Typical RAF operations in the 1990s, maybe different today but live weapons were used only on rare occasions in training and, of course, in theatres of combat. There is another postee here with more up to date information who may be able to add more. I lived next to a fighter base for 5 years in the 1990s and most of my friends were military fast-jet pilots, who flew on average every other day. Air to air firing exercises were mostly conducted off the coast of Wales ( as somebody else mentioned here ) and happened once a year at most.
The 0.1% refers to live firings in anger ( combat ) as opposed to all firings. Can’t recall the source though so I might have remembered it wrong.
95% of the time, fighter jets don’t really go ahead and start engaging different targets. IRL, they’re flown on routine patrol, training exercises or when an civil aircraft needs escorting. This stuff can be done easily on multiplayer. At the end of the day, they’re not just killing machines, they are still part of the aviation world.
I have a soft spot for the Hawk, especially since DCS had to stop supporting theirs.
in msfs, the main thing I like is the speed of fighters.
but most are poorly implemented or hobbled by msfs limitations.
the new Hawk looks and sounds superb and might be a step closer to the grail of a study sim.
to ask “why fighters?” to me is equivalent to “why passenger jets?” they each have their own appeal,
I find long range cruising in a passenger jet dull as ditchwater as the game currently stands but I’m glad that folk who do thrive on that experience can do so.
I had this dilemma when Just Flight released the Hawk for X-Plane.
But I have to say after purchasing it and spending hours upon hours of learning it’s systems etc and learning to fly it as closely as possible to RW it had me hooked, it was nice to do something different. Really looking forward to the release of the Hawk for MSFS, with this scenery the Mach Loop should be great fun.
For me, the advent of the Hawk from JF is really welcome, because I get myself a high performance GA tourer with excellent visibility. I suppose it is a case and I may have said this elsewhere, forgive me if I have, of JF Arrow to Red Arrow.
There’s a few previews on YouTube now. 320 sim pilot has a nice one that really shows off the quality of the textures and sounds. He does a few simple acrobatic moves with the smoke deployed that look a lot of fun. Personally i am looking forward to learning the systems of this relatively simple jet whilst enjoying some low level flights. I made the mistake of buying the eurofighter and whilst I could zoom about very fast it is such a poor model that I felt like I was playing the old sega game afterburner. The Hawk points towards a far more realistic model and enjoyable experience.
You know I purchased the Hawk for the exact reason you are saying. I loved the Hawk in DCS. People really hated it and bashed it relentlessly. It had it’s issues for sure, but it was a really fun plan e to fly. In MFS it’s still a good plane. I think (opinion only) that the DCS was detailed a little better but I really enjoy the Hawk in MFS.
