How to Land the Dora

[golani79]

Thanks DavidRed! :thumbup:

 

It´s pretty hard - but after transforming the runway into a moonlike landscape I managed to do some two-pointers.

Probably not the best but hey :D

 

My biggest problem at the moment is to estimate the height between the landing gear and the runway.

Although I´m trying to fly / flare as close to the runway as possible it seems that the nose drops down too far and then bounces back - but I´m sure with some more practice I´ll get there.

 

Besides leaving craters all over the place it´s fun to practice :)

Edited November 9, 2014 by golani79

[9.JG27 DavidRed]

Thanks DavidRed! :thumbup:

 

It´s pretty hard - but after transforming the runway into a moonlike landscape I managed to do some two-pointers.

Probably not the best but hey :D

 

My biggest problem at the moment is to estimate the height between the landing gear and the runway.

Although I´m trying to fly / flare as close to the runway as possible it seems that the nose drops down too far and then bounces back - but I´m sure with some more practice I´ll get there.

 

Besides leaving craters all over the place it´s fun to practice :)

 

yeah, thats the tough part.what helps is to always use the same FOV.also try not to focus on the runway beneath you, but look straight ahead and de-focus your eyes on the horizon.

[TwilightZone]

.....what helps me is using the horizontal line in the aiming reticle........after flare line it up with or just above the end of the runway....:-)

[Ratfink]

Haaaaave you got Auto-Rudder turned off? If you don't, that could explain the overcorrections.

 

Auto-rudder is off. part of my trouble I think is landing with stick back. I'm trying now to set elev trim so i can land with stick in the centre. landings are slowly getting better as a result, i now snake much further down the r/w :)

[Ratfink]

just made my first landing without losing any part of my plane! quitting while ahead, night all!!

[Schnarre Aggro]

I, for once, made a very soft landing .... IMHO its worth showing ;)

 

Edited November 17, 2014 by Schnarre [Aggro]

[9.JG27 DavidRed]

[Schnarre Aggro]

yeees yeees ....AUSSSSgezeichnet ^^ .... looking forward to a nice formation landing again .... a pitty that i do not have the last one recorded :cry:

[Ratfink]

;2233734']I' date=' for once, made a very soft landing .... IMHO its worth showing ;)[/quote']

 

Excellent landing! Mine are still a bit bouncy/crashy :)

[Chappie]

For me, Dora take offs tend to be tricky and very "random". Sometimes she will get airborne smoothly and sometimes I end up in a pile of burning rubble. I keep my tail wheel locked until 170 km/h accelerating at a constant 2500 rpm but a slight right rudder correction is always required. Not releasing the rudder on time however, just as the aircraft becomes airborne ends with a nasty instant roll to port side which is usually unrecoverable.. :(

 

 

Recover any port roll with right full rudder and right full aileron providing sufficient time to react and altitude. Also provided you didn't manage to invert the plane as I have with the Kondor a few times. Only remedy the is push the stick full forward and pray.

[weta904]

New to the D9. Never had so much difficulty taking off! Landings need some practice but take-offs are a challenge to say the least. Thanks to all posters on this issue.

 

However, I would like to give an "onya" to Mangaroca's post 29. i thought it explained the issue very well. Certainly know what you mean by "drift extravaganza."

 

BTW Great video "Destination Unknown!"

[Crumpp]

I, for once, made a very soft landing .... IMHO its worth showing

 

Nice landing.

 

Low approach though!!

 

Looks like you got a little Mustang Rash on the wings too.

[Anatoli-Kagari9]

I keep using DCS mostly for the pleasure of flying, maneuvering, aerobatics, takeoff and landing in normal or emergency modes, etc...

 

Been able to master it in all of the three ww2 birds presently availabe.

 

I share this pleasure with another sim, ww2, where the flight and overall physics modeling is, IMO, on-pair with DCS, and indeed the same difficulties I have in one sim replicate on the other, including the training required to perform well on takeoff and landing.

