Auto Pilot

[Dataman]

Dear SOH Community,

I am struggling with taking off from the flight deck in my campaign.

I typically set chocks, deploy takeoff flaps, rev my engine and then release chocks but there is a 50/50 chance that once I am off the flight deck I am unable to successfully clear the water.

Is there an "auto pilot" feature that I can use, just to get me safely in the air, and then go to standard piloting?

If so, what is the default key assignment or what is it called in the settings section so I might assign a key to it?

Thank you in advance for your responses.

Sincerely,

KC

[bearcat241]

No AP will fix this...you're thinking of modern times and "no-hands" cat launching. Firstly, bear in mind that flight simming is not an exact science and all the talk about authentic flight modeling can often be a bit misleading. CFS2 flight modeling is just a basket of imprecise algorithms giving you - at best - the closest guesstimate possible for historically modeling the flight performance of any specific aircraft or the accurate modeling of ships. Consequently, you get a lot of "robbing Peter to pay Paul" programming and design. This is why you get such things as bad carrier take offs from otherwise "normal" flight models on decks that are dimensionally well below historic specs.

You're taking the right approach by looking outside the box for a quick fix, but it won't come with AP. Open the aircraft.cfg and look for the entries:

[piston_engine]
power_scalar = 1.0

[propeller]
thrust_scalar = 1.0

Thrust translates to lift on an efficient wing, so increase your thrust scalar by 0.1 or 0.2. Try not to do any more than 0.08 on power scalar because the more power you add, the more braking you'll need when landing at airfields. Also, add the number of props per engine to the cfg, so the final picture looks something like this:


[piston_engine]
power_scalar = 1.08

[propeller]
thrust_scalar = 1.15
propeller_blades= 3

[Blood_Hawk23]

Here are a few things you can try first.

while the mission is loading; set brakes - this will fix your plane to the deck at startup. On a rolling deck this is almost a must.

Wait at least 30 seconds to a minute before taking off. It takes the sim a little while to get things up to speed. Namely the ship. They start at 0 knots and have to speed up. Most of the time, when you here "Ready for take off", things should be ready. You'll know its time because you can here the default ship humm.

Only use one or two notches of flaps. Flaps can cause drag with some ACs while not giving as much lift.

As soon as you leave the deck, raise your gear. Again some ACs cause drag with the gear down. Most sould since this helps with landing.

Don't pull back hard right away. You may drop a little before you start to climb. Thats normal. If you don't believe me, just watch some video of WWII carrier takeoffs. Just relax. Carrier pilots need soft hands and a cool head. In these old birds you need it even more.

If you are still having trouble you can set your starting point back a little. This, more than modding the AC, can help you.

Use your WEP power if the AC has it. Sorry, this is a no brainer, but how many of us forget which ones have it.

Lastly, you can add the catapult gauge. This can simulate rocket assited takeoff or catapult launch. It works on all piston engine ACs.

Thats all I've got. Some may have more or better tips. In the end its is as Bearcat said...

"bear in mind that flight simming is not an exact science and all the talk about authentic flight modeling can often be a bit misleading. CFS2 flight modeling is just a basket of imprecise algorithms giving you - at best - the closest guesstimate possible for historically modeling the flight performance of any specific aircraft or the accurate modeling of ships."

So good luck and let us know if you need anything else.

'til Later,
John

[Devildog73]

The only things I would add is to not drop your flaps until you are even with the bridge structure of the carrier, and then only 1 hit of the F key.
You can also hit the G key to raise gear at the same time, as the program will not actually engage and raise the gear until you are off the flight deck.

These two are things I always do and it works fine...MOST of the time.
As Blood_Hawk23 said, it takes the carrier a bit to get up to the 30 Knots speed to add to your speed.

[Shadow Wolf 07]

1. Lock your brakes and start the engine. Ease up to full throttle and pull back on the stick so you don't nose over. Once at full power, hit WEP and release the brakes and the back pull on the stick. As you pick up speed, push slightly forward on the stick to raise the tail then let off. Hit the G key, so your wheels will come up as soon as you leave the edge of the flight deck. Do not use flaps - most planes will give you more drag than lift.

2. Alternatively, set the start point on the carrier's .cfg file further aft (See below):

(From SHA_Enterprise .cfg)

[flight_deck_section]
; this section defines the control points the
; AI (and LSO) use to steer towards the flight deck
width=32
length=241
takeoff_start=0,21,-50
takeoff_stop=0,21,120
landing_start=0,500,-5000
landing_touch_down=0.1920005,16.896,-81.536003
landing_stop=0.1920005,16.896,0

Increase the number highlighted in red by increments of -10 (I'd set it to -80)

Of course you can combine the two.

[Dataman]

Thank you all for your feedback and for some neat tricks I was unfamiliar with.

Bearcat, I tend to use the "X" buttons often to shorten the mission time as many evenings I just barely have enough time for one sortie. I remember someone once told me that (of course in real life) "takeoffs re voluntary but landings are mandatory" ...... Here, I can bypass the landing when I am done (should I so choose) but the takeoffs are mandatory!

BloodHawk, I have been using full flaps and based on comments thus far that has not been a wise choice on my part. I use WEP for the Corsair and the Hellcat but the Wildcat is not equipped with the extra horsepower. Normally when she (Wildcat) is clean, I am good but if I have external tanks or bombs is where I sometimes get into trouble.

Devildog, I will look forward to trying the "G" Key trick later this evening ..... I never tried it before fearing the gear would collapse and basically I would just slip/slide off the deck!

ShadowWolf, I think having that little extra running room will help me out ..... I have often said to myself "If I just had 15-10 more feet"

You all have been very kind!

Sincerely

KC


P.S. For some reason I seem to recall a Bearcat who was very helpful in the IL-2 Forums ..... I have retired from that game many moons ago and returned to my roots of CFS 1 and CFS 2 (I like CFS2 more as the standard effects are more enjoyable)

[bearcat241]

...P.S. For some reason I seem to recall a Bearcat who was very helpful in the IL-2 Forums ..... I have retired from that game many moons ago and returned to my roots of CFS 1 and CFS 2 (I like CFS2 more as the standard effects are more enjoyable)

Yeah, i remember him too...guess he retired from IL-2 as well, or maybe flying under a new moniker.