Care and feeding of your LA-5

[ACG_KaiLae]

First I'm aware of the related topic, but wanted to start a new one to ensure the right people saw the thread. Having said that here's my question:

 

What is the best way to get top performance out of LA-5? I've been using the LaGG-3 mostly, as I find it easy to fly. Why? Because you can easily see the radiator positions simply by looking at the positions of the levers in the cockpit. This makes engine management easier for me as I never have to guess how open or closed they are, unlike in the Yak. However the LaGG is limited as everyone knows. You sure don't turn with anyone if you can avoid it, as any German plane will outperform you if it goes on for any time due to the engine and the aircraft weight. I generally come in from higher, attack, extend and escape and then repeat.

 

However the LA-5 presents a whole different series of challenges. The aircraft is not horribly underpowered therefore many more options are available. Also my knowledge of radial engine management is quite low - as in nonexistent. Therefore I ask the experts.

 

First, how to get the most out of the Ash-82 engine. I'm not talking about what you can quickly determine by looking at a quick reference card. What I mean is any tips that can be used to get the maximum performance in given situations. Any suggestions for mixture, and prop pitch for example. Also any suggestions for cowl or oil radiators would really be appreciated, as I don't have experience with radial engines as I already stated and don't know how to use them well. If anyone can provide tips on when to use boost and in what situations you use boost that would also be appreciated (beyond the altitude restriction). In short I'm looking for something beyond the beginners guide on how to use the engine to its maximum capability, more advanced primer to help me achieve maximum effectiveness. Anything that can be provided in this area would be appreciated even simple tips.

 

Second what I'm looking for is the correct way to employ the aircraft. My background is originally from war thunder, where this aircraft series is known as a UFO. There, because of ridiculous climb rates it is usually used as an energy fighter, similar to the Me-109. However with a more accurate flight models in Battle of Stalingrad, there's an excellent chance that this is now an inaccurate way to use this plane, especially against the Me-109 - an excellent energy fighter. Therefore what is the best way to use this airplane? How is it best employed as a fighter? While the top speed graphs have been listed, other critical comparison data such as climb rates have not. I'm looking for what is the advantages of this plane? Where should I press an attack and how? Where should I avoid (other than high altitude) engagements? I'm looking to learn how to best fight this airplane, and how to do it smart.

 

Hopefully some good answers are forthcoming and the thread then is helpful to others. Thanks for your help

Edited September 30, 2014 by Kai_Lae

[MarcoRossolini]

Best title for a forum thread ever!

 

(I'm in the same boat as you I'm afraid though Kai, it works well in concert with Yaks however...)

[Matt]

Keep the cowling flaps fully open when cruising to keep the temperatures down. As soon as you enter a fight, fully close them and only open them a bit when the temperatures get critical. The oil cooler is relatively low drag, the huge cowling flaps are high drag, so better avoid having them fully open during a fight. At higher altitudes, you can fly around with closed cowling flaps most of the time.

 

Engage boost up to 2000 meters altitude when fighting without restriction. You might get engine damage after 10-15 minutes, but the fight should be over by then and not fighting with boost at that altitude is futile.

 

Switch supercharger gear to gear 2 when you get above 4000 meters altitude, switch back to gear 1 when you get below 4000 meters.

 

Keep mixture to fully rich at all times, at least up to 5000-6000 meters altitude.

 

The La-5 climb performance is comparable to the Yak-1, worse than both Bf 109s and better than that of the Fw 190.

 

Overall, the La-5 is more of an energy fighter, but against Fw 190, it can be used as a turn fighter. The Bf 109 is the superior energy and turn fighter compared to the La-5, so better not engage without energy advantage. Since the introduction of the manual radiators on the 109, even the G-2 is faster than the La-5 at all altitudes with closed radiators.

[jaydee]

Hi kai!

Pretty much what Matt said.However im finding the lag performance drops off at higher altitudes compared to the 109. So I tend to fly at max 3000m.Iwouldn't engage a well flown 109 at 5000m unless I was 6000m.

I don't know if you are using Track Ir ?

I use the same TrIr profile for all my planes/Sims. I found I was having big problems with my "views" in the lagg5 only. My head position didnd "feel" right. When I re-centred my view the gunsight was up or down a bit. On zoom it was at top/bottom half of monitor. I found my head searching for the crosshairs too often.