 

I just wished DCS's weather could be modeled with a bit more of instability, namely turbulence nd wind variability, because as it is right now it is too easy even when I set turbulence at 60m/s.

 

I really don't know if appart from the visuals, EDGE will also bring a revised weather model?

 

Another area where I would like to see improvements is the visualization of other aircraft around me. Appart situations where I takeoff with other fellows from the same airfield and try to follow them, just a couple of times was I able to glimpse the foes around me, even on MP servers that have the Icons on the Map available and I can check that many are actually around me :-( I don't see them :-(

Edited December 26, 2014 by jcomm

[HugePanic]

...take off are easy now....

...landings the FW is pretty much easy once you have found how it works......

 

So what's next???

 

 

${1}

Edited December 26, 2014 by HugePanic

[wavn]

Started yesterday and need some more training!: first (about) 10 take offs were a mess: only after reading this topic, I managed to make a few (much less then perfect) take offs.

I really wonder how these new German pilots did this when no errors were allowed??????: must read some books about this item!

Edited December 28, 2014 by wavn

[Crumpp]

Started yesterday and need some more training!: first (about) 10 take offs were a mess: only after reading this topic, I managed to make a few (much less then perfect) take offs.

I really wonder how these new German pilots did this when no errors were allowed??????: must read some books about this item!

 

I have quite a bit of flying time in tail draggers and even own one.

 

You have tactile clues and feel in the real thing that are missing on a computer. When I was teaching, most students are doing their own take off's by the first or second lesson. Now that is not doing them well, that is simply muddling the airplane into the air.

 

With just a few minutes instructions, I bet you could even do the complex take off procedures of a large transport category aircraft and maybe even some V1 cuts if your good.

 

In all honesty, it is much easier to take off the real thing than the DCS models. It is just not that hard to take off in an airplane. Remember, fixed wing aircraft are purposely designed to fly!

 

Does that make DCS unrealistic? NOT AT ALL.

 

DCS forces you to use the correct procedures. Sure, the consequences of not using the correct procedures might be exaggerated somewhat but that is hardly "unrealistic".

 

Unrealistic is seeing everyone muddle the airplane into the air because the FM is realistically forgiving allowing the players to unrealistically use the wrong procedures over and over again.

[wavn]

Thanks Crumpp for your "thumps up"; nevertheless, when also imagening worse weather circumstances..........

A (pretty long) time agoo, flying the IL2 (German) aircraft, I was able to do a better job at starting: I used differential braking a lot (if my memory is not too bad).

Edited December 29, 2014 by wavn

[Crumpp]

Thanks Crumpp for your "thumps up"; nevertheless, when also imagening worse weather circumstances..........

A (pretty long) time agoo, flying the IL2 (German) aircraft, I was able to do a better job at starting: I used differential braking a lot (when my memory is not too bad).

 

You will get it. Keep practicing. In the Dora the secret to smooth take offs is a little right aileron, stick back, 10 degrees of flap, and smooth application of power.

 

It is really important to relax stick back pressure allowing the tail to rise at ~100 kph. Then just just relax and she will fly when ready. Accept small changes in direction and use smooth rudder inputs to keep her aligned.

 

Do you know the control input for crosswinds? Here is one of the textbooks I used when I learned and teach too.

 

It has a really nice chapter on crosswind techniques.

[wavn]

Managing "take off" now pretty well ................. with the "take off assistent"!;

Landing also pretty well;

Also "pretty" and certainly not "quite": so further practising is needed very much!!

Edited December 29, 2014 by wavn

[Crumpp]

I share this pleasure with another sim, ww2, where the flight and overall physics modeling is, IMO, on-pair with DCS,

 

Except for the fact they got density altitude effects completely backwards.

