[agracier]

I've been flying Sturmovik for some 9 months now and it's still filled with features that are new to me or things I don't really understand.

Pitch and fuel mixture are among the things I just don't find much explanation about in the game manual, not much practical info that is.

I understand the theory and all, but in practical terms, when you're flying or in combat, of what use can these things be? I've of course flown around, changing the pitch on my propeller, but I've yet to give it a practical application. Does for instance, decreasing pitch during combat improve maneuverability? Or is it the other way around? Sturmovik is a subtle game and all these things are not often apparent.

Any practical tips would be appreciated.

[Guest]

I'm no advanced flyer by any means, but i can say that during combat you will want max pitch, definitely. afaik, lowering the pitch is something you might want to do during a long level flight - i think it might help with fuel consumption, engine wear, etc?
An yexperts, feel free to chip in... 8)

[VonBarb.]

Mixture is pretty easy... I guess Basically, the lower you are, the thicker the mixture needs to be. On take off, use 120% if possible, up to roughly 600 meters, then 100% up to approximately 3000m where you'll need to switch to 80%. why, I do not know (something to do with oxygen maybe ?), but what I do know is that not doing this will not give you your engine's best performance. You'll notice instantly when your mixture is too thick for your altitude, as two thin trails of smoke will start pouring out of your exhausts and adjusting mixture will give you a nice boost.

Now PITCH. I don't think I've understood all there is to understand about this one either, but here are a few things I've learnt and use :

Pitch control in the game really acts as a RPM regulator, or if you will, kind of like gears in your car. 100% PP being the leaner setting, or maximum RPM, 0% being the coarsest angle and lower RPM. It can prevent your engine from overreving and give you the best thrust for a given throttle setting.
If you deactivate auto prop pitch in a 109, your engine will burn out and die in a few seconds 9/10 times.
Reducing your prop pitch can help you get a few extra MPH in a dive. When climbing, you do however need leaner pitch (more RPM) to push yourself up, as you do in a combat situation. More RPM gives you better response.
On landing, I use 100% prop pitch to slow down, and it also allows me to abort the landing at any time if I have to. At, say, 50% prop pitch, it would take the engine longer to catch on and avoid any obstacle.
You also need to be aware of two things about prop pitch :
-It has a direct effect on torque. You'll most likely have to re-trim your plane after you change pitch settings.
-100% pitch in a dive can have nasty effects on some airplanes, due to the windmilling effect : the relative wind induced by your speed can spin your propeller just like a windmill in some high-speed dives, causing your engine to overheat and burn out.

I think the rule of thumb for prop pitch in allied planes is that of the '+10'. For 80% throttle, use 90% pitch, for 70% throttle use 80% etc...

And that's all I have to say about that... Guess why I just love German planes

Hope this helps a bit. Really hoping someone with actual knowledge of how these settings work will come in here and kick me in the nuts for my noobness, as I need some help with this too really...

Cheers

Nico

[boogabooga]

http://www.mission4today.com/index.php? ... ow&kid=249

http://www.mission4today.com/index.php? ... ow&kid=457

[agracier]

Thanks for the quick replies ... this gives me at least a base for trying to figure it out. It looks like mastering pitch is a useful tool to increased performance during dogfighting, especially with the climbing and diving ...

And now that I'm at it, what is the function of feathering? Is it the same as adjusting the pitch of the propeller?

[caldrail]

Feathering is turning the pitch of the propellor blade to 0%, or edge on, so it minimizes drag. It also minimizes thrust too, so pilots only use this when the engine os not required in flight, such as when its shut down due to damage.

[.041 Safety Wire]

viewtopic.php?t=11419

Low pitch or fine pitch\high rpm = max horsepower and manifold pressure but also maximum wear and tear on the powerplant. To reduce these effects after takeoff the rpm,s are reduced by adding more blade angle to the propeller and the manifold pressure is reduced by slightly closing the throttle. This is standard procedure when using an aircraft to get from point A to point B. Most flight manuals will give you a throttle and prop setting for both climb and cruise. Under ACM you should probably have your prop at the high rpm setting so you can pull max horsepower when jockeying the throttle. Mixture is used to acheive higher effeciency as you climb in altitude since a slightly leaner mixture will develop more power but as you lean the cylinder head temps start to climb so this is normally monitored as you reduce your mixture. Whenever you are at full throttle you should probably be at full rich or autorich as the additional fuel helps to cool the cylinder heads. On some WWII aircraft is was also necessary to shift your blower into high as you passed through a certain altitude as this also controls your manifold pressure. Feathering turns the prop blade in the direction of flight and is used to minimize the drag of a dead engine. In a normal configuration the prop blades would be large airbrakes on the front of the aircraft when the prop is not turning.

I guess the answer would be stay in the 8 to 10 range. Personally I mapped the pitch change functions to my left and right mouse buttons. Put it at 10 for takeoff. Pull the prop back to 9 for climbout and back to eight for cruise. I think under combat I would probably just leave it at the high rpm setting. Thats where you are going to pull the most hp out of the power plant and acheive your best rate of climb. The 51 in the game will give a 1500 rpm drop at max manifold pressure which is probably a bit high. Probably should be 600 to 800 rpm. I would need to go look at the TO to see what drop should be at max manifold pressure. You can see by the figures below you are normally working in a 700 RPM range depending on what youre doing with the aircraft.

This is from startup checklist for the 51.

BEFORE TAKE-OFF (Run-Up)
At 2000 RPM, check the following: Suction 3.75 to 4.25 inches HG.
Hydraulic pressure 800-1100 lbs/sq. inch.
Ammeter not to exceed 50 amps.

Check the instruments for the following limitations: Desired Maximum
Oil Pressure 70-80 lbs/sq. in. 90 lbs/sq. in.
Oil Temperature 70 deg C - 80 deg C 90 deg C
Coolant Temperature 100 deg C - 110 deg C 121 deg C
Fuel Pressure 12-16 lbs/sq. in. 19 lbs/sq. in.

Check mags at 2300 RPM. Maximum drop 100 RPM.
At 2300 check propeller - 300 RPM maximum drop - and return to full INCREASE RPM.
Oil and coolant shutters AUTOMATIC.
Wing flaps 20

[seaniebeag1983]

Does anyone know if prop pitch in the game is the same as real life in the sense that it actually angles the prop blades and isnt just an rpm limiter.

i.e. with a lower prop pitch setting is there actually less drag from the prop in game??

[caldrail]

To some extent - that's why the feathering option is available.

[juhroen89]

You can try out the diverence!
- Take a bomber in quickmission (go to any alt you wish) feather all props and press (level stabelizer ON) remember the point on the map where you started. Starting speed and the place where you dished/crash. Now try the same thing with power 0 prop pitch 0 you will see a ''little'' diverence.... 8)