In Defense Of Australia

By Derrick C. Miller (2 Feburary 2001)

Warning: This is NOT a dispassionate review of the CFS2 expansion pack, "In Defense Of Australia"! I am a fickle and grumpy middle-aged baby-boomer with too many things in my life to be dispassionate about. My flight simming time is not one of them. If a new plane or campaign set doesn't capture my imagination it won't keep my attention, either. The new release, "In Defense Of Australia" (IDOA), by Jorge Alsina and Joe Amodea passes this test. These gentlemen have combined digital art, storytelling, and technical integrity in a freeware offering that immerses you in the best of flight simming experiences.

The Setting:

The Plane:

Alsina made the panel to be functional and complete. The gauges are pretty standard. More importantly, they are big enough to read and actually manage the aircraft. No reflector gun sight sits in this cockpit, either. The panel incorporates a fixed gun sight that aligns perfectly with the default yellow aiming reticule to give you the same virtual view your historic counterparts had from this perspective.

She flies by the numbers. But the numbers may surprise you. My first trip out I thought the plane felt a little loose in the controls, slippery almost. The control surfaces seemed a bit touchy and she rolled like a marble on glass. I fired up the default F4U for comparison and it really wasn't much different. So, I read the documentation and discovered this plane flies within a clearly defined and well-researched envelope. Authentic pilot accounts verify the dynamics. I took a lighter touch on the stick and she settled right down.

Alsina tuned the aircraft file for playability as well. In the default form the Kittyhawk can hold up very well against the AI enemy. But you have the option to reset the flight dynamics in the aircraft.cfg file to establish what he considers a more historically accurate performance. The documentation explains this well and it is easy to implement.

The Test Flight:

• Ground Handling: Under 20 mph (the airspeed indicator registers miles rather than knots) I gently rolled down to the end of the runway. Turning and braking are do not require excessive attention like some of the default CFS2 planes.
• Take Off: She develops power gradually so you roll about 1/3 the length of the runway before you really begin to feel the torque of the propeller pulling you to the port side. At that point you are approaching rotation quickly and it may catch you by surprise. (Did me.) Rotate at 100 mph, as the manual suggests, and you will need gentle back pressure on the stick to lift off. But you will have to be more aggressive with the control surfaces to keep from banking into the palm tree. About 130 mph she begins to stabilize.
• Climb: I set the manifold pressure to 45 psi and propeller tach to about 2800 rpm. My target speed of 145 to 150 mph gave me a climb rate of 1800 fpm. I had to be patient in trimming the aircraft, using just one or two keystrokes at a time. If you give the plane a chance to get some equilibrium trimming out for climb can be done with little effort. Above 3000 feet I leaned the mixture and above 8000 feet I feathered the prop pitch a little more.
• Straight And Level Flight: In level flight trimming out for pitch was almost effortless. Trimming the rudder, on the other hand took some effort. Same problem I had with the elevator trim in the climb; I wanted to do it too quick. Once you are there, though, she stays there! Using Bill Potvin's refuel gauge I kept the tank full for max speed tests in level flight. The results are IAS; 282 @ 4000, 268 @ 10,000, and 242 @ 17,000.
• Maneuvers: Managing speed is easy. One or two degree changes in pitch will keep you in most any speed range you want. But this plane retains energy. Slowing down takes a little planning and getting back up to speed at low altitude takes a little time. My biggest problem with basic maneuvers had nothing to do with the aircraft. She is tuned so well that I was over-controlling her. The edges of her performance envelope are clearly defined but not abrupt. Stalls are a little surprising because they are not violent. Loops, barrel rolls, Split-S and other acrobatics are manageable if you let the plane stay within limits.
• Back To Base: Descent and landing are nothing unusual. If you pull back on the controls while braking you can apply the brakes at 60 mph or so. Just don't stand on them or you end up standing on your head.

The Missions:

The Campaign is comprehensive. Amodea created another IJN bomber, the Nell, for this campaign. It is an AI only plane with very committed tail-gunners. You are forced to think tactically in order to down one. Alsina employed rain, clouds, darkness and terrain as factors in mission design. And the missions are designed to fit the plane. You will be in the right position to execute the correct tactics for this fighter in all engagements.

If you do well, you will be rewarded in the campaign with promotions and medals, just like the default campaigns. Only this time the awards and ranks are for the RAAF, along with custom mission and campaign screens to make this a genuine CFS2 expansion. If you don't do well there is always that "fly again" button. And you will. I won all the medals and promotions my first go around, completing the mission as Squadron leader. But that was at the easy setting for missions. I set it to hard and I am stuck on mission three.

The Test Mission: Escort A-24 Bombers to Lae

• On The Runway: My flight is lined up behind A-24 dive-bombers who have a little present for the visitors at Lae. I have decided to fly this mission in real time, no warping to next waypoint. Time is 14:00. First decision is to NOT run into those bombers as we take off. This is where that little bit about torque peaking down the runway comes in handy. An A-24 sits on my port side just close enough to make me nervous. You have to start thinking about this mission right from the beginning.
• Climb Into Formation: I gave the bombers a little head start and now I am chasing them in a shallow climb to get into formation. They seem to be climbing faster than me and also pulling away! I drop the nose a little to give me 1000 fpm climb rate. We reach altitude at 14:15, leveling off at 17,000.
• Staying In Formation: The first leg takes you over the mountains. Once past them the bombers seem to want hug the terrain. Now formation flying gets a little more challenging. Target speed is about 150 mph. Pitching the nose up and down about two degrees works most of the time but I have to actually slow down and descend to 15,000 after the mountains to stay in formation.
• The First Surprise: About an hour into the mission I see the enemy airbase. I have 40 miles to target. The AI aircraft in CFS2 are kind of quirky. This time my bombers decide to start crashing into each other. The survivors change course! Do I stay with them or hit the target? I stay with them. That is my assignment. Eventually they find their way to bogey-land and two Zeros await them on the ground.
• Tactics: Do I take them on the ground, flying through the flak or take them in the air and risk losing my last two bombers? The waypoints have put me in position for a strafing run right down their six so I opt for the ground attack. I keep my speed high, take the first one but have to extend, climb, and come around for number two. In the P-40E you can usually make one good reversal before you lose too much airspeed to have an advantage. By the time I get around one of my wingmen had already dispatched bogey-two.
• Return To Base: Now it gets real interesting. Flak hit my engine and I am not able to climb as well on the return trip. My wing is damaged also and I have maxed out the rudder. I have less that 30% fuel left in this tank and a long way to go. I try to change to the next tank and can't! I disabled auto-fuel management and now the tank selector won't let me get any more petrol. (I haven't sorted this out yet but using auto-fuel management removes the problem.) I am too close to enemy lines to bail and too low on power and fuel to make it over those mountains. I give up and warp back to base. I land at 16:25.

Conclusion:

Rating? I will give it 95 out of 100, only because I know that Jorge and Joe have already identified some known issues and are working on resolving them. (These are listed in the manual.) Stay tuned for an update from this team. They are after perfection.

Derrick C. Miller
kilroy@sheltonbbs.com

Download the campaign.