Tailspin45

Right, an x-axis is an x-axis is an x-axis. That's why we have profiles so the x-axis on one controller can be assigned as pitch and as throttle on another and as rudder an another. So why would the default profile assign throttle to all three? I hope not, because that means the mess we have was created on purpose, which I seriously doubt. The default A-10 profile works pretty well without configuration, you're right. The default P-51 profile not at all! That was the point to the original post.

kk0425, perhaps you think the functions of the A-10 aircraft are somehow baked into the Thrustmaster Warthog stick and throttle controllers? They aren't, they're defined by the profiles we're talking about here. Perhaps the source of the misunderstanding we're all grappling with? One profile defines the APU Start switch for the A-10, another profile might define the same switch for, say, the P-51's coolant manual/auto switch. Both profiles, though, should assign the pitch and roll axis to the joystick. And a profile should never, as fishbreath points out, assign a throttle binding to a rudder pedal controller. I'm with you and him, by the way on the idea that everyone will want to do some customizing by modifying the profile. I'd put the P-51 throttle on the left TM A-10 throttle, too, and the prop pitch on the right because thats what I'm used to flying in our SNJ. Technically, the Mustang throttle is on the right, but that's because of the motorcycle type grip. Off topic, but a measure of how well the P-51 is modeled, and a real tribute to the devs, is that they found a way to make the tailwheel lock work just like it does in the real aircraft. Our SNJ has a P-51 tailwheel and rigging, so you simply push the stick all the way forward to unlock it and let the tailswheel swivel. Pull the stick back, center the tire and the locking pin is spring loaded to drop in the hole so it become stear-able again. Try a sharp turn without doing that and you'll either murder the poor tire or break the pin. Not sure they modeled the brake-the-pin part, but the unlocking part certainly is as I discovered last night when I ended up facing backwards on the runway trying to make a turn off at too high a speed. (In the sim, not real life!)

You're right, a P-51 is not an A-10. That's precisely why the P-51 program, which is a different computer program than the A-10C program, should have a default joystick set up that's different and works! A P-51 isn't a Sopwith Camel, either. But when I launch Rise of Flight I'm offered several joystick setups that work. Just because the P-51 and the A-10 programs are both published by DCS is no excuse for having default controller profiles that don't work. More to the point, the way the defaults are set up now is just sloppy. To give the devs the benefit of the doubt, perhaps they have bigger issues to address and simply haven't had time to fix this. Done right, there should be a profile for each of the top controllers that we can use as a starting point: Thrustmaster, Saitek, Logitech, CH, Microsoft. Hell, there are enough user created profiles floating around out there that they could package some of them, with permission and gratitude. People who buy the Mustang absolutely can, and should, expect it to work right out of the box as bilbosmeggins says. Particularly considering almost everything else about it is superb.

True, kk0425, but we're talking about the Thrustmaster Warthog here, the device that a lot of people have because they bought the A-10.

I agree with you entirely, bilbosmeggins. Flew DCS Warthog and Mustang months ago, and have come back to play with Combined Arms. But decided I had have another go at the A-10 and -51. All of which is to say I've been here, done this. And having to configure that Warthog joystick all over again and rip out rudder assignments on the throttle is just stupid. Default assignments may not be perfect for everyone (one size fits none), but they should at least be close!

Concur. Feels good now in V1.2. They did a nice job tweaking ground and airborne handling.

Audio integration glitches 1. At beginning of Instant Missions audio sounds like aircraft trying to start, then no audio, then smooth running engine as it should be. 2. When closing canopy, the canopy sounds block engine sounds, which return when canopy stops moving.

There's something wrong with the image on the startup screen for the Instant Action - Take off (sic) at Batumi mission. It looks like the aspect ration has been squashed. Tires and canopy too wide. Is it take off or takeoff? I think the former is what a lovely woman does with her clothes, the latter is what an aircraft does.

Another incredible piece of work http://craftsmanshipmuseum.com/Park.htm By happy coincidence the museum is just up the street, so I had the pleasure of seeing these in persons. What a treat.

