Flying a heavy
Dec 4, 2013 20:25:59 GMT -5
Post by Blackwolf on Dec 4, 2013 20:25:59 GMT -5
Found this very helpful:
Before you start
You want to set your game so bombsights use the same measurements systems as the cockpit instruments, so you won't have to convert in the HP that uses Imperial measurements in the cockpit but defaults to metric in the bombsight.
Set measurements 'by plane'
In your game interface, click on Options, then General (first tab on the left) and make sure that 'Measurements' is set to 'By Plane'.
The actual How-to-fly guide is just a little bit lower
First, a quick reminder about level bombing basics. Scroll down for the Gotha and HP pilot's notes.
M/s vs. knots... who cares?
In game, wind velocity is always given in meters per second. That's not completely realistic, but it's not a big deal anyway. Even if the standard non-metric wind measurement was used (knots), you'd still have to convert knots to mph to get something that your bombsight can use, just as you have to convert m/sec to kph in the Gotha. So, it's one conversion anyway, only in the HP it's m/sec to mph.
A note about wind and bombsights
Both our fiction bombsights feature a wind velocity correction tool. One (dont remember which one) only corrects headwind or tailwind, the other one can even correct crosswinds.
Some say it works fine, others don't like it. I'm in the second group.
I don't use the wind correction tool. Instead, I find my ground speed (i.e. TAS + wind correction)* and use that to aim my bombs.
Any method is good as long as it works, but I'll describe only the one that I use. If nothing else, because that's the only one I know.
Level Bombing Quick Dirty Checklist
- Fly either into the wind or with it (no crosswind)
- Jump in the front gunner position to line up
- Use a TAS Calculator to find your TAS * [/b]
If you don't have MS Office**, here's Libre Office***
- Convert wind speed to the units used by your bomb sight (kph or mph). 1m/s = ~ 2.5mph = ~3.75kph (= ~ 2 knots)
- If you're flying with the wind, add wind speed to your TAS
- If you're flying into the wind, subtract wind speed from your TAS
- Go to bombsight view and set altitude and speed as resulting after all corrections have been applied (don't use the 'wind correction thingy' in the bombsight: adding/subtracting wind speed will do)
- Drop bombs when:
*HP: drop when crosshair is lined up
*Gotha: drop a few seconds "too late" (after the crosshair has passed the target). The delay is roughly one second 'too late' for every 1000m eg three extra seconds for a 3000m drop, 4 sec for 4000m, and so on (not really, but that'll give you an idea, experience will do the rest)
How to fly the Gotha
Setup
- Don't use any pitch correction in the joystick sensitivity curves
- According to the manual the Gotha has 5 hours endurance, meaning that 25% fuel is more than enough for most missions, even considering the slow climb.
- The Gotha doesn't have a mixture control.
- Radiators should be kept fully open while running at full throttle. You may need to close them just a little bit at lower power settings (sorry but I haven't figured out where the temp gauge is. It *may* be the two red lines on the dash. Then again, it may not)
Take off
- Apply full throttle, pick up some speed, and push forward on the stick (gently!) to lift the tail
- The plane will try to fly off the runway on its own at ~100kph. Push slightly forward to keep it on the ground a bit longer
- At ~110 kph, allow it to lift off just a little tiny bit, then push forward to gain more speed. Use rudder to correct, not aileron!
- At ~120kph it should feel stable enough. Climb carefully with a lot of speed until you have several hundred meters. If it banks to one side, correct with rudder (no aileron)
Climb
- With at least 300m (even better ~500m) and ~120kph, gradually reduce pressure on the stick and allow the plane to settle into a natural climb at ~100kph.
- Now you can just let the stick go and control the plane with rudder alone. It will climb slowly but safely at ~100kph indicated.
- If you need to climb (a bit) faster, pull up slightly and climb at ~95kph. Do not even *think* about turning at these speeds!
- My experience: I managed to climb to 4000+ meters in the Gotha with a full bomb load and 25% fuel. I guess it would hit 5000 easily (but maybe not as easily with a full tank...)
Turn
- If you have to turn while climbing... don't. Interrupt the climb, first.
- Push forward until you have at least ~110kph, then do a slow, coordinated turn.
- If the plane starts to sideslip, abort the turn and push the nose down immediately, gain speed and recover. Failing to do so will result in a stall that, while not excessively hard to recover, will cause a great loss of altitude (and of course a crash if you're not high enough)
Cruise
- Assuming that you're too hardcore to use the fictional level stabilizer****, level flight is achieved reducing throttle (as in all no-trim planes)
- With a full bomb load, the Gotha will fly level at settings pretty close to full throttle (the higher altitude, the closer to full throttle)
- After dropping your bombs, the plane will pitch up too much, and you'll need to push forward on the stick to stay fast enough.
