Description of Rocket Mk III:

Walking around the Rocket Mk III is very much like walking around an old Bugatti, it sits low,
has fluid lines and is an object that belongs to the world of sculpture. The cockpit opening is
so small that one barely see the instrument panel.















It has about 12 instruments and about as many levers and switches all tightly designed to fit
around a mysterious dark rectangular opening.











A handle inside allows me to open the solid door; The view of the panel is better now, I can
see that each instrument has some sort of switches embedded in them. The cockpit looks
tight, has hundreds of screws and rivets and is part polished aluminium and part painted
green. The seat is oval, black leather and begging for me to sit in this machine.












I remember seeing pictures of fighter pilots jump-sliding feet first in their Spitfire and now I
understand why; a human fits in a fighter like a foot fits in a shoe and this Rocket is no
different.
It is actually quite easy to get in; open the door, step "ON" the seat and slide both feet in
while holding the fuselage sides. Once inside it is very comfortable, the rudder pedals are
adjustable , the stick falls in the hand and all controls are very close by.











A box with 2 switches sits on the right wall one is labeled "Master" the second one is
labeled "CPU". I flip the first one and feel a faint whine coming from behind me, it is a fan
that sounds very much like a quiet gyroscope. I flip the second one and hear the "beep" and
clicking sounds of a starting PC. On the lower right side on the panel I flip 3 more switches;
"Fan" to cool my feet, "lights", turns on all instruments lights and the third one "sound"
activates the sound system.
















The computer brings me to the IL-2 program where with the help of a small trackball mouse
that looks like a 1940 compass,  I decide to take an old Me-109 for a spin.






This flight simulator is equipped with a Track-IR device, it is a small infrared camera hidden
above the monitor.











It registers the position of my head with the help of a small reflective dot on my baseball
cap. I can control my views with small movements of the head, my eyes never leaving the
screen

























As I sit in the "109" I hear the faint ticking of a chronometer and the bizarre and weak
magnetic sounds of an old 1940 aircraft radio. Moving my head in a small circle, I can see
all around me like a real pilot would. Looking at my left wing while moving the stick left and
right I can see my left aileron going up and down. The views are smooth and easy to get
used to.

I slide the throttle to about 1/2 an inch and after selecting both magnetos, leaning out and
screaming "all clear!", I press the large red starter button; A "click", a "wank", followed by a
slow whining noise, then the very loud screeching sound of the inertia starter and the 1200
HP engine starts in a puff of grey smoke. As the engine starts I can feel the huge torque of
the engine twisting my fuselage in the opposite direction and all my instrument needles
vibrating.

The sound is deep low, the engine responds to my throttle changes with the huge inertia of
a heavy V-12, I can hear the air being sucked inside making different whistling sounds. The
subwoofer transmits every vibration to the front of the fuselage making the experience very
real.

The narrow undercarriage makes taxiing difficult but after a few "S" turns I am lined up with
the runway: Flaps 2 notches down, instrument lights on, I lift-off cautiously on this dark and
frigid 1942 afternoon near Moscow. Soon I retract the undercarriage and the cockpit alarm
reminds me to retracts the flaps as well. Letting go a bit on the stick I let the aircraft
accelerate to 350 kph before resuming my climb.

With small movements of my head I check the views;  Left, right and behind me, the feeling
of loneliness and claustrophobia is very real, not much can be seen and I have to do a
sharp "S" to check if someone is below me. Water temperature gets a bit high so I decide
to open my radiators and throttle down to 90%, the engine welcomes the change with a
more comfortable sound.

There is no way one could get comfortable, I am flying online with the "Blue team" and I
could be bounced at anytime by an another player, I keep checking my "6" and changing
my heading. Soon I spot a dot to my right and decides to investigate, aiming straight at him
I can tell he is on a collision course with me.... About a mile from him I change course to the
right and then sharply to the left....Full power now... Our combined speed is about 800Kph
and because of my sharp turns neither one of us is in a good position to shoot...It's a good
thing, As he zooms by at almost the speed of sound, I follow him with my head and see....
That he is a "blue"... a friend...., maybe I'll team up with him for protection....I pull a
hammerhead and follow him.

The rule of this game were set up by our host; The red team must find and destroy a small
car in a convoy on a road somewhere, that's all we know, Our foes will be flying P-47's and
they must be all busy zooming roads to find that car. The fights will probably happen at low
altitude witch should give us a slight advantage as our 109's are better turners.

As we continue our patrol my new partner screams on the radio -"P-47's high above us!"...
Moving my head about an inch to the left I check my "6" and see that we are in trouble, not
only they have the advantage oh height , but they spotted us and are calmly preparing their
attack, a classic "boom and zoom". Not much we can do except call for help and try to be
always on a perpendicular course with them.

Adjusting my propeller finer, I rev my engine above the 2500 rpm limit and climb like mad. It
was a good thing to open those radiators early and have a cool engine. Dogfighting is all
about energy and I am scrambling to gain as much as I can by flying real smooth and
avoiding sharp turns and stalls. If I can escape the first swoop and keep gaining height I'll
be in a better position to defend myself. The P-47's are not waiting, they are diving on us at
a very high speed close to 700 kph and are for the moment untouchable. I try to position
myself on a perpendicular course and just hope that they are bad at high deflection
shooting.... Here we go... Flashes, a few tracers, and the not very welcome sound of bullets
zipping by... ->  -> ... I am safe. The big P-47 pulls his chandelle and climbs like a rocket....

It is incredible how real the simulator can make all this,  engines can overheat and seize up
if not managed properly, adding fuel and weapons adds Weight and makes the plane more
sluggish. Firing tracers is really fun and dogfighting is like a complicated and rich
experience; almost a 3d chess game where skills are as important as the decisions taken.

This Simulator makes it all happen as naturally as possible.