Would it be beneficial for a new player to dedicate him self for solo flying before banding with a flight?

[=AKR=Sundial]

Hello! S7

 

Like many others I have mainly played singleplayer campaign and just started to dabble at multiplayer environment.

 

I find it strangely calm and heart pounding at the same time. Anyway what I wanted to inquire here was:

 

Being proficient in solo flight (in mp server)  <- would this be much help or would you say it is necessary step for a new pilot to get better?

 

Or do you think going straight at the squadron flying and learning on the go with the pros is better approach?

 

 

To serene sky with much explosion and gore.
S7

[BraveSirRobin]

You are better off flying with someone.  Even if it isn’t a “pro”, as long as they are relatively competent and won’t run into you or shoot you down by mistake, it’s better than flying alone.

[GenMarkof007]

S! =AKR=Sundial,

 I'm much like BarveSirRobin; it's always better to fly in pairs so that other planes watch your six. 
Also, remember that IL-2 MP servers vary greatly... why is that?

You have a few options:

- Wings of Liberty: Perfect for new pilots entering the MP missions/servers - navigation ON, third-person view, icons over players.
- Finnish Virtualpilots - Dynamic War: Great server with easy engine management, casual players, and combined arms (planes and tanks).
- Combat Box by Red Flight: Amazing missions with far better pilots coming from some of the best sim squadrons (better to fly in pairs or more).

After this, you encounter one of the hardest MP servers:

- TAW Dynamic Campaign. It's not always available, but there’s no navigation, no icons, and you'd better know how your plane works. Again, some of the best sim squadrons fly these campaigns. Also, try to read the Campaign Manual; it will help you know what to do.

If you're looking for fun missions and want to meet other single players on an MP server:

- WingWalkers WW2 COOP vs AI: An automatically generated dynamic mission that offers great fun and a good way to fly when other servers are quite empty; you'll get AI alongside real pilots.  

----

 If you enjoy flying WW1 Kits, these servers often have great turnout during weekdays and on weekends:

 

- Flying Circus - Knight of the Sky Dynamic Campaign - Offers great WW1 missions and features some excellent WW1 pilots from various Allied and German squadrons. Additionally, stay updated, as they run campaigns that take place over a few weekends.

- Flying Circus Flugparks - WW1 Realistic Settings - Another fantastic WW1 server with a major event on Sundays. They also host two outstanding campaigns throughout the year: Bloody April and Black September. It's a lot of fun, and you mostly fly cooperatively with other pilots.

 

P.S.: These are not the only MP servers for flying, but they are a solid starting point for anyone transitioning from single-player or single campaigns.

One more thing, try this YT channel to learn most of the IL-2 planes... always good when you don't have any tech chat in a server.
The Air Combat Tutorial Library
https://www.youtube.com/@RequiemsACTL

Have fun!
Cheers, GenMarkof 

Edited June 15 by GenMarkof007

[[CPT]Crunch]

If your ultimate plan is multiplayer than do just that, there's little beyond gunnery practice that translates from single player.

[HazMatt]

All good advice.

 

I usually fly solo because of my inconsistent play times. In this case I will try to stay near a friendly field and intercept attacking aircraft or I will load up a fighter bomber and try to use cloud cover to get to my target, drop my bombs and then get back to the cloud cover or dive to the deck and haul ass. 

 

I added this just in case you get some time and want to play and for some reason you don't have a wing man available. You can still have fun in multiplayer as long as you keep in mind that there are squads out there that might have 6 guys all fighting together and if you run into them alone with no clouds to hide in or AAA to run to it won't end well. Even if you are excellent at ACM and piloting your odds aren't good vs 6 mediocre pilots that are on comms. I consider myself to have been decent many moons ago and the best I've ever won was 3 vs 1 with one of those being a maneuver kill.

[IV./JG5_parkerhale]

16 hours ago, GenMarkof007 said:

S! =AKR=Sundial,

 I'm much like BarveSirRobin; it's always better to fly in pairs so that other planes watch your six. 
Also, remember that IL-2 MP servers vary greatly... why is that?

You have a few options:

- Wings of Liberty: Perfect for new pilots entering the MP missions/servers - navigation ON, third-person view, icons over players.
- Finnish Virtualpilots - Dynamic War: Great server with easy engine management, casual players, and combined arms (planes and tanks).
- Combat Box by Red Flight: Amazing missions with far better pilots coming from some of the best sim squadrons (better to fly in pairs or more).

After this, you encounter one of the hardest MP servers:

- TAW Dynamic Campaign. It's not always available, but there’s no navigation, no icons, and you'd better know how your plane works. Again, some of the best sim squadrons fly these campaigns. Also, try to read the Campaign Manual; it will help you know what to do.

If you're looking for fun missions and want to meet other single players on an MP server:

- WingWalkers WW2 COOP vs AI: An automatically generated dynamic mission that offers great fun and a good way to fly when other servers are quite empty; you'll get AI alongside real pilots.  

