Ralfi's Alley - DCS AJS-37 Viggen Review 

Regarding AFK (Automatisk Fart Kontroll), "fart" means "speed" in Swedish. On a side note, the word "smäll" means "bang" or "crash" and is pronounced like the English word "smell". Thus, taking the phrase "it's not the speed that kills you, it's the crash" and swapping two words into Swedish, you get "it's not the fart that kills you, it's the smäll".

Damn, worked on these planes from 1985 to 2005 as a technician. Got one hour of actual flying in the back seat of the SK37 at the now defunct F15 air base in Söderhamn. That was one hell of a nice ride for me but for the instructor in front seat he was just an overwatch wingman to the student pilot doing basic aerobatics. But for me as an untrained backseat driver it was great, almost passed out two times and when the student landed we did a full power acceleration and power climb out over the sea to the east of the base and broke the sound barrier going about M1,1. After that i got to fly the plane for about 2 minutes before bingo fuel. Best day at work ever! This sim looks and sounds absolute fantastic, the clicks, the hood, the main warning and the gas turbine starter is exactly as I remember from doing engine checks in the hush house (engine test bay). If I buy this, I will waste my life and loose my wife...

You replicating that footage of the viggen landing then taking back off was probably the coolest thing I've seen in your videos in a long time. That was spot on.

Great video man, very explanatory :D

Holy crap Ralfie. That was a well written, well spoken and well filmed review. Double thumbs up if I could!

The sound of Viggen engines roaring above me while I play football in the school yard with my mates is forever part of my childhood. It was a common occurrence to have them do flyovers close to populated areas, so I think most of us who grew up with the Viggen really do know what it sounds like. And, of course, when I saw it at an air show when I was a bit older, standing only 50 meters from the plane as it took off and went into, what to me at the time, seemed an almost 90 degree angle straight up (it could climb to 10.000m/32.000 feet in 100 seconds)...man...that engine shakes your very bones. Small wonder we used to say that the Viggen was just "a big f-ing rocket with a steering wheel". Add to that it's capability to take off and land on small straight roads (we had a network of refuelling/rearmament stations spread throughout the country to minimise the ability of an enemy to knock out our air force) 500m long (at least that was the official peacetime length required, I've heard it would suffice with 300m if war came and we did away with the extra safety margins) and it's an exceptional aircraft for it's time. Anyway; Great video!

From an article in a swedish defence magazine. The article presents an interview with the former Viggen division leader, Per-Olof Eldh. The article is about near encounters with the SR-71 Blackbird near swedish airspace. He recalls one time as they where practicing airdefense over Gotland (an island outside the eastcoast of Sweden) but suddenly where interupted by the command central to intercept a target moving towards them, coming from the near costal area south of Stockholm. Per-Olof was guided to an direct attack at a target flying at 21500 meters (about 65 000 feet). His radar locked on at maximum distance,and the primary weapon selected was the Rb 71 Skyflash, and by the numbers presented to him he knew that it could only be a Mig 25 or the SR-71. As the contact came closer he could eventually see the gray siluette of an SR-71 passing a couple of 1000 meters above. Per-Olofs altitude is claimed to still be classified. But he says that he was higher then he had ever been before, and the sky turned black instead of the usual blueish colour. Since that day they had several contacts with the SR-71. They often flew very close to swedish airspace. coming from the east just south of Ã...land at mach 3, decreasing speed to mach 2.56 to make the turn and head south along the swedish coast, accelerating between the islands Gotland and Öland. Per-olof says that he made 5 encounters during his time as an active pilot. The usual way to make an intercept was to climb up to 8000 meter, turn around and head north back towards Stockholm, accelerating to maximum speed and altitude. The later evaluations told them that they would have succeded in shooting down the aircraft if they had used their missiles.

Now THIS is professional video.

I'm glad it's these guys working on the F-14, no offense to the rest, but i believe Leatherneck do the most justice to the machines they replicate.

Slight correction here on the AA loadout: it's 6 Rb 24s, and 4 RB74s

Oh man, the editing! This might just be your finest piece of work yet ralfi :)

THAT SIDE BY SIDE WAS EPIC!

Holy shit, great video! and amazing jet. thanks

As a Swede i really enjoyed this, cred to Ralfidude for taking the time to make this! And some nice music and sights as well.

