DCS World - Christen Eagle 2 by Leatherneck Simulations - Review 

I have to admit, I like it a lot. But yeah they REALLY REALLY need to fix that start up sound. I've heard/seen these in real life. They definitely do not sound like that.

DCS must have civilian planes. Civilian planes in DCS would benefit newcomers and long time users. It would be really cool to see a "Virtual UPT" Module for DCS going from the C152/172 to the T37/T6 then onto the T38 and then graduation. Civilian birds are necessary for that, and it's always a few loudmouthed crabs who get in the way of advancement...I've been seeing the same "ones" ruining it for everyone over thirty years since I've been a flight sim fan. Enough of it and if you don't want to buy it then don't get in the way of those who do. I'd love to see DCS expand WAY beyond its current franchise and evolve into a full blown sim offering the entire world and hundreds of planes, both civilian and military. Wags and crew could leverage their asset into a real money maker for them and create a flight sim no other one could top at the same time. FSX, FS2 and XP are meh.

I think having acrobatic planes in DCS is freaking really cool and I have already added it to my hanger. As a beginner learning the F-18 it will be great to have this little plane to play around with while I take a break from trying to learn what seems like a bazillion systems :). But what would really give me a lil chub civilian plane wise would be something like the Red Bull Racers. I think that would be huge for DCS

DCS deserves a plane that’s not like a second job to operate. It’s good, at worst like having karting in a driving sim.

I didn’t realize that “stick the landing” actually means “to become one with the ground”!

My father flew a Pitts S2B for most of his adult life until he felt too old to be in front of the plane. He Flew some of the DCS games in VR one day while at my house and really wanted a civilian plane to fly as well. This is just fantastic. Anyone complaining about this is so far out of the loop on what "normal" people want its not even funny. Do NOT make DCS THAT community. You've seen that happen in every game known to man, lets be different. Have fun guys!

They can make a Cessna 172 for DCS, i'd buy it

I love this module. I cannot understand all the people hating it for it being non-combat. Combat includes aerobatic maneuvers, and what is a better plane to learn those than an aerobatic plane! This plane is such a joy!

Awesome release. The hate is beyond silly...

Thank you for this video about the Christian Eagle I've always loved that plane since I was in junior high school that's been like 40 years ago this is a great plane and I'm glad it's in DCS and I appreciate your positive comments I agree totally this is a great model easy to fly model and aerobatic it's awesome I can't wait to get it

Thanks Jabbers! I'm super excited for the aerobatic aircraft coming to DCS and have purchased both. I was hugely disappointed to learn that XP11 and P3D come nowhere close to DCS when it comes to flying outside the normal flight envelope. My C172 with Realism Enhancement Pack for XP11 won't even slip properly. DCS is IMO the best sim for this kind of flying. I'd really like to see a J-3 Cub, or to dodge some of the rage on the forums maybe we ought to make it an L-4! That and a Stearman biplane were what my dad (who is 92 years old and loves flying my simulator!) learned to fly in. In his day, passing the test to get your pilots license required stuff you basically aren't allowed to do for the most part nowadays!

Question please. Does the CE2 run smooth as far as FPS like the Harrier and all the FC3 aircraft, or is there an immediate 30% hit to framerates like the still unfinished Yak, f-16, f18, F14 etc? I want to get this aircraft but it is not worth a penny to me if my framerates drop into the toilet like the Yak, f-14/16/18.

That skits easier to start then my car XD

Thanks for the review :-) I don't understand why people are against any planes or modules for DCS. The more the merrier and it all adds something. With the great flight model in DCS this might finally be something to really learn aerobatics in! :-D

Truthfully those that hate on this aircraft do seem a tad elitist. If the CE2 brings more users into this very niche market, it can only help further development by having a wider customer base to sell combat aircraft modules. Thank you for your candid review and thoughts on this ground breaking module for DCS. Much appreciated video well done Jabbers.

