[mikkowl]

This is obviously not just about throttles, it has grown to feature a myriad of functions.

VERSION 4.0 FEATURES:

- G940 button LED support! Let there be (red, yellow and green) light.
- Any controller axis assigned to control any engine, with the same accuracy as default IL-2 (0% - 120%).
- Dual Prop pitch support.
- Trim tweaking - can limit the range of trim (all IL-2 planes have the same universal, very large trim range, which is mostly not needed, with the exception of elevator trim) and off-set the center of the trim from center (most planes mostly ever use the rudder trim range in one direction from center, leaving the other half of our trim controllers wasted, meaning more touchy overly sensitive trimming)
- Enable toe brakes to function on rudder pedals that have them. With differential braking.
- Start/stop and feather buttons for each seperate engine.
- 'reversal bug' removal from throttle and trims of G940.
- Works online (some people were concerned - only the instrument reading part of device link does not work in multi-player)
- Works with TrackIR 5 (some people were concerned)
- 100% Mod compitable.
- (Radiator on axis support.. though only for the persistant)
- Graphical user interface SETUP program (normally no one would care, but compared to what was before, that is a really huge step forward )

You can ignore any virus/malware warnings - false alarm. It comes bundled with "Netcat", nc.exe, an old and proven network utility, that has by some evil people been used as a trojan (if using it in a certain way). Because of that and that it can open network ports I suppose some anti-programs can react to it. Netcat is necessary to establish the link to IL-2's "device link", even though it is just inside the computer. You can read about netcat on wikipedia: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Netcat

Download link to version 4.0:
http://hem.bredband.net/mikko.artist/Mu ... ikkOwl.zip

FREE SOFTWARE: If you found my work to be of good use to you and that it enhances your enjoyment with IL-2 and the hardware you bought, consider donating what you think it is worth to you through PayPal, adressed to "mikko.artist@bredband.net". I share my work freely with everyone, but I too need to make a living. I worked very hard and put a lot of time into this software, going far out of my way writing the code, the documentation, endless hours of testing features that never work right until several dozen adjustments are made).

[norm]

god i wish i had throttles now.

[Baco1170]

This is heaven I thought I would have to wait till SOW:BoB to use my CH Quadrant !
Thanks a lot!

[fabianfred]

I'm going to try this out... I used to use the Throttle application which used java and required a license.... using two AV8R sticks

[mikkowl]

The following text is from now on also included in the install package:

Now that we have proper control over our multi-engined planes, how can we make use of it? Since it has not been around before and no one seems to know much about how one can make use of it, here are some examples of what you can do in a twin-engined (as well as four engined in some cases):

1. When on the ground, you can steer the plane with your engines instead of rudder and wheel brakes. More fun than you would think, and not easy.

2. If an engine radiator is damaged, or has a coolant leak, throttle it down compared to the healthy engine to avoiding it over heating and breaking down. Compensate the yawing in that engine's direction with opposite rudder trim.

3. You can help your turns in the air a bit by reducing power on the engine on that side of the turn, allowing this engine to cool a bit and saving a bit of fuel.

4. If your stabilizer control surface (i.e. rudder) is damaged, or even shot off completely along with the stabilizer, you can use the engines to yaw the plane.

5. Similarly, if the ailerons go on one side or both, you can roll the plane with the engines as well. Airplanes stay airborne because the airflow over the wings provide lift. If one wing has less airflow than the other (such as when one power is giving less power than the other), that wing will provide less lift than the other wing. Since lift is a force upwards, and the wings then no longer privide identical push upwards, the wing with less airflow over it will start to drop and the other rise - and you are rolling your plane.

6. Even if you lose ailerons, rudder and elevator control, you can control altitude, roll and yaw by only using your two engines. Your total airspeed then determines if you climb, stay level or descend. Any difference in engine power on either side makes the airplane both yaw and roll towards the lower powered engine, letting you make turns. Actually managing a landing under these circumstances is no doubt very difficult, but making it to your own lines for a ditching or even a bail out should be possible - and satisfying. And to think of the satisfaction of ditching on your airfield, or even managing a landing! It has been done several times in real life in much larger planes. Once by a cargo plane in the US Air Force in Iraq around the year 2005, which was taking off. This plane managed to go around and land again despite having only the engines to steer with. There are other famous accounts of the pilots in passenger/cargo planes doing the same.

7. Getting out of a spin/flatspin/stall:
The plane is skidding wildly in one direction. Normal recovery is stick forward, opposite rudder and throttle down. With a multi engine, it should be possible to let the engine on the inner side of the skid keep going, as it then provides asymmetrical thrust in the opposite direction of the skid, helping the rudder to stop the skidding/rotation. I do not know if this actually works or not, but in theory it sounds proper.

8. At the top of a zoom (sharp climb) where you start to go so slow that the control surfaces barely work, like when performing a 'hammer head' maneuver - or otherwise trying to do sudden sharp skids to the side on top of a zoom below effective airspeed for control surfaces to work - reducing throttle on one engine should make you yaw in that direction, providing more yaw authority than would otherwise be possible. Maybe even more than a pursuing single engined plane might have, despite our plane weighing more and being slower.

[walter_solito]

I think it should be transferred to: IL2 MODS DOWNLOAD v4.08 section

[mikkowl]

Well, it is not exactly a mod, and it is universal for all versions of the game. A basic thing that should have been available since the release.

