I'm glad that I checked into this forum. I haven't played my flight sims in a while (CS2&3 and MS FS X) and I was looking for a new thrill. I saw IL-2 1946 for $15 (!!!) on Amazon and thought maybe I'd give it a ride. It looks likes there's a boat-load of mods out there for the game, which tells me that (like Silent Hunter and GTR-2) the game's got a dedicated fan base. Goodbye $15!
Thanks everybody.