COMBAT PILOT: CARRIER QUALIFICATION

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• Announcements·8 Aug 2026Official

  Developer Diary #23

  {STEAM_CLAN_IMAGE}/44824093/9ec0a135af0fa25b06ea8e99a1e8724a3f260e3c.png The FS Expo was a great success for Combat Pilot! Judging by the reactions during - and after - the event, we are on the right track. Of course we went right back to work after the show. In this blog we'll tell you what we've been up to in the weeks that followed. Progress is very good and we're eager to show you the results! Control Systems We've been working on modeling aerodynamic control systems more realistically. These systems are all mechanically coupled (vs. fly by wire), which makes the pilot the recipient of all the forces acting on the controls. There is no real way to perceive these forces in a simulator, although force feedback joysticks are a leap forward in this regard, and we have begun work designing the telemetry for them. Besides the forces felt by the pilot, the controls themselves have characteristic stiffness, control surface elasticity (especially canvas covered control surfaces) and mechanical damping. Work on this has started recently, and we will be fine tuning the control forces over the next couple of alpha updates. The end result will be a smoother and more natural flight experience along with a reduction of pitch sensitivity and induced pilot oscillations. It will also greatly increase the feeling of inertia for larger airplanes, as we take into account the size, construction and complexity of the controls for each aircraft. We are also designing different input control curves that work best with long travel joysticks with extensions vs shorter sticks. Set- Up With the next Alpha Version we're introducing a major overhaul to the way the aircraft are set up on the backend, which allows us to customise the loadouts and configurations. You will be able to change the aircraft's payload, design your own ammunition belts, horizontal and vertical convergences, and much more. This is all coupled with the new UI, which brings you a clean looking but vintage appearance, whic...
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• Announcements·6 Jun 2026Official

  Developer Diary #22

  {STEAM_CLAN_IMAGE}/44824093/4222fcf4f3ec9969049b0d4bb75a272d9d5f4fb5.png Dear pilots, it’s time for another developer diary. We’ve got some good progress to share and some announcements to make, so buckle up and let’s go! Progress Progress is good at the moment. In the past weeks we’ve introduced more refined functionality of instruments, changes to flight models and we’ve added water landings. The B17 model has been integrated in the game; other models are progressing steadily. We have added droppable ordnance, ship wakes, VFX and more. We’ve made some big decisions about models and a few other subjects, which we think will be very welcome - more about that later. Our EntropyFM is rapidly evolving into a realistic- feeling physics engine, and we have no doubt that the final version will be acknowledged by real pilots to be very close to the real thing. Since this has in fact already happened, we’re confident that we are on track. Our recent efforts included adding engine exhaust thrust, ground handling, and further development of our work-in-progress stall conditions. Our CFD rig is running 24/7, delivering us additional data to design our flight models - and it’s been doing that for quite some time now. The results we get are put into each incremental step of the Alpha version. Ace tier Patreons already know the updates are flowing regularly. {STEAM_CLAN_IMAGE}/44824093/3f2a29ad0b651fc58c6f1d1b16caadbdcd10bcd9.jpg {STEAM_CLAN_IMAGE}/44824093/9aff19992f84d412307d019ec870d71d0ce4c990.jpg {STEAM_CLAN_IMAGE}/44824093/2767baf44fd7923e638114297a6421cb311fa5a5.jpg FS Expo As we’ve announced in several places, we will be in Minneapolis to attend the 2026 FS Expo from June 12th through June 14th. Better still, we’ll be one of the exhibitors to be featured on the Friday livestream! We will be making several big announcements at the FSExpo, concerning aircraft, flight model, release schedule and more. We are scheduled to take the mike at 12:54 local time. At the exhibit, we ...
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• Announcements·9 Apr 2026Official

