Bahger

Hey gents. I'm an original LOMAC vet with a lot of experience in DCS A-10C as well as many other high-fidelity flight sims over the years. After a long break from A-10C I've been thinking of coming back to DCS flight simming, installing DCS World and possibly even Combined Arms. I'm interested in modern NATO jet sims but my first love is fast-movers. I really enjoyed the Hog but feel like getting into something with radar, A2A and high-altitude maneuverability. I thought about returning to the LOMAC F-15, as updated in FC2. I'll nbeed to re-purchase LOMAC then buy/install both the FC2 add-on and DCS World. I'm wondering if, after many hours in the A10-C, if I'd find the Eagle too "lite". Can anyone comment on this? I also have the following questions: - Can F-15E missions be designed, and flown, within DCS Combined Arms? In other words, could I make missions involving a fairly well-choeographed ground battle, A-10s flying CAS and Eagles for me to fly as high-altitude CAP? - Is anyone aware of good CH HOTAS maps for the Eagle? - With this new, modular DCS system in place, how easy is it to switch from flying the A-10C one day and the F-15C the next (assuming I own all the necessary modules)? I do not yet fully understand the latest DCS integration. Thanks guys.

Smokey, good to see you! What happened to the 25th? That was a well-run squadron. What are serials? Sorry if that is a very dopey question.

Thanks, guys. I cannot find my singleplayer version #. MP appears to be 1.1.1.1. I believe the only modules I have are A-10C and P-51. So, just be clear; should I patch up, patch by patch, before downloading DCS World?

Hi gents. I was once all over DCS A-10, including squadron flying and mission design but I took a break. Now I'd like to come back. I'm sure I'm several patches behind the current version of A-10, I do not yet have DCS World and would like to get Combined Arms (almost the only DCS product I have not jumped onto in Beta). I do not know how these products interlock or how to update my current A-10 build. I've always updated via Torrent before. Is there an auto updater now? Are updates inclusive of all previous, missed patches? Will updates include DCS World? I have quite a lot of work ahead of me updating my HOTAS files, etc., not to mention re-learning the sim, so any guidance to make the update and DCS World and Combined Arms integration as smooth as possible would be very welcome, thanks.

Hey guys, thanks for the useful replies and the excellent articles. That post-incident report serves as a warning: this is a lot of airplane and it can easily turn around and bite. Crunch, I'm only using the mappable wheel, i.e. the one on the left side of the joystick; I know the others are purely mechanical in function. I had the left wheel mapped for RPM but soon discovered, thanks to another post in this forum, that it's a lot better to use it for elevator trim. Since then, I have found the Mustang to be much more stable, with less porpoising and much finer control of nose oscillations. I've now run out of usable axes so I'm thankful that rudder trim works ok when mapped to a hat and there's not tooo much need for aileron trim. It's a pain to have to go hands-off to use elevator trim on the a/c, at least, hand off the throttle and then move it across to the stick. It's worth it for the finer control it gives but I really hope the devs make elevator trim work via the stick trim hat. I don't think this compromises realism too egregiously.

I'm severly tempted, Ghost, just not sure how to either (i) hide the purchase from wife or (ii) justify it to her. Money is tight.

This was very helpful, Azazel; finally I can control all the porpoising. I wonder if anything can be done -- either in CH CM or in the sim -- to adjust trim sensitivity so that it works when mapped to a hat. Maybe when the devs implement trim tabs, as opposed yo using the main control surface deflection, this will be possible. BTW, small point but do not invert the axis setting if you want the function to be realistic. IRL, an elevator trim wheel is always rotated backwards, i.e. towards you, for nose-up.

I use a CH Flightstick and ProThrottle. I use the trim hat (or view hat) on the Flightstick for trim, up/down for elevator trim, left/right for rudder trim. It's possible that each press moves the trim too much, as I am always trimming through the desired value rather than nailing it. I do not have any spare axes so if trim cannot be operated effectively via a hat, my career as a virtual Mustang pilot might be a short one.

C:\Program Files\Eagle Dynamics ? Alongside DCS A-10C ?

What is the default path/file location for the install of DCS World/P-51, please? For once the installer did not give me the default location; the window was empty so I will need to browse my way to the right place. I do not want to install the updated version anywhere but in the default location. Can someone give me the path? Thanks.

Just asking because I had heard that Torrent downloaders were notorious for infesting PCs with adware, spyware, malware and other assorted crap and, sure enough, during my download of the recent P-51 update, my trusty anti-malware monitoring software, Malwarebytes, alerted me to malicious intrusions every four minutes or so. I trust Malwarebytes to intercept this garbage and I run another program, Spyhunter 4, every night to scan and mop up what's left, but still... I'm wondering if ED or any of you, have concerns about this. EDIT: I use the uTorrent client, by the way. It's a very good program but it does appear to be a portal for dreck.

