user manual about keybindings

[pa4tim]

Because I could not find a document that explains what all the functions in the keybinding of setting are. I tried to find out this on my own and made this "user manual" to help other players.

BUT I am new on this my self, so I probably have some things wrong. Let me know so I can correct things. Please do not quote the whole text in that case but only the part you want to correct to keep things a bit clear.

This is not my native language so I probably made mistakes . I am pretty familiar with motorcycle and car engines but not with plane engines.  I tried to explain some things in a simple way so  non-grease-monkeys can understand it too. Or at least have an idea of what a function does. I hope I have not over simplified things to much.  I have no clue about the average  technical knowledge level of the community.  

Most important meters to check if you go manual are inlet pressure, RPM and the temperature meters. 

 

I explain what the controls do, so you know what to do with them, not what keys to map to it.  The latter is personal and depends also of the gear you use. I have a joystick, throttle unit, gamepad, trackball and dedicated 2nd keyboard. All keys are labeled and I use only single keys (so no shift + key) for 99% of the functions. The gamepad for extra the buttons and two joysticks (for instance to control some cameras or things like visors)   For TC I use some axis different as for planes with help of JoyToKey. 

 

I start with engine controls. 

There are several levels of engine control in a plane and in the game. There are the functions the real plane had and there is sometimes the possibility to make some of those controls manual or auto if the real plane had that option. Besides that you can automate in the game some functions that were not available in real live as an aid to beginners. The problem is the not always so uniform implementation (probably also sim-history related and thanks to the diversity in the real planes) . There are also several auto/manual functions that are plane and/or realism level dependable in what they do in the sim. . 

 
Besides that, there is the influence from the realism settings. In Custom Realism you can choose Throttle auto limit, engine auto-control and radiator assist. If you select these they are on by default. However, there are keybindings to toggle them between manual and auto in battle. In normal Realisme they are on by default, in Custom you can select them. So not all keybinding functions work in every Realism mode. 

 

1) Automatic mixtures and superchargers control
In Normal realism mode this function lets you toggle between "engine auto-control" on or off. Besides that it switches between auto or manual RPM setting. 

2) Automatic radiators control.
In normal realism mode this is on by default (radiator assist) but you can toggle auto/manual with this function. This works for all radiators at the same time (oil and coolwater shutters, cowls, taps, radiators etc) 
There are several mechanisms in real. You can have water for cooling the engine and there is oil that needs to be cooled too. Oil and water need to be within in a temperature range. But at -50C you want no extra cooling while at 30C you must cool maximal. To regulate that there are radiators. The airflow through them cools the fluid that is pumped through its channels. You can adjust the flow by a thermostat (auto) that can restricts the fluid flow, it can be done by hand (turning a tap) or you can adjust the airflow through the radiators by cowls or shutters. And then there are things like intercoolers, cooling the intake air etc. All these functions are somehow implemented in water, oil, radiator or in/out cowls functions. This makes it often hard to know what exactly  they to for a certain plane. A tip: You can often see them moving if you look in the cockpit and watch what moves if you use them and you can often see them move if you look in 3rd person to the plane

3) Automatic RPM limiter
This is by default active in normal mode (Throttle auto limit) but you can toggle it off by using a key mapped to this function if you do not want it. It protects the motor against damage by over revving. If you for instance dive 2 km at full trottle not only the forces on the wings can become to high, also the RPM can become to high (like when you drive you car full throttle down a hill)

4) Engage engines start procedure / stop engine
The start button. Starting an engine involves a lot of things you need to do in a real plane. The game does all those things for you. (You can not do them manual but you can see the whole process in the cockpit because the game operates switches and levers visible. 

5) Engine ignition (Me 262) 
To start the jet-engine of the 262, no clue why it needed a separate key.

6) Engine blib switch
This is a button that interrupts the ignition as long as you push. It  is used by some planes (most FC planes) that have no flaps and brakes, it was used for most to reduce the speed while landing. Use it just a few seconds at a time. Like 3 seconds on, 3 seconds off, 3 seconds on etc...

7) Engine throttle control
This controls the "devise/mechanism" that increases/decreases the amount of air to the engine. The result is in many planes visible on some airpressure intake meter (like ATA in German planes). An engine needs a mixture of air and fuel in the right ratio to run. The higher the RPM the more the air it needs and that causes a higher suction in the airintake and that often causes more fuel to go in the motor (f.i a carburator). But it is complex in real because there are many different systems from things like a advanced fuel injection down to the special carburators in an WW1 Fokker.

?Engine mixture control
The engine air/fuel intake system is set up in a way that fuel and the air ratio is good for different throttle positions. More air suction draws also more fuel. But the ideal mixture is also altitude and temperature dependent. But there are more reasons/situations where you need a higher or lower fuel/air ratio. For instance to save fuel on long flights. Rich is more fuel by the same amount of air (or less air by the same amount of fuel) . Lean is less fuel by the same amount of air. (this is a simplification, it is much more complex)
A cold motor needs a richer mixture, high altitudes need a leaner mixture because the air has less oxygen.
Max power is not max rich mixture. To lean can cause over heated engines and things like knocking. To rich is bad for the lubrication and can increase carbon forming. Some planes have a few positions (idle/start, auto lean, auto rich, rich) others are semi automatic, only manual or have no mixture control at all. Be careful, I do not know how it is implemented per plane. 0% mix can mean there is no fuel at all, but it can also be that 0% is equal to some point in between lean and rich and no danger for the engine.  100% can be a bit richer or so rich you drown the engine. 
You can often see the flames from the exhaust. If you look at them and then adjust mixture you see the flames going from orange (rich) to blue (optimal) to light blue/white ( lean) 

9) Engine superchargers mode switch
This keybinding is used to switch gears in superchargers that have that option. A supercharger needs to pump more air at higher altitudes and for this, many superchargers have 2 gears. They shift gears automatic or manual. The function is plane depended but I think in most cases you use this key to shift gears.  