Dive
- Chop throttle, close radiators, and dive. Nothing special here. Just remember not to dive too fast (anything below 160kph is more than safe)
Approach and landing
- Make sure you land into the wind or your landing run will last forever. If you're lucky. If you're less lucky you'll tip over or crash into a tree.
- As you descend to ~1000m or less, push forward to keep your speed high. You want at least 110kph
- Set for a long shallow approach and a long landing run (don't end up into the hangars, make sure you can keep rolling past them)
- Don't use aileron to correct your bank. Use rudder instead.
- As you close to the ground (~200m and lower) keep your speed at ~120kph (yes, that's a lot of forward stick)
- If you don't feel more than safe, don't hesitate to go around!
- On landing, fly level as low as possible and put the main gear down first. Basically, you have to keep flying the plane as the wheels touch down and begin to roll.
- Then you can begin to slow down very gently and let the tail lower itself.
Single Engine Operation
- The Gotha can be landed on one engine. I did that several times. Lots of rudder, lots of speed... and lots of luck
(actually, it's relatively easy...)
- It can be flown on one engine but keeping altitude is tricky (not to mention heading...). If you lose an engine while on enemy territory, jettison your bombs immediately and head home, even if you're close to the target. You need every centimeter you can fly towards your lines
Dead stick
- The problem here is that the best gliding speed is dangerously close to stall speed. To stay on the safe side, keep it at 90kph and don't turn. If you have to turn, get some speed first.
- Dead stick landing is relatively easy as long as you have enough speed. Push the nose down and get 120kph, then flare very gently. The goal is to stall the plane at 5 cm off the ground (guess what? 50 cm will do)
How to fly the HP400
Setup
- Use a slight downwards pitch correction in the joystick sensitivity settings. I have some 7 points below the center.
- The HP has no less than 7 hours endurance: 15% fuel is plenty and 20% is an overkill.
- There are both mixture and radiator controls.
- Radiators should be kept fully open while running at full throttle. You may need to close them just a little bit at lower power settings
- Mixture should be set much lower than most other planes. Something like 50% above 2000 ft and 20% above 7000ft
Take off
- Apply full throttle, pick up some speed, and push forward on the stick (gently!) to lift the tail
- Keep it on the ground using forward stick
- At ~80mph it should feel stable enough. Let it fly off and climb carefully with ~75mph
Climb
- Push down to go up is the name of the game
- Even with a slight downwards pitch correction (but a lot more so with default pitch setting) the HP will try to pitch up and lose too much speed. You have to push forward to keep your speed.
- Climb at ~65mph
- Over 7000ft the HP climbs extremely slowly (full bomb load, 35% fuel). Consider the option of a long deviation to get enough altitude before heading to the target.
- Above 9000ft with full bomb load, climbing becomes even slower and a lot more tricky. You can climb higher if you really have to, but it takes time.
- At 9000ft it will barely climb at all (full bomb load). IMO it's not worth trying to get any higher than 9000.
- If you really need to climb higher than 9000ft, keep ~65mph until you reach 8800/9000ft, then increase your air speed just a couple of mph, like 67 or 68. The HP will climb even more slowly than it did so far, but it will climb never the less. Provided that you fly it nice and smooth, that is.
NOTE: I once climbed up to ~9600ft with a full bomb load (8x250lb) and 35% fuel on the Syndicate server.It felts like I could have climbed a bit more, I guess I could have done 10000 and maybe even 11000 (well... maybe not 11000, after all) but as I said, it was 35% fuel. Don't know if I would even get up to 9000ft with a full tank.
Turn
- Definitely not tricky as the Gotha, as long as you make a wide smooth turn. You can safely turn at 65mph if you keep it coordinated, but you may still want to pick up some speed, just in case. I usually speed up to ~70mph for turning.
Cruise
- If you don't want to use the fictional level stab****, you have to keep flying the plane manually. You can't simply reduce throttle and let the stick go.
- You have to keep pushing the stick to keep at least 65mph IAS. Letting the stick go will reduce your air speed too much.
- I know by experience that at medium altitudes (6000/7000ft) the HP flies level or in an extremely shallow climb at ~55mph with full throttle. I guess it would lose altitude if you let the stick go at 9000ft+, but I never tried that.
