either put up, or shut up. But don't expect me to believe you or take anything you say at face value.
I have been with the TAS for a little over a week now ... and as I pointed out before, I fly more than most in the TAS so I do fly alone most often.
Your lone wolf theory still does not hold water.
I guess those are the times you save for your LA7 - a "if-I-screwup-i'm-outta-here-so-I-wont-die-and-I-can-sleep-tonight" ™ plane if ever there was one. I have film proof to substantiate any claims I might make, and I don't see why it's unreasonable to expect you to provide same. So until that time, go forth and urinate.