Navigating in Expert Mode

[mikeglaz]

How are you supposed to navigate from waypoint to waypoint in Expert Mode?

[Willy__]

How are you supposed to navigate from waypoint to waypoint in Expert Mode?

Just like they did IRL. They didnt have GPS back then and you had to use landmarks: rivers, towns, villages, roads, forests, etc.

 

Alternatively, you can use Dead Reckon, knowing your speed and heading, you can calculate how much time you need to reach your destination.

[LLv24_SukkaVR]

I use rivers and towns for navigation, but in winter it gets hard when you cant see the rivers so clearly. You have to continuously compare the landmarks what you see to your map to know where you are.

 

http://il2missionplanner.com/

 

This tool is also very handy as you can make custom waypoints and you get your bearing and estimated time if you input your estimated speed. I always keep this open in my 2nd display when i play online. Would be cool though if this feature was implemented in the game at some point.

[-SF-Disarray]

It can be a bit tricky at first, but with a little determination and situational awareness you can find you way around.

 

Knowing a few things helps too. First the big grid squares on the map are 10 km across; the small ones are 3 km. Up on the map is always north. Lastly the shapes of the forests and towns on the map are accurate to the game world. Knowing those three things and where you started out at you can, with practice get where you want to be more or less.

[xThrottle_Geek]

Also, as a general rule, don't try to simply use the closest landmark you can find. Most people tend to "look too small" in their immediate surroundings. I suggest looking at ALL of your surroundings. You don't need to know your exact position to the 3km grid square. Also, the higher you are the easier the nav gets. 

 

Rules of Navigation

 

1. Plan your route.

Before spawning, check the map and select multiple checkpoints along the path you wish to take. These can be any "conspicuous" geographical feature. Airports, cities, large bodies of water, large forests or anything with a distinctive shape.  Don't forget there are MANY airports on the map not in use by the server as a spawn at any given time, zoom in on the map to see them. In flight, when you find the checkpoint, verify its correct with its surrounding features. In fact, if there is nothing large and obvious to use, you may use multiple smaller supporting ones, such as a railroad crossing a river near a forest with a small pond. Alternatively, you could simply follow a river, rail lines or a road, with the river being the best option here, if it leads near to your target area. Take note of a good heading to the target area. Don't forget to take note of where you cross enemy lines and what a good exit heading is. Nothing sucks worse then getting into a fight and losing all sense of where you are and having NO IDEA where "safe" airspace is. 

 

2. Verify your heading on the runway BEFORE you takeoff.

You know where you spawned, don't takeoff and forget where "home" is, you're not "lost" at this moment. Don't get overwhelmed by the minutiae of headings. The only time 15 degrees is different from 20 degrees is when flying really long distances. Spend some time looking at a compass (or a picture of one). It doesn't need to move. Realize that most of the time the big cardinal headings will suffice and can be broken down further in smaller increments. There are online tools in the community for this but I just eyeball it most of the time. I just imagine a static compass rose superimposed on top of my position and estimate from there.   

 

3. Circle climb your airfield until you get your bearings.

This will save you from getting lost immediately and give you time to get some altitude. Its a lot easier to navigate when you're higher because there are more features in view. If you have a wingman, designate one person as the navigator. You don't want to get separated because you are both doing nav. This is when you'll get jumped and not be able to support one another.

 

4. Use your radio navigation equipment.

I mostly fly allied aircraft, so the one I'm most familiar with is the RPK. Not all aircraft have the capability, but it can come in very handy once you understand how it works. The needle will swing side to side until the nose of the aircraft is pointed at the closest friendly airfield w/ spawn points. *(As long as the mission designer has set it up) 

[Guest deleted@30725]

I think I've spent more time navigating around maps in this game than actually shooting at stuff, but learning this skill in the game does relate to real world map reading so if you can get good in the game you might just find yourself leading a team safely off a misty mountain sometime 

[Mitthrawnuruodo]

Note that improved distant terrain rendering and new Stalingrad textures will increase the visibility of landmarks. 