10) Engines turbosupercharger control
This is for planes that have a turbo system where you can manual control the turbo RPM. F.i the P47. It needs an axis or 2 separate keys. 
11) Switch Engine boost: on/off
Some planes have a boost option to get/allow extra power at full throttle. There are different systems. More power for a very short time (1 or 2 minutes) but more stress on the engine (like nitro injection  cars) or some mixtures that includes water to cool down the mixture and so the engine, making it possible to increase power for a longer time. (like 15 minutes)

12) Propeller RPM control:
You can see the prop as a screw you turn in to wood. If you turn faster the screw goes in faster. The same for the prop, the higher the RPM, the faster is "screws" through the air the higher your speed.
There are several ways to control the RPM but it comes down to engine RPM. This is a bit hard to  explane (I am not an airplane engineer or pilot) because there are several ways to manage RPM.  To make it more easy to understand: If you drive up hill the speed of your car decreases because the RPM of your car engine decreases (not enough power) . To increase RPM you give more throttle but at some point that does not help anymore. In that case you shift down to run the engine at a more optimal RPM and so more power but less speed. 
In planes you have "systems" that do things to keep the RPM constant as long as possible so the engine can run at its most optimal RPM. 

It can be a kind of auto pilot idea , Keep a constant speed of a plane with a fixed pitch propeller by increasing/decreasing the engine RPM and so prop RPM. Or keep the RPM constant but vary the speed of the plane. Or by keeping the RPM constant and speed constant by changing the pitch from special props that have variable pitch. 

 

So RPM is depending the amount of oxigen (throttle), the fuel:air ratio (mixture and throttle), the airspeed (causing things like drag) and the prop pitch (fixed or adjustable) This function does "something" needed to get the right RPM. You often set the inlet pressure at a desired value by using the throttle,  and then adjust "propeller RPM control" to set the right RPM. The result is "some" airspeed. In case of adjustable pitch props you set the pitch with this function. But the only thing you need to know is that you can set the optimal RPM this way. (but do not forget mixture and inlet pressure if needed. 
  
13) Switch propeller pitch control mode: manual/auto
To manually or auto regulate the pitch of a variable pitch prop. In manual mode you use the "propeller RPM control" to set the pitch (and so the RPM) But there are planes that use the "Propellers: high pitch" and "Propellers: low pitch" functions in manual mode (I think, I have no keys mapped to the latter functions because I have no clue what planes need it)  

14+15) Propellers: high pitch, Propellers: low pitch
See 13

16) Propellers feathering: on/off
If an engine of a multi engine plane stops, this function does "something" to lower the drag the non-turning prop causes. A stopped engine with a prop becomes a sort of wind-mill + generator combination. That causes drag and so extra loss of speed. What it technical does is plane depended. Only thing important is that if the plane has this function you switch it on after an engine stopped in flight to reduce drag. 

17) Oil radiators shutters control axis
This function regulates the flow of air through the oil radiators to cool the oil by operating shutters or cowl. You can see them as a "door" that allows more or less airflow through a radiator. But I think there are also planes where they regulate the flow of oil (or bypass the radiator) instead of air. Shutters and cowls increase drag so besides keeping the engine temp optimal in hot and freezing conditions, you can close them temporary if you need minimum drag or open them as a "brake"

18) Switch oil radiators control mode: manual/auto
If set manual you can use the keys from function 17 to control the oil temp. (for He-111, Bf110 you need an other mapping that opens or closes the radiators in steps. I have bound them to the same keys I use in function 17

19+20) He-111, Bf-110 oil radiators: open/close one step
See 17/18

21) Water radiators control axis
See 17 but now for water or some cool fluid

22)  Switch water radiators control mode: manual/auto
See 18 but now for water

23+24) Bf-109/110, spitfire water radiator open or close
See above 17+18

25) Engines inlet cowl shutters control (for some cowls at some stated planes) 
This opens or closes the inlet shutters in the nacelle of planes that have a rotary engine. This regulates the cooling air to air cooled engines (that do not have water to cool) In some planes you see the cowls moving from in the cockpit. Open cowls generate a lot of drag so you can close them during take off. BTW, the engine needs to have a certain temperature to work well and last long. If you cool to much oil is to thick and lubrication not optimal. This also costs some power.

26) Engines outlet cowl shutters control (for some cowls on some stated planes) 
This opens or closes the outlet shutters in the nacelle, see 25. 

