Nervous about joining an online flying group?

[Panny]

Hey there,

I'm writing this post, as I thought some newer users may appreciate it, or a sort of PSA if you will.

 

 

The learning curve involved with DCS, as well as learning your aircraft of choice is a massive task to undertake. As much as it is inspiring to watch a DCS YouTuber effortlessly dogfight your favourite plane or dodging SAMs, it is also quite daunting learning how to get to that same point of skill. Perhaps you've found yourself mixing your training between haphazardly referring to the manuals, scouring forums, and YouTube videos. You're getting to the point in which you've played most of the instant action scenarios and some of the free missions, and feel like you need to take it further; and the option of multiplayer seems more attractive. 

However, unlike dogfighting against computers, you're operating alongside(or perhaps against) humans, which can feel like a quantum shift. You may be considering online squadrons, but nervous about your skill level in relation to theirs. 

 

Believe me when I say this, the vast majority of squadrons love to have more people share in their hobby, and take great pride in training people up. 

 

The great advantage of multiplayer, and by extension online squadrons, is the added value of learning, community, and most importantly immersion. When I first considered multiplayer, I was quite apprehensive, but once I joined I never looked back, and my flight simulation hobby is vastly enriched because of it. 

 

Learning:

This can be a sticking point for newer people, since they feel that they aren't adequately experienced, or not good enough for an online group. This may be counter-intuitive, but in some scenarios, being less knowledgeable and joining a squadron to learn can be better. Ultimately while you're in single player, you don't know what you don't know, whereas when you train with other people, they can immediately identify what you need to learn, or what's not going right. Most DCS modules are extremely complex, and frankly the learning process for all of us never ends; we're all just at different points in that journey. As a newer user, you will massively benefit yourself to join a squadron as they can tailor your training requirements.

Additionally, many instructors enjoy teaching, and it further enriches their hobby.

 

The core note here is that you won't be burdening anyone from whatever experience level you're starting from, and most instructors love to teach anyway.

 

Community:

This may seem marginally obvious, but actually having people to share in your hobby is great. Flight simulation, let alone the DCS community is quite niche, it's not like you can easily have fellow hobbyists down the road. Instead communities are globalised over the internet as we're all spread few and far in between. Thanks to platforms like Discord, the value of community within a flying group is far greater in which you can jump in and talk to your fellow squadron mates seamlessly. Since I've been part of DCAF, I have made some great friends, and I enjoy being able to share my hobby with likeminded people. 

 

Immersion:

At the end of the day, the value of flying with other humans rather than AI can't be understated. Whether flying with a human RIO or operating as a flight(or both!), the immersion offered is unparalleled. I'm still always impressed when I'm part of a flight of four in parade formation, as we all collectively work together. Or when you all go into a mission, splash some bandits and return to the carrier, the sense of achievement at the end of it is exceptional, because you all had to work together and thoroughly plan what you were going to do, and reaped the rewards of it. I often find going back to single player scenarios feel rigid and too 'sterile' now, since the only human component is yourself. Like what I was saying over learning and community, flying as part of a group fundamentally enriches the hobby.

 

If you're still unsure, feel free to contact myself either here (or Discord), as well as some newer members who fly with me. This can be a good opportunity to scope out what it's like to join a flying group. We're all part of DCAF(Digital Coalition Air Force):

Me: Panny#2973

Vak(halfway through training on the F-14): Aisxos#8894

Deivid(also in training on the F-14): Deivid#3419

Brody(recently finished training and is a line pilot): brodyzach#1944

You can also visit our Discord should you wish: https://discord.gg/RrzuvXXd9M

 

Otherwise, if you're interested in my group, I fly with DCAF(Digital Coalition Air Force) as an F-14 instructor, and would love to help more guys out. We also have F-16 Fighting Falcon, F/A-18C Hornet and AV-8B squadrons, who will be delighted to take on more people.

 

You can read about us here: 

And here:

https://dcafoc.wixsite.com/home

 

Or jump onto our Discord!:

https://discord.gg/RrzuvXXd9M

 

I hope for those entering on their journey with DCS, this post can at least alleviate a few concerns about the online paradigm. 

 

Cheers,

Peter

 

 

 

[DiamondcoreNL]

Great post mate! 

[Eugel]

Yeah, thanks for this post. I think, one problem for many (myself included) is just to leave their comfort zone.

For many, english is not their native language and then talking to strangers in this somewhat serious environment often doesn´t come easy.

And then there is of course a "fear" of messing things up and being a burden to others.

Many of these concerns are probably stupid, but I guess they are there for many people.

 

So, posts like this might help some to get out of their comfort zone and try it out.

 

[Lt_Jaeger]

Let me jump on the band wagon. I agree with OP. Being one of the "weaker" pilot in my outfit, I still enjoy it and actually getting better all the time. If I can't keep up with the young punks, I slip in my older Italien wingman flight and we enjoy the more serene style of old men flying 

 

That said, most of us, of not all in our Tomcat squad are no nativ English speakers and most of the time there is some back and forth until we understand each other, but that gets better in time too, because you know the next radio call by experience. 

 

That said, we are currently looking for some F-14 dudes, RIO and Pilot to join our outfit. We are European based and fly mostly on Thursday and Sunday 2000 cet. So if you find some interest, just ask and I tell you more about it. 

 

Sorry OP for this shameless plot of high jacking your thread. 

[Panny]

12 minutes ago, Lt_Jaeger said:

Let me jump on the band wagon. I agree with OP. Being one of the "weaker" pilot in my outfit, I still enjoy it and actually getting better all the time. If I can't keep up with the young punks, I slip in my older Italien wingman flight and we enjoy the more serene style of old men flying 

 

That said, most of us, of not all in our Tomcat squad are no nativ English speakers and most of the time there is some back and forth until we understand each other, but that gets better in time too, because you know the next radio call by experience. 

 

That said, we are currently looking for some F-14 dudes, RIO and Pilot to join our outfit. We are European based and fly mostly on Thursday and Sunday 2000 cet. So if you find some interest, just ask and I tell you more about it. 

 

Sorry OP for this shameless plot of high jacking your thread. 

To be fair, the component of language isn't something I had considered as much, so you're completely right to put it down!

[Redshift-]

No substitute for a good teacher and some stick time.