- At 9000ft with full bomb load, full throttle would give you ~75mph if you just climb and speed up, and well over 80mph if you climb a couple of hundred feet higher, then dive to your chosen altitude.
- After dropping your bombs, it will tend to climb even at relatively high speeds. Reduce throttle to stay level.
Dive
- Chop throttle, close radiators, and dive. Nothing special here. Just remember not to dive too fast (anything below 120mph is safe)
Approach and landing
- Land into the wind
- As you descend to ~2000ft or less, push forward to keep at least 75mph
- The HP doesn't need a long landing run like the Gotha... but better have plenty of room ahead, just in case
- You may use slight aileron corrections, that won't create excessive trouble, but still, correct with rudder while possible.
- Land on three points at ~60mph (the goal is to stall the plane 2 inches off the ground... but 20 inches will do as fine)
- If you don't feel comfortable with a 3-points, the good old 'wheelie' landing will do (main gear first). Keep in mind that the wheelie landing by its own nature requires a lot more runway
Single Engine Operation
- Never landed the HP on one engine, so far. I will update this section ASAP.
Dead stick
- Pretty much the same as a regular landing, only steeper approach because you pitch down for speed. Land on 3 points (the 'wheelie' doesnt really work without engine)
NOTES:
*TAS = True Air Speed, as opposed to IAS = Indicated Air Speed. IAS is what you read on your instrument, TAS is your actual speed relative to the air, after correction for altitude. To find your Ground Speed (speed relative to the ground, AND also relative to the stuff you want to blow up) you have to add/or subtract wind speed from your TAS
**MS Office is usually found at companies that for some reason keep buying unnecessary and expensive software instead of using free alternatives that are just as good if not better. If you are a home user you should use Libre Office or Open Office. They open all MS Office docs, and won't get you infected with all the thousands of viruses usually found in pirate versions of MS software
***Libre Office picked up when Open Office was bought by CorporateAssholes(tm). Works perfectly. On the first run it may complain about needing Java but you don't really have to install it if you don't want to. Libre Office will work anyway.
****... except that you don't really have a choice. Right now gunners can't use the bombsight; the pilot has to do the aiming, and without anyone left to fly the plane the only solution is to use the fictional level stabilizer. Hopefully, 777 will bind the bombsight to the front gunner position so the front gunner can do the aiming while the pilot keeps flying (flying without a front gunner, pilots would still be able to aim the bombs by jumping in the front gun before switching to bombsight view).
Before you start
You want to set your game so bombsights use the same measurements systems as the cockpit instruments, so you won't have to convert in the HP that uses Imperial measurements in the cockpit but defaults to metric in the bombsight.
Set measurements 'by plane'
In your game interface, click on Options, then General (first tab on the left) and make sure that 'Measurements' is set to 'By Plane'.
The actual How-to-fly guide is just a little bit lower
First, a quick reminder about level bombing basics. Scroll down for the Gotha and HP pilot's notes.
M/s vs. knots... who cares?
In game, wind velocity is always given in meters per second. That's not completely realistic, but it's not a big deal anyway. Even if the standard non-metric wind measurement was used (knots), you'd still have to convert knots to mph to get something that your bombsight can use, just as you have to convert m/sec to kph in the Gotha. So, it's one conversion anyway, only in the HP it's m/sec to mph.
A note about wind and bombsights
Both our fiction bombsights feature a wind velocity correction tool. One (dont remember which one) only corrects headwind or tailwind, the other one can even correct crosswinds.
Some say it works fine, others don't like it. I'm in the second group.
I don't use the wind correction tool. Instead, I find my ground speed (i.e. TAS + wind correction)* and use that to aim my bombs.
Any method is good as long as it works, but I'll describe only the one that I use. If nothing else, because that's the only one I know.
Level Bombing Quick Dirty Checklist
- Fly either into the wind or with it (no crosswind)
- Jump in the front gunner position to line up
- Use a TAS Calculator to find your TAS * [/b]
If you don't have MS Office**, here's Libre Office***
- Convert wind speed to the units used by your bomb sight (kph or mph). 1m/s = ~ 2.5mph = ~3.75kph (= ~ 2 knots)
- If you're flying with the wind, add wind speed to your TAS
- If you're flying into the wind, subtract wind speed from your TAS
- Go to bombsight view and set altitude and speed as resulting after all corrections have been applied (don't use the 'wind correction thingy' in the bombsight: adding/subtracting wind speed will do)
- Drop bombs when:
*HP: drop when crosshair is lined up
*Gotha: drop a few seconds "too late" (after the crosshair has passed the target). The delay is roughly one second 'too late' for every 1000m eg three extra seconds for a 3000m drop, 4 sec for 4000m, and so on (not really, but that'll give you an idea, experience will do the rest)
How to fly the Gotha
Setup
- Don't use any pitch correction in the joystick sensitivity curves
- According to the manual the Gotha has 5 hours endurance, meaning that 25% fuel is more than enough for most missions, even considering the slow climb.