27) Switch common control of engines on/off
You can use the functions in the menu that come after this function to control each separate engine in multi engine planes. This function couples all engines parallel regarding their controls. In "on mode"  you control all engines together for the same amount. So 80% mixture is 80% for engine 1, 80% for engine 2 etc. In "off mode" you select the engine you want to control by the function : "Switch engine # control on/off" (# = the number of the engine) 

All the functions following are copies of the functions explained above, but now for one specified engine. These are for most used if you have multi engine HOTAS controls.  So there are two ways to control 1 specific engine. Deselect all engines and then select 1 engine and control it with the normal functions explained before. Or if you have for instance 2 throttle levers on your HOTAS , to bind every lever to its own engine. 

 

28) interconnect throttle  and prop controls on/off
Edit 27-8-2019, It connects / disconnects the throttle axis to the prop controls. This function is not a general one,  there are planes that have the prop pitch lever inter-connected to the throttle lever. But only if the prop lever is set in a certain position. You then only need to adjust the throttle lever and the plane will adjust the prop pitch for you. If you want to disconnect and set the prop pitch manually you use this command.

Here some explanation copied from the post of Sokol1:  (see the first post of him in this topic)

Propeller control (i) On early aircraft (in this case a Spitfire IVX but as far as I could test, not on our Spitfire ) the speed control lever on the inboard side of the throttle quadrant varies the governed r.p.m, from 3,000 down to 1,800. 
(ii)On later aircraft the propeller speed control is interconnected with the throttle control.
The inter-connection is effected by a lever, similar to the normal speed control lever, which is known as the override lever.
When this is pulled back to the stop in the quadrant (the AUTOMATIC position) the r.p.m, are controlled by the positioning of the throttle lever.
When pushed fully forward to the MAX. R.P.M, position it overrides the interconnection device and r.p.m, are then governed at approximately 3,000.
The override lever can be used in the same way as the conventional propeller speed control lever to enable the pilot to select higher r.p.m, than those given by the interconnection.
It must be remembered that the interconnection is effected only when the override lever is pulled back to the stop in the quadrant; indiscriminate use of the lever in any position forward of this stop will increase fuel consumption considerably.
At low altitudes (and at altitudes just above that at which high gear is automatically engaged) the corresponding r.p.m, for a given boost with the override lever set to AUTOMATIC are as follows:
Boost (lb/.sq.in.) R.P.M.
Below +3 .. 1,800-1,850
At +7.. 2,270-2,370
At +12 (at the gate) .. 2,800-2,900
At +18 (throttle fully open) .. 3,000-3,050
 

29) interconnect throttle and turbo controls on/off
This is used in engines with a manual operated turbo (P47) to make the control a bit more easy. You can see it as a sort of "auto turbo control" function

 

Fred

 

  

Edited August 27, 2019 by pa4tim

[KpaxBos]

Hi,

 

Nice idea. Thanks for information. Keep sending it ?

 

Have fun.

[Serdalf]

Thank you for these explanations and enrich this tutorial

[pa4tim]

Part 2  goes about the Cameras and pilot head controls. Because they are related I did both of them in one post.

 

There are two types of controls: axis and keys.

An axis lets you change a parameter in an analog feeling way from min to max. An example is a joystick, the further you push it in a direction the higher (or lower) the respons. A throttle is an example of an axis. Sometimes you can use 2 keys for an axis. The action goes on in one direction as long as you press a key. Sometimes in small steps, sometimes in big steps. A joystick axis may look analog but it is digital. The position of the stick is feed to a piece of electronic that converts that signal to digital data. Or in other words the signal is a number of steps. Some sticks have a very high resolution, others have less (resolution is the number of steps) I do not know if the software also uses that resolution to the max or divides it in bigger steps. (how much resolution your stick has depends on how much bits the ADC is)

 

I can never remember key combinations and I can not type blind. (This tutorial is one finger typingwork ? ) So I have  
only single key controls for every function. (old keyboard labeled with a labelprinter) There for I combine some functions in 1 key. Besides that my joystick etc also has a bunch of switches. So it could be some settings conflict and I then have a respons that is different as it should be.  If you find faults, please tell it so I can change the text. 

 

The most complex part of the controls are the cameras. Not only because of all the rotation and move axis per camera but also because there are many of them and some use the same control functions while others need their own set. Besides that it is often unclear directly what a cam does because some cams only are available in certain situations. For instance the bomb cam is only activated if there is a bomb on its way down.  To make it more complicated there is also the pilots head and so his eyes. You can see those as a camera too. The camera controls and pilot head controls are related because you use all these controls to see something.

 

There are two types of cameras. The ones you could call 1st person view (the pilot or gunners eyes), the second group is 3rd person view cameras.

Most cameras have several axis of movement. Not every cam has the same amount of axis. 

First there is the rotating and tilting movement. You can rotate the cam horizontal and and tilt vertical. The cam itself is fixed to a location (like a dash cam in a car or surveillance cam on a wall)
The second movement is moving the camera-mount in the horizontal and vertical axis. You can see that as a camerastand on wheels like they used for TV. You can f.i. drive the cam closer to the object you are looking at, or move the whole camera up or down, or move the cam to the right, or drive a circle around the object and film it from all angles while still filming the same object. 

The movement of the total cam is not by definition in a straight line. Some cams only move in a circle around an object.
And some cams can not move at all, like the fly-by cam. 

