First I want to apologize for being a week late. A part on my computer got damaged and I needed to get a few parts for it. I'm still waiting on the big piece but I have enough to make it usable for now.
Anyway, I promised I'd go over which DCS modules were easiest and which were the hardest. I'll need to break this into several parts since there's a lot of different things to look at for each of the modules.
First things first.
All Around Easiest:
This honor would go to Flaming Cliffs 3.
Startup is very simple: use one key bind to turn on the power and one for each engine and your started. The key binds can be changed to make it easier for each individual. I use Right Shift + L for power (standard key bind), and Right Alt + Home for the left engine and Right Alt + End for the right engine.
Navigating is also very easy: press 1 to go between current waypoint, return to base, and landing. Use Left Ctrl + ` to change between waypoints while in "Nav" mode (heading to a waypoint) or to select a different airfield from the original if you are in either "RTN" or "LND" (return to base or landing) modes.
Landing is easy as well: just go to return mode and follow your HUD to the airfield.
If you are flying one of the Russian planes just keep the circle in the middle of the HUD (unless you are landing on an aircraft carrier with the Su-33. Then you need to follow the big circle until the small circle is in the center of that big circle and try to keep it there). Just keep your engines to the point where you stay at 250 kph (kmh, k/h however you'd like to abbreviate kilometer per hour). Also keep your vertical decent to 5 m/s (meters per second). Press G to get the gear down, F to get the flaps down, and H for the hook if you're landing on the carrier. Then just turn your speed to 0 and use P for the drag shoot for the Mig-29, Su-25, and Su-27 when you touch down.
If you're flying one of the two American planes then you'll need to put the + symbol at the begining of the runway, keep your speed around 150 knots with a vertical decent of 1 foot per second. You won't have a drag shoot so you'll need to press B for your air breaks to help you stop. Also you'll want your fuel below half and little to no weapons. The Russian planes can handle the weight of extra fuel and weapons but the F-15 won't. I've bent or collapsed the landing gear a lot that way.
Air to Air Refueling has about the same difficulty in FC3 as it does with the A-10C and M-2000C. The F-15C, A-10A, and Su-33 are the only 3 aircraft in FC3 that has air refueling capabilities. In this case the Su-33 is easier to connect the probe to the drogue rather than the F-15C and the A-10A which use the boom. I tried using the F-15C and ended up exploding when the bomb hit the wing instead of entering the refueling trap.
Easiest to Fly:
Personally I'd have to say the easiest to fly without using autopilot is the F-5E 3. Even the Hawk (which is a trainer) in it's current state is not as easy to handle as the F-5E. So, if you're new to DCS but you like clicking on the cockpit and you don't mind only having heat seeking missiles for combat then the F-5E is for you.
Easiest to Startup:
Again, the F-5E has this one. There's no need to setup a computerized navigation system which can take several minutes in the M-2000C and requires you to enter coordinates and altitude or else you'll be sent off who knows where. The only thing special you'll need to do is contact the ground crew and get air supplied to your engines before you start them up.
The Mig-21bis is a close second for this spot. You don't need to contact ground crew (unless you want them to supply ground power during startup) but there's a lot more switches to mess with.
Easiest to Fight in:
This one solely depends on how you fight. If you like gunning your enemy down then the Fw-190 or F-86F is for you.
If you like firing missiles then I'd suggest the Mig-21bis. You get up to 6 missiles on one extremely fast fighter. Just don't get into a low speed or turning fight with this one or you'll get shot down (or stall out) almost every time.
If you like turning fights and missiles then the F-5E will be for you. Just be careful, it's not the fastest bird in the sky and can be outrun by the Mig-21bis and other more modern fighters.
If you want to do ground attacks only then the easiest plane would be the AJS-37. The plane that's the most accurate would be the A-10C but it takes a lot to learn how to operate it.
A good combination aircraft (air to air and air to ground capabilities) are theMig-21bis and M-2000C. The Mig-21bis has a pipper that will help you aim your bombs while the M-2000C has a computerized HUD that will help you aim and release any bombs. Both can carry air to air missiles. Just be careful with the M-2000C. It's radar guided missiles have a very short range when compared to other modern fighters in the game.
Easiest to Land:
This one goes to the M-2000C Mirage. I'm tempted to say the F-5E again but there is one big reason why I won't. The Mirage has an ILS (Instrument Landing System) that shows you not only where the airfield is but also displays an outline of the airfield on your HUD to help you out. The F-5E, although very smooth on landing, only has a TACAN that points you in the general direction of the airfield. Useful but in bad weather that outline on the HUD is a lifesaver. The only thing you need to do is keep your airspeed within the indicator displayed on the HUD and keep the Flight Path Marker on the runway. You'll do fine.
