I know it might be a bit heretical to say that I spend quite a lot of time in flying non-combat missions in DCS, but I do. One of my favorite things to do is to hop into the cockpit of one of my favorite aircraft and spend and outrageous amount of time cloud-surfing or down low, close to the terrain at treetop level.
To me, the most enjoyable aircraft in this role is the Scooter. It is such a wonderful little jet with its agility and, most importantly, the excellent flight model that both Farlander and JNelson worked on for months. They managed to get it to fly not only accurately (within the limitations of a mod) but they also managed to make the flight model feel engaging. The feedback you get from the aircraft when you push it is absolutely amazing, this includes everything from the thud and impact of the slats deploying to the gut-wrenching feeling of high AoA maneuvers. It is an aircraft that just feels alive and I love that.
It is that feedback that I miss while flying the F-5E or even other more recent modules like the Mirage F1. They lack that feeling of not being in control even when you are completely in control. I feel like, since we are missing that physical feedback, developers should really focus on ways of getting that feedback out to the player with the use of audio and in-cockpit effects.
About the writer:
Santiago "Cubeboy" Cuberos
Longtime aviation fanatic with particular preference towards military aviation and its history. Said interests date back to the early 2000's leading into his livelong dive into civil and combat flight simulators. He has been involved in a few communities but only started being active around the mid 2010's. Joined as a Spanish to English translator in 2017, he has been active as a writer and content manager ever since. Twitter | Discord: Cubeboy #9034