You can picture a cam and its movements like a person that holds and looks through a camera.  He can sit in a chair looking around while filming, he can walk around an object while filming it. Or he can walk around while filming everything he sees. 
All these movements combined with all the cams and came "move-modes" (like snap or pan movement) make it pretty complex.

 

Some keybindings can be used for several cams. I like to do that because it is more easy in use. One set of uniform controls for all cams. I use a Thrustmaster joystick and throttle unit, keyboard, mouse(trackball), gamepad so I have many axis but I try to combine cam controls as much as possible because that is more easy to use and you always use only one cam at a time. 

I use the POV on my joystick for rotation of the cams in the horizontal plane. I use the mouse for the vertical movement and a POV switch and two pushbuttons of my throttle unit for moving the cam itself around in the horizontal and vertical plane. (the buttons left, right, the POV forward, backward, up and down)

 

First some explanation about a very powerful feature of IL-2. The different view modes. They are coupled to "head (eyes) of the pilot" (or gunner, commander etc) The main reason is that you can program the direction, location and FOV (field of view)  of the cam very easy. The views you save are automatic coupled to the plane (tank) and per fighting position (so you can program a set for the pilot and a separate set for each gunner) Every time you choose a plane or tank and a crew member the saved views are loaded for you. You can change things just by choosing and setting up a new "view" and save it with one keystroke. These are controls belonging to the "pilot head control" 

 

This is very simple. I have the cam-snap-direction keys mapped to the numlock part of my keyboard (as is default also the case) and the POV stick on top of my joystick in parallel. As an example. Choose Centered Quick view. First we set the center view we would like as default. We press and hold the num-5 key and then use the mouse to look in front of us, use the zoom function to choose the FOV (I zoom out max for the widest FOV,) and then press the SAVE button (see: 13 - save current corrections in head snap position) For num8 you do the same, press num8, I use the same direction but now max zoomed in with the gunsight in the middle. Again press SAVE. Then f.i. press and hold num6, aim the cam at what you want to see and press SAVE again. It now adds this view to the already saved views. If you want to change it, just do the same procedure for that key again. 

BTW, you can use every view you like for any key, if you want to look left-above if you press num6 you can do that. There are 3 special functions Upper, lower and custom but you can use them for anything you like. They are just 3 extra programmable views. I use f.i. custom to look zoomed in at the most important instruments, lower and upper for things I need to see often in a plane. F.I. in the Ju52 I use lower to look at the stabilizer indicator and upper to look at the knobs/meters in front of the copilot. Very important, the position of the pilot is stored too. So you can move the pilots head to the right, forward and max down, then look left and zoom in to the stabilizer indicator dial that is "hidden" behind the stick in the JU-52. Every time you now press the custom key, the camera re-positions and shows you see the dial. In the Tiger tank you can use this to let the commander "jump" from visor to visor position while zoomed in max. In the Pz IV I have 3 positions used for the driver. Upper for the instruments, lower for the visor left of him and custom to the "compass" left of him. You can bind the snap positions to both a POV switch AND the num-keys. 

 

The viewmodes are:
- Centered Quick view: The cam looks in the direction you push the POV or num-key. If you push num6 the cam jumps to the camera position you saved for that key but only as long as you hold that key. If you let it go the cam view returns to the num5 center position. 
- Fixed Quick View : the same but now the camera stays on the chosen position if you let go of the key. If you want the default center view again you need to press num5 (or whatever key you programmed to "reset" the cam to the (saved !) center position.
- Graduated Quick View: I never use it so maybe I see it wrong. Here the camera movement  is relative. If you press num6 the cam rotates a "step" left, if you press again it rotates another step left. Until you look backwards. If you want to return to center you press num5 or press num4 a few times. The thing I do not understand is the Num8 and num2, they move the cam forward or backward. No clue why you want that. 
- Pan camera mode: Press the POV stick left and the cam rotates left as long as you push it. The cam then stays at that position. To turn back to center, press num5 or press the POV stick to the right. (instead of the POV you can use the num keys). 

 

1) pilot head: zoom
you can bind this to an axis and it zooms most, if not all cams. I have the scrollwheel of my throttle unit and the mousewheel mapped to all zoom functions. No clue if that is wise but it works for me. 

2) pilot head: zoom in 
No axis but a keybinding for those who have no free axis available. The longer you push the more you zoom in.

3) pilot head: zoom out
The same as 2 but now zoom out

4) pilot head: reset zoom
This sets the zoom factor to default. This goes faster as using the keys used in 2 and 3. For an axis from a joystick this function often has no significant speed advantage

5) change veh turret zoom
I have no clue

6) change veh zoom
I have no clue

7) VR camera zoom (hold)
Can a VR user explain this one ?

8 )  bow pilot head vertically
If the pilot bows his head down he looks down, if he bows up, he also looks up. His eyes are a "cam" so this rotates the eyes-cam in the vertical plane

9) turn pilot head horizontally
The same as 8 but now he turns his head to the left or right and so looks to the left or right

10) turn gunners's head horizontally
This should turn the gunners head horizontal, there seems to be no vertical. I use the same binding as in 9 just to be sure because I could not find what it does

11) Default VR view
Can a VR user explaine this one ?

