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Why cant i keep my engine speed up? - Printable Version

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Why cant i keep my engine speed up? - ultrablue87 - 17.06.2009

couple things I am having problems with. I mostly vs. AI when i play this game and no matter which aircraft im flying I always seem to have a MAJOR issue keeping up with the enemy aircraft speed AND altitude. The AI under any condition seems to ALWAYS be able to fly faster and gain altitude MUCH MUCH easier then me. I do everything i can. I dive down a bit, full throttle, Water injection enabled, mixture 100 sometimes 120 on certain planes. I then pull up and do a very SLIGHT climb, lets say 5-10 degree climb and my airspeed PLUMMETS. However the AI seems to be able to climb and gain altitude infinitely w/o having to level off as much as I do to prevent stalling.

Can somebody please give me tips on complex engine management? IE. cowl flaps, mixture, prop pitch, feathering prop, and WEP injection and anything else you feel is necessary for me to understand to better my engine and flight performance.

My dog fighting skills are great besides the fact that the enemy is always faster and always higher then me. Higher then me always because I can not gain altitude as well as they do. And when you have an enemy plane that is ALWAYS diving down at you over and over again it gets VERY frustrating,.

Even when i fly planes that historically are suppose to have good climb rates and power IE. P-47 thunderbolt I struggle greatly with this. Seems like the only way I win most the time is to take the fight to lower altitudes(1000 meters) and hope they chase me instead of just linger high in the sky(3000meters).

Please please give me your tips for complex engine management

And please give me airspeed tips, and how i can better my altitude climb/dive rates and anything else you feel I need to know to better myself as a desktop pilot.

Early thanks to anybody who can offer help.

- walter_solito - 17.06.2009

Hi mate!

The AI is Ai anyway , it had always vantage over you , a solution can be the CERT AI v 3.0 mods that tone down the AI skill a bit and change the fight manouver in a more accurate manner!

You can fin it here:

viewtopic.php?t=13652&highlight=cert

(I know that it's a long topic but is better that you read it all and it's a nutshell that you read even the old topic here: viewtopic.php?t=11504&highlight=cert)

If you decide to add this mod (option that I really suggest) be aware that it isn't compatible with those mods:

Carrier take off
Landing Light off
Carrier Catapult mod

Hope this can help!

cheers

walter

- Davis0079 - 17.06.2009

If you havent seen it, theres a post called "IL2 Tactics?" in this section. If you scroll down you'll find a comment from a person called Eddie.brunette. They have a link to a online book called the online sim bible. I wish I new how to link to it for you, but heres the address. http://web.comhen.se/~u85627360/inpursuit.pdf
It teaches alot about energy and dogfighting. Even if it doesnt address your specific problem, if you manage to read the whole thing, twice. You will become a better pilot.

Edit: Mabey I do know how to make links, lol
Edit2: My link is broke, but the one under IL2 Tactics? still works. thats in this flight,tactics and combat school section

- Messer - 17.06.2009

Without a doubt, install CERT_AI mod (current 3.0). I'm almost exclusively flying off-online and with years experience in Il-2, this is the best AI yet in 1946. More realistic, more varied manuevers. The enemy pilots actually can trick you and outturn you (or win a scissors), rather than climb at constant 110% power setting.

As for my advice (I fly w/out HUD) - try to fight at around 100% engine setting, and almost never go to 110%, unless you're chased an have no other option. Keep radiators open during cruise, watch your RPM and keep the engine cool. Always trim, and work gently with the controls, even (or especially) during combat. I hated trimming, but once you've mastered it, it can't be stressed just how importaint a right trim is.

When in combat, open slightly the radiator during a dive so the engine can take a "breath of freash air", and if you're fighting against a slower opponent, don't hesitate to open it a bit (20-to-40%). You may need to close it later if another threat appers and have a cool engine to run/fight.

Also, note that different a/c have different climbing performance. The Bf 109 climbs amazingly, even at very high angles, best at around 280-300km/h. The FW-190 in my experience climbs at a gentler slope (constant climb) and can't "hang on it's prop". Also, keep your nose straight both in a dive and a climb (watch the ball under the artificial horizon).

That's the best I can give you, for offline flying.
One mistake I did for a long time was to use the default joystick settings and to sharply pull/push during combat. This greatly reduced my airspeed and I had to rely on turning. Now, I fly with high sensitivity settings for the stick and I try to gently push towards the direction I'm turning, and to constantly trim. Works like a charm. Big Grin

- ultrablue87 - 19.06.2009

Messer Wrote:That's the best I can give you, for offline flying.
One mistake I did for a long time was to use the default joystick settings and to sharply pull/push during combat. This greatly reduced my airspeed and I had to rely on turning. Now, I fly with high sensitivity settings for the stick and I try to gently push towards the direction I'm turning, and to constantly trim. Works like a charm. Big Grin

Trim made ALL the difference for me. Also davis0079 comment with the pdf file that explains online flying helped to. But turns out without using trim I was bleeding all my thrust to weight ratio. I read from that handbook that energy is life in dogfights and erratic flying w/o trim and chopping the throttle was my biggest noobie mistakes. I now keep my throttle at a constant 100 percent unless I desperately need to cool my engine and open flaps with a dive just didn't do it. So i keep my throttle up to keep as much energy as possible and trim a lot. Mostly my elevators i seem to be trimming and using the most efficiently. Also when closing in on a enemy aircraft instead of lowering my engine power to keep from over shooting I instead climb to bleed my speed and exchange it for energy thus keeping a good TWR. So instead of losing all my potential energy I store it in the "bank" and dive down again for another pass rather then just slowing down possibly missing my shot and now having no energy saved in the bank. Long story short everything seems to be making a lot mor sense now.