Crash Tolerance Tweak ???

[Mick]

I have a couple planes I really like, but they're almost impossible to land without crashing. Anything short of a perfect greaser at just a few knots above the stall speed results in a crash. This is especially annoying since one of them is a carrier plane! Traps are just about impossible! :confused:

Is there a tweak I can make in the aircraft.cfg or AIR file that will make these planes a bit less hypersensitive to touchdown loads :ques: :ques:

[fliger747]

Are these perhaps planes converted from CFS2 or FS8? The obvious place is to start with the contact points in the aircraft.cfg file (the gear is of course the important issue) and check for an appropriate verticle speed figure, you might typically see a number like 1600 or 2200 in there. The other culprits are usually the entries regarding compression, a too inelastic gear can cause problems. Compare the entry values for the problem planes vrs some similar that you feel work well.

Good luck! This seems to be a continuing issue, one that I am not really knowledgable about at all!

Specific planes?

[Mick]

Planes??

Putt-Putt's TBD Devastator and PB2Y Coronado.

They're the only two planes (so far, anyway) that this seems to happen with.

I can land the TBD on a runway if I'm extremely gentle with it, but I can't trap aboard a carrier at all.

I can land the Coronado, but only if I touch down light as a feather just a few knots above the stall.

Carrier planes and seaplanes shouldn't be so fragile! :confused:

[Mick]

Thanks Kimber,

That makes sense. I'll try fiddling with the gross weights when I get a bit of time to do some test flying.

I noticed that the TBD picks up a heck of a sink rate when I cut the throttle...


I have scads of reference material on pre-WW2 Naval aircraft, so I should be able to find some figures for the Coronado.

[fliger747]

Mick:

I do have Put Put 's TBD on one of my computers, not sure if it this one. I'll check it out, though don't recall having that problem. My recollection is that it flies and lands very slowly because of the huge fat wing!

Check the payload and make sure you are not carrying a TORPEDO!

[Mick]

I checked and they both came up real heavy.

The TBD defaults to nearly it's maximum gross weight, and as soon as the PB2Y appeared in the Fuel & Payload window a red warning message popped, telling me that it was loaded above its maximum allowable gross weight.

I lightened them both to roughly halfway between their empty weights and maximum gross. I got the Coronado down intact on the second attempt. The first one shouldn't have been a crash, though. It barely registered as a crash - the crash effects didn't pop, just the message and the flight stopped. The second time I was just a couple knots slower and maybe a tad gentler.

I got the TBD aboard the Lexington on the second try, too. As with the Coronado, I'm sure the first try should've been a successful trap. It must've been close, 'cause I don't think my second, successful landing was any better. In fact, I still think the first one was better.

I guess even halfway between empty weight and maximum gross is still kind of heavy for landing, so next time I fly them I'll lighten them a bit more. Or fly around for a while and burn off some fuel before I land.

[Ivan]

I only work on CFS1 style AIR files but there is a parameter associated with each Landing Gear contact point and Scrape Point that specifies how "tough" that contact point is. For CFS1, I typically set the values up to about 70,000
and it allows for some pretty hard landings. I even managed to survive touching a wing tip on the ground during a strafing run. Not sure if this applies to the later AIR files though.

- Ivan.

[Farmboy]

I only work on CFS1 style AIR files but there is a parameter associated with each Landing Gear contact point and Scrape Point that specifies how "tough" that contact point is. For CFS1, I typically set the values up to about 70,000
and it allows for some pretty hard landings. I even managed to survive touching a wing tip on the ground during a strafing run. Not sure if this applies to the later AIR files though.

- Ivan.

That only works in CFS1. CFS2/FS2000 and later use feet per second, specified as a numerical value in the contact points section. Glad to see that CFS1 still has some fans! I know CFS2 is still selling well at $19.95 in my neck of the woods.