12) change pilot head control methode: centered snap, fixed snap, additive snap, pan view (edit 27-8-2019)
This is what I explained separate above. To make it more complicated they use other terms in the HUD (the messages about controls in the mid-left part of the screen) . It toggles between these 4 modes. In the HUD they are labeled: Centered Quick view, Fixed Quick View, Graduated Quick View, Pan camera mode. 

13) save current corrections in head snap position
See above where I explain how to use it. This is what I there refer to as the "SAVE" key

14) Pilot head snap position: center 
This is the default view I programmed under num5 in my explanation of the view modes. You can choose the zoom level, horizontal, vertical direction and location of the pilot head all under this key. So you can let him f.i. move his head to the left, move it upwards, while turning his head down and to the right max zoomed in all with one key.  (if you want ?  ) 

 

All the snap functions, (see my explanation at the top) I only state the two groups. There is a key per direction:
15-17) Pilot head snap posistion modifier: upper/lower/ custom
18-25) Pilot head snap position: All directions in 8 steps from forward clock wise to forward-left

 

26) switch veh turret sight position
If there is a combat position in a turret that has one gunner but two separate guns you use this to switch between guns. (you still need to take control and nestle to the guns)

 

These functions let you move the pilot head around. The amount of movement is dependent of the space the pilot has to move his upper-body and head. For instance "move forward": The pilot keeps looking to the same thing/direction but moves his head forward. It is a combination of leaning his body to the front while bowing his head a bit upwards so he can keeps his eyes fixed to the same point but now closer by:
27) Move pilot head forward
28) Move pilot head backward
29) Move pilot head left
30) Move pilot head right
31) Move pilot head up (You can see that as "standing up" or making yourself a bit taller)
32) Move pilot head down

 

I have not sorted out functions 33-40. If someone knows this please let me know. I will look in it myself a bit more too but upto now I do not know. 
33) turret, gunsight view: reset vertical view to gunsight
I do not know. 

34) turret gunsight view: view vertical
I do not know.
35) turret, gunsight view: reset horizontal view to gunsight
I do not know. 

36) turret gunsight view: view horizontal
I do not know.

37) head independent view left/right
I do not know. 

38) head independent view up/down
I do not know. 

39) center head independent view horizontally
I do not know. 

40) center head independent view vertically
I do not know. 

Edit 27-8-2019, I think number 37-40 make it possible to look around without moving the pilots head. I think for people that use a mouse instead of a joystick with a separate POV switch.

------------------------------------------------------------------------------------Part 2---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Camera controls:

Now the functions you can map to a key in the camera control section. I compare it down here sometimes to a person to make it more visible for you. 

 

1) Reset camera: 
This resets the camera to the default direction and default zoom. Default is the view you saved as snap position.

2) reset  external free camera
The same but now for the external cameras. The free camera is a 3rd person view and is placed outside the tank or plane. 

3) free camera slow mode
I think to slow down while watching a recorded battle.

4) camera zoom
Zooms in and out. I use the mouse wheel, the wheel on my throttle unit and the num- and num+ keys. for all zoom functions

5) rotate camera up/down
Rotation of the camera itself in a fixed location. 
This rotates the camera up or down. If it was a person he would sit on a chair and bows his head to see his feet or looks up to see the moon.

6) rotate camera left/right
Here the person still sits but now rotates his head to the left or right

7) camera local rotation up/down
Here the camera itself rotates vertical around the plane while looking at the plane. 

8 ) camera local rotation left/right
Here the camera itself rotates horizontal around the object under-while looking at the object. If it was a person he would look at the object, f.i a tank while he walks around it in a circle to look at it from all angles.

9) Move free camera forward/backward
The persons walks towards an object while looking at it. (or away from it) 

10) move free camera left/right
This is the free cam, a 3rd person view, outside the vehicle. Here the person walks in a straight line to the left or right while looking at whatever he wants.

11) move free cam up/down
Like 10 but now vertical in a straight line.

12) camera: player cockpit
This is the default 1st person view mode. The camera is now the eyes of the pilot. (or gunner, or tank crew member)

 

Now a bunch of cams that are probably only usable for video purpose. They are cameras that let you see what is going on, on other parts of the battlefield, often outside your normal view range. They are mounted on some vehicle or they are positioned somewhere and show you activity at some location. Some of them toggle between more then one location or vehicle. Every key-press  switches you over to an other location or vehicle. I never used them so feel free to add some info.  

13) camera operator: enemy
14) camera operator: friendly
15) camera padlock: friendly aircraft
16) camera padlock: enemy aircraft
17) camera padlock: close aircraft
18) camera padlock: friendly ground units
19) camera padlock: enemy ground units

 

20) camera: combat camera

Cams that are mounted outside the cockpit and mounted to your plane. You toggle it from cam to cam. 

 

The free cam is the main 3rd person cam that is outside your vehicle and is fully controllable in location and direction by you. You can move it around by keys mapped to functions 5 to 11. 

21) external free camera at player plane
22) external free camera at friendly aircraft
23) external free camera at enemy aircraft
24) external free camera at ground units
25) external free camera at friendly ground units
26) external free camera at enemy ground units
27) external free camera at bombs
28) external free camera at friendly bombs
29) external free camera at enemy bombs

 

30) camera: flyby
This cam is fixed in location and view in such a way that you see your plane of tank passing by. F.i to get nice shots of a plane taking off in videos

31) camera: track
As far as I know this tracks an enemy you are locked to. No clue how it works. I never use it because planes and tanks in this game do not have that function in reality. 