@Flightace37: Yes, the more powerful the engine, the more torque and the more of a handful these a/c can be, but basic stability in all axes and in all flight regimes has to be a prerequisite of a good airplane of any size and type. Yes, a powerful fighter or aerobatic propeller a/c with a big engine, big prop and stubby wings will bite you hard if you get too far behind it or take liberties with it but there has to be a baseline level of stability. In real life, an evenly-loaded airplane that's flying level and in trim will return to that condition after the pilot has, say, rolled into a turn and rolled out again, or climbed or descended the a/c, without adjusting trim or power settings. This P-51 is a long, long way from that basic capability and coordinated fight in it is like walking on eggshells. I take your point about different loads, but as long as it is within its published center-of-gravity limts, a heavily, or even asymmetrucally, loaded aircraft should be stable when properly trimmed. @ Weta43, thank you for responding. I'm sure you're right about the elusiveness of the sweet-spot for trimming this beast in real life. However, there must be a way to harmonise the controls in flight in order to attain a greater degree of stability and in a sim without the benefit of tactile trim feedback, it might be necessary to make trim commands faster and more authoritative, or "mastering" the a/c will become a chore. You are absolutely right about the limitations of trimming by control sruface vs. trim tab; these are two different aerodynamic conditions and I'm hoping that the implementation of trim tabs for all control surfaces will make this airplane feel more stable, both in constant flight conditions and when transitioning. Finally, I'm sure you're right about both the "complete lack of yaw stability and need for constant trimming" and the "poor lateral stability, sloppy low speed handling, and dangerous yaw & roll reaction on application of power at low speeds". These characteristics are certainly present and correct in the sim. The problem is that, given how difficult it is to simulate trim realistically, the combination of these limitations with those of the aircraft make it too much of a mule to fly with precision, except at high speeds, when almost any idiot can convince himself he's a pilot. If this Mustang is going to be both authentic and fun to fly, I suspect there will need to be more attention paid to harmonising and modulating all control surface commands, including trim via tabs, the object of which should be to make stable flight in all attitudes not exactly easy but attainable and sustainable.

I do not criticise the experts at ED lightly so let me first say that I am very impressed with their Mustang so far. The following observations are based on r/l experience in single-engine propeller aircraft, including tail-draggers. I feel the flight model for the DCS P-51 lacks essential stability in most flight regimes and requires too much constant manipulation of all control surfaces to attain minimal stability in climb, cruise and descent. Here are some specifics: - Takeoff and climbout: Rudder torque is well modelled but very slow application of trim correction prevents smooth transition in yaw stability from climb to level flight. - Trim lacks authority. I think this is by far the most difficult thing to implement in a sim, especially of an a/c like this, because trimming an aircraft is essentially a tactile experience. However, once power input is set and the a/c is at a constant airspeed in level flight, it has to be possible to trim off all control pressures. It isn't, yet, in this simulation. Trim input, especially elevator trim, never "nails" the selected attitude but merely reduces oscillation of the nose. This applies to climb and descent, too; it needs to be much easier, even in a high-powered, torquey a/c like this, to trim for a constant airapeed and attitude, to the point where the pilot can be hands-off. - Power reduction induces way too much rudder departure on descent. In general, the leftward yaw departure on descent is somewhat exaggerated but the most noticeable problem in this regime is leftward massive yaw on reduction of power. As I said, I love the a/c and undertand that, like all a/c, it has to be flown with finesse. However, this is all the more reason to attain minimal stability in all axes and flight regimes and to make sure that the trim tabs in all axes have real authority, or the Mustang is just too fussy and high-maintenenace to fly, let alone to fight. If I were a WW2 squadron commander I would not want to send my pilots out to fight in a fighter that requires such constant management of yaw, roll and -- particularly -- climb stability.

Ah, that's good to know.

Do you have to be African-American to join?

Thanks, Ghost, much appreciated, as always.

Crunch, are you or Ken King intending to make a CMC file, or a profile, for DCS P-51?

I have a CH map adapted from my DCS A-10 profile, which is such a mercy, as most of the generic commands are the same in all DCS sims, such as all the view commands, gear, flaps, etc. It has TIR worked in as well. PM me if you want me to send it to you.

The thing is, ED has not created a WW2 sim here. Instead, the world its P-51 flies in is full of contemporary details and equipment. Having no navaids at all is therefore just a little bit of a cop-out. I assume most warplanes currently flying have been retrofitted with GPS or VORs. I know ED want to create as perfect a recreation of the "classic" Mustang as possible -- and I'm loving it, it's the best stick and rudder flying I've ever done in a sim -- but later in the life of this product I think they should issue a VFR chart of the region and/or a VOR/OBS-equipped aircraft, or, realistically, and given it's not set in WW2, this P-51 is a VFR-only aircraft.

Guys, I thought you want to take note of the following: - The narrator references safety covers on a pair of switches (sorry I forget the function) on the left cockpit panel that you have to activate and then safe at the beginning of the startup sequence. There are no safety covers. - After engine start, the given parameters for oil temp/pressure and many of the other engine health checks we are advised to do, seem out of kilter. In some cases the numbers given just don't seem to correspond with what they should be or what we see. Hope this is helpful.

I know there isn't one in the real a/c but this is one of those cases where ergonomic problems trump authenticity. The P-51 needs a hatful of right rudder on takeoff and climbout, hence the need to set rudder trim 5 degrees right on the ground, but in the air when transitioning to level flight, it takes a long time to rotate the little mousewheel through enough rotations to get it back to neutral. Grabbing the rudder trim knob with the left mouse button and dragging it counter-clockwise is no faster. Especially without TrackIR, making this necessary transition requires a virtual pilot to go heads-down for a lot longer than would be advisable, or safe, in an a/c that needs a great deal of constant attitude and trim adjustments by reference to the horizon or the turn and bank indicator. The Mustang is too high-maintenance when transitioning from one flight regime to another to make it desirable to be heads-down for so long. Pretty please, can we get a rudder trim reset command?

Yes, that's the idea. It works but the sharp turns require differential wheel braking. Without toe brakes on my pedals I can't begin to think how to map that to my HOTAS. Using keyboard for differential braking is an act of contortionism because you need a hand on the throttle.

Thanks guys, I missed the mirror "on" switch, it's under "Gameplay".

Sorry, it's probably obvious but I can't find the command for the life of me.

How do you manage throttle and RPM in a dogfight? Push them both to the limit and leave them there? Pull them both back again at the top of a split-S? I've never flown a sim with both power and RPM controls for thrust before so please forgive the elementary question.