Yeah, it's pretty.. Um, exacting. :)

You'll see.. Though I'm pretty rubbish with reams of information, so it
didn't suit me. I might just dust it off and have another go after these
posts though.. How hard can it be?

Neil

Get both
I can fly the helicopter in BFV land and even land again (sometimes)
In BF I am no good - not even close do something usefull - and I prefer to
stay on the ground using the ground to air weaponary or tanks

In IL2 I'm an Ace :-)

- Peter

I don't know much about BoB2, but both are sims.  The IL2 series strives for
realism and accuracy, at least to the extent that it can be achieved on a home
PC.  There is another sim named BoB due out in about a year or so from the
developers of IL2 - BoB2 isn't that sim.

I'm afraid that in any worthwhile aircraft sim you will need to learn something
about how planes fly to get the best from it, otherwise you'll be wondering why
you keep falling out of the sky in a violent spin for no apparent reason at all
(and when that inevitably happens, you won't know how to get out of it).  Most
of what you need to know is contained in the manual, though due to the high
production costs, they've been getting slimmer than the excellent sim manuals of
old (European Air War had a very good manual for learning the basics of flying
and dogfighting, for instance).

Don't worry, learning how aeroplanes stay in the air and how to achieve victory
in aerial combat is fascinating stuff.  The joy of sims is in improving your
skill, rather than completing levels or amassing kill tallies.  Just surviving
is a thrill in most missions, any kills being a bonus :)

The air warfare in BF2 is, I'm afraid, merely a WASD action game and doesn't in
any way represent what you'll find in a sim like IL2.  You *will* have to learn
a little about flying.  There are extensive options to lower the realism to an
easy level, though, and as you gain confidence, you can re-enable the realism
features one by one.

Despite the procedures of flight being simplified in IL2 compared to something
like MS Flight Simulator, I think IL2 is the sim that comes closest to the feel
of flying an actual aeroplane on a PC (MSFS doesn't feel anything like flying an
aeroplane, no matter how many gauges it has).

IL2FB is cheap, so buy it and see if you enjoy it.  If you need help with the
basics, ask me :)  (I'm still around, lurking)

--
Paul