32) camera: head-unlinked cockpit
It unlinks the controls you use for the pilot/gunner cam so the num-keys and/or POV do not control that cam anymore. However you can still look around using the mouse. I never used it. I do not know the purpose. I think to look around without loosing your aim for gunners (in turret or cockpit) . They state cockpit but it seems to do nothing for the pilot in the cockpit. 

33) free look
I do not know, I tried  but I can not find what it should do.

 

Edited August 27, 2019 by pa4tim

[fubar_2_niner]

@pa4tim

 

Any chance you might make this a pdf file we can download mate?

[pa4tim]

 I typed it my self in notepad so I could easy copy/past it to the forum and make changes fast but used no empty lines and things like bold/italic etc. I added the layout later on the forum post itself.  For me the best way to keep it a bit up to date fast and easy.  

 

But you can make a pdf yourself easy. Select and then copy the text from the posts. Open your favorite text-write program (like open office writer). Paste the text, add white lines and things like bold if you want and then export it as PDF (and upload it here if you like ? ) Or send it to your printer and choose pdf instead of the printer (I did that often in linux)

[fubar_2_niner]

2 minutes ago, pa4tim said:

 I typed it my self in notepad so I could easy copy/past it to the forum and make changes fast but used no empty lines and things like bold/italic etc. I added the layout later on the forum post itself.  For me the best way to keep it a bit up to date fast and easy.  

 

But you can make a pdf yourself easy. Select and then copy the text from the posts. Open your favorite text-write program (like open office writer). Paste the text, add white lines and things like bold if you want and then export it as PDF (and upload it here if you like ? ) Or send it to your printer and choose pdf instead of the printer (I did that often in linux)

Yes I realise I can do it that way, weren't sure if I would be stepping on your toes mate  

 

With your perms I will certainly, keep track of this thread and convert as and when necessary, then upload if that's good with you and the mods.

 

Best regards

 

fubar

[pa4tim]

 

On 8/21/2019 at 6:32 PM, fubar_2_niner said:

weren't sure if I would be stepping on your toes mate  

I  am barefoot so I appreciate that ?

 

No problem a little help is always welcome.

[fubar_2_niner]

@pa4tim

 

Please see your pm.

 

fubar

[pa4tim]

I am already reading it, I will come back on it tomorrow

[Sokol1]

Quote

 

28) interconnect throttle  and prop controls on/off

It connects the throttle axis to the prop controls, I think that is number 12 "Propeller RPM control"  No clue why you want that or when you need that. 
 

 

 

Don't know if Spitfire Mk.IX version of game need this command (don't own this plane), but RL latter Mk.IX  "Pilot Notes" say:

 

 

20. Propeller control (i) On early aircraft the speed control lever (35) on the inboard side of the throttle quadrant varies the governed r.p.m, from 3,000 down to 1,800. 

(ii)On later aircraft the propeller speed control is interconnected with the throttle control.

The inter-connection is effected by a lever, similar to the normal speed control lever, which is known as the override lever.

When this is pulled back to the stop in the quadrant (the AUTOMATIC position) the r.p.m, are controlled by the positioning of the throttle lever.

When pushed fully forward to the MAX. R.P.M, position it overrides the interconnection device and r.p.m, are then governed at approximately 3,000.

The override lever can be used in the same way as the conventional propeller speed control lever to enable the pilot to select higher r.p.m, than those given by the interconnection.

It must be remembered that the interconnection is effected only when the override lever is pulled back to the stop in the quadrant; indiscriminate use of the lever in any position forward of this stop will increase fuel consumption considerably.

At low altitudes (and at altitudes just above that at which high gear is automatically engaged) the corresponding r.p.m, for a given boost with the override lever set to AUTOMATIC are as follows:

Boost (lb/.sq.in.) R.P.M.

Below +3 .. 1,800-1,850

At +7.. 2,270-2,370

At +12 (at the gate) .. 2,800-2,900

At +18 (throttle fully open) .. 3,000-3,050

(iii) A friction damping control (46) is fitted on the inboard side of the throttle quadrant.

 

 

But the lever (propeller) can override this interconnection when moved forward.

Edited August 24, 2019 by Sokol1

[pa4tim]

I tried the Spitfire, There are no markings on the throttle quadrant so I do not know how to set it on automatic. There are 3 levers, labeled throttle, airscrew-control and mixture. There is also a small "box" with a press switch and a toggle switch but no label of its function. The switches do not move if I use interconnect. The mixture has a 100 octane stop-mark.

 

 If I give the interconnect command there is no reaction on the quadrant or switches and no message in the HUD (mid height, right side of screen) So I think we have an early model. 

 

But thanks for the input. It is handy to know what its function is if you have a plane that needs it. I added your text to the "manual"

Edited August 27, 2019 by pa4tim

[pa4tim]

On 8/24/2019 at 1:26 PM, fubar_2_niner said:

@pa4tim

 

Please see your pm.

 

fubar

Fubar, If I add or modify texts of the "manual" part, I will add "Edit + date" to that part so you know what to change in the PDF. 