Instead of a healthy jab, which is hard to judge, try rolling in a bunch of nose down trim. When the wheels touch just relax. The bird will stick herself to the runway. An added advantage is that if you have to go around the trim is already set. Another is if you have a heart attack you'll make a hole instead of spreading the wreckage across the landscape. :music_whistling:

New owner intends to restore the aircraft, and wanted to work on it in his barn/hangar. So he asked the pilot to land it in his farm field. Video from news helicopter shows he landed between two dirt roads that were maybe 5-600 feet apart, using the wing span as a scale. So I'm guessing he dragged it in over the approach end road, plopped it down and stood on the brakes to get stopped before the upwind road. Which it did. Might have worked if the ground hadn't been so soft, but.... I've always loved Bud's writing -- only Gordon Baxter was better. This one is a real find! Thanks for sharing! His description of the SNJ was spot on, from my experience, so I think we can assume his description of the '51 is too. I'm delighted to hear JimMack confirm they're still tuning the flight model, as I knew they would.

Spot on! Best description I've heard too! Perfect! So a Cub would be, let's see, a happy coffee pot?

Re: "snap roll", the P-51 manual (the real one, but the DCS version which is mostly a word for word copy) says, "The aerodynamic characteristics of the P-51D are such that snap rolls cannot be satisfactorily performed. This has been proved by a long series of test flights." But we all know that's not true of the beta version of the DCS '51. It'll snap in a heart beat, and in fact does it quite predictably and repeatably during an accelerated stall. However, that's not the same as a wing drop in a power off level stall, as discussed earlier in this thread. I've done a few stalls as a passenger in a P-51, and oodles of them as either PIC or CFI in a Texan. They don't mush like modern aircraft, there is a distinct wing drop, and not a whole lot of warning. But its not sneaky, violent, uncontrollable, and it's most certainly not a snap roll. Release the back pressure, use opposite rudder to bring the wing up (NOT aileron) and you'll be on your way with a little power. Do nothing and it'll go over on it's back and into a spiral. I've not just stalled but spun Texans, too, many times—I wouldn't let our pilots do aerobatics in it unless they could demonstrate power off, power on, accelerated, and crossed-contro stall/spin recovery. Dunno if it's true of the '51, but when you release the back pressure and add opposite rudder, in a fully developed (at least 3 turn) spin, the rotation actually speeds up for about a turn before it comes out in another 3/4 to full turn. That's scared more than one fledgling into trying something else with disastrous results. But I digress. Based on almost no experience in the P-51 and a whole lot in a T6 I think the stall of the DCS Mustang, as it stands, is not accurate, and thus the landings are more difficult than they should be. Lots of people have told me, and I've read in plenty of places, that the P-51 is actually easier to land than a T6. Believe, me that's sure not true of this beta version. But that begs the implied question, which was how to land. The way I do it (YMMV) is to come down final at 110, slow to 90 over the fence, keep a little power on, and let if settle in a three-point attitude (it's the same picture you see out front before takeoff or sitting on the ramp). When it touches pull the power slowly to idle and keep her going straight with the stick back and aileron into the wind. If it bounces a few feet, just hold what ya got and it'll come back down. If it bounces way up, gently GENTLY add power to cushion it and maybe reduce a tiny bit of back pressure. If you're going around, the only option if you really find yourself in huge bounce, is to slowly add power, reduce the angle of attack, keep it going straight and fly out of it—you might even touch the ground again, but reducing your angle of attack and getting airspeed is what will keep you from pulling off to the left, scaring the hell out of the people on the ramp, or worse rolling over on your back and doing a face plant. If you're trying to make a wheel landing (I don't advocate it) for a host of reasons, a little trick than help keep you out of a PIO is to add a couple of good licks of nose down trim. When the wheels touch just relax the stick and she'll stay down. Trying to anticipate the touchdown and judge how much to push to peg her to the runway takes a deft touch. The forward trim does it for you. And wheel landing or three pointer, don't tromp on the brakes or this will happen (especially in a soft field). That's a picture of the SNJ I'm talking about taken on Monday after some bad judgement by a pilot who was delivering it to a new owner. (We sold it 6 years ago to someone else. But it's still sad to see the ol' girl on her back with her legs in the air.) The other shot was is at a happier time and place.