 

:music_whistling:

[wavn]

Maybe, you can compare, making the right necessary adjustments while flying the real plane a bit with making the necessary adjustments while bicycling:

- when you master it, you are even unaware that you are making all the time small adjustments and in the same time, you are doing very well and bicycling becomes a second nature that keeps with you all your life;

- when you don't master it, you don't understand how people manage to ride the bicycle; for older people, it can even be impossible to learn bicycling.

 

Also: learning bicycling with the computer and making the necessary adjustments can also be a little bit tricky??

With that in mind, it is a bit easyer to understand how the real pilots did master the aircraft (however: offcourse, I admire them very much!!!).

[Crumpp]

Also: learning bicycling with the computer and making the necessary adjustments can also be a little bit tricky??

With that in mind, it is a bit easyer to understand how the real pilots did master the aircraft (however: offcourse, I admire them very much!!!).

 

Ohh man, you are absolutely right.

 

The absence of tactile feedback and a vestibular system on a computer makes it much more difficult than real life.

 

I watch the edge of my canopy to detect swing on take off and landing. It is difficult to move your eyes back and forth because the airplane tends to go where you are looking.

 

But you have to be on top of any swing in a tail dragger with immediate correction. Any swing that is allowed to develop will quickly get out of hand ending in a ground loop.

[Art-J]

Since my question in "problems & bugs" section didn't get much publicity ;), I'll go a bit off-topic and ask here: can You guys (at least the ones, who don't use sound mods) hear the new 1.2.14 ground roll sounds when landing Dora (or any WWII planes for that matter)? For me, either they aren't there, or they're so quiet I cannot hear anything, compared to noticeable bass rumble in other DCS modules.

[Chief1942]

Land the Dora? Heck yes! :pilotfly:I just point it at the ground, auger in and get it over with. Less frustration that way.;)

[BFBunny]

Takes a while to get used to pointing the nose so high in any prop plane.

 

Flaps full down, gear down below 300kph.

You must hold the plane with wings as level as you can. You don't want to put the dora fully on left or right leg.

As you get near the runway you should be on low throttle, just keeping it near 200kph as you enter the landing strip aim to be around a half a dora in height. Now you must be quick and precise.

Get the nose looking at the sky but don't stall it (get used to the doras position on the ground).

Cut the throttle as your wheels near the runway or drop to a really low rpm and pull back hard on the stick. The plane may feel like it's in a stall, but it should not snap on you.

If your plane lifts you're going too fast. However, this action should drop the speed plane nearer your touch down target of 150kph. The plane should now glide under its own weight and hit the runway lightly.

Remember not to point the nose too high and land right on the tail.

If you're still alive the plane might bounce a small amount. A small bounce is OK.

If you were going too fast and bounce more than once then turn on the mw50 and full throttle for another go. (over 2 bounces usually ends up in ground loops).

If you bounced once or did not bounce at all then be ready on the rudder while still holding the stick full back to keep the tail wheel locked. Slowly tap the breaks (unless you have a linear controller) and be ready on left or right break to stop the rear coming around if it tries to as you get to speeds where the rudder is ineffective.

If you do not hold the tail wheel locked the Dora will skid around in a circle unless you are really good with the wheel breaks and your plane may get destroyed.

Now on the ground and stationary take your sweaty hands off the controls and pat yourself on the back.

 

Taking off is exactly the reverse by the way. Flaps fully up (or takeoff but it's up to you.

Full back on the stick, half throttle for a few seconds to get it rolling then full throttle with or without mw50 using the rudder to keep the rear in check and looking for any left or right banking which must be corrected quickly. Correction is more important if taking off from the grass of an airfield.

When you have some speed you can gently release the stick to centre and the plane should glide off the runway.

 

Taking off from the dirt in an airfield is under attack scenario requires fast actions to keep the plane centre and without roll. As soon as any one of these gets out of control on the dirt the plane will snap roll as you can get alarming angles on the runway and only leave a few black tyre marks.

 

After flying the 109 I found the dora a lot harder with the mustang being easier (goes off and smashes his dora into the ground).