[Neil Lowe]

Well done mikkowl, I'm sure a lot of people will appreciate this

Thank-you,

Cheers, Neil

[mikkowl]

Cheers yourself, Neil.

Produced another little tool this evening - bind radiator to (any) axis. One version for the manual planes, and another for the more advanced aircraft that have automatic radiator mechanisms with manual over-ride. In the auto version, there's two buttons that flips the radiator in and out of it's mechanical auto-mechanism, that can be enaged or disengaged at any time one feels like it. Moving the lever makes a small notchy click sound whenever one moves it into a higher or lower setting, and another clonkier sound when reaching the end of the travel in either direction (either fully closed radiator or fully open). It feels very strange to look at the aircraft in exterior view, moving the lever bound to radiator and seeing it open and close like clockwork. I'll try to make it available to the public tomorrow.

For myself personally I have been waiting to get it since I first got IL-2 (especially as I have several free levers/sliders now with the G940 + Saitek Quadrant). Flying without the hudlog (for immersion - don't want any text appearing in my field of vision) there has been only one or two buttons available for radiator control, which make no sound, and no indications what so ever what mode it is already in if not using the hud. The bomb bay doors mod allows using two keys, and then I would press them and count how many times I clicked in each direction, but that wasn't very realistic or satisfying either, nor did it tell me later on what mode I was in. With the multi throttle support program requiring all the power keys in IL-2, the bom bay door stuff can't even be used, but even with having only a single key to work with, this app I made is impossible to get to malfunction. Can move the lever around wildly while toggling auto on or off, yet it behaves pretty much as if hard-coded into the game, and it responds instantly to moving the radiator lever. Think people would want that sort of tool?

Well done mikkowl, I'm sure a lot of people will appreciate this

Thank-you,

Cheers, Neil

[cerkaire]

I've got a G940 and it's very frustrated to can't use dual throttle. Especially because i fly a lot with bombers.
I don't test your program, but if it work it's a BIG REVOLUTION in IL2 world
Thank a lot for your work.


Sorry, my english is very bad

[mikkowl]

No problem about the English. I hope you can understand the instructions. Ask here if you do not understand.

Let me know how it works. So far I have not heard from a single person actually trying it. Maybe few people have two throttles (or more). Or maybe people think that it is somehow will not work smooth and properly like an axis should because it uses keys to interface with IL-2 (they are completely wrong - it is very fast, smooth and feels just like using normal power axis).

[cerkaire]

I test it and it work

I've got some problem because I use AZERTY keyboard and in game it's like QUERTY.
After 20min I've solve the problem. 8)

I note a strange bug when using the throttle together. :-?
One by one it work great but when you lock the two throttle, when your are at 20% and decrease power strangely it go up to 30 and 40...
You must then put it to 0% for calibrate then.
And sometine "ALL ENGINE" were selected.

But I think this program is great and you have done great work. :wink:

[fly_zo]

.. this is amazing stuff , surely deserves not to get lost among discussions threads

i would like to move it to mods download or beta downloads section ( whichever author prefers )

anyways , many thanks for this

reg
Z

[cerkaire]

Ok test and solve.

When you want to use two throttle together, you must lock it and put it rapidly to 0% or 100% for selected "ALL ENGINE" and then no problem.
After unlock the duall throttle they work great.

Thank a lot mikkowl, you change my fly in better.
I will note it to my team, and I think they like this

[mikkowl]

I test it and it work
I note a strange bug when using the throttle together. :-?
One by one it work great but when you lock the two throttle, when your are at 20% and decrease power strangely it go up to 30 and 40...
You must then put it to 0% for calibrate then.

The reason this happens is probably because a few of the keys in the program do not match the keys in IL-2.

Solution: open mikkonfig.ini file (included with throttle program), and set the keys that you want to use. Then you have to go into IL-2, and set exactly the same keys (power_10, power_20, power +, all those things).

And sometine "ALL ENGINE" were selected.

That is not a bug. Early on I noticed that it was difficult to move the throttles together, because the throttles are not 100% the same, so sometimes throttle 1 can be at power 95% while throttle 2 was power 100%, even though they are being moved together. So I made the program act more intelligently.

The program is clever enough to know if your throttles are very close together (like when you lock them together, or just move them together in your hand). To make it smoother, faster and send less keys, it selects both engines instead of 1, then 2, then 1, then 2 etc. So far, this intelligent mode only works in the dual throttle mode, not 4 throttles (it is complicated).

.. this is amazing stuff , surely deserves not to get lost among discussions threads
i would like to move it to mods download or beta downloads section ( whichever author prefers )
anyways , many thanks for this

Why thank you, I'm very happy to hear that. Did you try it out or know anyone who did? I am dying to hear feedback from how it works for others. cerkaire was the first I ever heard from this, and he had some issues that are probably going to be resolved with the instructions above.

I have a working version 2.5 now. It supports prop pitch in dual throttle mode.
I also made another program yesterday, to control radiator through an axis/wheel. It also works flawlessly, impossible to desync. Also allows switching on and off the automatic mechanical mode (many airplanes have auto radiator mechanism) at any time for airplanes that have that.

EDIT: Yes, feel free to put it as downloadable anywhere. Consider it freeware. I just want it to reach people who want dual/quad throttle support, so they can enjoy their hardware and the sim more. I myself made a complete switch to heavy fighters and lighter bombers (Me-110 and Ju-88 ) after getting my hands on multi throttle support. It's tons of fun!♦