In RL, at low power settings, insufficient suction is created to spin gyro so it's not very accurate. Could it be that this is modeled?

Yes, all those techniques work...you can even tell which way the wind blows by the general direction cows stand (rump into wind)...but this forum is for bug reports.

All taildraggres have the CG aft of the main gear, that's a given. But I agree that the effect is worse with the tailwheel unlocked—and I don't mean that's simply because the tailwheel isn't helping to provide some directional control. I think there's some software effect related to the tailwheel that is exacerbating the problem, but a bug report has been filed by one of the devs to investigate the issue. So we just need to be patient and let the artistry evolve.

There's been a lengthy debate on this elsewhere here. I've got a about 8000 hours of taildragger time including a bunch of AT-6 time and a lot of C-45H time. And completely agree that something just doesn't feel right. There are those who argue that it's a matter of getting used to the sim, that we're missing proprioceptive and kinesthetic cues. And they have far far more sim experience than I do. But, with some meager sim development experience too, I maintain that, in the end, it's how accurate the aircraft feels, not how accurate the flight model might be, that matters. That said, none of my bitching about this should be construed as criticism of the dev's skill or dedication, nor the marvelous aircraft and environment they've built. I'm confident in the release version they'll get it just right.

Count two more with problem I'm using ATI, buddy using triple head to go. Both of us have same problem. Has occurred over several days during last week, never succeeded in getting on. Still can't. Reinstall no help. UPDATE: logged on okay 6/10/2012

Eddie Andreini blows smoke in his new 51 Eddie Andreini's newly restored 51 will have smoke generators that use Corvis oil (smoke oil) and Jet-A. They mount on hard points and can produce 20 minutes of smoke--the best smoke he's ever blown, according to Jeff Parnau at Airshow News magazine (Jan/Feb 2012, pg 58). Should be on the circuit this year, and is promoted elsewhere as part of this year's MCAS show here in October. http://www.mustangsmustangs.com/p-51/p51news/andreini_081611.php http://www.eddieandreiniairshows.com/about.html

It's all about Q (total energy) in then end, whether it's an angles fight or an energy fight. See Fighter Combat Tactics and Maneuvering By Robert L. Shaw. Page 387-392 covers corner speed

Flying maxims: Throttle controls rate of descent, pitch controls airspeed. Trim, trim, trim! A good approach will produce a good landing.

Woo-hoo! Even gods don't answer prayers that quickly!

Couldn't take my eyes off the flight! Very impressive. God, I love that sound. Pity there isn't a cam that would center on both aircraft instead of one or the other. Lead looked steady as (ahem) a Rock; while it appeared his wingie was dancing around. The motion, of course, was contributed by both birds. Wonder if devs or modders could conjure up a camera that would take the visual average of 2, 3 or 4 ships? While I'm daydreaming, it would be nice if we could move the aim point of all cameras too, so the subject wasn't always un-aesthetically smack-dab in the middle of a screenshot frame. We'd save a lot of wasted bits if we didn't always have to chop them off in post-processing crops. Well done, y'all! Will replays be available on YouTube or elsewhere?

I've had the privilege of flying in a '51 on the three occassions. Beside the rock solid feel of purposefulness, the strongest impression is the noise. My last flight was in Su Su, and Nazzi had the best noise-canceling headsets money can buy. They made it possible for us to talk almost effortlessly. I realized from prior experience, though, that something was missing. When I pulled out the ear cup I knew instantly what it was. The sound is, quite literally, deafening. Like simulated race cars (and even real ones), a huge part of the experience is the sound. What we enjoy now in the DCS P-51 is more like what I heard with noise canceling headsets. If there was a poll, I'd sure cast my vote in favor of having in cockpit engine sounds on an options slider.

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