Scout plane neglected

[101st Air Defcon]

Since this is a suggestion forum, I'll start with the suggestions first.

The scout plane is a utility plane,
Much like the engineer is a utility kit, with it's wrench and mines,
And also like the scout with it's binoculars and the mines.

What i'm getting to is,
Where is the scout's tools? All it can do is spot enemies that are DIRECTLY below it,
and it has an artillery spotting feature that doesn't work.

My idea is,
Couldn't it have a mobile radio feature (for the commander), so you can eliminate those command trucks that no one uses.
Couldn't it have some kind of marker feature so the pilot or passenger can warn allies of enemy positions?

The result, in my opinion would be,
the players wouldn't take the scout plane as a joke anymore and actually process it as a threat.
The players would be more informed, and their performance would be boosted like a server with voip compared to a server without voip.

The bug,
The artillery spotting feature for the passenger no longer works...

[Miklas]

I agree that the artillery spotting function shouldn't in the scout plane be dependant on a two man crew. The pilot should be able to spot for artillery alone by using the left mouse button.

For the rest, I don't agree with you. The scout plane is worth is weight in gold when it comes to spotting enemy movement. It's so effective it is scary. Every time a good pilot uses the scout plane I say hallelulja, because it gives me all the inforrmation I need.
Although, I think you should be given some kind of incentive to use the scout plane. For instance, the pilot could get points if he spots (flies over) enough enemies. Like it is now, a good scout plane pilot doesn't get any kind of tangible reward. If you get points, people would be more inclined to use it effectivley.

On public servers, the spotting frequency went up after the introduction of targetin assists. Perhaps soemting similar would happen to the scout plane if points were awarded.

[Ts4EVER]

The scout plane is the only plane I occasionally fly on public servers (especially on El Alamein, which I find boring as infantry, my usual "profession"). The thing is tremedously useful and doesn't require mad skills to fly.

[Fuchs]

Command trucks that no one uses? I use them. I prefer them as commander and if on a quiet server without commander they are damn good transport.

[Kildar]

The Battlebus is epic. Scout plane however; shouldn't require two people to use.

[Uberhauptstormfuhrer]

If they are going to rework the spotting plane arty spotting system. Please add a recticule (aiming spot).

[LtJimmy]

Perhaps giving the British a historically accurate spotter plane would be a better start.

[NTH]

I would like to open my side window, whip out my sidearm and do slow fly-by shootings 
Wingclipping is also tremendously fun with the Scout plane, if you live to tell the tale, that is..

[Schneider]

I usually use the scout plane to pick up some SL and drop them behind enemy lines.

[Kubador]

This suggestion got me thinking.

Why not change the way scout plane shows enemy movement. Let it take pictures instead of constant monitoring. The way to implement it would be to make possible for scout plane to 'drop' UAV/radar in location he's above at the moment. The radar would show enemy movement for short amount of time (f.e. 1 minute) or till the pilot drops another spot. Amount of spots should be limited and could be refilled at the airport after all previous spots are used (to simulate data retrival). This way scout plane wouldn't have to circle around a target only to give shreads of information.

[[130.Pz]S.Tiemann]

Also, instead of showing small red dots, show large (2-3X the current size) to simulate known enemy positions. You would'nt know the exact location of a soldier as it is now.

@Fuchs gotta love the bornesbus

[Cory the Otter]

I would like to open my side window, whip out my sidearm and do slow fly-by shootings 
Wingclipping is also tremendously fun with the Scout plane, if you live to tell the tale, that is..

A Fieseler F1 156 'Storch' was the victim of the last dog fight on the Western Front and another was fittingly downed by a direct Allied counterpart of the Storch—an L-4 Grasshopper—from the L-4's crew directing their pistol fire at it. The pilot and co-pilot of the L-4, Lts. Duane Francis and Bill Martin, opened fire on the Storch with their .45 caliber pistols, forcing the German air crew to land and surrender. The involved Storch was the only aircraft known to have been downed by handgun fire in the entire war.

[Schneider]

Hm. Was the Tieffliegervernichtungsabzeichen a decoration based on ... allied planes wrecking the motor the second infantry was lucky enough to fire on it?

[NTH]

I would like to open my side window, whip out my sidearm and do slow fly-by shootings 
Wingclipping is also tremendously fun with the Scout plane, if you live to tell the tale, that is..

A Fieseler F1 156 'Storch' was the victim of the last dog fight on the Western Front and another was fittingly downed by a direct Allied counterpart of the Storch—an L-4 Grasshopper—from the L-4's crew directing their pistol fire at it. The pilot and co-pilot of the L-4, Lts. Duane Francis and Bill Martin, opened fire on the Storch with their .45 caliber pistols, forcing the German air crew to land and surrender. The involved Storch was the only aircraft known to have been downed by handgun fire in the entire war.

Any devs reading this. I see potential for:

A) A cool new feature for FH2: Fly-by Spotter plane shoot outs ^tm
B) It comes with it's own very cool and shiny award