For others:  Fubar makes the pdf version of this manual. (incl some style/grammar rectification of my English)

 

Edited August 27, 2019 by pa4tim

[pa4tim]

Plane Controls

 

1) AI-autopilot on/off
The AI autopilot let an AI take over the control of the airplane. Not much to say about that. I never used it. As far as I know it can do a complete mission for you.

2) AI-autopilot for level flight on/off
This is a very handy thing. It holds your heading and altitude constant. Very handy to do things like setting up you engine controls or checking all your indicators. If you want to take control your self you press again or give your rudder a push. You can change engine controls, change your speed but not your pitch, rudder or ailerons without stopping the AI. You can see it as some sort of cruise control. It is completely dumb, it will fly straight into a mountain if that is higher as the altitude it is flying.

3) Level flight AI-autopilot: left turn, 
You use this if number 2 is active to make some heading corrections to the left while staying in "cruise control" mode 

4) Level flight AI-autopilot: right turn,
You use this if number 2 is active to make  some heading corrections to the right while staying in "cruise control" mode

5) Plane control pitch
This operates the elevator of the plane, push the joystick to the front and the plane goes down, pull it towards you and the plane goes up. If you bind it to your joystick you see a small square box with a "S" like figure in it. You can click that to change the response. Normally that is lineair so if you push it half way the computer reads that as 50% and the elevator goes to 50% of its total movement. But you can change it to an other response, for instance that at 50% of the throw the computer reads it as 20% so you now must move the joystick a lot more to get 50% elevator response but more important, you have more resolution to make more precise pitch changes. The concept is simple. Just read the graph. The X axis is the movement of your control from 0% to 100%. The Y axis is the movement of your rudder from 0 to 100%. If you change the curve you change the ratio between movement of your joystick and the elevator.

6) Plane control: roll
This operates the ailerons of the plane. It lets you bank your plane to the left or right to make turns. Regarding changing the ratio see 5.

7) Plane control: yaw
This controls the rudder of the plane. In a real plane you do this with your feet. If you make a turn with the ailerons the plane will often go to wide or turn more as you want. The rudder is there to prevent/correct that. If you use it together with the ailerons to make nice turns without slipping they call that coordinated turning. You can see that on a meter in the cockpit (a ball in a banana shaped tube ) of most planes. 

? Plane control: Yaw reset, 
this is more for the people who do not have self centrering axis (twistgrip joystick, floor-pedals or rudder-flippers on the throttle unit)  to control the rudder. It sets the rudder back to the central 50% position.

9) Adjustable stabilizer axis
Some planes have a stabilizer that you can manually adjust. See the plane specs if you need to set it. Often there are recommended settings for take-off, landing and cruising. 

10) Trimmers
I group them all under one number. Trim is nothing else as fine-adjusting some special "parts" of your control surfaces (rudder, elevator and ailerons) so the plane flies unchanged in heading and altitude if you let go of the stick. This is not a fixed position. The wind, height, speed, drag, gravity, thrust etc all influence your plane. It is not an autopilot. It just makes it more comfortable to fly longer distances in the same direction/altitude
A reset sets the trim back in the central or "zero" position. Some planes want you to set the pitch for diving. Not all planes have all trim options

11) FW-190 adjustable stabilizer up/down
See 9) This is not an axis, it is only key operation needing two keys.

12) Flaps up and Flaps down:
How this operates depends on the plane. Some have one others have a few fixed positions. One push will move the flaps to that position. A second push moves it to the 2nd position etc. If more then one it is often take-off, combat and landing positions or take-off and landing. The rest move flaps as long as you press the key. The max movement is given in the plane specs. Often 0-40 degrees. Most planes use somewhere between 0-20 degrees to take off and around 40 to land. 
Flaps increase the lift of the wings but also increase the drag. So you can fly slower without stalling but the flaps themselves also slow you down. It is up to the pilot (and airplane designer) to find the best setting for the situation  
You need a key to lower them and a second key to rise them. 

13) Airbrakes on/off
Airbrakes are used to slow a plane down in combat or in a dive. Most planes in IL-2 do not have airbrakes. 

14) Attack Siren on/off
This is a siren you can mount on the Stuka that goes on while diving to scare the soldiers on the ground. The same keybinding is used in tanks to operate the claxon/horn

15) Gear up/down
I toggles between lowering the landing gear and raising it again. In real life there are several systems from non-retracting gear to gear that have emergency systems to manual lower them. (you need gears to land if you love your plane) Gears are controlled by hydraulic pressure or by things like cables,  manual operated or by electric servo motors etc.  If a plane is hit there is a possibility that system is damaged. Some planes have an emergency system that makes it possible to lower them manually. Some have a handpump, other just unlock the gear that then drops down by gravity. In those cases you sometimes need to wiggle your plane to help it fall down. But in the game you only have gear up/down implemented

16) Tail wheel lock/unlock
Some planes, (like tail draggers) have a tail wheel that can rotate around like the wheel of a shopping car. To go more in a straight line while taking off you can lock it to limit the degrees of swing it has. For some planes this is implemented in the flightstick control (you need to pull the stick back to lock it) but some have a separate lever you must manually operate. 

