Maneuvering On The Ground With Differential Braking

[buur]

And same here. Corsair is grounded

[primus_TR]

The issue with faulty wind vaning may be not so easy to solve,  as it is directly related to the module's flight model, which may explain why this issue has not been receiving much attention from the devs.  I remember how a very similar wind vaning problem with the MiG 19 was completely disregarded by the developer and never fixed.  An aircraft that cannot properly taxi is basically unplayable. Shame.

[AG-51_Razor]

I am of the opinion that wind vaneing has absolutely nothing to do with the problem. The Corsair is not much easier to turn around without any wind at all. Just compare it to the P-47 under the same conditions. These two airplanes are fairly close to each other in weight and power and both utilize the same method of maneuvering on the ground and yet, they could not possibly be more different as they are modeled in DCS World. I wish that M3 and ED would put their heads together and figure this out. This doesn't serve either organization to have this kind of obvious problem go on unresolved.

[primus_TR]

While taxiing under no wind conditions is obviously very problematic,  it is still possible (by applying excessive power and wheel brake); but with a headwind,  it is not at all possible to turn past 90 degrees, in either direction and regardless of the amount of power applied,  which is due to the aircraft's exaggerated tendency to turn into the wind. This is particularly noticeable on a carrier deck.  You just can't taxi back for taking off again after landing. 

Edited Friday at 08:19 AM by primus_TR

[Holbeach]

49 minutes ago, primus_TR said:

  You just can't taxi back for taking off again after landing. 

You don't taxi back on a Carrier after landing.

You just land, then take off from where you landed.

.. 

[primus_TR]

1 hour ago, Holbeach said:

You don't taxi back on a Carrier after landing.

You just land, then take off from where you landed.

I do (as there is no other option due to this bug)  but that is irrelevant. The aircraft should be able to taxi in a crosswind. That's the whole point of this thread. 

[AG-51_Razor]

primus_TR, as the original poster of this thread, I can absolutely assure you that my point was not at all about taxiing in a crosswind. I was just trying to express the opinion (in a fairly self-deprecating manner) that there is something wrong with the Corsair's ability to maneuver on the ground with the tailwheel unlocked while using differential braking. Visually, it's pretty obvious that the tailwheel is not allowed to swivel past about 15-20 degrees, which @-Rudel- has indicated is merely a visual issue and that the tail wheel is in fact able to swivel fully 360 degrees. Additionally, while taxiing forward at slightly faster than a brisk walk, application of either wheel brake results in the beginning of a turn but before less than 30-45 degrees of a turn is completed, the plane comes to a halt. Now, this is with no wind at all and it is just not right. As for flight operations aboard ship, the reality of it is that the pilots never turned around on the deck after landing to taxi back and park or launch again. That was all done after the plane was shut down and it was pushed back by ground crew or a tractor after all of the planes had been recovered. @Holbeach is correct when he said that the planes just took off from a position forward of the barriers if they were performing multiple traps in one flight. Maybe M3 and ED can figure out how to re-spot the deck after everyone has come back aboard although, in a MP server type environment, I can see how that might be very difficult. There is a thread concerning this subject over in the Wish List forum.

[primus_TR]

49 minutes ago, AG-51_Razor said:

primus_TR, as the original poster of this thread, I can absolutely assure you that my point was not at all about taxiing in a crosswind. I was just trying to express the opinion (in a fairly self-deprecating manner) that there is something wrong with the Corsair's ability to maneuver on the ground with the tailwheel unlocked while using differential braking.

Yes, there is something wrong with the Corsair's ability to taxi, a problem which becomes more pronounced in the presence of wind; at risk of repeating the same point: when there is no wind, the aircraft is able at least to point its nose where the pilot directs it to (which entails use of excessive power and differential braking, which is unrealistic). Not sure what you are disagreeing with what I and many others have pointed out, but crosswind is relevant to the issue at hand, regardless of your point not being specifically about taxiing in crosswind. 

[Cgjunk2]

On 9/12/2025 at 1:31 PM, primus_TR said:

Not sure what you are disagreeing with what I and many others have pointed out, but crosswind is relevant to the issue at hand, regardless of your point not being specifically about taxiing in crosswind. 

