Taxiing tutorial

[Zettman]

Hello Community,

 

is there a taxiing tutorial for German planes? It is not in the BoS manual and Chucks aircraft guides cover this topic very briefly. I would like to know the recommended RPM/ATA settings (like the ones you get in the DCS tutorials) for taxiing and which planes should be controlled with rudder or breaks.

 

I normally have no problems with planes that you can be control with breaks (or at least I think they should be controlled with breaks). Heinkel 111 is a piece of cake and the Fw 190 is really forgiving on the ground. Hence I even find the LaGG easier to handle than some other planes. The G2 for example is really troublesome for me. Unlocking the tail wheel and taking your eyes off the turn/slip indicator for just a few seconds  and I make a very clumsy 3/4 spin until I can catch it again.

 

Combinations of break, rudder and even aileron (to make one wing heavier) and elevator usage (to press the tail wheel into the ground) won't help. Which makes me thing that I'm lacking some fundamental understanding on ground handling, which I would lie to acquire somehow.

 

I would appreciate any help I can get on that topic.

 

Greetings,

Zettman

[JimTM]

One suggestion for you: Try to correct your path with the brake a little earlier than you expect. For example, if you brake to go right, apply a bit of left brake a little before your turn is complete. This tends to dampen wild swings from left to right.

 

Hope that helps you out.

 

Jim

[Leaf]

Taxiing the Gustav is fairly straightforward.

You need an unlocked tailwheel and up to 1500rpm, then wheel brakes and rudder. 

If you choose to taxi faster, then set prop pitch manually to 12:30 and throttle up a bit. You can of course set pitch manually to 12:30 to begin with, but I usually don't bother because it's automatically set to 12:30 at 1500rpm and below.

Wheel brakes seem to be more effective than rudder input for the G2, and if you feel like you're picking up too much speed, use both brakes and gentle rudder inputs to avoid a pirouette. You've got to be quick to react though, because it loses control on the ground rather easily.

Basically taxi the Gustav like cancer; keep an eye out for early symptoms and treat them immediately.

[SharpeXB]

The best advice on taxiing I heard from one of the WWII training films was: "As soon as you start a turn, start stopping it"

Also remember that taxi speed is like a walking pace, don't taxi too fast.

[Guest deleted@50488]

For F4 and G2 taxi, I set prop pitch to manual 11:45 ( actually takeoff at those settings, and only after passing 200', set prop pitch to automatic ), and try not to go above 1000-1200 RPM during taxi.

 

Use rudder AND differential toe brakes.

 

For tighter turns, unlock the tail wheel, push the stick forward to ease the tail ( these aircraft are tail heavy ).

 

Sometimes I even taxi all the way with the tailwheel unlocked ( if my taxiing includes a sinuous track... ).

 

Practice helps too :-)

 

The 190 isn't much different, but to lock the tailwheel you pull the stick back.

 

Always lock the tailwheel, in a straight position, before starting your takeoff run !

 

I find IL2 BoS very close to what I believe being the real experience of taxiing this powerful ww2 fighters.

Edited September 2, 2015 by jcomm

[Dakpilot]

As flight sims get more complicated and use better physics engines with more factors effecting aircraft handling, especially in the complex realm of Taxi/takeoff , the realism that we seek can become a sort of hindrance to easy accessibility. 

 

A fully qualified skilled private Pilot would have great difficulty in real life jumping into a BF-109 and taxiing to takeoff with little or no training, I am not saying that all is perfect, far from it, however with all the differences between aircraft now very easily recognisable in their handling traits, more training, info and practice is needed,

 

and the learning curve is a little steeper, also amplified by the lack of seat of the pants feeling available to the real pilot

 

We are all victims/beneficiaries of our desire to have more accurate flight models, forgetting the many hours of basic training the pilot's of the day had, since release the ground handling has been tweaked and improved to give a very good representation IMHO, of course there is always room for improvements

 

Practice and information are the key to success

 

Cheers Dakpilot

[Remontti]

I use automatic settings in 109G. I have found out, that using full throttle for very short time will help you make the turn (full rudder and brakes are needed too). If it is really tight spot, I unlock the tail wheel.

[Zettman]

Thanks for the response. Most of the things posted, like changing the pressure on the tail wheel with the elevator, aren't new for me (sadly). What do the original manuals of the Luftwaffe say about engine settings for taxiing cause I can read different approaches, 1500 rpm at 1230 pitch and 1000-1200 at 1145 pitch (I don't have any at hand at the moment)? Also nobody mentioned using ailerons during turns on the ground, am I wrong if I use them to make the inner wing heavier during a turn? 

 

Zettman

[Guest deleted@50488]

am I wrong if I use them to make the inner wing heavier during a turn? 

 

Zettman

 

Use of ailerons is important when taxiing under strong winds.

Il2 BoS is very good in modeling the wind effects also while on ground, and real life taildragger techniques have to be applied, as Syn Requiem so well explained in this video:

 

Edited September 3, 2015 by jcomm

[Dakpilot]

Use of aileron on the ground

 

 

Also important to be aware of wind direction before taxi as can have big 'weather cocking' effect on tail, if there is any wind you will at some time be taxiing in a crosswind, with an unlocked tailwheel, you can almost push an aircraft round with one hand, a significant crosswind will make a difference

 

Actually should try and see if you can spin another aircraft with prop wash

 

Cheers Dakpilot

 

 

[No601_Swallow]

If you've got dodgy toe breaks (like me) or no toe brakes, a squad-mate suggested putting the German wheelbrakes on on the twist axis of your joystick. It works like a charm (but only for the German planes, sadly) and for me is totally intuitive.

 

That, coupled with a locked tailwheel (in the 190 via a fully back joystick) makes even drag-racing taxi-hijinx a breeze.

[andyw248]

Taxiing speeds are a big issue as well. Taxiing is for the patient among us. Those who are not patient will ground loop.

[KoN_]

Take your time ,  drop take off  flaps , slow inputs  , set trim ,  use plenty of wheel breaks , just take your time , your get used to it . 

[SharpeXB]

Pretend you're driving a real plane blindly around a crowded air base with a big spinning meat axe on the front. Take it slow :-D

[No_85_Gramps]

I also am in the process of teaching myself how to taxi. For practice I go into QMB and select 1 plane only, parked, in normal mode. Once you get your engine cranked up you can switch to an external view (F2) and you can see how everything affects taxiing. Switch back to an internal view for some more practice and then move to expert mode. I just taxi around the runway trying different things to see the effect.

[-TBC-AeroAce]

Speed is IMO the biggest factor then breaks, tail lock .....

 

Its actually quite easy if you take it slow.

 

Lol in pe-2 I'm a part time rally driver