I’ve read a lot of comments about the engine sound and also about how quickly the engine started up without the “normal spool up.” I believe the engine is a subset of the IO-360, which is a four-cylinder engine. Think about the sound of the four-cylinder engine in the vehicle that most of you drive vs 12- cylinder engine in the P-51 or Spit. Also, jabbers didn’t mention setting the mixture to idle cut-off before starting the engine, then quickly changing the mixture to full rich as soon as the engine is running, not starting, running. We also don’t know what mufflers are simulated vs what mufflers were being used in the referenced “real life” video. It makes a big difference.

Jesus Jabbers Your killing me....🤣 I was dying laughing-- You were saying "where else can you take an aircraft, not approved for IFR conditions, into IFR conditions, and stick the landing?" You got to know that that is like the Number 1 reason for most General Aviation accidents. You are a blast

I cloud buy it for some fun aerobatics... After the F14, I will probably go for this. Just to enjoy flying.

Haters are going to hate. It is good to see different aircraft making their way into DCS.

Oh boy 3 am!

I'm not super interested in this module specifically, but I'm super interested in more variety in DCS, including civilian aircraft. I fly DCS mostly as a joy-flight thing, combat is cool and all but mostly I just want to pretend like I'm flying, or learning, a cool aircraft... And civilian aircraft are cool too. Heck I would instantly buy an official Cessna 172 for DCS. It's the benchmark plane for flight sims, I think it'd be cool! A lot of people see the above argument and ask why don't I just fly FSX/P3D/XPlane? Which is a question that always puzzles me.... Have those people *actually flown anything* in those other sims? It's not even close to the same experience. Even the most premium modules in any of those three sims, feels on rails and boring, and in terms of visuals and sound rarely even get close to the same ballpark as DCS (with some exceptions, in favor of either side). DCS is the immersion sim to beat, currently. And I don't see any of the other civilian sims getting close. Only a new player in the market would be able to do this, because it could leverage modern tech the same way DCS is doing, in terms of game/sim engine design and modern software design. But I don't see that happening any time soon. And yes, sure, DCS does lack a lot of things to make casual flying the best it could be - lack of ATC, lack of AI air traffic, and relatively speaking constrained maps, sure. We would all love those things to change, regardless of where you sit on the military / civilian / combat / nocombat fence. But hopefully over time those things will be expanded. And you know what? At the end of the day, if you're flying - you're flying. It doesn't matter if you took off from Gatwick or Sochi, the airplane is still going to fly the same. Personally, for probably 80% of my flight time, I don't really care where I am in the world - it's still a great flight experience, that no other sim can challenge, currently. And let's not even talk about performance... I own XP-11, and fuck me, a completely bone-stock flight sim that can't even maintain 60 FPS, yet the same machine can maintain 144FPS@2K in DCS with every slider cranked as high as it can go? P3D and FSX are even worse. But ey, bring on all the FSX/XPlane flight simmers that somehow find 20fps acceptable, yell at me all you want :)

Nice review. I am one who did purchase the Christen Eagle. I have like three helo's, and 7 different planes in DCS. I AM NOT A FIGHTER PILOT or super serious flyer.. I got DCS just because I like to play around, and kinda get a flying learning sim. I am not one of the hard core DCS simmers who think it has to be nothing but combat and blow em up shoot em up flying. I would love to see more CIV. planes, NON COMBAT planes and helos etc. I enjoy getting into flying for the fun of it and not getting shot down by some real pilot here. I would love to see some planes like the Cessna, Apache, More civilian easy to fly planes for beginners which do not almost require a $600.00 plus dollar control system, memorizing 100 plus commands etc. to fly.. Many here would actually PAY and BUY more planes from DCS if it wasn't so hard to learn to fly some and if controls were easier to set up. DCS would ACTUALLY MAKE MORE MONEY from selling easier to fly and learn planes to.

I'm not sure if civil aviation can really take in DCS. I can see those pilots in multiplayer turning into target practice for dudes wanting to test the AIM-54 at extreme range.

I like it, nice to have such a nice aerobatic masterpiece.

Can't wait for the steam release. The plane looks like fun and I can't wait to fly that sick little beast in VR.