The focus of this thread is to discuss the inaccurate tailwheel steering behavior.  This problem happens in zero-wind conditions.  This means the problem exists completely independently from crosswinds.  Logically, it also means that crosswinds aren't contributing to the cause of the problem.    

Some comments on this thread regarding crosswinds are confusing the issue by seeming to suggest that crosswinds are part of problem, which is an incorrect conclusion.  Crosswind issues are a symptom of the poor tailwheel steering, not the cause.  

 I think it's fine to report that ground handling in crosswinds is more difficult (or impossible) without proper tailwheel behavior.  That makes sense.  But if someone suspects that crosswinds inaccurately affect ground handling...that's a separate issue and seperate bug report.  And you won't really be able to verify that problem exists until after the tailwheel steering is fixed and behaving normally.    

Edited 17 hours ago by Cgjunk2

[primus_TR]

6 hours ago, Cgjunk2 said:

The focus of this thread is to discuss the inaccurate tailwheel steering behavior.

No. If you've read the thread title, it should be obvious that the thread is about the issue of taxiing with diff breaking. Relevance of wind to taxiing and how it inaccurately aggravates the issue, as discussed at length above,  is clear. Feel free to disagree, but unauthorized thread policing is not appreciated.

Edit: For further clarity, crosswind is raised as a contributing factor to the problem, not as the sole cause of the issue.  Just in case it is not crystal clear.

Edited 11 hours ago by primus_TR

[Cgjunk2]

6 hours ago, primus_TR said:

No. If you've read the thread title, it should be obvious that the thread is about the issue of taxiing with diff breaking. Relevance of wind to taxiing and how it inaccurately aggravates the issue, as discussed at length above,  is clear. Feel free to disagree, but unauthorized thread policing is not appreciated.

Edit: For further clarity, crosswind is raised as a contributing factor to the problem, not as the sole cause of the issue.  Just in case it is not crystal clear.

I’ve read the thread title, the thread, and the OPs clarification of what was intended in original post.  I believe I’m in total agreement with your understanding of the thread’s focus.

As the thread progressed, it became clear that differential braking wasn’t the cause of the problem as some proposed. Differential braking just revealed how inaccurate the tailwheel was behaving.  This is because in real life, a short jab on differential brakes would lead any taildragger to swing the tail around with it’s own momentum.  So that said, it’s fair to say diff braking isn’t the cause, but a good way to *demonstrate* how badly the tailwheel steering is acting .  
 

6 hours ago, primus_TR said:

crosswind is raised as a contributing factor to the problem

Please understand I’m not claiming any policing authority when I say the following.  Crosswinds cannot be a contributing factor to the problem when there are no crosswinds.  However, it stands to reason that if the tailwheel doesn’t steer as expected in zero-wind, it will be even worse with crosswinds.  That’s why I think we can conclude that crosswind behavior is a symptom, not a contributing factor to the cause.

After the tailwheel behavior is fixed, then it becomes possible to assess if crosswinds are unduly affecting ground handling.  And if that’s the case, then it would be clear the problem is related to aerodynamic modeling, (because the core physics modeling of tailwheel has been fixed)
 

Edit to clarify:  Maybe this disagreement is about how we are using terms.  Do you mean to say that crosswinds can be a contributing causal factor for “loss of control” while taxiing?   Because I agree with that.  

What I meant to communicate in my posts is that crosswinds aren’t one of the causes of the incorrect tailwheel behavior (which leads to loss of control in crosswinds).

Sometimes I end up less understandable when I try to explain myself lol, so apologies if that’s the case  

 

Edited 4 hours ago by Cgjunk2

[Doughguy]

Its 2 seperate things.

See the video of the real life corsair few pages back that makes a 180 deg turn.

Idle engine, and then turns on the spot.

In the DCS Corsair you can do a 180 turn, but you need excessive power to do so, compared to the RL example, that does it with a cut engine, having enough momentum.
You can do it in any other warbird aswell. But not in the DCS Corsair.

The wheels are sort of "skiddy" for lack of better words.

The wind is another factor, that one it goes above 10 m/s its impossible to steer her past 90 deg of wind direction. Which also, the other warbirds have no issue with.

It is two seperate things, but it renders in impossible ground handling.

With zero wind its possible, but not correct.

With stronger winds, its impossible.