- The Gotha doesn't have a mixture control.
- Radiators should be kept fully open while running at full throttle. You may need to close them just a little bit at lower power settings (sorry but I haven't figured out where the temp gauge is. It *may* be the two red lines on the dash. Then again, it may not)
Take off
- Apply full throttle, pick up some speed, and push forward on the stick (gently!) to lift the tail
- The plane will try to fly off the runway on its own at ~100kph. Push slightly forward to keep it on the ground a bit longer
- At ~110 kph, allow it to lift off just a little tiny bit, then push forward to gain more speed. Use rudder to correct, not aileron!
- At ~120kph it should feel stable enough. Climb carefully with a lot of speed until you have several hundred meters. If it banks to one side, correct with rudder (no aileron)
Climb
- With at least 300m (even better ~500m) and ~120kph, gradually reduce pressure on the stick and allow the plane to settle into a natural climb at ~100kph.
- Now you can just let the stick go and control the plane with rudder alone. It will climb slowly but safely at ~100kph indicated.
- If you need to climb (a bit) faster, pull up slightly and climb at ~95kph. Do not even *think* about turning at these speeds!
- My experience: I managed to climb to 4000+ meters in the Gotha with a full bomb load and 25% fuel. I guess it would hit 5000 easily (but maybe not as easily with a full tank...)
Turn
- If you have to turn while climbing... don't. Interrupt the climb, first.
- Push forward until you have at least ~110kph, then do a slow, coordinated turn.
- If the plane starts to sideslip, abort the turn and push the nose down immediately, gain speed and recover. Failing to do so will result in a stall that, while not excessively hard to recover, will cause a great loss of altitude (and of course a crash if you're not high enough)
Cruise
- Assuming that you're too hardcore to use the fictional level stabilizer****, level flight is achieved reducing throttle (as in all no-trim planes)
- With a full bomb load, the Gotha will fly level at settings pretty close to full throttle (the higher altitude, the closer to full throttle)
- After dropping your bombs, the plane will pitch up too much, and you'll need to push forward on the stick to stay fast enough.
Dive
- Chop throttle, close radiators, and dive. Nothing special here. Just remember not to dive too fast (anything below 160kph is more than safe)
Approach and landing
- Make sure you land into the wind or your landing run will last forever. If you're lucky. If you're less lucky you'll tip over or crash into a tree.
- As you descend to ~1000m or less, push forward to keep your speed high. You want at least 110kph
- Set for a long shallow approach and a long landing run (don't end up into the hangars, make sure you can keep rolling past them)
- Don't use aileron to correct your bank. Use rudder instead.
- As you close to the ground (~200m and lower) keep your speed at ~120kph (yes, that's a lot of forward stick)
- If you don't feel more than safe, don't hesitate to go around!
- On landing, fly level as low as possible and put the main gear down first. Basically, you have to keep flying the plane as the wheels touch down and begin to roll.
- Then you can begin to slow down very gently and let the tail lower itself.
Single Engine Operation
- The Gotha can be landed on one engine. I did that several times. Lots of rudder, lots of speed... and lots of luck
(actually, it's relatively easy...)
- It can be flown on one engine but keeping altitude is tricky (not to mention heading...). If you lose an engine while on enemy territory, jettison your bombs immediately and head home, even if you're close to the target. You need every centimeter you can fly towards your lines
Dead stick
- The problem here is that the best gliding speed is dangerously close to stall speed. To stay on the safe side, keep it at 90kph and don't turn. If you have to turn, get some speed first.
- Dead stick landing is relatively easy as long as you have enough speed. Push the nose down and get 120kph, then flare very gently. The goal is to stall the plane at 5 cm off the ground (guess what? 50 cm will do)
How to fly the HP400
Setup
- Use a slight downwards pitch correction in the joystick sensitivity settings. I have some 7 points below the center.
- The HP has no less than 7 hours endurance: 15% fuel is plenty and 20% is an overkill.
- There are both mixture and radiator controls.
