Barrett_g

Now that DCS has given the ability to “restrict” certain weapons…. Couldn’t fuel octane be treated the same way? Let us have the ability to use 150 octane in single player if we so choose… and the server admin can restrict it in their server if they so choose!

This is why the additions of real buildings in the Channel Map are so important. ED needs to work a little harder to include specific building in each village/town/city. In some of the smaller towns, a distinct looking church might be all that’s needed to differentiate that particular town from the rest.

Instead of trying to fly from your home base to a specific point 1000 miles away… where a single degree off in your heading will put you miles away from where you want to be…. Try breaking your trip down into multiple waypoints…. And make sure your waypoints are easily recognizable. For instance I can take off on the Channel map and fly a specific heading and I’ll get close enough to the big port in Dover. Think of that as a mini-save point. Pick another waypoint over another recognizable land mass like a large city next to a lake and fly that heading until you get there… now you’re 2 for 2. This is how real WW2 pilots did it. You have to study the map and look for recognizable features. This is what I love about WW2 modules in DCS. It really makes you appreciate a lot of stuff you didn’t realize those airman had to go through…. Constantly trimming the plane, cycling through external tanks every 30 minutes to keep them balanced, monitoring a handful of engine gauges…. All while scanning the air around them for bandits!

The P-47 has two fuel tanks: the main and an auxiliary. The Auxiliary tank, when full, makes the P-47 tail heavy and harder to control (especially at low speeds!) Make a simple mission for you to practice on (this will let you have external views) Set the fuel to 73% (this setting is a full Main tank and an empty Aux tank). Start with no external stores. Practice taking off. Once you’re comfortable with a best-case-scenario P-47, add some weight by putting on rockets. Once you master those take offs, add bombs. Finally, once you can take off in a P-47 with bombs and rockets, fill up the Aux tank and try those takeoffs. Easier to learn in small steps than it is all at once!

Awesome! I don’t know how I missed that! Now I’m going to have to go back and see all the options on all the other objects! Now if we can fix the weird left front tire LOD problem and get the bridges installed on the Channel Map!

I wanted to make a fairly easy Channel Map mission where I would intercept unarmored soft targets that were transporting supplies from a port, to an airfield. Looking through the assets pack, it was hard to find an asset that would make up a lightly armored convoy that could bring supplies to the airfield. I settled for the "Truck Opel Blitz", but it's less than ideal as you can clearly see they are empty! My request is that ED makes another version that has canvas in the back, so you can assume there is some type of supplies or personnel back there. The route I chose would bring the convoy close to the coast to make it easier to spot. Unfortunately, the route I chose is impossible. There is a small river, or ditch, that is missing 3 bridges. My convoy won't pass, however, the random traffic floats through as if there is an invisible bridge. Lastly, there seems to be an issue with the "Truck Opel Blitz" when you zoom out far enough you will see something wrap around the left front tire. It "flops" around the tire as it drives. I'm guessing this is a LOD issue? I'm not sure. I tried to get a photo of it, but it's more prominent in motion as you see it rotating around the tire. Here's my attempt at taking a pic of the object that appears to rotate around the left front wheel.

I think at the 3:00 mark in this video, Reflected Simulations talks about using recognition lights for night flying. When he’s ready for takeoff he switches the recognition lights to the color of the day (green in this instance) and then flashes his light in Morse Code to signify his tail’s letter. Once he does this he explains that in reality, the tower would flash a green light back at him for confirmation, but since this isn’t coded in the core of the game, he had to create a workaround by triggering a green flare to shoot off. Id like this form of communication coded into the core game. It’s fascinating and would really come in handy for for all WWII modules used at night… especially once we get some good night fighter modules in the future! Also, Reflected Simulations speaks on being shot at by friendly AAA units until they recognize you. This would also be a really awesome feature added to ground AI units. AAA units should alarm and possibly fire on you until they recognize your silhouette in the day, or you flash the correct light at night as I’m sure this happened in real life ( also why P-47’s had two roundels on the bottom of their wings). link to the video:

