which altimeter is correct for bombing?

[Mukai]

Hey guys, i was just wondering. Which altimeter should i be using to input altitude for level bombing. I can only really comment on the german bombsight but the altitude given by the cockpit and bombsight altimeter is not the same, even if i change the reference for nearest airfield or standard pressure ( the cockpit altimeter changes) but The bombsite altimeter doesn't change and is almost always 2-300M less than that of the cockpit altimeter :/ So which one should i use for my calculations?

[LukeFF]

The one in the bombsight view.

[Crump]

Unless you are doing flight testing or flying above 18,000 feet, use field elevation.  Standard pressure is good for performance testing and is the only way to get multiple aircraft departing from multiple fields at the same altitude.  That is why it is used above 18,000 feet so I do not collide in the middle of the Atlantic TransOceanic routes with an Airbus 380 coming from Charles De Gaulle after I depart JFK in New York.

[Yogiflight]

I guess it is the same with the wind direction, right? As the direction in the briefing is most times different to the one in the bomb sight, in the campaign missions.

[JimTM]

In an expert mission, the reading of the cockpit altimeter set to "Altimeter reference pressure: nearest friendly airfield elevation" is the best one to use to set your altitude in the bombsight. It's not good though if the target elevation above sea level differs greatly from the departure field elevation (which may happen in the upcoming Kuban map). The bombsight altimeter always reads the "Altimeter reference pressure: standard atmosphere". This post gives some details.

 

In a normal mission, you can get the exact height above the ground in the information bar at the lower left of your screen, if you have the HUD on.

 

Re. wind direction, the bombsight weather info lists where the wind is blowing FROM, whereas mission builders need to specify where the wind is blowing TO in the mission properties. I'm not sure about the campaigns, but some missions briefings list the FROM value and others list the TO value set in the properties. It can get confusing.

[Yogiflight]

Hi Pinko,

in one of the last patches Devs introduced complete weather information on bombing missions, with wind directions in different altitudes, like in the bomb sight. But they show different wind directions, so I wonder, which one is the correct one.

[LukeFF]

Hi Pinko,

in one of the last patches Devs introduced complete weather information on bombing missions, with wind directions in different altitudes, like in the bomb sight. But they show different wind directions, so I wonder, which one is the correct one.

 

They are different, because the direction of the wind can be changed at varying altitudes by the mission designer, and of course that reflects reality.

[Aap]

I think the point was that wind information on mission differs from the information seen in bomber position (for the same altitude).

[Monostripezebra]

The one in the bombsight view.

 

Negative. It is broken and I´ve filed a bug report long ago. It´s reference is ISA.. which is useless for ground referencing. The bigger the difference between map weather conditions and ISA, the more useless it gets.

 

also broken, in a gameplay sense, is the fact that you can not get weather info above 5k..  also filed a report with reasons etc. long ago.

 

so let me use this opportunity to remind you all of that these things need fixing!

Edited December 12, 2016 by Monostripezebra

[Crump]

In an expert mission, the reading of the cockpit altimeter set to "Altimeter reference pressure: nearest friendly airfield elevation" is the best one to use to set your altitude in the bombsight. It's not good though if the target elevation above sea level differs greatly from the departure field elevation (which may happen in the upcoming Kuban map). The bombsight altimeter always reads the "Altimeter reference pressure: standard atmosphere". This post gives some details.

 

In a normal mission, you can get the exact height above the ground in the information bar at the lower left of your screen, if you have the HUD on.

 

Re. wind direction, the bombsight weather info lists where the wind is blowing FROM, whereas mission builders need to specify where the wind is blowing TO in the mission properties. I'm not sure about the campaigns, but some missions briefings list the FROM value and others list the TO value set in the properties. It can get confusing.

 

 

That makes perfect sense.

[=EXPEND=Tripwire]

Actually, the bombsight view altimeter shows your current height above ground level. Which is acardy, but if you use that one, you'll hit. Assuming that the target is about the same height above sea level as the ground you're flying over when releasing the bombs.

 

Zebra is correct.

 

Test it in Summer. Its different from the Cockpit Altimeter. Autumn it is spot on. It is also different in both cases to 'Normal HUD'.

 

Next, fly over the 100m hills in stalingrad map. No change in bomb sight Altimeter.

 

In the absence of anything better, I use bombsite alt as my reference minus target alt. difference if provided (single player).  If not, i use -100m as a guess.

 

 

 

Edit - On second reading, Matt did you mean it reads height ASL? instead of height AGL? That would make your reply correct?

Edited December 13, 2016 by Tripwire

[Pharoah]

yep always use the data from the dials in the bombsight. You'll notice some differences to the pilots' view (sometimes 100-200m). I know because I level off at say 3000m and in the bombsight its 2,850m or something. Atleast you only get to use IAS for speed calibrations rather than TAS (where you had to calculate it).

[Matt]

 

 

Edit - On second reading, Matt did you mean it reads height ASL? instead of height AGL? That would make your reply correct?

 

Yes i mixed something up. It always shows ASL. Doesn't make much sense imho and i'll make a report about that.