17) wheel brakes
This operates all wheel brakes at the same time. Use them with care in a taildragger because if you brake to fast/hard the tail comes up and your prop tries to dig a tunnel. (Let me say it like this, a shovel is a better choice)

18) Left Wheel Brakes
Most planes have separated brakes. The left and right brakes operate separate from each other. The brake pedals are mounted on the rudder pedals. If this is not implemented in the fly-model of a plane in the game, you can bind the rudder axis to the brakes. You need to invert the rudder axis to one of the brakes. Brakes are not only used to brake after landing but also to steer the plane during taxi and take-off. You do need number 17 if you combined rudder and brakes, that is if you want to brake both wheels at the same time. (And there are situations you really wished you could use both) 

19) Right Wheel Brakes
See 18 but replace left for right while reading

20) Nose/tail wheel brakes
This if a plane has also a brake in the tail wheel or nose wheel

21) Wheels parking brakes on/off
This is a brake you set once, it stays locked until you press the same key again or if you press the key from number 17. For some planes the latter is the only unlock option. You always set this brake while starting and test spins of the engine/prop

22) Canopy open/close
This also is used to open a hatch in a tank or to open door + canopy in some planes. Be careful, not all canopies are allowed to be open or opened/closed during flight. The wind will blow it away or damage it (and the plane) In tanks the drivers hatch will pop the drivers up so they can look around but in some cases he can not drive that way.

23) Window open/close
Some planes have a window you can slide open with this key binding. In tanks it lets you open/close some visors.

24) Landing lights on/off
You can see this as the headlights of a car (and here also on tanks). You use them during landing and/or take off to see "something" , handy on war time airfields. You can use them during night-flights to attract enemies...... 

25) Navigation lights on/off
Lights like the red/green lights on the wingtips to let your enemy know you are coming if you want to be polite.

26) cockpit lights on/off
Also used for tanks. Some tanks and planes have more "modes" The first push switches on the instrument and second the cockpit lights or to brightness levels etc. Just try and you see what it does. 

27) Formation lights on/off 
Lights to let your flight members see where you fly without lighting up like a Christmas tree so the enemy can join your formation. 

28) Altimeter: reference pressurre toggle
Altimeters work by converting air pressure in to height. But that air pressure not only changes by height, it does also change if the temperature changes. Besides that the air pressure we live in changes too. (high/low pressure they talk about in weather reports) So today the pressure can be 1000 mBar or 30 inch air pressure at 100 meter above sea-level but an other day this could be 1025 mB for the same 100 meter. So you set your altimeter (by changing the pressure or the height) so you can correct things. Be careful. If you start in my country (below sealeve)and set your altimeter at zero and you then fly to Austria in the mountains you will get a nasty surprise if you think you are safe as long as you stay above 0 meter on your meter..... 

29) Radio receiver: channel toggle
I know what it does, duh.. but not if some tanks or planes also use it.

30) Eject,
This opens the canopy and then your pilot jumps out with a parachute. This can be important in career and MP. Your plane is lost but the pilot survives

[SIA_Mal]

I found out Me-262 has: Nose wheel brakes

Any other plane got a nose or tail wheel brakes?

[Sokol1]

Quote

17) wheel brakes
This operates all wheel brakes at the same time. Use them with care in a taildragger because if you brake to fast/hard the tail comes up and your prop tries to dig a tunnel. (Let me say it like this, a shovel is a better choice)

 

When using this "Wheel brakes" command - set in a joystick button, key press or an analog axis; both wheels are braked simultaneous, but by moving the rudder pedals, e.g. for right, the brake in the left wheel is released (and vice versa), so the plane turn for right on ground, like. e.g. in a RL Spitfire, LaGG-3...

 

But the detail is that in IL-2:GB this command work for any plane of the game.

 

This allow the player with just an "entry level" joystick with twist rudder (e.g. T.16000M), to make taxi turns in any plane in a simple way, even in a P-39, P-51, Bf 109... that have modeled "Right Wheel Brakes" and "Left Wheel Brakes", that in other games require a rudder pedals with "toe brakes" to be operated, or that player set a par of keys press or buttons for each of these brakes.

[LukeFF]

1 hour ago, SIA_Mal said:

I found out Me-262 has: Nose wheel brakes

Any other plane got a nose or tail wheel brakes?

 

That's the only one right now.

[SIA_Mal]

1 hour ago, LukeFF said:

 

That's the only one right now.

Oh, ok. Thanks

[Stout]

I've been playing this game on and off for almost 20 years. Now I finally started to dig into the controls in Great Battles in depth and messing around with Joystick Gremling and several modes on several joystick/button boxes to get a complete layout.

 

I am a bit confused. I use IRTracker and have disabled almost all key bindings in "Pilot head control" except for using zoom with POV. I see that same key input combinations  (which I deleted in pilot head control) are also in "Camera Control".

 

I've never bothered because I use an IRTracker but what are the actually "Camera Controls" for? Is it for recording strictly or a combination with "Pilot head control"?

Edited October 11, 2022 by Stout

[tctcb]

hello their

               i really would like too know how too transfer the mouse camera views too the 8 way hat switch on a gladiator nxt ,i want too use the mouse as  what it is normally used for and that is a "cursor" its frustrating to use the mouse as a camera view too me because i want too use the mouse as is (cursor)for starting the engines manually.ANY help would really be great....thank you  for your time....