That thumbnail is amazing

Does it still work for you as well as 4 years ago? I'm just trying it and the radio and fuel indicator displays are broken - their content is shown not on the displays, but "in the air" so to say.

Thank you very much for sharing your first insights into the CE2 with us, Jabbers! I am a big fan of aerobatics and have spent probably most of my DCS online MP time on the aerobatics server for other reasons however. Let me briefly explain: a) Aerobatic servers are the only servers where you can familiarize yourself with the aircraft and learn its flight characteristics in an (almost) weapon-free, "safe" environment. Any Ace Combat 7 pilot who accidentally got lost, finds himself somehow in DCS world and starts randomly shooting players (with the few weapons which are not locked) gets kicked on the spot. b) it is the best MP online environment to learn the non combat related aspects and procedures of your aircraft. I have met so many DCS pilots who are good with the weapons systems and radar but don't fly their aircraft well at all (which became very obvious in dogfight situations), because they haven't realized the importance of knowing how to fly their aircraft in various circumstances. This is especially true for helicopter pilots c) Last but not least from the 800h+ I spent on the aerobatic servers last year, most aerobatics were centered around flying with your proud military vehicle in close formation of various sizes which was as difficult as it was awesome. The AA refueling session on the other hand were sweaty and tense. Saw some very excellent aerobatic performances and training sessions as well but those were the obvious minority. I will not buy the CE2 out of two reasons the first one being time. If I make the effort of spending time in aerobatics I want to be able to do it in a military vehicle. Finally there are so many beautiful military vehicles out there worth implementing in DCS by any 3rd party so that I see the need to vote with my wallet and make a clear statement as to which direction I personally would like DCS to move towards. So no cash for Leatherneck this time or is it Magnitude some? Next station: Razbam! "Oooohhh, hello there! You must be that new Mig-19 gal.... time we two do some aerobatic aerobics together, don't you say?...Who? Magnineck? Learhertude? Nah, never heared of them bebbe...and Fishbed and me that was long long time ago..."

Yeah, the sound is a bit crude. However, I've been loving this little beauty for a while now and the more I fly it, the more I love it. Aerobatic dances are beyond what other sims can do. Much of my flight hours are dedicated to FA-18C ops with my squadron mates but when I have a few free moments, I climb into the CEII and FLY!!! By the way, landing is as simple as flying as low and as slow as you can to the runway then kill power and ease in the pull to let it stall into a gentle fall out of the sky and get your three point touch. Bouncing is usually minimal that way. P-51's do it that way, too.

The difference is probably in the engine modelling. Supposedly the DCS warbirds are using some form of thermodynamic sim of each piston stroke for the slow RPM starting of the engine, before switching to the running model. The CE seems to lack that step. The Yak-52 seems to be missing it aswell. It starts incredibly quickly now - rather than doing slow crank over then fire it used to on release.

I don't know if anyone else mentioned this but it's difficult to compare Engine Startup Sounds when the Real Life startup video is recorded from the outside and to the front. Furthermore, the Cowling was all removed from the real aircraft. However, in your comparison you were sitting in the cockpit, behind the motor where you are surrounded by fuselage with canopy up/down and the engine does have a cowling. So it is going to (and should) sound different in both the Sim and RL when tested in two totally different conditions. Now I'm not saying the Exterior Sound is any more or less accurate or that it's better/worse when compared apples to apples. But I am saying that in order to fairly compare those engine sounds, the Camera's Ear must be in the Same Position in relation to the Engine for Both Test Samples/Conditions. Since the RL video is recorded outside to the front and side, you should have an exterior view (may have to use Auto-Start) F2 to get into the same position to listen. Sorry if I'm rambling. It's a little past 4:20 !

That red Barron skin makes me want a Fokker dreidecker module

I'm a war thunder sim player (gross, yeah I know) and I've always wanted to get into DCS but have been kind of intimidated by everything. This allows an "easy" way to get in and familiar with the game before getting completely overloaded by what all the modern military jet aircraft can throw at me. As far as I can tell DCS is rated as one of the best true flight sims, so why not take the tech that this game has in flight models, aerodynamics, avionics, etc and expand the game into a huge sim both military and civilian, historic and modern. I am highly interested in getting involved with this 'game' and this can open a door for so many new players like myself. Thanks for the great review Jabbers!

