Merlin-27

That makes sense. Thank you Yo-Yo. I wasn't trying to pull you away from more important work but I am still amazed at what a great simulation it is. SO many things correlate with real world accounts of the actual combat pilots. It all adds a lot to the experience of flying the DCS Mustang. In those tense moments before bailing out, I wonder who was the first to think "maybe I should just sit here and prime the engine more" :) That is one cool character. I'm guessing it was a suggestion from a member of the ground crew. Either way, it prevented at least two great fighter pilots I know of from bailing out of their aircraft.

I'd imagine if it cooled the engine sufficiently for 15 minutes it would be fine for 2 hours (if the priming pump could hold up) and I'm pretty sure they didn't climb because of the added strain on the engine and the low speeds to just keep the A/C airborne with minimal temp cost.

Anyone ever read about P-51 pilots extending the life of an over-heating engine with the use of the fuel primer? I just read a story about one such event where John Godfrey was about to bail over enemy territory but then used the advice of a fellow pilot to cool the engine by frequently priming the engine all the way back to England. Interesting stuff. Of course, the next question is can you do that with the DCS P-51D? I have not tried it...yet. :) I even found the same story in his online biography. (Page 4) John Godfrey Bio

PM Sent. Also, stumbled upon a collection of Normandy Advanced Landing Grounds. Some good research here... Normandy ALGs

Now running v1.2.6.195 on the server. Seems to be pretty stable so far.

I am in contact with a map maker about the possibility of gearing a current D-Day Normandy map of theirs specifically towards DCS WWII: Europe 1945. I think it would be wise to ensure the major points all match up with the terrain being built (especially airfields) Is there a contact (RRG or affiliated) that I could possibly bring into the loop to assist with this? I think this could be mutually beneficial and I think there would be great value in having a large-format detailed paper copy of the Normandy map. Sample of the existing map...

I have read several accounts where RL Mustang pilots would do a variety of things to manage their fuel situation. Some would burn a decent amount from the fuselage tank before using up the drop tanks. This was to minimize the impact of engaging the enemy with a full fuse tank which makes things very difficult.

Yes that is true, It is very easy for one to create a custom mission to "fix" that scenario. I've created plenty and continue to do so. My point was that I had hoped the Instant Action scenario would have been created with a little more forethought. Not everyone is comfortable with creating missions, even simple ones, and personally I don't think they should have to. Along with that I believe it does a disservice to the sim. I would assume the Instant action missions are mostly for newcomers to the P-51D. Why put them in a situation that is a challenge for veteran pilots? Of course it's possible to trim your plane, adjust and activate your gunsite, etc while spotting and tracking the enemy, avoiding his attack and beginning a vigorous engagement BUT this is far from ideal. I didn't even mention the fuel load which makes the P-51D feel very unstable to some as they are introduced to the '51. First impressions are very important...not sure we are in a position to scare away too many potential pilots.

Feel free to come by my server anytime. [DoW] WWII Combat Server It's pretty much hit or miss to when people are flying but there are quite a few regulars. Also Saturdays at 17:00 Zulu we have a scheduled dogfight session. Pilots of all kinds from all over show up. Check it out.

My bad, I wrote that at 5:40am. Max Continuous. For what it's worth, you can run 46"/2700 ALL day with no problems in the sim.

I'd say definitely yes to that. You use the settings you need at the moment. However, you do need to start with the knowledge of what settings stress the engine and what setting will run all day. Cruising all day: 46" & 2700 RPM (Max Cruise - Best continuous operation) The typical operating settings for the P-51D are listed in many places including a placard inside the cockpit. Anything over cruise would be used in situations where you need extra grunt from the engine/prop but comes at a cost (Heat and Wear on the engine) Avoid drastic movements of the RPM lever after the initial push forward for startup. Abuse of this lever tends to put enormous strain on the engine/prop governor/internals and is a good way to kill the Merlin. 61" & 3000 RPM (Full Military Power) is the typical way to enter a A2A fight unless you're diving of course. Just keep in mind that if your speed decreases in a climb or turn, the engine will build heat VERY quickly. Try your best to keep your airspeed above 150 at all times. Opening the radiator doors is also helpful to manage heat. Get used to checking the Coolant and Oil temps regularly. That should get you started...then intuition comes later.

I do agree with this to a degree. If your aim is to avoid death at all cost you must work to keep engagements brief. It's not as conductive to online play... and I think there is a happy medium to be found. So you are saying it is easier to get concentrated hits on a target while at max speed than in a turn fight? If you hit the right part of the aircraft those 2000 mile per hour .50 bullets have plenty of punch even while the aircraft is practically standing still. While the diving attack is advantageous in many ways, accuracy is not on the plus side. Spraying bullets is bad no matter the speed. Both sides realized the value of fighting in pairs as do most of us here. Staying with your wingman through an intense dogfight is VERY difficult...and even the guys who's lives depended on it got separated most of the time. In theory it is an ideal arrangement but most actual WWII dogfights were violent and short with effort spent afterwards trying to find friendlies and re-join.

