What is the most up to date IL-2 PC sim?

[Panzergranate]

The best flight physics and damage models I've ever experineced was in "Red Baron 2".

The WW1 Bi-planes would creak like a sailing ship and sometime break up under high G turns, or in the case of the Fokker D.II or Neuport 17, just fall apart even during modest maneuvers.

Hits on individual wing struts, spars and fuselage frame members would severly effect structural integrety. I once had a upper right wing let go on a German twin seater light bomber when I pulled a swooping right turn to because I'd suffered a splintered outer right strut from a single bullet hit 3 minutes earlier in the game.

On top of coping with engine problems (Be.2, Re.8, etc.), watching the fuel, oil and temperature guages (if lucky enough to be so equiped), coping with some of the cronically unstable handling of some fighters (Dr.I, Sopwith Tri-plane, Camel, Pup, etc.) plus any damage from enemy action.... there was sporadic weather conditions, varying cross winds, FlaK, and having to actually read reproduced paper maps of the Western Front to navigate. The game required players to be able to navigate exactly the same way as their real life counter parts.

Players could attack Zepplins, patrol the front, straffe and bomb trains, attack observation ballons, maraud behind enemy line looking for target of opportunity, etc.

To say that the game was hard is an understatement, especially flying aircraft with wing warping instead of aerelons and rotary engines.

Any of the IL-2 titles come in a slose second to "Red Baron 2" and "Red Baron 3".

All my dogfighting skills were honed and polished on the "Red Baron" series of sims.... dogfighting WW2 fighters is easy by comparison.... at least the wings don't fall off when pulling a "retournment", "Split S" or coming out of a dive.