 

Currently, it is quite difficult to navigate in the expanse of identical fields that fade to white at a rather short distance. I am confident that the upcoming update will be very helpful. 

[Feathered_IV]

Avoid using navigational landmarks that are “too” prominent if you are planning to get in and out without being intercepted. Chances are the enemy might be using them as waypoints too.

[-SF-Disarray]

For an exit strategy for any fight I get into I use a general bearing that will lead me in a direction that I can either: A) Break contact, without running into a new fight, and then reestablish my position and navigate from there or; B) take me directly, or nearly directly, to a friendly airfield. In either case I pick general directions, down to about a 20 deg margin. This may seem counter intuitive at first but remember the step one of the plan is breaking contact, and I don't particularly care that much if I'm flying bang on course in this situation; these are emergency plans for when things go badly - 20 mm round into the engine block badly.

 

If you are feeling froggy you can add extra stuff too, like a rendezvous point for the people you are flying with the fall back to in the event of separation or on those situations where you have a near by fortified area with lots and lots of AA guns you can always fall back to there, if feasible. But, at the end of the day, having a plan for getting out before you go in is always a good idea.

[JimTM]

...

Rules of Navigation

 

...

 

4. Use your radio navigation equipment.

I mostly fly allied aircraft, so the one I'm most familiar with is the RPK. Not all aircraft have the capability, but it can come in very handy once you understand how it works. The needle will swing side to side until the nose of the aircraft is pointed at the closest friendly airfield w/ spawn points. *(As long as the mission designer has set it up) 

 

    Actually, it's not the spawn points that the RPK points to, it's the nearest friendly "NDB" (non-directional beacon), which looks like this:

 

    

 

    The mission designer can place an NDB anywhere, not just on an airfield.

 

    Nice navigation pointers 1 to 4, xThrottle.

Edited December 27, 2017 by JimTM

[216th_Lucas_From_Hell]

Important tip, do not aim to pass over landmarks. If you do so your aircraft's nose will more likely obscure it and you'll get lost.

 

I like to count rivers and roads, and not think more than two waypoints. Knowing the next two steps well is better than only having a faint idea of the whole route.

[Zippy-do-dar]

Thanks for all the tips

One question are there printable maps that are detailed enough to navigate by 

[Herne]

How are you supposed to navigate from waypoint to waypoint in Expert Mode?

 

I think because you are asking about waypoints, that you are currently playing the campaign. You should be able to see your position on the map. Press "o" to open the map and if you cannot see your plane Icon, press "i". This should make your navigation much easier.

 

If you were talking about Multiplayer on some of the more hardcore servers where map GPS is disabled, then all the other points in this thread stand.

 

hope this helps.

Edited December 27, 2017 by =11=herne

[No601_Swallow]

Thanks for all the tips

One question are there printable maps that are detailed enough to navigate by 

 

The IL/2 Map tool  is just great, and it keeps getting better. If zou have a second screen (laptop, i-pad, etc), it's very handy to have at hand. 

[-SF-Disarray]

That tool is fantastic for navigation. I've never seen it before now though. I just played around with it for about a minute and found it to be powerful and intuitive. Thanks for sharing it.

[SJ_Butcher]

There is a guide or something that teach you how to navigate properly? I mean using radio or something?

[56RAF_Roblex]

The first thing I look when planning my route is unique river features like junctions and unusual loops or 'squiggly bits' (Yes that is the technical term :-) )  Someone else in my squad swears by forest shapes and it works for him but I find they do not always easily match what you see out of the window.   During my flight I constantly check my position meets what I expected to see so if I am not expecting to pass rivers I will be checking for ponds or large clearings or towns or railway lines/roads.      Someone said that rivers are hard to see in Winter and that is true but I find that mostly applies at medium altitudes and that down low and high up the rivers become more visible again.      When I get lost it is often because I got overexcited chasing an enemy and did not take note of what direction I was chasing him so try to check your bearing before settling down for a long chase then when you have caught him or given up you can just fly the reciprocal bearing again until you get back to somewhere you recognise.