1000 Destroyed - Grover C. Hall Forever Flying - Bob Hoover The Flying Greek - Steve Pisanos Flying Tiger - David "Tex" Hill Graf & Grislawski A Pair of Aces - Bergstrom Mustang Ace - Robert Goebel Love them all.

I thought this sounded like a valuable appraisal of the terrain beyond Utah beach... Tactical Aspects of the Terrain The dominant terrain feature of the south Cotentin is the Douve River which, together with its principal tributary, the Merderet, drains the major portion of the peninsula, flows south and southeast, and then turns toward the sea . Neither river has high banks or is sufficiently wide to present insurmountable obstacles, but through much of their course these rivers flow through flat bottom lands and water meadows. A lock and dam at la Barquette, just north of Carentan, controls the drainage of most of these bottom lands. At high tide the low marshlands of the Douve and the Merderet are below sea level, and by opening the lock these lands can be converted into shallow lakes, which, supplemented by the water meadows and undrained swampland of the Prairies Marecageuses to the south, effectively isolate the Cotentin, restricting all land traffic to established routes through Carentan and Pont l'Abbe on the east and to a narrow strip of land between St. Lo- d'Ourville and St. Sauveur-de-Pierre-Pont on the west. The blocking of these routes and the seizure of the la Barquette locks intact would permit the establishment of an easily defended military line to the south, protecting the rear and the west flank of forces pushing northward against Cherbourg. On the east coast of the Cotentin a belt of low-lying meadow land, from the mouth of the Douve to Quineville, had been subjected to shallow flooding. This area of inundation, running parallel to Utah Beach, had been created by the obstruction of several stream exits about fifty yards to the rear of the beach, resulting in the flooding or complete saturation of the soil for a width of one to two miles. Travel in this area was restricted to a few causeways which cleared the inundations by approximately one foot but could be easily obstructed by blocks or demolitions. Critical areas of the Cotentin therefore were: (1) the Carentan-la Barquette area, with its control of the water level in the low marshlands along the Douve and Merderet, which was the key point in the east for passage into or out of the peninsula; (2) the dry ground between St. Lo-d'Ourville and St. Sauveur-de-Pierre-Pont, which controlled the western approaches to the peninsula; and (3) the inundated area between the mouth of the Douve and Quineville, which not only restricted the exploitation of an initial landing by canalizing any advance from the beachhead but also facilitated the enemy's defense of the area.

I'm not sure if it has been stated yet but there are some Google Earth overlays of Normandy that seem at least somewhat helpful. Just a thought. LINK

Yes! Someone noticed. I used to live over there! The Summit I think? Wayyyy back in the day. Used to go over to Sam Sneads and start trouble. Good times.

Nice! Hey where abouts in O-town are you at? I'm a UCF Alum.

This is the end result of my P-51D version of the death blossom.

FX-8 here too. I love it but yes... the current DCS favors Intel. I hope things open up with EDGE.

I watched your track. Did you have enemy aircraft set to CAS instead of CAP? That would explain him flying straight and level the entire time. You should see quite a difference in the AI behavior if you switch it. I then took a crack at your setup starting dead astern like that and attached the track. He should be in flames within seconds :holloween: If only they were all that easy. SittingDuck.trk

That is a good question. I personally, am in the habit of setting the range to 1000 initially. Then I really don't vary from that much except if I'm trying to hit a target that is extending and is just out of reach. When I am closer than 1000ft I feel I can lead the target effectively without any help from the sight. It might be a bit easier to constantly adjust the range if we had a twist handle like on the actual throttle setup.

The P-51D is set up for gun Harmonization as opposed to convergence. What that means is that all of the guns do not have one very specific point that they converge. It's a pattern effect. The range you are setting with the K-14 is to help the gyro site compute the correct lead for the aircraft you are trying to get a shot on. Range of the target and the size of the target are important variables that are used to determine the correct angles. From what I understand 1000ft is the optimal harmonization distance but as we all know it is not the only distance you can fire from.

Good point. So how do we get the man paid? Is it already in the works? Does this somehow conflict with the work being done for 1944? Is there a collaboration in place? It seems like a no-brainer to me.

Yesterdays Saturday Fight Night was a great success. Thanks for joining guys. I think we had close to 20 pilots in the skies at one point. Great fun even with death himself in the midst. Lots of great moments witnessed and it is truly a fantastic thing to be in the middle of such a realistic looking rolling dogfight with that many human fliers.

Ilya, thank you for the communication. So much to look forward to. My personal opinion is to take your time with the manuals and make sure the quality is there. Those are things that we want to hold on to for a long while and I agree with you that they should be well-made with good paper. Also when will you be communicating things such as the development meeting schedules and such with those of us that contributed at that level?