I decided to make a TrIr profile just for the La5. After a bit of muckin around,I was very satisfied and flyin(fighting) the La5 was so much more fluid (view-wise).

I did an experiment. I used the La5 TrIr profile in another Sim I fly. Totally didnd work.

I don't know why(its something to do with the Gunsight(I think)),but for me since I set up exclusive La5 profile,I am really enjoying the La5.

Now I have to remember to activate the La5 profile ! ~S~

Edit : Kai, @2500m bring a 109 into sustained, tighter and tighter turns and La5 may have a good chance !

And don't forget to use your Roll rate.

Edited September 30, 2014 by jaydee

[=69.GIAP=Shvak]

I don't know if you are using Track Ir ?

I use the same TrIr profile for all my planes/Sims. I found I was having big problems with my "views" in the lagg5 only. My head position didnd "feel" right. When I re-centred my view the gunsight was up or down a bit. On zoom it was at top/bottom half of monitor. I found my head searching for the crosshairs too often.

I decided to make a TrIr profile just for the La5. After a bit of muckin around,I was very satisfied and flyin(fighting) the La5 was so much more fluid (view-wise).

I did an experiment. I used the La5 TrIr profile in another Sim I fly. Totally didnd work.

I don't know why(its something to do with the Gunsight(I think)),but for me since I set up exclusive La5 profile,I am really enjoying the La5.

Now I have to remember to activate the La5 profile ! ~S~

Edit : Kai, @2500m bring a 109 into sustained, tighter and tighter turns and La5 may have a good chance !

And don't forget to use your Roll rate.

 

 

Your  tracker profile for the La5. Are you repositioning your head? Could you explain a bit more?

Edited September 30, 2014 by =69.GIAP=Shvak

[jaydee]

Your  tracker profile for the La5. Are you repositioning your head? Could you explain a bit more?

Hi Shvak ! I played around with the "Y" TR axis. I think the La5 has a "higher" head position to centre the gunsight compared to any other plane /sim. ~S~

[ACG_KaiLae]

I do have Tir5. However, wouldn't it be better to just change the center point of your head in the sim?

 

Does anyone have a climb rate chart? And if I read right, oil rad is fully open and forget it? About how long with closed cowl flaps at combat conditions do you generally get?

[malcheus]

If you are willing to spend some 50 euros, there's a different solution that will radically alter the way you play the game.

You can get a "midi-board" (the one I got is a "korg nanokontrol") , this is a little board meant for amateur DJ's without a budget I suppose.

It contains about 8 sliders and some buttons per slider.

Using a small script and a freeware programs, you can make your computer treat those sliders as if they were axis on a joystick. 

In other words, it gives you 8 axis to set up as mixture, radiator, throttle, flaps, stabilisers or whatever else you can imagine.

 

Obviously it isn't as immersive as looking in the virual cockpit, but if you look down from your screen you can always see at what % the axis are set. 

[ACG_KaiLae]

That sounds interesting. Could you provide a bit more details? What freeware? Do you have a link for the one you have? Sounds like a very easy way to trim your plane, among others.

[malcheus]

That sounds interesting. Could you provide a bit more details? What freeware? Do you have a link for the one you have? Sounds like a very easy way to trim your plane, among others.

 

This is the topic where I got the idea and specifics from:

http://forum.il2sturmovik.com/topic/9614-using-faders-sliders/

 

In short, you need "glovepie" and a script that modifies your MIDI inputs to joystick outputs, and "PPjoy", a virtual joystick that acts like a gamepad that combines the inputs from the midiboard.

 

It works very conveniently, and I have it set up now in such a way that I don't have to touch the keyboard at all while playing. 

[snowsnipersnow_sniper]

take a look here 

 

http://forum.il2sturmovik.com/topic/9584-la-5-quick-guide/

 

cheers

[ACG_KaiLae]

take a look here 

 

http://forum.il2sturmovik.com/topic/9584-la-5-quick-guide/

 

cheers

 

Excellent and more in line of what I was looking for. Can I ask is this something of a work in progress? It's obviously written by a non native english speaker - some of the information is confusing because of the words chosen. Also was wondering if data could be added to it for others.