 

A typical flight for me will be to choose a route along the lines of "Fly 280 until you see a three way river junction then turn to 225, pass over another river just North of a town and bridge and keep going until you reach a third river where you fly up and follow the left fork and the target is just  beyond the end by a wood with a round hole."   I wont just rely on those main waypoints though. I will look out for intermediate points like a small pond that should be off to my right after 5 minutes and a wood with a railway line running East-West through it to my left when I am between the second and third rivers.   Keeping a constant check on where you are is very important; never just say 'OK that is WP1 now I will relax for 5 minutes until WP2 appears.'    Another tip is that roads are not always visible but you can often tell where they are when you see a single line of trees crossing a clear section.  

Edited December 27, 2017 by 56RAF_Roblex

[-SF-Disarray]

The radio beacon system in the game works, though in a more rudimentary way than modern systems. If you are in a plane that is equipped with a receiver for the system it will point you in the direction of the closest beacon, but that is about it. I haven't played much in the way of the single player so I don't know how common the radio beacons are there. In MP, though, it is hit or miss depending on servers and who made the missions. If the mission maker puts the beacons on the map they work well. TAW has them commonly on most of the airfields that are used as spawns and they are a great aid in navigation, especially at higher altitudes.

[162nd-YU-Markoni]

Use Il2 mission planer. It can be very handy if you have tablet or laptop. Put a tablet next to monitor. And use mission planer. It is not so hard. You can get a hang of it.

In RoF it is easier because there is a big black front line. Practice in quick mission. For example at first plan a route from airfield to a lake and back.

Use compass heading. Mission planer is a very handy tool. You can see a tutorial on Youtube.

Good luck.

[curiousGamblerr]

What's funny to me is that I barely use il2missionplanner anymore myself, but when I created it I felt like I couldn't navigate out of a cardboard box. Eventually I just got really good at finding a forest or river shape on the map, so these days I only use it for long flights or when coordinating seriously with the squad.

 

So, I would recommend using one of the tools at first, my planner or Nobby's, or MAGNUM's android app if you have one of those, and eventually you will probably find yourself not needing it anymore and navigating using a couple waypoints like folks have mentioned.

[blitze]

One thing that I found to help me navigate in BoX is head tracking.

 

Being able to easily look around the cockpit and to quickly and accurately return to forward view and then back to where ever I want to look at something, it makes a huge difference in ones ability to ascertain where one is over the terrain.

 

Then there is Offline Full Real which gives you GPS in map if flying a mission, Press "O " for your map and check you have your Hud on by pressing "H" and "I" for Information just to be sure.

 

In Online Full Real, it is a case of knowing where you are taking off from, before taking off, pull up the Map and determine where you want to generally want to fly to, keeping general direction in mind and noting any Town's, Rivers and or Forest Shatpes that stand out on the way.  Make your guess with the compass with North pointing to the Top of the Map.

 

Line up on Runway, note compass bearing, take off, circle field to get a good look at what it looks like form the air and then adjust course to the compass reading your figured out on the Map before taking off. 

 

It's funny as my brother is a commercial flight instructor and he says how nowdays, people are getting lazy with GPS tech that what we practice VFR, is a dying skill in his experience and trying to get through to the students the importance of being able to do VFR is hard.  Here on Full Real, it's a given.  Even offline it is good to not rely on the GPS if one can help it, only if truely lost )).

[216th_Lucas_From_Hell]

Another little thing for figuring out a diagonal heading on the fly from point to point without additional tools:

 

Find where you are, open the map, and hold a finger in a line between your location and destination. This will be the hypotenuse of our little route triangle. All you have to do next is see if the base or height leg of said triangle is bigger, and get a rough idea of the ratio between them.

 

Assume you're going somewhere to the north east. If both base and height are equal, you're looking at around 45. If base is almost double the height, around 60 degrees. Height almost double the base, around 30 degrees, etc., you get the idea.

 

It's not the most accurate way of doing business, but it guarantees you to stay within the right side of 45 at the very least, which is usually enough to get you to the next landmark.

[theOden]

Before I died bored flying the campaign in my lovely IL-2 I used heading and minutes.

