emtguf Posted June 10, 2012 Posted June 10, 2012 Finally picked up P-51 and while I can take off with only slight issues something doesn't feel right. I have flown taildraggers irl and the thing that seems odd in this sim is it feels as though the engine is pushing from the rear instead of pulling from the front. The tail wants to come around much easier than it should considering the power pulling at the front of the aircraft. You do get torque from engines however the torque here seems unidirectional (doesnt rotate just one way as you would expect). You can just as easily slip the plane right as left when under power on the ground, and can basically "drift" the plane left and right while still going forward on the original vector as if the engine is on the tail and attempting to accelerate faster than the front. I attempted to somewhat illustrate this in this picture. Basically Direction of travel isnt changing when direction of the nose is changing so you are flying sideways as if the engine were in the back pushing the tail to accelerate faster than the nose. This can change side to side with same power settings so doesn't act like standard torque. Anyone else noticing this?
sobek Posted June 10, 2012 Posted June 10, 2012 Yes, this is a cause of the CG being aft of the main wheels. It is especially pronounced when the tailwheel is unlocked. Good, fast, cheap. Choose any two. Come let's eat grandpa! Use punctuation, save lives!
Tailspin45 Posted June 10, 2012 Posted June 10, 2012 .. something doesn't feel right....Anyone else noticing this? There's been a lengthy debate on this elsewhere here. I've got a about 8000 hours of taildragger time including a bunch of AT-6 time and a lot of C-45H time. And completely agree that something just doesn't feel right. There are those who argue that it's a matter of getting used to the sim, that we're missing proprioceptive and kinesthetic cues. And they have far far more sim experience than I do. But, with some meager sim development experience too, I maintain that, in the end, it's how accurate the aircraft feels, not how accurate the flight model might be, that matters. That said, none of my bitching about this should be construed as criticism of the dev's skill or dedication, nor the marvelous aircraft and environment they've built. I'm confident in the release version they'll get it just right. Blue Skies & Tailwinds tailspinstales.blogspot.com
Tailspin45 Posted June 10, 2012 Posted June 10, 2012 (edited) Yes, this is a cause of the CG being aft of the main wheels. It is especially pronounced when the tailwheel is unlocked. All taildraggres have the CG aft of the main gear, that's a given. But I agree that the effect is worse with the tailwheel unlocked—and I don't mean that's simply because the tailwheel isn't helping to provide some directional control. I think there's some software effect related to the tailwheel that is exacerbating the problem, but a bug report has been filed by one of the devs to investigate the issue. So we just need to be patient and let the artistry evolve. Edited June 10, 2012 by Tailspin45 1 Blue Skies & Tailwinds tailspinstales.blogspot.com
emtguf Posted June 10, 2012 Author Posted June 10, 2012 Yes, this is a cause of the CG being aft of the main wheels. It is especially pronounced when the tailwheel is unlocked. as tailspin stated all taildraggers cg is aft of the main gear or they would nose down just sitting there. The issue isn't an issue of where the CG is it is an issue that it feels as though the thrust of the engine is coming from aft of the CG instead of fore of the CG. It feels as though you are pushing a wheelbarrow instead of pulling a cart. Glad the Devs are looking into it.
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