Really nicely done, the aircraft and the review! I flew my flight review in a Great Lakes, and have flown the Stearman. I'd LOVE to see the Stearman and AT-6 Texan (flew this as well) in DCS, to be used as trainers for the WW2 aircraft. I'm puzzled by the nerd-rage that comes with a release like this from the 'purists'. Gang, DCS is called DCS WORLD. The more that is simulated, the more of a 'world' it is. I agree that this can only benefit the community. When I get home from deployment, I intend to get an O-Rift and check this out, if not the YAK-52. I'm re-visiting sims, both hardware and VR, for real world training value. I think that the platform, and the Eagle, might be pretty valuable...

Great to see variety being introduced. The more the better. Maybe this can be a start to other modules being introduced, maybe some sea and land modules next? Still dreaming of supporting a war from a naval surface ship. They do need to work on that edge of the envelope flight model, it’s critical for all aircraft.

I want a C130 ! Tranportation troops and cargo planes !

Excellent review! I might pick this up. Seems more interesting than the Yak-52.

nice video buddy. I was very against this module in the beginning. but over time I thought meh...its their first since the split, get it, and give it a go, i mean it was like $20...boy did it surprise me, really is tons of fun!!! Glad you could rip yourself away from the F14 long enough to make this though :p

I am really looking forward to fly this plane! I hope it will come to steam soon. Any information on that? Actually know someone who owns one of these beauties.

Thanks for the vid! Ever thought of covering the C-101 Aviojet at all? Still a WIP but a fun little plane.

Not gonna lie... i wouldnt at all mind seeing a c172 or a piper pa-28 in dcs. I also would like to see a c-130, c-17 or maybe an an-26 as well

Nice landing! I was expecting the "YOU'RE DEAD" text. ;)

Not an aircraft that I wanted in DCS, but it looks fun and I will probably get it at some point.

Admittedly this is not a plane that I am interested in for DCS World but I have no issues with them being developed for DCSW. Anything that is made well can only make my favorite flight sim better. Any new technologies brought/developed, though not specifically for combat/military planes, can always be leveraged for other projects. Lets face it: our hobby is very small and any positive exposure is always a good thing. Congrats to the developers for the successful launch.

Can't say your video hasn't made my heart a bit softer towards the plane. Cheers.

did you get a sound byte from an actual engine start from within the cockpit, with canopy closed, and helmet on? Apples and Oranges, not saying you are wrong but your test was fundamentally skewed from the get go.

Why the hate! It is one of those iconic airplanes! I think the more the merrier, my issue is not having time to learn all the airplanes I already bought. I would love them to add a su-26 or 31 and why not some civilian airplanes, DCS is a bit sterile with the lack of civilian traffic.

Jabbers, you stall the aircraft nose up slightly with the engine at idle, not at full revs. Happens quicker and perhaps more realistically...

my only problem with DCS is that it seems like there is never any wind or turbulence, The air always seems so smooth.

Looks like a fun little plane, and I can confirm it can fly with half the wings gone! xD Nice landing!

Cool plane. I will get it, fly it and have fun in it. Which is rather the point of the whole exercise.

What and interesting release! And yes, the piston engine soundscape in DCS has always been of placeholder quality. Let's hope they're going to dish out a rework as they are gradually doing with turbojets.

26 liveries? Must have a large install size.

6:29 A epiphany just hit me... The star on the left side is for angles between your plane axis and the horizon as that can be important for aerobatics. (See also: Aresti Catalog). See web.archive.org/web/20110711001332/www.fightercombat.com/wp-content/uploads/aresti_made_simple_20051.pdf for an interesting article)

Nice review of the module, cleaver ending.

11:55 Is that a P-51 to the left?

I was told that you cannot turn on the radio before you start the engine, because the power usage would spike so much it could cause a short circuit. love the video tho!

Now that they have biplanes down so well like they do, we should get a WW1 module. You could notch an F-15 while flying straight at him!

