Real life flying vs online, is the code built to allow more?

[Ramstein]

A real life pilot, doe snot fly online, told me that at a large lake in my area of the USA, the water is always very cold, and has a rim of mountains around it.... he said the cold water causes the aircraft, lite aircraft, Cessnas and what not, have a hard time getting out of the area of the cold water area above the lake, because it causes the plane to not have the lift and power like over warmer water...

 

I tried to model this in DCS, but cannot find enough weather variables built into DCS to try this, make the lake water a certain temperature, and simulate similar conditions to see if it affect the lift and power needed to leave that area without crashing.

 

He says often people fly over the area, not realizing that the effect makes it very difficult unless you can get enough power and lift to overcome the physics of less lift, not a lot of power in a small prop plane, and of course maybe 4 adults and weight of fuel.

 

Anyways, while the modeling of weather and conditions in DCS is really good, there is still a lot that can be done. I usually don't like messing with wind/weather in the sims I fly, just make flying a PIA.

 

IMHO

[Drag0nWIng]

maybe they can, but not in a entertainment software...

[Synergy_]

What you described doesn't really make sense, read up on density altitude to better understand how it affects performance.

 

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Density_altitude

 

Perhaps your pilot friend was talking about there being a cold front which will cause turbulence and make things interesting for light aircraft.

[smnwrx]

Living in southern california I was wasn't really aware of how awesome and dangerous the weather can become until I started working in my pilot license. Icing, microbursts, and high density altitudes are some of the most sinister to light aircraft pilots.

 

I've flown over all sorts of different variety of bodies of water. Mostly without any noticable effect on the plane. However I have noticed on hot days over a cool body of water as the air over the water warms and rises quickly and creates some rough turbulence at lower altitudes. This can be avoided by flying over the blotchy clouds that usually form.

Edited September 30, 2016 by smnwrx

[MikeMikeJuliet]

Perhaps the area has significant downdrafts channeling through the valley due to the cold water? From my experience piston aircraft tend to have more power in the cold and less in the heat due to engine cooling characteristics and air density.

 

I also have to disagree about the weather controls. They are way too limiting and simplified, and the weather simulation leaves a lot to be desired in DCS.

 

Regards,

MikeMikeJuliet

[Cunctator]

Interaction between the plane and the environment is the one thing where the actual simulation aspect of all modern flightsims could improve most.

 

I tried to recreate some of the pioneering flights with FSX in the past, but if your plane can't be caught by a sandstorm, or any hot wind, or cross a mountain pass with the help of ridge lift, they were just predictable and uneventful at the end.

[Fri13]

What you described doesn't really make sense, read up on density altitude to better understand how it affects performance.

 

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Density_altitude

 

Perhaps your pilot friend was talking about there being a cold front which will cause turbulence and make things interesting for light aircraft.

 

I could understand that cold lake thing very well for a glider, but....

[MikeMikeJuliet]

I could understand that cold lake thing very well for a glider, but....

 

Exactly what I was getting at: no updrafts, or even a downdraft accentuated further by the cliffs around the lake. That could mean trouble if you have not enough engine power available.

[sobek]

Interaction between the plane and the environment is the one thing where the actual simulation aspect of all modern flightsims could improve most.

 

Realistically simulating atmospheric conditions is quite hard, just look at how inaccurate our weather prediction models work. And those don't have anywhere near the resolution needed to simulate turbulence, etc. It's an extremely complicated topic.

[Pocket Sized]

I agree that turbulence needs to be improved and made less random.

 

However there are some atmospheric effects (ie thermals) that just aren't strong enough to have a significant effect on the high wing loaded aircraft in DCS. The reason I say that is the tradeoff between development time and in game implications seems very poor.

[Bond 42]

What your friend is describing doesn't make much sense.. you can feel the difference when flying IRL around areas like that... But you will feel it as rough turbulent air. He may be trying to tell you the mountainous area there give a lot of turbulence and downdrafts that can affect a lighter aircraft more then a heavy. What area of the US is it? Maybe I've flown around there.

 

As stated above, turbulence/drafts/weather aren't very will simulated in DCS, or anything for that matter. In real life it can be random too.. For example, last night I was landing at an airport. Super smooth the whole way down the ILS until 1/2 mile final and we got rocked. +/- 10 knots on the airspeed. Hard to simulate stuff that that.