You hit the nail on the head!!! That, in my opinion, seems to be our biggest issue when reporting this to ED. It seems to me, when we report “Trim Sensitivity” to ED, they take this as a personal attack on their flight model. They check their math and reiterate that “nothing is wrong” and refuse to make any changes. No one is saying the flight model is wrong. All I’m saying…. Is when I tap my keyboard button once… it over rotates the pitch trim wheel down. The plane goes into a dive. I tap my keyboard button once… it over rotates the pitch trim wheel up. The plane goes into a climb. I can’t trim the plane to fly level because my virtual pilot is over cranking the pitch trim wheel, causing my plane to porpoise through the sky. All I want to do is lessen the pitch trim wheel rotation per keystroke. It’s a simple .lua value edit and should be incorporated into an official update.

Both the P-47 and the Mosquito’s trim (by keyboard button taps) are too sensitive. Other warbirds may suffer from this as well but I don’t fly them enough to notice. The P-47 porpoises as you try to trim the pitch axis. The Mosquito is much worse! Way too sensitive. Both planes have “trim” threads and people who have fixed it using .lua edits to reduce the sensitivity per button push. It would be nice if ED added the suggested .lua edits so we wouldn’t have to re-edit the .lua files after each update. If ED wanted to go above and beyond they would add a “sensitivity slider” to the trim commands so you could map your buttons, adjust the slider and then go fly with whatever setting you preferred.

A working Norden bombsight would be awesome!

Yes. When the P-47 entered the European Theater it was the first allied radial-engined fighter. Up until that time, AAA gunners were used to firing at radial engined fighters without any thought. Fearing possible friendly fire, command came down with orders to double up on the bottom side roundels. That’s also why you’ll notice that some of the bottom side “extra” roundels are bigger than the factory painted side.… some crew chiefs didn’t like the mismatched sizes so they painted over the factory roundels to make both bigger. You’ll see posts on plastic model forums from modelers trying to figure out if the particular plane they are trying to model had two big roundels or one big roundel and a standard, factory painted roundel.

Possibly the first military aircraft to have a Flight Engineer. As a full fidelity module this would be really cool to pull start the APU, get the engines started and adjust the fuel flow. Lots of stuff to tinker with!

I want a cargo train car that looks exactly like the one we have but it’s named “ammo cargo train car” and it explodes really big when destroyed… big enough to engulf and damage an unsuspecting attacker. This enables a mission maker to set up a few trains. All the trains look more or less the same… but one of them is carrying ammo. This forces the player to attack with caution… never knowing if he’ll frag himself if he gets too close to a train that’s potentially carrying highly explosive substances. The same can be done to cargo trucks. It would also be nice if we can place ammo crates inside houses to replicate ammo caches. You can strafe 3 or 4 buildings with little effect… but suddenly the last house engulfs you!

A 200 gallon belly tank almost carries the same amount as two 110 gallon wing tanks. That means you can fly without pylons and tanks on the wings (less drag). It also means you don’t have to continually swap between the two wing tanks to keep them balanced. It also frees up the wings if you decide to haul a pair of bombs (if you can manage the weight). Personally, I’d fly with minimal internal fuel (just enough to dogfight and get home), no wing ordinance or pylons, and a 200 gallon belly tank. I could cruise the full map on my belly tank and as soon as I find bandits I’d drop my tank. I’d be jumping into the fight with the lightest, cleanest Jug you could possibly have. Shoot the bandits down and get home for a refuel!