That STOL (Short Takeoff And Landing) video is performed by a Viggen from my home town (Östersund) belonging to Airforce base F4. Thank you for showing me that video :)

I know this is over a year old now but it's still the best summary/review of the Viggen I've seen. Informative, concise and entertaining. Excellent work as usual Ralphi. Well done!

What a delightful video ) As for the viggen what can You say apart from Sublimely Stunning , Beautiful and inspiring !

MY DAD USED TO FLY THESE BACK IN THE 70's!!!!! I will totaly show this game to him!

I LOVE that the cockpit is in Swedish. It really gives it a unique look. Also I'm Swedish so I can read to though :)

Amazing review! This is probably the best airplane review I've seen. Really dig the humor + the cinematic scenes as well as the fitting music setting the mood.

Having finnaly got my hands on it, the viggen is quite a beast. The perspective of what can be done with a 70s era re-engineered 727 turbine is mind blowing.

Your best video, a masterpiece. The sense of humor, mixed with in depth information about the module and music fitting perfectly.

probably the most beautiful plane ever.

I love how you added a picture of "Spock" every time... Amazing

Great video! My grandfather spent a big part of his career working on those missiles and the over all weapon systems for the Viggen.

I love that direct comparison of real life footage to DCS footage. Beautiful touch in showing off just how good the model is.

Such a great review with so much humor including clips from top gear and top gun. Well done ralfi!!!

That was one of the best reviews I've seen ever, splendid work! Being of Swedish origin and familiar with the Viggen I must stay you made me proud as well :)

Top quality review there Ralfi. You should get commission from LN for all the Viggens you just sold haha. Particularly liked the landing sequence mimicking the airshow footage. I hope they fix the glider cluster munitions. As a ground pounder seeing all those explosions made my heart skip a beat lol.

That review is pure joy. The artistic side of it is funny, original and just a delight to watch. Subscribed ...

I want the real fighter version, JA37 Viggen, with built in cannon, glass cockpit, radar missiles and the extra compressor stage to be able to pull really high alfa.

Another quality video, thanks. You must be in sales/marketing, or should be. This was better than most ads on RU-vid. Nice work!

Wonderful review, Ralfi! I absolutely loved your review of the Mig-21, and I can say that this review is of even higher quality. Keep it up!

Well done review, I love the image editing the music and the the humor. Great job

Nice to see Top Gear's James May (6:10) make an appearance. And he's a pilot.

loving your vaporwave/futurefunk choices, makes a surprisingly good compliment to the aircraft

This was reeeaaally nicely done

that was easily one of the best reviews i have ever seen !

One hell of a review. Although I don't plan on buying the module, I enjoyed seeing it get the full work over. Excellent editing and narrating along with nice flying. Ace!

watched this vid 4 times. that's when you know a youtube vid is well done. lovin the viggen so far... cheers Ralfi

Amazing video ralfi! As a Swede it is absolutely amazing to have one of the Swedish legendary planes in DCS. Thanks for the review :)

Speechless at the quality of this video. What I can say though is that I subbed! Very good job!

This is out-freaking-standing! I couldn't be happier with how this turned out! Superb song-choice and editing, as always!

I already bought it, but after your video I almost bought it second time! Such descriptive, entertaining and pleasant looking video! You, sir, are a kick-ass channel holder.

This is so far, the best DCS video I've ever watched. Subbed!

Whoa! The editing and quality of the review. Kudos Ralfie!

Nice, funny, concise and informative review. It sums up my impressions perfectly. Well-done!

Fantastic use of a hysterical James May laugh... Also, a very well crafted review.

Ralfie, i still watch this video like..once a week..its just way too good not to!! A masterpiece ...both the plan and the video

Oh my gosh, that side by side landing and take off with video of the real plane was absolutely brilliant. That made this video!

Just discovered this channel by accident. And holy shit this is the best accident I've ever done, this video was AMAZING dude.

Man what a great video! So well made and awesome to watch, even for people like me who don't even play the game(!) I love how you entertain so well with videos like Shits'n'giggles, but also provide awesome and calm educational videos like this. I hope we get to see more videos like this :)

Great review, and fantastic plane. Perfect balance between actual facks/knowledge and some upbeat approach. Also musicsomehow fits spot on.

