I had given this one a go on free trials through the standalone DCS version (outside steam, where I play) while I managed to focus on the 14 days free time on this bird and let me tell you. ♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥ is fun!

This is a propper virtual Museum Piece of a legendary plane. Very high quality of photogrametry/laser scan of a cockpit and everything is so beaten up by the use on the sea. The shakes, noises. Immortal piece of aviation.

While being a dinosaur of a plane in comparisson to the mid 2000s modules we have, heatblur did an insane job on immersion. From airframe buffeting at high AoA to sounds and feel. This is the highest class on "feeling like being there" on any flight sim available today.

I've never before flown previous games that featured the F-14 (ace combat and such) although watched lots of time Top Gun when I was a kid and teens in the late 90s early 2000s, and I knew the bird was agile. DCS is realistic to an extent, so you can expect the modules to behave close to real life, as you can see its reflected in pricing.

At first I handled it like a truck. Very slowly to see where the limit was. And....oh boy.... this thing, although huge for a fighter, is incredibly agile. The meat inside the cockpit is its weakest part on a dogfight. It will pull Gs more than your virtual pilot can handle. No G limiter on the control augmentation system like in the Hornet's Fly By Wire.

Jester can be annoying but is workable. When I flew with a friend, we remained at being on wing instead of RIO+Pilot combo, but it was worth it every minute of it.

Fast, slick, powerful.

Love from this Hornet F/A-18C player.