Navigation: A Little Cross Country Exercise

[Apoll]

Hi. Really liking this sim; been getting the feel of the He-111, and am eagerly waiting to see what nav tools the devs finally include with their maps. In the meantime, I decided to do a cross country flight of multiple legs using real world navigation.

 

I used the Stalingrad map because of its size and picked a starting location. I printed out a copy and with a sharp pencil, a ruler and a protractor, plotted out a five legged cross country trip, placing each turn point over a landmark such as a town or river bend etc. I had the grid plot laid out, but of course, needed to turn it into a magnetic course, so I added 10 degrees magnetic variation to each leg course. That should do it. I then took off in my trusty Heinkel, and turned to 74 degrees true to head for my first waypoint. What I had not counted on was how hard it was to navigate over a largely bland and snowy landscape of shimmering white! It was really hard spotting those little land marks that tell you you are on course, and I had to rely almost wholly on the compass bearing. To smoke matters worse, there was a lot of turbulence under 1500 metres, and it was hard holding a straight and steady course with the plane bucking and swinging from dude to side. Attempts to open the map to take a good look nearly put me on the deck...until I made sure auto pilot was activated first! That eased off as I climbed higher until I got to smooth air at about 2000 metres, and the landscape blended into a constant white shimmer. Even major landmarks such as river bends were really hard to see...and meshed into the snow. After half an hour, with a growing sense of 'where the (&@/-!! am I?' building, I realised I was lost...with only 20 litres left and a long way from any airfield. Then it got even worse: ugly black puffs appeared before me as I flopped around the sky. I had wandered over an enemy flak concentration! Full gas and diving away... Back to trying to find a recognisable land mark... I doggedly stuck to the compass bearings...and eventually, after much circling, diving down to have a look at lie level, I spotted a bend in the river I thought I knew from the map. Yes...finally. I was a long way overshot on my waypoint, but at least now, after a quick look set the map, if I went due west for 80 km, I'd come within eyeshot of my base. With the avgas dwindling, I set a course, and slowly climbed. The motors thrummed in my ears as I made the long journey over a featureless landscape, punctuated now and then by snow covered roads and steams. Finally, I saw the field, send with about 5 litres spare, I made a poor landing, but still upright, which was good in my book. The Heinkel bucked and swayed as I came in for finals...that turbulence again! I think I stuffed my toe brakes, because they stopped working about half way down the runway. Must have used them too much or going too fast, and burnt them away...or something like that.

 

Thus sim duet has atmosphere; it was an almost creepy feeling up there in the glass cockpit of the Heinkel, lost, and the featureless show passing slowly between your feet. I am going to try more cross country flights with real navigation on that map...I hope eventually to be able to find a target consistently. But it is really a great challenge navigating on snow...I love it!!

 

Apoll

[ACG_Flyby]

nice adventure. but where did you get the map from? I just saw this video (

 )  and would like to try it out, but I need the map. can you help?

thank you,

Flyby out

[Felix58]

I hope this link works!

 

http://forum.il2sturmovik.com/topic/7677-hd-printable-map-nav-over-stalingrad/?hl=stalingrad&do=findComment&comment=157266

[Apoll]

Yes, that's the map. Printed it out and did it by hand..the old fashion way. Ended up with a pencil route marked on the map, which I'll rub off when finished and start again on a new route.

 

apoll

[ACG_Flyby]

S~ aus3620, and yes your link worked fine. I've downloaded the map. Soon I'll bring the bits together, and try my hand at it. Thank you very much.

 

apoll, thank you too. I hope you post more navigation adventures.

Flyby out 

[Apoll]

welcome.

 

apoll

[Uriah]

That was way cool apoll.  I have been flying off line over an area so that when online and if by chance get the same area I can recognize the ground.  I can see why working hard at navigation skills really helps.

[Apoll]

Thanks Uriah. Did another one today more than 300 km round trip. Route worked out on printed map with pencil, compass and ruler and added mag variation to go to compass heading in aircraft. Works well...as long as you pay attention. Drop bombs on one of the airfields I used as a waypoint for practise. Going yo take a bit to get used to that bombsight. Did the last leg down low at tree top height and much more difficult to navigate. Spent the last bit before landing going up a road at tree top height mschine gunning convoys. Even fir a short tine, I lost my bearings, and in that snowy lanscape, very easy to become disorientated. Had to climb to find my airfield. Good trip. Getting there...

Apoll

[Pharoah]

mate you missed one very important aspect of navigation there....time over target - besides each nav point, you should've put in your estimated time (remember the old time=distance/velocity) so you should've known that in theoretically 20 mins flying this course at a constant speed of say 300 kmph (excluding any wind factor), you should be over x landmark. Just helps. Or you could've done what most freshly minted CPL pilots do...and pull out the old Garmin GPS! (joke)

[Apoll]

TOGPharoah, you are absolutely right. I've yet to do the tine over distance thing, and that I am finding is important in the difficult terrain of snow for as far as the eye can see. I am lazy; rather use pilotage and mag bearings to get me within eyeshot of the waypoint. In need to incorporate the tine/distance calculations...I'll have a shot at that today then.

 

Apoll out

[Pharoah]

no worries mate. I've found navigating in BOS extremely difficult as well (esp on my first few flights to Pitomnik)...in the end I just headed East until I hit the Don (I think it is) and then flew North to Stalingrad and then West again. Best I could do.