Two questions from a newby

[undeadscourge]

Hello people. Im guessing that this would be a rather generic thread, but i will go on anyway. I just started playing DCS through Steam, and played for a few hours with the Su-25T. Now a few of my questions may seem Naive or obvious, but im still a newby. So, first of all, i have a question about the plane randomly banking left or right without input from my joystick. At first, it coincided with me having more missiles on my left wing, so i thought it banked because of that. later, when i had a relatively instant bank right which knocked me off course. My right wing still had less missiles. It still happens at random times and there is a constant very slow left or right bank which i need to micromanage while aiming with the Shkval or strafing or whatever. Im guessing it is because i have an old and 'low' quality Joystick, (Trust GM-2500, just extra info) but thats just a wild guess. My next question, would be about Dogfights. I would say at least i got a grasp ofusing the shkval and can, even though with difficulty, strafe ground targets (usually harder with the cannon :P) and i can shoot down the UH1 in the target practice mission, but i couldnt even get a lock more than a second on the A-10's in the dogfight mission. Now i know i might be a little too new to try dogfighting, and i know that the Su-25T is not designed for dogfighting, but it still was a little wierd. The plane didnt maneuver properly and i think i stalled twice trying to match the enemy pilots turn. Any idea on that guys? Im guessing it might be my own lack of skill or the joystick, or maybe the plane itself. Would it get even slightly easier with a dedicated (or multirole) Fighter jet? Any feedback, constructive critisism or anything would be nice. Thank you!

[kontiuka]

Maybe add a small dead zone to your joystick's roll axis. That's what I have to do because my joystick is very old and a little lax in the centre.

[King_Hrothgar]

I recommend a little bit of dead zone on all axis. Even on my fairly new Saitek X-55, I still have a 2% dead zone on all the axis just so that my plane isn't constantly rolling/pitching from me resting my hand on the stick.

 

In regards to dogfighting an A-10, you have two things working against you. First of all, the A-10 is substantially more agile in game. You simply cannot out turn him. The Su-25T is faster though and climbs a little better, so going for a higher speed fight instead of a turn fight is definitely the way to go. The other issue is the missiles. Both the Su-25 and A-10 have cold engines compared to a fighter. Because of that, the IR guided missiles tend to struggle in locking them except from behind at relatively close range. The AI does cheat and so they can get a missile lock even when a player flying the same plane cannot. Helicopters are even harder to get an IR lock on. Generally speaking, your cannon, regardless of which plane you're flying, is going to be your best bet against those.

[Yurgon]

So, first of all, i have a question about the plane randomly banking left or right without input from my joystick. At first, it coincided with me having more missiles on my left wing, so i thought it banked because of that.

 

That sounds very much plausible IMO.

 

Most aircraft are hardly ever really balanced for level flight, so the pilot has to adjust the flight controls. The most obvious way is to use the stick to counter any of the aircraft's tendencies to roll and pitch, but it's probably equally obvious that this gets tiresome over time.

 

Therefore, most aircraft allow the pilot to adjust the control surfaces (or parts of these control surfaces) without holding the control stick all the time. This is called "trimming". In fixed-wing aircraft, there's often a 4-way button called the "trim-button" or "trim-hat" (but I think some aircraft also have so-called "trim-wheels").

 

In the Su-25T, look for Options -> Controls -> Flight Control and then look at the commands for Trim left wing down/right wing down/nose up/nose down.

 

AFAIK real pilots constantly keep adjusting the trim to keep the aircraft trimmed for the attitude they want it to be in, unless the aircraft does it automatically by means of a Fly-by-wire system (which the Su-25T doesn't have AFAIK).

[Flamin_Squirrel]

Therefore, most aircraft allow the pilot to adjust the control surfaces (or parts of these control surfaces) without holding the control stick all the time. This is called "trimming". In fixed-wing aircraft, there's often a 4-way button called the "trim-button" or "trim-hat" (but I think some aircraft also have so-called "trim-wheels").

 

AFAIK real pilots constantly keep adjusting the trim to keep the aircraft trimmed for the attitude they want it to be in, unless the aircraft does it automatically by means of a Fly-by-wire system (which the Su-25T doesn't have AFAIK).

 

The controls in real aircraft are much, much heavier than your average desktop joystick. As speed/weight/configuration etc changes, stick input (and therefore force) will be required to remain straight and level. Trim is, first and foremost, there to reduce the constant force required and prevent pilot fatigue. It is not there so the pilot can let go of the controls. While some aircraft may remain quite stable when trimmed out, few (if any) can be left to fly straight and level without pilot input. Once straight and level, further trimming is generally not required.

[undeadscourge]

I recommend a little bit of dead zone on all axis. Even on my fairly new Saitek X-55, I still have a 2% dead zone on all the axis just so that my plane isn't constantly rolling/pitching from me resting my hand on the stick.

 

In regards to dogfighting an A-10, you have two things working against you. First of all, the A-10 is substantially more agile in game. You simply cannot out turn him. The Su-25T is faster though and climbs a little better, so going for a higher speed fight instead of a turn fight is definitely the way to go. The other issue is the missiles. Both the Su-25 and A-10 have cold engines compared to a fighter. Because of that, the IR guided missiles tend to struggle in locking them except from behind at relatively close range. The AI does cheat and so they can get a missile lock even when a player flying the same plane cannot. Helicopters are even harder to get an IR lock on. Generally speaking, your cannon, regardless of which plane you're flying, is going to be your best bet against those.

 

Thanks for the info! I would add a dead zone to the Stick, but it started falling apart so i guess i'll just get a new one. Also thanks for the info on dogfighting. Im guessing it will be easier with planes like F-15 or Su-27 after all. Thanks for the info on the cannon though, i probably wouldn't use the cannon much in Air-to-Air if i hadn't read that :D

[undeadscourge]

That sounds very much plausible IMO.

 

Most aircraft are hardly ever really balanced for level flight, so the pilot has to adjust the flight controls. The most obvious way is to use the stick to counter any of the aircraft's tendencies to roll and pitch, but it's probably equally obvious that this gets tiresome over time.

 

Therefore, most aircraft allow the pilot to adjust the control surfaces (or parts of these control surfaces) without holding the control stick all the time. This is called "trimming". In fixed-wing aircraft, there's often a 4-way button called the "trim-button" or "trim-hat" (but I think some aircraft also have so-called "trim-wheels").

 

In the Su-25T, look for Options -> Controls -> Flight Control and then look at the commands for Trim left wing down/right wing down/nose up/nose down.

 

AFAIK real pilots constantly keep adjusting the trim to keep the aircraft trimmed for the attitude they want it to be in, unless the aircraft does it automatically by means of a Fly-by-wire system (which the Su-25T doesn't have AFAIK).

 

It isn't possible at least in this situation for it to be imbalance though. As i said, it happened again after a while on the other wing whitch was apparently lighter.

I guess i will check the trim commands. Thanks for that!

[Joni]

i concur, on setting a dead zone on x axis.

 

 

good luck!