Darkrookie

Thanks for this! I'll run another test tonight as well and see if we can replicate.

Seems people are getting mixed results then. Though there are a lot of variables that can skew things...trim, flying coordinated, temperature, engine settings etc. I'll keep testing in particular for air temperature and if auto rich and auto lean really make a difference. When I did my first few tests I couldn't get past 299 kn (on the DCS f10 screen) until I put it in auto-lean. Once in auto-lean I got 312. I didn't test it at other power settings or altitudes though. Noted, thanks! Still, my speed at 20K feet was far lower than even 410 mph true.

SL temp was 20 degrees C on the Marianas WWII map. I'll redo the test at 15C as suggested. For data recording, I took my true airspeed in knots straight from the F10 map though so that should account for any errors in conversion from IAS to CAS to TAS. I'll still test again and correct for temp change at altitude.

This is common behavior for all the warbirds, though definitely more pronounced in the Corsair than the P-47 for example. From what I've read it seems that's historically accurate for the Corsair as it had a little more relaxed static stability than other planes. It takes fine tuning your joystick/rudder curves and being very active/preemptive on your rudder use anytime you increase or decrease power or enter a dive or climb. The slower you are the more it affects the plane, making carrier landings...interesting. I suspect it's fairly accurate based on some IRL landing/takeoff mishaps I've seen online from WWII footage. As you've noted, having easy access to all three trim axis' is CRUCIAL in this plane (and all the US Warbirds imo). The curves I've settled on for now are: Pitch 4 deadzone, 100 x sat, 80 y sat, 15 curve Roll 4 deadzone, 100 x sat, 100 y sat, 15 curve Rudder 4 deadzone, 100 x sat, 80 y sat, 15 curve Hope this helps.

Wow Haven't had a chance to read this in it's entirety but looks very well thought out and implemented. Thanks for the work -Darkrookie

Hey all, Did some testing of level speeds in the Corsair and wanted to share the results, some tips I've found, and pose a question on the flight model at altitude. First, it's been floating around the forums and Youtube that you can "fix" the RPM "issue" on the engine and get more power by using your mouse to increase engine RPM past 2,700. This is a BUG. Max operating RPM for level flight with the Corsair (and the P-47) is 2,700 RPM. During a dive, RPM up to 3,050 is allowed for up to 30 second only. The ability reach this RPM during level flight is a BUG and hopefully will be fixed soon. According to what I've seen and read, the F4U-1D with the R2800-8W engine should reach 310-312 KTAS (356-359 MPH) at Sea Level in the following condition: 11,500 lbs Clean configuration WEP power (57.5" Hg and 2,700 RPM) Cowl, Intercooler, Oil Flaps closed Trimmed and Level flight and here's the one I think people miss a lot...AUTO LEAN mixture The Corsair in DCS does in fact reach 310-312 KIAS at Sea Level so we're good there. If you're coming from the P-47 like I am, it's counterintuitive to run full power in Auto Lean but that's per the manual and does give 10-12 knots more airspeed at Sea Level. If you're only hitting 299 KTAS check if you're in auto rich by mistake. If you're not even hitting that, you may have cowl/oil flaps open or not be trimmed in the yaw axis (side-slipping). Also make sure your throttle axis is allowing full travel of the throttle level (into the detent that activates the water injection) However...at 20,000 feet I wonder if there's a bug in the Flight/Engine model somewhere. It should reach 362-369 KTAS, (417-425 MPG) TRUE airspeed at 20,000 feet which is the critical altitude for the high supercharger setting (Note that I've also seen reports of 446 mph at 23,400 feet but I think that's the -4 model only). At 20,000 feet at WEP power (59.5" Hg and 2,700 RPM) I'm only reaching 327 KTAS, (376 True MPH) at an indicated airspeed of 220 knots. At the very least this is 35 knots or 40 MPH slow. Does anyone have results in DCS at altitude showing historical top speeds for the Corsair? If so, how did you achieve it? Thanks, Darkrookie

I'm embarrassed to even ask this...but what is the section and keybind name for advancing the tutorials. I rebound SPACE to another function in the distant past and now I don't know how to get past the first instruction in any of the tutorials.... They say "press SPACE to continue"...and I'm stuck looking through all the keybind menus to figure out what SPACE used to be bound to... Any help is appreciated. Thanks, Darkrookie

That's how I understand it yes. Thanks Jubuttib.

Thank you both, very helpful. Next question: Does the antenna point perfectly level along the horizon when the indicator shows level on the radar scope, or is it depressed 2 degrees along the Radar Boresight line? Basically, do I need to add 2 degrees to the above chart to get actual antenna elevation above level in the Phantom?

Thanks Zabuzard! Interesting that they didn't use the other Aspect modes much if at all. That must be info we found useful later on (with greater effective radar ranges) since the modern NATO fighters show aspect angle, target heading, and have a C-scope view within easy reach. Glad to hear that Jester functionality will be added and I look forward to it. Great work on the Phantom and Jester so far!

