Discover DCS World Flaming CLiffs 3
Flaming Cliffs 3 is a fantastic way for someone new to DCS World to get the best selection of great aircraft to get started.
The aircraft in this pack includes the SUU-25 Frogfoot air to ground attack aircraft. It is the soviet version of the A-10 which is also included in the aircraft selection. The F-15 is also included for your Air superiority needs. This is a formidable combat aircraft never having been defeated in air to air combat in the real world. It’s competitors from the Soviet block include the SU-27, SU-33 as well as the Mig 29 in the A and S versions.
Flaming Cliffs enables a beginner to get the experience in just flying and combat in single player or in the truly amazing multi player world. Lets look at the aircraft and playbility of FC3 and why its such a great place to start.
Getting Started in FC 3.
The range of aircraft in Flaming Cliffs 3 is certainly not exhaustive but what they do is introduce you flying and concepts of combat without the daunting effort and time needed to also learn complex fully functional cockpits. The fully clickable cockpits can come once you are comfortable with the plethora of aircraft included in this pack.
Aircraft like the included F-15C are a joy to fly around the expansive Georgian theater offering lush mountains as well as open plains, rivers and forests. You will find this map enormous being able to fly for hours patrolling the skies and killing your enemies both airborne or on the ground . You should caution flying low level as the trees here will kill you as will the buildings. Many a pilot has died getting disoriented and hitting the ground.
Air to Ground Aircraft.
A-10A Warthog.
The A-10 is a legendary CAS (close air support) aircraft armed to the teeth with the GAU-8 Avenger 30 mm rotary gattling gun. It also offers the safety of a titanium tub where the cockpit is preventing small arms injuring the pilot. Designed to take enormous damage and still get home this aircraft is a monster that brings terror to enemy ground troops.
The A-10 entered service back in 1976 and remains a front line asset even today.
The A-10A was the original version with the A-10C being updated with modern avionics in 2005. In DCS World the A-10A is a Flaming Cliffs aircraft with a more basic non clickable cockpit with the A-10 C being a stand alone module in DCS with a full fidelity cockpit which is a module that can be purchased seperatly and has just had a new hi quality cockpit released.
The aircraft also has bombs such as the Mk-82 (500LB), Mk-83 (1000 LB) bombs as well as variants of the Maverick A/G missile as well as a range of cluster munitions available. Warthogs also have a sting for unwary fighters with a tight low speed turning circle with the Aim-9 Sidewinder Air to Air missile as defense plus flares to decoy infrared missiles and chaff to decoy radar guided missiles. If your a marine CAS pilot then this A variant will give you a great start till you step up to the C model.
SU-25T Frogfoot.
The SU-25 Frogfoot (NATO Designation) is a single seat twin engine ground attack aircraft designed in 1975. The SU-25 has seen combat in various theaters over the years and has has several upgrades during its life. The aircraft also has a good level of armour plating for crew and aircraft survival.
Primary weapons are the single or twin 30mm Gryazev-Shipunov Gsh-30-2 Auto cannon depending on model. There are S240 mm rockets but due to aircraft losses when salvo firing the rockets the FAB 500KG (1000Lb) free fall bombs were adopted as its primary CAS weapon. The nose houses a laser rangefinder as well as a Doppler radar system and has improvements over the many years in service.
General Features of Flaming Cliffs 3 Aircraft.
The Flaming Cliffs aircraft in version 3 all have professional flight models, 6 DOF cockpits so you can move and turn in any direction within the cockpit which is enhanced by TrackIR and VR systems. The external models are highly detailed.
There are single player and online multi player options. A mission planner is also available and allows high quality missions to be created and shared if you wish. The Air to air missiles have been improved as well as the avionic within the aircraft. HUD’s have been improved from previous releases in V3. A resource manager also is now available which controls the availability of weapons, fuel and much more.
Air to Air Fighters.
Russian Fighters – Mig-29 Su-27 SU-33.
Flaming Cliffs has a range of great fighter jets no matter who you wish to represent. The Blue or the Red team as it is today.
The red team has some awesome fighters with great missiles to go with them and a few tricks like IRST (infrared search and track) which is an optical system for tracking aircraft at quite long distances without giving away their position with radar.
These aircraft are highly maneuverable with relaxed stability allowing these great fighters to be more than a match in close combat situations. You will be in a great place with these aircraft. The Mig 29 has a number of variants as do all aircraft.
MIG-29 Fulcrum.
Mikoyan Mig 29 A&S are certainly well know around the world. It held a great deal of respect and created some concern around NATO circles when it first came on the scene. Flaming Cliffs 3 has a great example for you if you chose to be on the RED team on the servers. Highly agile this twin engine single seat fighter with its great thrust to weight ratio of better than 1.1 you will have the agility and be being respected every flight. The Mig-29 was developed to counter the F-15 Eagle by McDonald Douglas back in 1982.