9 minutes in that heading, look for river/forest, turn to another heading 6 minutes look for target.

Repeat to get back home.

 

Worked better than I expected (being used to F-16C NAV system ) as long as you keep your planned speed.

Edited February 24, 2018 by theOden

[Wolf8312]

Just started learning to navigate after a long time avoiding it and it makes thing's so much more fun and immersive. Arriving at the correct destination can be as thrilling and rewarding as shooting down an enemy plane!

 

I got hopelessly lost last night. Rather than flying home by constantly checking the map and my current position I flew up into the clouds to hide from, and avoid enemy fighters. When I came down again finally I must have lost my bearings somehow, and relying only on the compass proved to be a big mistake.

 

When all seemed lost I suddenly saw a little lake (great navigation markers as they are distinctive). I checked my map and it was the only little lake I could find anywhere and took me about five minutes just to locate.

 

Well I lined that little lake up with the airfield and reasoned I needed to go about 1 o'clock in a north easterly direction. Along the way I was watching my fuel and checking off the various rivers, roads and towns I passed by which all seemed to confirm I was on the right track.

 

The airfield itself was near a huge city which made things easier. When I finally arrived it was with great satisfaction and relief but nearing the runway my plane ran out of fuel, and I crashed into some trees! Luckily however I landed with myself and plane intact.

 

Lost 50 percent of my (landing) points for the bad landing but I was very chuffed and thankful of that one little lake that saved my life! If not I might have been in a red prison camp at this very moment !

 

I've gone from normal missions with navigation markers to expert with navigation, and realize I should have done it ages ago! It makes the game about 10 times better especially in VR as it removes all immersion breaking icons.

 

Haven't tried on winter maps yet, though Moscow is hard enough with the awful cloudy weather!

[Herne]

Just started learning to navigate after a long time avoiding it and it makes thing's so much more fun and immersive. Arriving at the correct destination can be as thrilling and rewarding as shooting down an enemy plane!

 

I got hopelessly lost last night. Rather than flying home by constantly checking the map and my current position I flew up into the clouds to hide from, and avoid enemy fighters. When I came down again finally I must have lost my bearings somehow, and relying only on the compass proved to be a big mistake.

 

When all seemed lost I suddenly saw a little lake (great navigation markers as they are distinctive). I checked my map and it was the only little lake I could find anywhere and took me about five minutes just to locate.

 

Well I lined that little lake up with the airfield and reasoned I needed to go about 1 o'clock in a north easterly direction. Along the way I was watching my fuel and checking off the various rivers, roads and towns I passed by which all seemed to confirm I was on the right track.

 

The airfield itself was near a huge city which made things easier. When I finally arrived it was with great satisfaction and relief but nearing the runway my plane ran out of fuel, and I crashed into some trees! Luckily however I landed with myself and plane intact.

 

Lost 50 percent of my (landing) points for the bad landing but I was very chuffed and thankful of that one little lake that saved my life! If not I might have been in a red prison camp at this very moment !

 

I've gone from normal missions with navigation markers to expert with navigation, and realize I should have done it ages ago! It makes the game about 10 times better especially in VR as it removes all immersion breaking icons.

 

Haven't tried on winter maps yet, though Moscow is hard enough with the awful cloudy weather!

 

Yes VR after a while really makes you want to turn the hints and tips, and hud instruments (compass) off.

 

I actually enjoy starting from parked and taxiing to the runway. At the end of the sortie I usually spend an extra few minutes after landing taxiing to a hard standing or open hangar to shut down there. 

 

It can work against me though, I remember a few months back after a long successful depot run on TAW, landing at kalinin, really happy with the sortie I had flown, taxiing around the peri track looking for a suitable place to put my HE111 to bed, when the sirens went off, flak started firing, and this cheeky PE2  flies right over head just a few meteres above me, and I see the puff of smoke from the bomb landing just a few meters ahead.

 

Just 5 seconds later my mood changed lol.

Edited February 26, 2018 by =FEW=Herne

[Wolf8312]

Haha yeah in future dump it on the grass and GTFO ASAP!