----

 If you enjoy flying WW1 Kits, these servers often have great turnout during weekdays and on weekends:

 

- Flying Circus - Knight of the Sky Dynamic Campaign - Offers great WW1 missions and features some excellent WW1 pilots from various Allied and German squadrons. Additionally, stay updated, as they run campaigns that take place over a few weekends.

- Flying Circus Flugparks - WW1 Realistic Settings - Another fantastic WW1 server with a major event on Sundays. They also host two outstanding campaigns throughout the year: Bloody April and Black September. It's a lot of fun, and you mostly fly cooperatively with other pilots.

 

P.S.: These are not the only MP servers for flying, but they are a solid starting point for anyone transitioning from single-player or single campaigns.

One more thing, try this YT channel to learn most of the IL-2 planes... always good when you don't have any tech chat in a server.
The Air Combat Tutorial Library
https://www.youtube.com/@RequiemsACTL

Have fun!
Cheers, GenMarkof 

This is very helpful, it just gives me another reason to fly, exploring all the servers mentioned and find the one suits me the most.

 

This guide should be pinned to the top on the mp section and shared to all new players like me.

Thanks a lot GenMark. People like you are the reason why this community keeps growth with new blood.

 

Best,

Parker

[[TWB]80hd]

On 6/14/2025 at 7:34 PM, =AKR=Sundial said:

 

 

Being proficient in solo flight (in mp server)  <- would this be much help or would you say it is necessary step for a new pilot to get better?

 

 

If you're solo (whether you're in a squadron or not), Berloga is a fantastic way to get a ton of trigger time in short order... you air spawn and are often in the fight in very short order.

 

There are some very good pilots that fly here, but it's such a goat rodeo that everyone gets shot down eventually.

 

Great for getting more accurate, seeing the tactics you'll face in MP (i.e., certain planes doing head-exploding negative g pushes, which planes can hang on their prop, etc.), and most especially situational awareness... just flying around in the furball and trying to survive will do wonders for when it hits the fan on one of the dynamic war servers.

 

There are 3 goat rodeo areas (Late war, mid war, and WW1) and then a large area for 1v1s or 2v2s or whatever.  The midwar area is what I'd recommend for a newer player to MP, and I'd say choose the back spawn (each side has two) and then grab a bit of alt and kind of observe the chaos below. 

[JG27_Mainz]

Flying solo and flying with a squad are two different experiences and require two different sets of skills. Flying solo requires excellent situational awareness and defensive maneuvering because if you find yourself at a disadvantage, you cannot expect anyone other than yourself to extricate you from the situation. Flying with a squad requires skills with maintaining formation and communication.

 

It is better to hone your skills as a solo pilot before flying with a squad. Some people become overly reliant on their squad to do their spotting and fighting for them, and are useless when flying alone. Flying solo will teach you the fundamentals required to be a strong pilot, which you can then adapt to squad play.

[Blinkstefaans]

Hello all, 

 

I've migrated here from DCS (spoiler: I'm rubbish at both). 

 

My biggest issue so far is aircraft recognition - I'm always afraid to shoot at friendlies, so I often dont take a shot at all, and I think I've left some victories in the skies for that. 

 

Any tips on how to improve the recognition aspect? 

Edited July 1 by Blinkstefaans
Me fail English? That's unpossible...

[Trooper117]

Aircraft recognition will come with time and experience mate... I wouldn't worry too much about it.

[MDzmitry]

01.07.2025 в 13:05, Blinkstefaans сказал:

My biggest issue so far is aircraft recognition - I'm always afraid to shoot at friendlies, so I often dont take a shot at all, and I think I've left some victories in the skies for that. 

 

Any tips on how to improve the recognition aspect?

There are multiple options to work on besides simply gaining experience:
1. Online guides on silhouettes and aircraft recognition: source 1, source 2
2. What I consider a hidden gem: a small game-like quiz on identifying various aircraft from different distances and angles. Another of its upsides is that pictures are not perfectly high-res, so you can get somewhat more used to recognizing planes with the game's specific graphics taken into consideration.

 

Edited July 2 by MDzmitry

[Zooropa_Fly]

2 hours ago, Blinkstefaans said:

Any tips on how to improve the recognition aspect?

 

Icons

 

[[CPT]Crunch]

Are you using the zoom feature to take a better look? 

When your offensive nothing wrong with a little delay and getting in closer. 

When in doubt and under threat shoot first and ask questions later, everybody else does.

[Gambit21]

My years of single player experience helped tremendously when beginning multiplayer…it can’t not help. Sure I had to adapt and improve, but I was at a great starting place. 
 

[DD_Crash]

On 7/1/2025 at 1:59 PM, Zooropa_Fly said:

 

Icons

 

When the Dogz used to fly 1946 we used to fly with a limited icon set, actually the best part of 1946 was the scalability, but GBS doesnt allow it so with icons its all or nothing.