Easiest Air to Air Refueling:
There are currently only 2 non-FC3 planes able to perform air to air refueling: the M-2000C and the A-10C. Between the 2 the M-2000C is the easiest. You would think that having a drogue being extended on a flexible tube would be harder to refuel with. But it's actually the opposite. If you can keep your plane steady and moving up and down slightly to follow the drogue it's very easy for the probe of the M-2000C to connect and stay connected throughout refueling.
Easiest Helicopter:
Helicopters are the hardest aircraft to learn. It's even harder to fly if you don't have rudder pedals (which I don't). With that in mind The easiest helicopter currently available would be the Ka-50. The various autopilot functions are very helpful. These features include Bank Hold, Pitch Hold, Heading Hold, and Altitude Hold. Those 4 buttons on the right side of the cockpit are extremely helpful.
Now for the hardest.
Hardest to Fly:
Just flying around and taking in the view is easy no matter what plane you're in. But some are more difficult than others. I find the Hawk somewhat difficult simply because it's constantly bobbing left, right, up, and down. all aircraft do this to some degree but the Hawk is really exaggerated. Also the Bf-109 seems to have some difficulty while turning. The engine starts making odd noises and I have a hard time keeping it under control. So, it's kind of a tie here.
Hardest to Startup:
I'll be completely honest here. There's only one plane I have a hard time getting started up and ready for combat before I even take off. That's the A-10C. There's just so much to do between starting the engines, getting the navigation system set, getting the MFDs (Multi-Functional Displays) set, and getting the weapons selected, armed, and ready to go. I can get started, I can take off, but I can't get the weapons to work and I haven't figure out the navigation system yet.
Hardest to Fight in:
This one goes to the Bf-109 and the Mig-15bis. I find it very difficult to use guns in most of the planes (I blame it on my very cheap flight stick) but both the Bf-109 and the Mig-15bis are absolutely the hardest in my opinion. They both only has 3 guns and they run out quickly (the Mig-15bis runs out of ammo very quickly so accuracy is a must). Also when firing there's a very noticeable kick to both planes which makes getting a hit very difficult. I'll have the pipper on target, I'll be in range, then when I pull the trigger my nose points up and I miss completely. The Fw-190 has a similar problem but there's more guns so there's more chances to hit the target. Same goes for the F-86F.
Hardest to Land:
This one goes to one of my favorite planes in DCS. The Mig-21bis. I love this plane and do pretty well with it taking out 2 F-4E's in a sneak attack before clobbering the B-52 they were escorting. But the landing is a problem. Why? Because of those short wings it has. You can't land it like you would the F-5E, or the F-15, or the Mig-15bis. You need to go low, fast, and only pull the nose up at the last second before you touch down. If you don't you're going to bounce all over and break the landing gear or end up rolling on the ground somewhere. There's a good tutorial on Youtube that the designers made to help you see what to do. It helped me a lot.
Take a look.
Hardest Air to Air Refueling:
This one goes to the A-10C for a number of reasons. First, keeping up with the tanker is harder than in the M-2000C simply because the A-10C is a slower plane (as all attack planes are). Second, the boom used by the KC-135 to refuel all US Air Force planes is a bit more difficult to attach to. Yes, in DCS the operator on the KC-135 does move the boom to try and make connecting easier but keeping the A-10C in place so the boom can make contact is very difficult with the turbulence from the 135's engines.
Hardest Helicopter:
The hardest helicopter goes equally to the Mi-8TV and the UH-1H but for different reasons. The UH-1H is difficult to get flying straight if you don't have rudder pedals but at least you can get the UH-1H off the ground without it spinning uncontrollably. The Mi-8TV on the other hand is difficult to get to stabilize when taking off as it wants to spin but if you can get it straightened out then you can use the autopilot to keep it straight and fly forward. Landing with both is pretty difficult as I have a hard time keeping the helicopter from moving sideways when trying to touch down.
Well, that's my list of easiest and hardest modules. I know what's hard for me will be easy for others but this list is a good starting place for people new to DCS and flight simulators.
I didn't mention carrier operations (takeoff and landing) in my list simply because as of right now there's only one navy plane available: the Su-33. Once the F/A-18C and F-14A/B are released and I have a chance to practice with them I'll add that to the list.
Take a look at DCS's website for new modules. The AV-8B is now available for pre-orders. I'm not going to get it just yet. I'm saving up for that F-14 and F-18 first. 😉 Have fun trying out those planes.