  Developer Diary #21

  Dear friends, today marks the beginning of a new era in which we duplicate our Developer Diaries on Steam. There's a lot to tell you! Meet the new Community ManagerWe have appointed a new Community Manager, Frits Mosselman. With 25 years of flight simming and sim content producing under his belt, decades of experience in project management and being involved in successfully launching the WW2 RTS game “Call to Arms: Gates of Hell”, Frits has been named project manager and community manager. Some of you may know him as “Herr Flick”, or FTC_Snafu. He will be coordinating the team effort in what is now a joint responsibility with the leadership of the Entropy.Aero team. As mentioned before, our roadmap remains exactly the way our team has always intended and we are happy to announce that a lot of highly anticipated content and features are in the works. Departure of JasonAfter Executive Producer Jason Williams announced his departure from the Combat Pilot team on April 2nd, questions were asked as to whether this will change the direction or the roadmap of the project. It will not. Jason and the team never had any differences about where we all wanted to take Combat Pilot. After Jason’ s departure and succession, we will keep the project on the exact same course. Our goals have always been - and always will be - the same. That means we continue to go full speed ahead while the current roadmap remains unchanged. And thus, the project continues as planned - so allow us to showcase current progress. SBD-3 DauntlessFondly nicknamed “Slow But Deadly” by its crews, the SBD Dauntless was one of those planes that gained legendary status during the war. The Battle of Midway was just one of many in which it was to earn a formidable reputation. Designed by Ed Heinemann, it was the successor of the Northrop BT-1 and BT-2 attack aircraft. When the Northrop company was taken over by Douglas in 1937, the BT-2 was developed into the SBD. The SBD entered service in 1940. It was highly m...
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• Patch Notes·26 Feb 2026Official

  UPDATE V 0.518

  V 0.518 We have released a minor update with a few tweaks, which we think are important to test before the demo period is over. The throttle in the F4F-4 now has a detent at 95%. Reaching the detent equals full power without WEP. Pushing past it activates WEP. On the F4F-4, the WEP is not supposed to be activated with the push of a button or another mechanism. When launching in VR with the OpenXR toolkit or NeckSafer active, a warning message will now show to prompt the player not to use such incompatible softwares. ‘Ignore Manual Cockpit Camera Controls When Head Tracking Is Active’ is now ‘On’ by default. This means, that when you have TrackIR/OpenTrack/etc, the mouse will no longer combine with your head movement. World space cursor option has been added for clickable cockpits. This option, when turned on, will NO longer move your clickable-cockpit cursor along with your camera, instead, it will remain in the same spot. Varjo headset compatibility solution has been added (to be tested!). Update size: 80MB. Happy flying, enjoy the weekend. The demo will remain active until monday 10am PST / 7pm CET.
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• Community & Events·20 Feb 2026Official

  Steam Next Fest - Free Trial!

  {STEAM_CLAN_IMAGE}/44824093/3f2eb9db48b135ce49f59e2eab9ad3e29aac445c.png Attention Pilots! We'd like to announce that we are participating in the STEAM NEXT FEST from February 23rd through March 2nd, 2026. Free Trial During this one week fest, we will offer the community a Free Trial of Combat Pilot: Carrier Qualification! This trial will include our latest Alpha version and is open to everyone on Steam. If you are not yet taking part in our Patreon Alpha, this is a great way to get your hands on this next generation flight sim! Content The Free Trial of Carrier Qualification includes the following: Easy to create Quick Missions Flyable US F4F-4 fighter and Japanese A6M2 Model 21 "Zero" fighter USS Enterprise and IJN Akagi aircraft carriers Realistic flight physics and systems modeling Realistic carrier take-offs and landings Midway Atoll (Sand and Eastern Island) Here's a short trailer, shot in the Alpha Build: https://youtu.be/_wHu6J304I4?si=xASWP3h5P6QUKnmT The Project As some virtual pilots already know, Combat Pilot: Carrier Qualification will be the first in a string of titles we intend to develop. If you're curious about what that means, feel free to check out the project's history and future plans on our Forum and website. We've also answered many common questions about the project in an FAQ touching on many topics surrounding development. We also have our official Discord server where you can share you passion for combat flight-simulators, the air war in the Pacific Theater, and upcoming Combat Pilot titles. Gallery {STEAM_CLAN_IMAGE}/44824093/5faf4c9fa74ad8f2f0ee70c51f7458936826171d.jpg {STEAM_CLAN_IMAGE}/44824093/979d6ccf8497c94381248757e562ebbad210d03b.jpg {STEAM_CLAN_IMAGE}/44824093/a42692b702c2f404100e31e2d239362ece90b8b8.jpg {STEAM_CLAN_IMAGE}/44824093/dc08fe82a0f51027a52fcc2c442101352c8b893c.jpg {STEAM_CLAN_IMAGE}/44824093/d40784bbe5febaa6f01af328157ba58a09400187.jpg {STEAM_CLAN_IMAGE}/44824093/1e5f8a70bac699e13239d016e47fcedf51dbdebf.jpg {STEAM_CLAN...
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