You can try the c172 of FGFS - flight gear flight sim, it's free and open source. That module is impressive, full check list adaption, I'm hoping there is a plane like that one. In our dcsw, there are many missing feature of regular checking. The sick of this community is that ppl know how to play the avionics of the hornet & warthog and fire something, but they don't care about the basic check list, aerobatic maneuver or something others basic. Maybe these guys thought launch some stick is pretty cool, but the explosion stick of this sim is really... really WIP.

I like the CE2 a lot. Had an amazing couple of hours flying it in multiplayer with two other CE2s just now. It's a blast! Leatherneck made a mistake with how they announced it as they built way too much hype, but other than that, the module is totally worth it for me.

Why in the heck doe no one adress HOW MUCH FUEL CAN IT RUN? CAPACITY? RANGE? I have been looking for one hour and cant find it. The cold start in Nevada starts you off in a lone some military airfield and ITS BORING! I wanna cold start and fly in Vegas not in the middle of nowhere does not make sense to put this module far away from a city or buildings to fly around!. guess I'll just have to fly it to E to find out..

In ed forums leatherneck said sound is still a placeholder

Great video! Maybe I'm in the minority here but I love the CE2! It was a pre-order for me and I'm loving every second of it.

Thanks for the video. They have chosen this bird. It's their choice. I respect it. It's an absolute NO for me. NO USE in DCS, Aerobatic is boring as fuck for me. But I'm sure that aerobatic fans will appreciate it. Good for them.

I see it's not only in Alaska that IFR means, "I fly river"...

Gosh your right sound is a total misery , Good review cheers Might pick it up aid it receives updates etc

How come your DCS looks so damn good??? I have mine maxed and I don’t get colors, and beauty like that..

Any weapons?

i just bought the christen eagle, it's very fun to fly and i think i will enjoy flying through combat zones while my squadron is doing groundstrike. but i don't like the idea of bridging civil aviation and aerobatics. the reason for this is because i feel that it will make dcs into a different game, where the combat community is very small and niche in a game that was originally meant for combat. for civil aviation, i have many options, for combat, i have really only one.

Players where doing aerobatics back in Lock on and when the Black Shark or A-10C just came out. The 'modern' jet trainers, old Korean war jets and WW2 Warbirds all could not scream 'aerobatics' and 'airshow' more loudly! It feels like we got a whole bunch of carts way before the first horse appeared. Many have joked that if there was a DCS module for a multi-engined transport, it'd draw some not unsubstantial attention from the airliner sim community. The complexity... oh the wonderful clickable complexity...

How do you change liveries in the game? Is there some kind of keyboard shortcut?

Not bad but the engine start sound is way off!

oh hell yeah

As someone who's done a little bit of aerobatic flying in a similar plane, a Pitts S2A, this is pretty neat to have in DCS World, controversial or not. If you want to get some info regarding aerobatics, check out www.snap-and-roll.com/documentation.html this website has a bunch of useful information, along with downloadable aerobatic sequence charts for all skill levels. Also check out openaero.net/# this will let you design your own aerobatic sequence from scratch, once you get the hang of how they go together as far as energy management goes.

I would love to know what the sales figures for this aircraft are going to be. From a business point of view, I don't get it. I mostly fly civilian (X-Plane). I can fly anywhere in the world. I don't see myself buying a civilian aircraft to fly limited maps. But that's me. I don't see any harm in developing it. If it sells well, then all power to them.

Great video, If I had money I would buy.

canopy open and cowling open vs closed

Is this for MS FS?

I can see how the Christen Eagle would appeal to certain players - especially players from other simulator games, who are not interested in the combat, or people who are on the fence on trying DCS, due to its very much renowned complexity. With that said, it is most likely not my cup of tea, and I'm not that excited about it. It is however cheap enough that I'll most likely end up picking it up once we start seeing the thing go on sale anyways.

You're IFR landing would've been helped tremendously by landing into the wind ;)

I don't get the butthurt... can anyone explain it? For me, if you don't like it you don't have to play it.