- Radiators should be kept fully open while running at full throttle. You may need to close them just a little bit at lower power settings
- Mixture should be set much lower than most other planes. Something like 50% above 2000 ft and 20% above 7000ft
Take off
- Apply full throttle, pick up some speed, and push forward on the stick (gently!) to lift the tail
- Keep it on the ground using forward stick
- At ~80mph it should feel stable enough. Let it fly off and climb carefully with ~75mph
Climb
- Push down to go up is the name of the game
- Even with a slight downwards pitch correction (but a lot more so with default pitch setting) the HP will try to pitch up and lose too much speed. You have to push forward to keep your speed.
- Climb at ~65mph
- Over 7000ft the HP climbs extremely slowly (full bomb load, 35% fuel). Consider the option of a long deviation to get enough altitude before heading to the target.
- Above 9000ft with full bomb load, climbing becomes even slower and a lot more tricky. You can climb higher if you really have to, but it takes time.
- At 9000ft it will barely climb at all (full bomb load). IMO it's not worth trying to get any higher than 9000.
- If you really need to climb higher than 9000ft, keep ~65mph until you reach 8800/9000ft, then increase your air speed just a couple of mph, like 67 or 68. The HP will climb even more slowly than it did so far, but it will climb never the less. Provided that you fly it nice and smooth, that is.
NOTE: I once climbed up to ~9600ft with a full bomb load (8x250lb) and 35% fuel on the Syndicate server.It felts like I could have climbed a bit more, I guess I could have done 10000 and maybe even 11000 (well... maybe not 11000, after all) but as I said, it was 35% fuel. Don't know if I would even get up to 9000ft with a full tank.
Turn
- Definitely not tricky as the Gotha, as long as you make a wide smooth turn. You can safely turn at 65mph if you keep it coordinated, but you may still want to pick up some speed, just in case. I usually speed up to ~70mph for turning.
Cruise
- If you don't want to use the fictional level stab****, you have to keep flying the plane manually. You can't simply reduce throttle and let the stick go.
- You have to keep pushing the stick to keep at least 65mph IAS. Letting the stick go will reduce your air speed too much.
- I know by experience that at medium altitudes (6000/7000ft) the HP flies level or in an extremely shallow climb at ~55mph with full throttle. I guess it would lose altitude if you let the stick go at 9000ft+, but I never tried that.
- At 9000ft with full bomb load, full throttle would give you ~75mph if you just climb and speed up, and well over 80mph if you climb a couple of hundred feet higher, then dive to your chosen altitude.
- After dropping your bombs, it will tend to climb even at relatively high speeds. Reduce throttle to stay level.
Dive
- Chop throttle, close radiators, and dive. Nothing special here. Just remember not to dive too fast (anything below 120mph is safe)
Approach and landing
- Land into the wind
- As you descend to ~2000ft or less, push forward to keep at least 75mph
- The HP doesn't need a long landing run like the Gotha... but better have plenty of room ahead, just in case
- You may use slight aileron corrections, that won't create excessive trouble, but still, correct with rudder while possible.
- Land on three points at ~60mph (the goal is to stall the plane 2 inches off the ground... but 20 inches will do as fine)
- If you don't feel comfortable with a 3-points, the good old 'wheelie' landing will do (main gear first). Keep in mind that the wheelie landing by its own nature requires a lot more runway
Single Engine Operation
- Never landed the HP on one engine, so far. I will update this section ASAP.
Dead stick
- Pretty much the same as a regular landing, only steeper approach because you pitch down for speed. Land on 3 points (the 'wheelie' doesnt really work without engine)
NOTES:
*TAS = True Air Speed, as opposed to IAS = Indicated Air Speed. IAS is what you read on your instrument, TAS is your actual speed relative to the air, after correction for altitude. To find your Ground Speed (speed relative to the ground, AND also relative to the stuff you want to blow up) you have to add/or subtract wind speed from your TAS
**MS Office is usually found at companies that for some reason keep buying unnecessary and expensive software instead of using free alternatives that are just as good if not better. If you are a home user you should use Libre Office or Open Office. They open all MS Office docs, and won't get you infected with all the thousands of viruses usually found in pirate versions of MS software
***Libre Office picked up when Open Office was bought by CorporateAssholes(tm). Works perfectly. On the first run it may complain about needing Java but you don't really have to install it if you don't want to. Libre Office will work anyway.
****... except that you don't really have a choice. Right now gunners can't use the bombsight; the pilot has to do the aiming, and without anyone left to fly the plane the only solution is to use the fictional level stabilizer. Hopefully, 777 will bind the bombsight to the front gunner position so the front gunner can do the aiming while the pilot keeps flying (flying without a front gunner, pilots would still be able to aim the bombs by jumping in the front gun before switching to bombsight view).