Armament includes a Gsh-30-1 30mm Cannon as well as R-27 AA10 Alamo & R-77 AA11 Archer missiles. The radar guided system is a look down shoot down Doppler unit with good range of up to 100 nm. This aircraft is a great adversary so jump in and give it a 9G flight.
SU-27 Flanker
The SU-27 & Su-33 are very similar in looks a lot like the Mig-29 but are larger aircraft and have a very real sting especially in close combat with its helmet mounted sight enabling the R-77 Alamo heat seeking missile with its very wide field of view to be fires when the western missiles of the time could not track. This has changed with the more recent Sidewinder X but for a long time this was a major advantage for the SU-27. Its ability to create high angles of attack make it an impressive steed in close combat.
Planning to fight for the Red team then you can hardly go past this amazing aircraft. The one thing you should be cautious of is getting into a scrap with a heavy fueled aircraft. You could be in for a few surprises. Light is good so keep this in mind when entering into a scrap.
SU-33 Flanker N
The SU-33 is a naval development of the Su-27 aircraft with long range and the ability to carry and support bombers as well as long range air defense missions this is the one if you need the legs and the weapons to hit air to air as well as air to ground targets. The Su-33 has strengthened undercarriage as well as larger wings, more powerful engines as well as the canards.
With its size and weight additions for naval operations its thrust to weight ratio falls back to .83. This still makes it a powerful aircraft where long range BVR engagements are the key but is no slouch in close quarters combat. Beware if you come up against the canard monster that is the Su-33.
The Blue Team
F-15C Eagle
The venerable F-15C offered with flaming cliffs 3 has been the fighter to beat in the air since its inception and still has yet to be lost in air to air combat. Its record of over 100 kills to zero looses makes it the biggest boy in the air. Powerful radar, enormously powerful engines and the added advantage of the launch and leave AMRAAM makes this aircraft deadly. Its engine power give the 9G capable air superiority fighter a better than 1.1 thrust ratio making this big fighter very nimble.
The aircraft is big and deadly at distance in BVR situations and is comfortable in the close combat arena. Enjoying supreme engine power this aircraft likes to zoom and dive back to kill its opponents who rarely can match its vertical performance. The F-15C is armed with the Aim-7 Sparrow semi active missile and more recently received the AMRAAM long range launch and leave missile but when you get into a knife fight the Aim-9 is there to keep you safe and the Vulcan M61A1 20 mm Gatling gun pushing out typically 6000 rounds per minute will tear your opponent apart.
This aircraft with its opponents in the Mig-29 as well as the Su-33 are all brothers in arms being created to fight each other in air to air combat.
A-10 Warthog
The amazing A-10A is supplied in this amazing collection of aircraft. The A-10 Warthog brings so many great attributes with its GAU-8 30 mm gattling gun to just tear ground targets apart like a hot knife through butter. Complimented by the Maverick missile in its many forms as well as rockets plus free fall bombs you will be more than ready for any CAS or close air support mission. If you have any fast fighters turn up then you have the Aim 9 missile and a very tight turning circle.
This aircraft can absorb enormous amounts of damage and get you home. The titanium bath surrounding the pilot will keep you safe day and night from small arms fire coming up from heavily defended areas. The aircraft can carry huge amounts of weapons on each mission and be ready to support those troops on the ground.
Conclusion.
Flying combat is such an experience online if your an avid fighter pilot want to be then here is as close as you can get and not die. Oh yes you will die horribly for a while and often not knowing how. This is the pain of a newby BUT you will learn from both experience and others!
You have have amazing graphics, 6 DOF in the cockpit but you have simplified cockpit controls so this is absolutely why you MUST start here getting into DCS World. Once you can fly at least one of these well you can move to a full fidelity monster like the F-18 or F-16 for example.
Its easy to start and this package is generally very affordable. If you want to try the Su-25 with the original download you can also do that at no cost.
I highly recommend you get into DCS at this level of complication shall we say so you can learn skills to enjoy the online game before the formidable challenge of learning a full fidelity aircraft.
Author.
Brendon McAliece is a multi lingual-expat who brings over three decades of flight simulator/PC building experience as well as over two decades of real world jet fighter experience as a weapons/egress technician. He holds a sport pilot certificate giving him real world flying experience. Hi travels have taken him from Europe to the Middle East, Asia and his home of Australia. He has a passion for travel, languages, Flight simulation as well as Guitaring and Coffee. You can read more in his blogs below.
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