About 25% of civil flight simulators users use DCS as a secondary simulator

Wait, people are actually AGAINST this module coming out? Why? Just because it doesn't have any weapons on it? I'm not big into civilian aircraft myself but the more variety we have the better. If you don't like it you don't have to fly it. Saying it shouldn't be included at all is just asinine.

Well I don't hate it. And now that civilian aircraft are on the table In all Honesty I kinda want them to start looking at Air Tractor Aircraft now. I've always been fascinated with Crop Dusters and they have the market on lock!

Well, personally I find no interest in this plane, but I'm not against it. For me it's absolutely fine and let it be in DCS. The more planes we have, the more people will come.

I want the DHC-4 for DCS sooooo

Thats not how you start in real life and the sounds and the flight model are kinda bad ive never been near a CE2 in real life but i have flown in a few aircraft that share the same engine and this is not how they start , sound , handle i hope they improve this model soon i know its just been released and i shouldn't expect a perfect model but i was expecting something much better

As the module is priced at 30 bucks it will be an easy pick up when it goes on sale, with 50% bringing the price down 15 bucks there really won't be any reason not to get it. (We need more quality cheap aircraft in DCS) Also the hate wasn't specifically at this plane but the way it was announced, then it just became a running joke to hate on it.

I don't think you should hate on this module for being in DCS. Aerobatics has a place and so does such a plane. I will however hate on it for its obvious lack in quality. This is mod-like quality, not something I expect from a payed addon. As you have picked up on already, the sound is awful - FSX awful, a game released 2006. The cool thing about DCS was always the polish of the planes and the detail. This one is a disgrace to the others. Hell even the default T-51 does a better job than this. - Nothing of this feels analogue, the gauges just represent the underlying values of the engine 1:1. In a stall situation your air speed indicator actually still shows the actual speed of the plane. No lag, no shake, no nothing. Very uninspired. - Sounds are unrealistic, you can really tell they are just loops running without any effect of aerodynamics on them. In this condition, people should not put money into this, it would just signal to the devs that you can get away with sub-par quality and make money from it. It's 2019, and I expect modules to have risen above the quality standards from over a decade ago.

I think the first Trailer ruined the overall opinion for this Aircraft. To be fair they put a realy bad Video out for this cute little Bird. If you compare this with the new Standard set by ED and Co the overall Reaction is not a Suprise

S'alright but to be honest if I wanted to fly something like this I'd just pick up rise of flight. Folk like it and enjoy it but I personally don't see the point of it and think there's better ways to get that same fix that this module provides

CORSAIR HYPEEE

*Need to purchase intensifies

DCS stands for Digital Combat Simulator...…….. go to Flightsims for this, totally unsuitable for DCS.

Digital Combat Simulator - enough said. Pointless and it doesn't belong in the line-up regardless of how many people want to try and defend its inclusion with training/acrobatics yaddah.

Sound of the module is a disaster... Not that I’m gonna buy this thing...

@0:50 "Now I'd like to start with a disclaimer that I am in fact not a pilot at all. BUT I do have pilot friends so that pretty much makes ME AN EXPERT ON PILOT AND PILOT RELATED THINGS." Well, thanks for almost making me spit my tea out. That was a good joke. :D Also, was there a reason to not mention the early access bugs and flaws, aside from the obviously obvliviously poor sounds (compared with your canope closed...), in your review? Like the tail wheel lock on excessive rudder input, the lack of landing gear spirngyness / dampening, the indestructible prop and generally poor damage model, weak canope texture / shading etc.? That said I agree with the verdict. A fun little plane nobody is forced to buy but many should and will. But the quality of the review is very underwhelming.

I don't hate this plane, I tolerate because there is nothing else I can do, it is not my company. I'm not elitist, I fly what I want to fly. DCS needs to change it's name. As far as sound, I've heard lawnmowers sounding better, although I've heard this is a temporary filler,(Which makes no sense to me)if they release it without at least having a decent sound attached to a propeller plane. But hey, I'm not flying it so what the heck?

This looks like the sort of thing you fly around in for an hour and never touch it again.

i think DCS has a crush on MS FSX