I'm all for not being able to play WSO from the Pilot seat, but a few things would seem reasonable for a Pilot to ASK of the WSO in certain situations instead of staying silent and hoping he can read your mind. The main one I'd like to see is being able to ask Jester to go Boresight mode from his end. Yes, you can do this with the cage switch, but then it limits the scan window to 5 miles. In situations where you can SEE the enemy above you but he's outside of 5 miles (and Jester just hasn't been able to lock him yet), you can't get a Boresight lock in time to take the Sparrow shot. Second thing I'd like to be able to ASK Jester to do is switch the Aspect switch as mention above. This is for 2 reasons and I'm sure a Pilot would ask this of the WSO in certain circumstances. 1st. You have a lock and want to know what the target's heading or aspect are for a baseline intercept. Knowing the targets aspect to you is critical for a good intercept. See 2nd. Being able to ask Jester to change the Aspect switch to Nose/Front would set up for an unlocked Boresight launch of a Sparrow, as shown here: and here: The third thing I'd like to be able to ASK Jester to do is switch to VI mode. This again is to help with baseline intercepts, as it would direct the pilot into pure pursuit of a locked target that you haven't got Tally on yet by giving you a pseudo "C-scope" view (think F-5 after you've locked a target). Credit goes to the makers of these videos respectively for helping me (start to) understand these things.

Is there a rule of thumb for determining how much radar antenna elevation I should use to find a target at an expected range and altitude? For example, I have a training mission where a Mig-21 is flying 5000' above me head on. Sitting in the WSO seat I have no idea how much elevation that should be for a reasonable detection range (15 miles maybe). How did WSO's back in the day know how much to elevate/depress based on a GCI or AWACS call? More modern jets tell you the scan elevation at a given TDC range...is there anything like that in the Phantom? Thanks, Darkrookie

Thanks IronMike. We appreciate your dedication and quick work taking a look at this.

I will also add that I tried my mission in daytime, nighttime, clear weather, AND whiteout conditions before posting initially (including headwinds/crosswinds over 6 kt). None worked...so there must be something that isn't triggering the ILS system to activate from the DCS client/airport side of things with regard to the Heatblur Phantom. I also second Hawkeye's feedback about the manual and the ILS section. Overall it's a very good manual but there are a few minor things to flesh out still that I'm sure you guys will tackle as time permits. No major complaints from me...the Phantom is Phantastic. Thanks P.S. Now I just need to learn how to fight those AI Mig-21 UFOs...

Thanks for the suggestion Nealius. After my initial post I added an F-16C into the mission to test that aspect and confirmed ILS is working from the Airport side of things (flew ILS to touchdown with the F-16). Just not working in the Phantom for me. The ADI Flight Director works as expected when in NAV or TAC mode but shows the red "off" flags when the right side selector knob is set to VOR/ILS. Just tested in the F-16C again with 10 knot and then 0 knot headwind. Worked fine in the F-16. Tested for the 10th time in the Phantom using the above settings...nothing. Edit: Did another DCS restart and now all of a sudden it's working in the Phantom...I didn't change a single thing to my settings/F4 switchology etc...Sounds like it may be something internal to DCS that wasn't activating with the ILS for the airport for some reason. Thanks for the help all. For now it remains a mystery to me why it wasn't working but hopefully that doesn't happen again.

Thanks for the reply Dawger. My screenshot shows that I am in VOR/ILS mode on the right side knob already. The ADI still has no ILS indication. It has to be something else that I'm missing...

Hi IronMike, Thanks for the reply. I expect it to look exactly like your screenshot shows, however I get neither the needles on the ADI, nor the indication on the HSI. The red "off" flags are showing on the ADI. I've checked a dozen times and I do have the correct frequency set (from both the mission editor and the cockpit directly). Volume/on knob on the VOR tune panel is all the way up. See my screenshots below, mirroring your settings but showing no ILS functionality. Thank you, Darkrookie

Hey All, Loving the Phantom so far but one of my many questions is: How do I use the ILS system for instrument approaches? I've set up a training mission on Caucasus map, air start flying East toward Kutaisi. I have the volume on the VOR/ILS panel on the left turned up, it's tuned to 109.75 per the F10 map for that airfield (runway 07), and the Nav switches panel (forget it's exact name) set to VOR/TAC and the Flight Director on (horizontal) and turned to ILS. However, I get no ILS indications on the HSI or ADI. The VOR Beacon does work as I overfly the airfield, and the test button illuminates the Beacon Test Light so I have to assume I have the correct frequency set... Is there a trick to get the ILS working? I've got to be missing something obvious but I haven't found anything online or in the manual (yes I've read the full Navigation section). Any help is appreciated, Darkrookie