Hi there peeps, Flt Lt Bungles here. I`m old Boggles wingman ya see, and I`ve got a bad sit rep for you. The old boy was shot down a couple of weeks ago whilst on a sortie, and he was last seen clinging for his life to a barrage balloon. I tried to warn him that he didn`t have a parachute on as he jumped from his burning cockpit. I think he soon realised though when he tugged on his cord and his furry Parker hood popped out from the top of his jacket. Still, one of the lads reported seeing him clinging to a barrage balloon some moments later, so we are hopeful that he will soon be propping up the mess room bar once again. Strange thing about that balloon though is that it is the biggest we have ever seen apparently, and it wasn`t tethered either. Intelligence reports that it also had strange markings on it, VIRGIN, or something. Apparently old boggles was last seen removing some strange canisters that were fixed to the balloon to make some room for himself. Still, I`m sure he won`t go far, and lets hope he has a safe landing, eh.

Anyway, some time ago old Boggles took me into his confidence and told me that he sends these reports to you guys, so in his absence I`ll do my best to fill you in on what`s happening in the Flight Sim world at the moment.

Of course, the big news is that Flying Corps from Rowan Software and Empire Interactive should be on the shelves as you read this. I`m sure you read our 4 page Work-in-Progress report on FC a couple of months ago, so what are you waiting for, go get it!!!

Hot on the tail of Flying Corps should be Red Baron II, which, you`ll be pleased to hear is still planned for an April release. Can`t wait, and it should be an interesting h2h between the two.

Announced last year was news that Activision had entered into a distribution deal with Parsoft Interactive, Inc, which is helmed by Eric Parker the developer of the award winning "Hellcats over the Pacific" and "A10-Attack" - the 1995 Mac Game of the Year, to aquire the worldwide Windows 95 rights to three of Parsofts highly anticipated flight simulation combat games. Well, I`m reminding you now because the first title of the three "A10 Cuba" should be available as you read this. The other two games, working titles "Dogfight" and "A10 Gulf" are slated for release in mid to late 97. "Dogfight" will be a straight win95 conversion of the MAC flight simulation of the same name, and is expected to be available sometime in August 97.

All you simmers out there will be interested to hear that a new web site has just appeared which is dedicated to your favourite hobby. Called Combat Simulations and run by Leonard Hjalmarson the site covers Air, Land and Sea simulations, and provides all the latest news, as well as previews and reviews of all the latest games. The site is well worth a look and bookmark so check it out at: http://www.cyberlink.bc.ca/~lenh/sims.htm

The latest design notes for Spectrum HoloByte`s eagerly awaited Falcon 4 has just been posted on the Microprose web site. Check out: http://www.microprose.com/gamesdesign/falcon4/desdoc/f4desdoc.html The closest we can get to a release date is still the first half of 1997, but our sources reveal that an Xmas 97 release is far more likely. More details as we get them.

The latest news from Novalogic is that "Comanche 3" is now due out sometime in February 97, whilst "Armoured Fist 2" can be expected to hit the stores sometime in April 97. Both games are powered by the latest revolutionary Voxel Space 2 technology, the three dimensional terrain imaging system which allows you to shoot over incredible landscapes with striking realism. Cool!

Interactive Magic are putting the final touches to Air Warrior 2 and are confident that the game will be released on 27th March 97. Also due out from IM is F22: ASF, and you can expect it on the shelves on the 16th May 97.

For those of you who enjoy your dogfighting at high altitude I can confirm that the eagerly awaited X-Wing Vs Tie Fighter from Lucas Arts and VIE has been delayed, and is now expected to be released at the end of April 97.

Well, that`s it for this month. Hopefully old Boggles will be back with us next month giving us the full run down on his adventures in his usual modest way. In the meantime keep your kills up, and your head down.

Flt Lt Bungles