The Real "Full Real"

[RAF74_Stew]

S!

Found this while searching for info on my favorite WWII plane, the F6F Hellcat. This puts into perspective what real pilots had to deal with in WWII... noting that they were focused on RPM and manifold pressure much more than the throttle settings. In the second segment you will see the procedure for diving- somewhat more complicated that our technique of "shove the stick forward" :)

Part 1
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hQ55LmRwkQg&feature=related

Part 2
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VVtVynNk6SU&feature=related

Hope you enjoy.

Stew

[RAF74_Winger]

Good stuff Stew.

The Hellcat seems to have an amazingly low approach speed for such a large heavy aircraft, around 92mph. The flaps must have been really well designed. They appear to be fowler flaps, similar to those used on Cessnas.

W.

[RAF74_Stew]

Thought the same thing, Winger. Interesting note on the flaps was that they "were not adjustable"; either on or off like we have with the British fighters. The film used an early version of the F6F-3 but I wonder if IL-2 got it wrong.

[RAF74_Winger]

Salute Stew,

It's likely that IL2 got it wrong in some cases, I've never come across an aerobatic aircraft equipped with flaps that didn't have lower load limits with them extended.

However, I know that the Hawker Hunter had flaps designed to be used in aerobatics so perhaps it's not that unlikely that some WWII fighters used them.

For reference, the Pitts has a normal approach speed of 110mph - You can probably guess what I was doing this morning!

W.

[RAF74_SnakeEyes]

Good stuff Stew.

The Hellcat seems to have an amazingly low approach speed for such a large heavy aircraft, around 92mph. The flaps must have been really well designed. They appear to be fowler flaps, similar to those used on Cessnas.

W.
From what I can see they look to be slotted flaps which are the same as what are used on cessnas. Fowler flaps are almost completely covered by the upper half of the wing and being flush with the bottom and extend out and as they drop these are the flaps used on the p-3 orion.

I found this to show diffrent style flaps.


some examples since they do seem similar

Foweler in the picture though it is not fully retracted


Slotted

[RAF74_Buzzsaw]

Salute

The good news is that BATTLE OF BRITAIN will go into much more detail in the handling and technical details of the aircraft. AFAIK, Pitch, flaps, etc. will be modelled exactly to the actual aircraft.

So if you are unlucky enough to get one of the older manual two pitch prop equipped Hurris or Spits, you will have to deal with that issue. And trim will need to be monitored much more closely, or the aircraft will be much impaired in performance. Mix, rpm, throttle and boost etc. will all be separate, and manually adjustable. And pilots will need to be careful not to blow up their engine. High boost on low rpm and high throttle and lean mix can result in a piston with a hole in it.

I am waiting to buy a new CH Products Hotas. Up till now, I have just used the FighterStick and Pedals, but with the new game, it may be that I will need a throttle as well to allow control of all the new functions.

We are all going to have to go back to flight school, even the gnarliest veterans are going to have to learn it all over again. Guys like Winger, who actually fly aircraft, are going to have a definite advantage.

Of course, Oleg has also said that if people want, they can fly with 'easy' settings, and all the controls on auto.

Cheers Buzzsaw

[RAF74_Winger]

Salute Buzz,

I hope you're right about the fidelity of BoB to real life; I do wonder how far Oleg can go without alienating a lot of potential fliers though. Landing a tailwheel aircraft with poor forward visibility is all about peripheral vision - the one thing we don't have with a small monitor in front of us. We also don't (in IL2 at least) have the benefit of what is sometimes called "texture flow" in order to assist us in judging how far above the runway we are.

Also consider the tendency of tailwheel aircraft to get "squirrelly" between touchdown and taxy speed . Unless your feet are lively, you're likely to find yourself looking the wrong way down the runway with a scuffed or broken wingtip (not all of them are like that though, the Decathlon is very docile).

I'm also thinking about the spitfire's famous characteristic of having a negative stick force gradient in pitch close to the stall. Only relevant to those with force feedback joysticks, but I'm doubtful it will be modelled.

I don't deny that these things are desirable to those who want to get as close to real as possible, I just wonder how far Oleg thinks he can push it without turning off potential customers.

W.

[RAF74_Buzzsaw]

Salute Buzz,

I hope you're right about the fidelity of BoB to real life; I do wonder how far Oleg can go without alienating a lot of potential fliers though. Landing a tailwheel aircraft with poor forward visibility is all about peripheral vision - the one thing we don't have with a small monitor in front of us. We also don't (in IL2 at least) have the benefit of what is sometimes called "texture flow" in order to assist us in judging how far above the runway we are.

Also consider the tendency of tailwheel aircraft to get "squirrelly" between touchdown and taxy speed . Unless your feet are lively, you're likely to find yourself looking the wrong way down the runway with a scuffed or broken wingtip (not all of them are like that though, the Decathlon is very docile).

I'm also thinking about the spitfire's famous characteristic of having a negative stick force gradient in pitch close to the stall. Only relevant to those with force feedback joysticks, but I'm doubtful it will be modelled.

I don't deny that these things are desirable to those who want to get as close to real as possible, I just wonder how far Oleg thinks he can push it without turning off potential customers.

W.

Salute Winger

I believe Oleg will make this Sim as detailed as I expect. That is one of the reasons it is taking so long to complete.

I also believe he will make those details optional, in the same way he has made complex engine management, and all the other more detailed levels of simulation optional in IL-2. That way, if players do not want to have the detail, they can simply not fly with it enabled, and the guys who prefer the 'easy mode' can still enjoy the Sim.

I think there will be hardcore online servers and easy servers in BoB just the same as in IL-2. I expect the longterm, well established online Squadrons will fly with all the difficulty settings enabled.