Just sold the plane to a DCS newbie. Now that's how you make a review. 10/10

This is a really great review video! Really, really well done. Review videos often ask for a lot of skipping around because of boring and needless stuff. But the things that you highlighted and remarked in this video, had some good points and weight behind it. An absolute delight! Well done @ralfidude :)

absolutely beautiful work Ralfi

The best part is that there's a working walkman music player in the Viggen.

Fantastic video Ralfi. Really good work!

great review, thanks for putting it together

Superb video, I'm psyched about this aircraft!

Great review and video Ralfi :D Loved the edits that have gone into this. Lots of good info in here too for us Viggen noobs too, and good demo of her capabilities Will you be bringing out any 'Idiot' guides for this bird? Got a feeling the computer is going to stall me

Leatherneck ist truly revolutionary when it comes to authentic and beautiful 3D models and textures

Nice .... Very nice indeed !!! You should do a lot more reviews like this! Just awesome !!!

I've loved the Viggen since I saw it at an airshow as a little kid in the 80's. Sure, the A10 that was there was cool and all, and so was both the F16 and the F5's, but the Viggen blew me away. I've called it brutal in both looks, sound and smell (yes, it does smell vastly different than an F16. Got to know that very well during a Step-out to 338 Squadron back when I served with 331/334 here in Norway) before, and that still stands. Now all we need is for Leatherneck to develop the JA37D :D AMRAAMS, Datalink and what's basically a single-barrel version of the GAU8 from the A10, namely the Oerlikon KCA 30mm cannon. Fires much of the same caliber round, too (30x173mm

Awesome! Just awesome. Thanks!/ The Swede from the Viggens hometown of Linköping... And I was born in the Viggens first operational year of 1971.

Great vid, as usual, and exceptional choice of soundtrack!

Fantastic review, Ralfi!

Amazing footage and review. Subscribed.

yo ralf i dont even play dsc but both mig 21 and this review were so much fun to watch nicely done dude

such a satisfying video to see. thanks dude

Awesome as always Ralfi!

Love it. Love this aircraft. Love everything about it. How it looks. How it feels. How it plays. Just amazing. The A-10 has always been my favorite aircraft (not just in DCS) but this thing is the temptress that may break me.

Finally back to your good old vids top Work pal

This really is a great module. I love it. I fly it when I'm off work on holidays. They nailed this they really nailed it.

Great review - as always :)

I'm glad that someone finally made a proper sim of a Swedish jet. Hopefully we'll get more in the future.

This is probably my favorite module yet. Such a cool attack plane.

Awesome, now on my to buy list.Great review cheers.

Love the picture in picture sequence at 7:25, good job!

Wow this was such a professional video. Love it!

the detail in these planes is beautiful

This plane looks so good. Thinking about starting with DCS now.

Brilliant review, 17 mikes of pure enjoyment :D

Very nice video, you sure put a lot of effort into it! A note though, the side by side demonstration of the landing and takeoff the video used is of the JA37 and not the AJS37. It's a bit more pimped as JA37 has some more power and the elevons are interlocked. You can also spot the JA model easily by the small shark fin UHF antenna at the top of the exhaust. However I think it was a fantastic demonstration anyhow... To my knowledge the only aircraft with a thrust reverser (not vectoring) except for the Viggen is the Panavia Tornado but it would not use it to move the aircraft backwards, only for braking. Once again, great video!

Beautiful review!

Makes me wish i could fly these things. Love the videos man.

Damn good video review as always Ralfi.

Great review Ralfi!

What a plane and what a video! GJ!

The cockpit by itself looks close to photo realistic, really amazing.

Watching this again after a year...I never picked up on your Warning...it took me forever to figure out to put a curve in the rudder axis, I couldnt get the dang thing off the ground..once I got that figured out though...DAMN The Viggen is a sweet flying Ship!!!

Great review, congrats

Too bad that the most advanced evolution of the Vigge, the one we used for like the last 10 years before it was retired, contains avionics and electronics and maybe some other stuff, that is still in use with old modells of the Gripen, which we still have in service, so it is still super classified.

Nice review Ralfi. Thumb up.

Good job bro, nice review.

Still haven´t given up the hope to see similar AAA quality reviews for other DCS modules on your part Ralfie!

Good video. One of your best IMO.

Best Viggen video I've seen yet

When the pilots returned from Akan pod missions, they'd know exactly how much ammo was left in the pod. There was no counter.

fantastic review - thankyou