by Leonard Hjalmarson

If it were Christmas again, there are two recent additions to my world that I would hope to see under my tree: a subscription to Air Power International, and Quickshots' Masterpilot and programmer.

The Masterpilot has taken some of the load off my HOTAS setup, and resides comfortably between my stick and throttle at every flight. With the ability (similar to the dogfight switch on the TM TQS) to access entire configuration sets by hitting one of the five buttons along the base of the unit, its a great way to program comms, nav and atc functions for quick access APART FROM the keyboard. That annoying keyboard now exits my desk when I fly.

Air Power International, formerly Air Force Today, is published in Australia four times per year. The issue that I have in hand was the last issue under the old moniker, and on the cover is the Mierage 2000 D, the latest attack fighter in the Escadron 3/3 "Ardennes."

My first impression of this magazine was very positive. There is a relatively small percentage of ads, and even those usually contain some great photos! Quality of writing AND of photography is generally excellent. In the last issue of 1997 there are ten full page photos and approximately another twenty pages of half page or better spreads. Hardly a page in this magazine is without a photograph.

The contents of this issue are as follows:

• French Mirage Attack
• Cobra Strike
• F16 Fighting Falcon (UCAV)
• Replacing the Australian Hornet
• JG-71: Home of the Red Baron (F4s)
• Bandidos of New Mexico (the 150th "Tacos")
• Fighter Operations: Behind the Scenes
• Israeli Air Force: the Combat Edge
• Sukhoi Su-32N Russian Fighter
• K-Max Airlift at Sea
• "Silent Stalker" - Countering Stealth
• Beating the G-LOC Bogey

The best articles in this particular issue were the doctrine article by Carlo Kopp, the Cobra article, detailing the Western Army Aviation Training Site (WAATS) and especially air tactical training involving the AH-1 Cobra, and coverage of the Sukhoi Su-32. But the issue is a cover to cover read and in the technical articles like that on "Silent Stalker" some very good technical diagrams also accompany the text.

At $30 US for 4 issues the magazine isn't particularly cheap, but I don't think that any avid air combat simulation fan would want to be without this one. I'm getting my own subscription ready to go and I heartily recommended Air Power International.

Access the Air Power Site.

Main

© 1997 - 2000 COMBATSIM.COM, Inc. All Rights Reserved.