Just want to chip to say how much I agree with the this:

"give the player the chance to ENJOY THE GAME THE WAY THEY WANT TO ENJOY IT."

Absolutely. Switchable options, then everyone is happy. (Unless it complicates online but I'm not getting into that...)

McGonigle, your pilot-centred idea is very close to my idea of the ideal flight sim too. I suppose what I want is not so much a flight sim as a pilot sim. I'm more interested in the experience of being a combat pilot than I am in the performance statistics of a bunch of aircraft. And current flight sims always intrude the interface between me and the air combat experience. Sometimes it's a good, immersive interface (EAW, RB), sometimes it's a constant reminder that I'm just sitting at a computer manipulating a program (Il2). But it's always there, in the way.

Finally a question for anyone who knows about such things - how does flight sim AI work? Is the AI programmed with a set of preplanned manoeuvres, or does it make inputs to the controls on the fly, moment to moment? Does it aim to point the nose at a selected enemy, or to place itself in a given point in the sky? How is the AI told about the capabilities and limitations of the aircraft it is flying (eg don't try to climb below certain speed etc).

My own experience of programming AI (if you can call it that) is extremely limited (for a very simple Age of Sail game written for my own enyoyment), but one thing I found is that very simple rules (maintain x range from enemy, keep presenting broadside where possible) can produce suprisingly complex and believable behaviour when set going. But how to do 3D movement and all the complexities of flight would defeat me completely.