Hey Rob,
Could SoW do the job? Yes. But it can't do it as well. If you read about how X-Plane calculates the flight model, all the different parameters and components in the aircraft, it is tremendously complex and resource intensive.
Now, it is perfectly possible (and acceptable) to "simulate" some of those calculations with a more simple flight model and many would never notice. A combat sim has to do this because to use all of the parameters would max out the computer before the bullets even began to fly.
Then there is the "world" map. Personally, I have very little interest in spending all of my "flight sim" time hopping around England or even France in 1940. I want to fly in the US, Caribbean, Alaska, Canada, and such. 70gigs of flight sim maps give me that option (less detailed obviously).
So can SoW do it adequately? For most, that's a big yes. For the devotees of flight sims, not in the near future as far as I can see. BUT! Neither does any flight sim offer any sort of decent combat in the propeller age. Nor can they to the best of my knowledge.
Maybe sims like X-Plane are overly complex in their flight models. Maybe each component of a plane having its' own aerofoil, lift, drag, weight, etc., can be approximated adequately. I dunno. Maybe the huge number of calculations that go into such a detailed flight model can be approximated in a more simple yet just as realistic way. I just doubt it, that's all. At least for the next few years.
If I am wrong I will be happy dude though
.
Splitter