No love for Fighter Aces.

  You know, with as many people that we have onboard 2O2P, there just doesnt seem to be a strong following for PC flight sims.  I know there are some out there and I have talked to some of them.  Most just dont want to start a new game or have just gotten away from the genre.  Dont get me wrong now, I love me some Halo 2 and Oblivion.  I play a large assortment of games though.  RPG, FPS, RTS, and turn based sims are my main stays, but I love zooming and booming with a SpitFire Mk XIV at 400 mph.  What can I say, I love shooting down Nazis in brick-throwing Wurgers or speedy FW-190Ds.

  I have been playing WWII flight sims for about 10 years.  They are so much better then modern FSs to me.  With jets, you have heat seeking missles and fancy radar.  All you have to do is get a lock and let one go.  Yeah, there is the occasional dogfight, but not often enough.  I started on prop plane sims and then went to jets.  Something was missing.  You have all that thrust and smart weapons at your disposal.  The only jet sim that I can say I liked was "Mig Alley."  A lot of dog fighting and actual pilot skill was involved with it.  After playing jet FSs for about a year, I completely quit playing FSs all together.

  One day, while playing Halo 2 on XBL, I ran into a group that played well together.  I did pretty well and they asked me if I wanted to join their party.  Next thing I know were playing custom games and having a great time.  Before I started playing with people from here, it was the best time I can remember.  It was in a post game lobby I asked how they met up.  They said they all played Fighter Ace together.  They were actually a Squadron in the game.  I told them that I used to play Flight Sims a lot, but had lost interest over time.  I was invited to play with their Squadron if I ever wanted to get back into flying.

  I bought a new computer because my old one was a POS that I couldnt play pong on.  By this time I had lost contact with them and had almost forgotten about Fighter Ace.  I was still really into Halo 2 at that time.  When I see one of them online playing some MM.  I sent off a message and in no time we were killing Timmys and getting modded on.  So, we started shooting the breeze about where everyone had been and what they were doing.  It turned out everyone went back to flying.  I said I was interested in getting back into the cockpit, so I bought a new flight stick and away I went.

  I went into the game with a chip on my shoulder.  I know how to do this, I have played plenty of these games.  I just need to knock the dust off and vacuum the cobwebs out.  So, I joined the server found their room and grabbed my favorite killing machine, the Vought F4U-4 Corsair.  They let me get up to cruising speed and a decent alttitude before coming at me.  I was thinking to myself, I am going to own all of you.  Next thing I know, my wing is blown off and Im in a flat spin going down like lead kite.  I parachute out and retry.  Ok, you got the jump on me that time, it wont happen again.  Next, I fell for the oldest trick in the book.  I had forgotten about "Energy Fighting," and got suckered into chasing someone up a steep incline.  The "Rope-a-Dope" manuever.  Stall buzzer goes off, my plane starts falling, and my tail gets blown off in a matter of seconds.  At that point I realized I was a noob again.  For the next couple of hours, I got re-taught all the basics again. 

  Well, its been over a year and Im not the best, but I am far from the worst.  I still play 4-5 times a week with the same group of guys.  Bombing tank factories, torpedoing Japanese carriers, and turning it up with other players.  Too bad I couldnt get a 2O2P Sqaudron started because it would be great to have some more people to play with.  Let me know if you would be interested in trying it out or actually joining up.  I dont expect a lot, but I atleast wanted to try.