Pre-ordered mine from Gogamer.com the day it was announced.
Gogamer lists their release date as Dec 17th.
IL2 like AH has its good and bad points. If your computer will allow you to turn up the details, it is simply amazing. The full mission builder, while not perfect, is great once you get familiar with it. I have spent as much time playing with the FMB as I do flying.
I will be a happy camper if the joystick setup has been improved as reported.
There is room on my hard drive for both sims.