Late in the war there was a joke known and spread among German AAA crews: “If the incoming planes are camouflaged, they are British. If the incoming planes are bare aluminum, they are American. If there are no planes, they’re the Luftwaffe!” If it’s late in the war, you have air superiority, little ground resistance, and want more loiter time…. Then firing only half your guns makes sense. Especially if you’re targets are soft targets. Have you seen the gun cam video of the P-47’s scouring a town for ammo caches? They’re literally flying through the countryside… squirting a few rounds into each building… until one blows up in a massive fireball! A mission like this would be the perfect time to disable half your guns… you don’t need all 8 to shoot through houses. Only shooting 4 at a time doubles your loiter time and let’s you search more houses. Also, and most importantly….. if you had half your guns disabled and were suddenly jumped by a bandit…. All you had to do was reach down and press two of the closest, most conveniently placed CB’s. Just reach down and slap them in and you’ve got all 8 at your command. Again… you guys are overthinking this issue. Was this done frequently? No. Could it have been done? Yes. This is a sandbox simulation where every user can set up their missions the way they want and fly the mission with their aircraft set up the way they want. If you think it’s nonsensical or unrealistic, then don’t use it. The fact is, it was possible… and should be added. EVERY CB should be coded to be manipulated… whether YOU want to use them or not!

Definitely overthinking this as the pilot doesn’t even have to pull them. All he has to do is tell his chief to have the outboard gun CB’s pulled for him when he gets to the plane. Pilot takes off, expends all his inboard gun ammunition, reaches down and pushes the two CB’s in and continues his mission… strafing with his now operational outboard guns.

Oh thanks for the sentence-fragment response with no references. I also notice that it directly opposes the actual P-47 Flight manual that was quoted 3 or 4 posts above.

I think some of you guys are forgetting that aircraft, and their engines, are designed to seal up correctly at operating temperature and at altitude. Many planes leak (even jets) while sitting on the ground. It wouldn’t be abnormal for a low time P-47 that had been expertly maintained to have some oil leak passed the piston rings once it had cooled down on the ground. Expect even more leaks on a cold night. This is why maintenance personnel would rotate the prop through by hand several times, and then start and warm up the engine before the pilot stepped to the aircraft. Once maintenance shut the engine off, they probably serviced the engine one last time and then greeted the pilot.

Yeah it’s hard to pinpoint these changes on restorations… especially flying examples. Was the electric primer added to the P-47D-40 towards the end of the European theater… was it added during the Pacific theater once the P-47N came out… was it added after WW2 altogether when the P-47’s were flown by ANG units… or was it added by a current day pilot to make flying a bit easier? Have you seen the “No Guts No Glory” P-47’s cockpit? It doesn’t resemble a historical P-47 at all!!! They’ve modernized it quite a bit to make current day flying easier. Kind of a shame, actually!

That red switch might jettison the bazooka tubes. Check this thread out: https://forums.eagle.ru/topic/266167-jettison-bazooka-tubes/?do=findComment&comment=4727898 Also just noticed the primer switch next to the starter switch! I guess instead of manually pumping a few times you just flip the switch for a few seconds!!! That’s pretty neat!

Thank you so much for finding that information! Im assuming all the Razorbacks we see in photos with bazooka tubes were field modded with those rocket control panels, too! Very interesting!

After hearing Jack Hallet explain why his olive drab P-47 "Frigid Midgit" got it's silver wings.... I'd like to have a "Frigid Midgit" in DCS! Skip to 16:20 for his story.

It is a missing feature, hence why I started this topic. Eagle Dynamics already did most of the work, they just haven’t completed it yet. Luckily we have people like LeCuvier who know how to get the most out of the available code. (If you haven’t tried his code change to dampen the trim-tabs, it’s a must! I can finally trim my plane to fly straight and level instead of proposing everywhere!) You seem to want documentation to “prove” the pilots did this in WW2. I doubt you’ll find any. Kinda like the manifold pressure limits, pilots often did their own thing and hotrodded their planes. If Republic didn’t want pilots using it, they would have put the panel out on the wing, or on the belly, under a panel. Somewhere only accessible to mechanics on the ground. The fact that the circuit breaker panel was installed by their left knee, open and accessible, and the gun circuit breakers are easiest to reach and manipulate will have to be proof enough.

You sir, are a genius! I was finally able to get back to my home computer and I tried out your lines (I've never edited a .lua file before) and it worked! So awesome and really adds some flexibility to the airframe!!! This should be added to an official update!

Yes! Look at the heat blur coming out of the exhaust during the first few seconds of this video! It’s most noticeable when he passes in front of the tree line. I never noticed it before but it’s cool!