Yoda967

+2

Grafspee, I'm more concerned about contemporary info than what can be done in the sim. This link to the testing done in 1943 on the LF Mk IX specifically says the limitation that applied was +12 boost at 3000 RPM. http://www.spitfireperformance.com/bs543.html The oft-maligned Pilot's Notes for the Mk IX (from 1946) also state that at training and normal loads, takeoff power is set to between +7 and +9 boost, with power increased after takeoff to +12. I admit I may be wrong about the +11.5 boost, though I would question why the need to placard the engine limitation as applying up to 1000 feet if there's no expected difference above that.

Didn't say they don't have supercharged engines. As per Pikey's linked article, a normally aspirated engine won't produce MP above ambient air pressure, and without a supercharger on the Spitfire's Merlin, max boost will be 0 at sea level. Any engine giving you more than 29.9" Hg/0 PSI has to have some device which raises the air pressure in the intake manifold. The Spitfire is NOT allowed to take off at +18 boost -- it's placarded for +12 boost max takeoff power up to 1000 feet, and standard takeoff power is +8 boost. MP in PSI decreases by .5 PSI per thousand feet elevation, so if field elevation is 2,000 feet, your max power takeoff would be +11.5 boost. My guess is that unless you're using 100% takeoff assist, you've been having some trouble holding a straight line during takeoff. At +18 boost, you're bound to have torque swings.

Excellent, Pikey! This is a great place to start the discussion. Supercharged engines are a little different, which is how you end up with 52" of MP at takeoff with the P-47. The Spitfire's boost gauge works on PSI rather than inches of mercury. Zero boost there at sea level is 14.7 PSI. When you push the throttle to +8 boost for takeoff, the manifold pressure is 8 PSI above ambient pressure, or 22.7 PSI. Measured in inches of mercury, that would be 46.2" (PSI x 2.036 = inches HG).

Yes, and that works for all the AI but the wingman.

It's been posted but not acknowledged yet. https://forums.eagle.ru/showthread.php?t=276398

Ah, crap...you're right, Speed. Sorry about that. I should know better than to post before my second cup of coffee.:doh:

Speed, I agree that it sounds from McPetterson's description that something has been "fixed". I'm not sure you have the explanation right...G is G, regardless of speed. It's easier to generate, say 5 G at higher speed, but there's no difference between 5 G at 300 knots and 5 G at 200 knots. G is a function of gravity (obviously) and centrifugal force, not speed. The faster the airplane is moving, the more lift the wings generate, which allows you to generate more G in a turn. NineLine has said several times that the new damage model is still a work in progress, and this seems like a manifestation of the partial application of the new DM.

I have experienced this as well, and also with a Hornet in Parking 11.

Intermittently, whatever jet is parked in spot 11 will slide on the deck slightly, changing its heading by 20 or 30 degrees, and then when its time to taxi to the cat, it won't move. That, in turn, holds up the entire launch.

Wrench, Sorry it took so long to test the tanker. Not sure what I did wrong in the setup, but the tanker launches on request and then immediately returns to the overhead for landing. He did get an OK #2 WIRE, though!

This. Well said.

I get that you'd like to be able to pick the parking spot with a drop down menu like you can with an airfield ashore. It's a fair request, I think, and yes, I'd like that, too. It's early access, though, and it's not what we have. Personally, I think what we have is a PITA, but it's what is right now. I spent the first four days with the SC trying to identify how the AI behaves on the flight deck. How to put a specific plane in a specific spot, when it will taxi, and which catapult it will go to. It was a lot of frigging work. One of the surprises (for me, anyway) was that no matter which deck spot I spawned the player jet, no "uncontrolled" AI plane would move until the player did, which was pretty handy for mission design. After this latest update, "uncontrolled" AI planes taxi shortly after they've started, and the default taxi order is different. During one test run, my wingman taxied before I did...that's never happened before, on the boat or ashore. So in addition to being able to more easily control where I put the aircraft, I'd like to have a way to designate the catapult they taxi to and the order in which they launch without having to run the mission fifteen times to make sure the launch sequence is going to work.

I haven't tried it yet. I'll give it a go as soon as I can, though.

Wrench, It works great with the SC! I had an idea for a new feature -- most of the air plans I've seen over the years have an alert tanker set for a minimum of 15 minutes, and sometimes even 30 or 60 minutes from the call to the launch. Any way to put a start delay into your script?

This has been asked quite a few times in this forum. There is guidance on page 78 of the manual. In short, when you build a mission, you need to add aircraft to the carrier IN PARKING SPOT ORDER. Alternatively, you can set all the aircraft to LATE ACTIVATION and spawn them in by triggers one second apart in parking spot order.

There's some info on how to do this on page 78 of the manual. Simply put, the SC places aircraft on the deck in the order they're added to the mission. You can also set all the aircraft you're planning to launch to "LATE ACTIVATION" and then spawn them in 1 second apart, in the order you want them placed in the parking spots.

MOHAB, See all those guys standing around the catapults and the island? There's your fire brigade. On a US Navy ship, everyone in the crew goes through firefighting training, and the flight deck crew gets additional training on how to handle issues specific to aircraft fires. There's also a group of folks we called the "Crash & Smash Detail" who are suited up and ready to go in a few seconds whenever flight operations are in progress.

There's an old joke among pilots that the reason for two engines is that if you have an engine failure, the second engine is there to get you to the crash site.

I'm building a mission that I'd dearly like to begin with a 5MC announcement, but my wingman still starts as soon as we spawn in. It ruins the effect of the safety brief if there's a jet already starting up while the Air Boss is talking...I feel like any self-respecting Air Boss would stop in the middle of the brief and boom, "WHO'S ALREADY STARTING ENGINES? THREE ZERO SEVEN??? VFA-15, CALL YOUR SDO AND GET A NEW PILOT IN THREE ZERO SEVEN...NOW! PLANE CAPTAIN FOR THREE ZERO SEVEN, SHUT DOWN THAT JET, GO GET YOUR CHIEF, AND THE TWO OF YOU COME SEE ME IN PRIFLY..."

Cool. Thanks.

Thanks, G B. I'd seen the definition of "Kilo" as a "pilot-coded report" and figured there was something more to it. This leads to another question...if you've already joined up with your wingman at the point, does lead report Kilo for the flight?

Thanks, Razor. I'd already found that. So, I guess it's just the preamble and the proword. Thanks!

I don't know of any way to make it so that you can jump into an AI aircraft in an SP mission, but if you're looking to use the AI when an enemy shows up, you can do that with triggers.

Yes, you can delay your player aircraft spawn at least 1 second after the mission start time. When you do that, your player aircraft and flight will spawn in spots 5 - 16, depending on the order you spawn all the aircraft in. If you want to use the Six Pack (spots 1 - 4) for AI aircraft, spawn them at mission start. There are probably other ways to make it work, but I've found that if you spawn by section (two aircraft), the spawn order is as follows: Spots 5 & 6 (lead in 5) Spots 7 & 8 (lead in 7) Spots 9 & 10 (lead in 9) Spots 11 & 12 (lead in 11) Spots 13 & 14 (lead in 13) Spots 15 & 16 (lead in 15)