New user career mode

[flagdjmetcher]

As someone new to not just IL-2 but flight sims in general, I decided to do my learning in career mode.  After probably a dozen quick missions practicing takeoff and landing, off I went to my squadron (regiment?).  In hindsight, I'm really happy with that decision.  I'm no doubt quite a bit more raw than even the rawest trainee pilot, but then the stakes are a lot lower as well.  I've read about how much difficulty new pilots had with just basics like navigation, formation flying, and even just keeping up,  and how easily disoriented they became.  Man, am I getting total immersion in that experience.

 

I started both an IL-2 and MiG-3 career.  The airfield maintenance crews pretty much hate my guts; even if I don't get shot up (IL-2 gets shot up a _lot_), I pretty regularly manage to break something landing.  I always get a chuckle out of the way my pilot nonchalantly answers "Roger" when told to clear the runway after landing, while sitting in a derelict MiG with bent prop.  Actually, if I set down on the runway at all it's a good day in the MiG.

 

My flight leaders have given up on me ever flying in formation and let me just tag along a hundred metres behind everyone else.  I do try it every now and then, but just as I gingerly slot in, the lead pulls some manoeuvre that everyone except me is expecting and I'm into full-on avoiding action.  Plus I really don't see the point.  Flying in close packed formation into combat?  Just - why?  Apparently collisions were not at all unusual.

As for the flight home, well, I'd have to be able to find the rest of the flight, so usually that one is solo.  Same with the IL-2 ground attack oval pattern.  I try to stay roughly in sync, attack in roughly the same direction and check for any conflicts, but otherwise it seems like a great way to let the AA know exactly where you're going to be.

 

In the MiG - oh, boy, noob pilot experience for sure.  My first mission immediately after joining up I oversped, was too slow chopping the throttle, and pulled up to avoid colliding with the planes ahead.  And that was it.  After they disappeared beneath my wing, I never saw my flight or the bombers we were escorting again.  A few missions later I can keep up (usually), but combat is a matter of flying around occasionally catching sight of flyspecks in the distance with absolutely zero idea of whether they're my guys or the enemy.  Fly towards them - still no idea.  Zoom all the way in - still no idea.  My aircraft recognition skills are such that I can recognize my fellow MiGs only if I'm close enough to see the colour of the paint, and sometimes even then I want to see a red star just to be sure.  I still haven't fired my gun (again, apparently not unusual for new pilots), and I have a medal to prove it.

 

In the IL-2 I'm now one of the more successful pilots in the squadron, even though I hit with rockets almost never,  and with cannon maybe one pass in four.  I owe my relative standing to two things; one is that my squadron has lost about forty pilots in a month (my career is on easy mode, so it's usually not me); and the other is that I'm the only pilot who will drop a string of bombs from low-level down a line of parked aircraft (or tanks or whatever).  Everyone else attacks from some other angle, waaay higher,  and spends most of their time machine-gunning a single tank from extended range.  I don't even know what they do with their bombs.

 

One mission in the IL-2 I saw an aircraft closing on my six and pulled a hard break turn.  Guy must have just shook his head and said wearily "Vadim, you utter tosser".  It was my own flight-mate trying to rejoin on me, as apparently I was the highest numbered flight member still airborne.  Although how the hell he knew is beyond me.  The AI truly is  a different species.

 

Gotta finish my drink and run, the fighter squadron has just landed and ever since I shot down that escort fighter I try to avoid the officer's bar when they're around.  Fly safe comrades...

 

 

[Feathered_IV]

Hey I’ve got about twenty years of living and breathing flight sims on a daily basis, but that’s pretty much how I roll too!

[zdog0331]

german planes have forward sweeped wings and russian planes have center sweeped wings.  You can see the difference between these pictures.  ALso the russian planes arer very curved overall where the german planes have these very strait wings leading towards the tips.  The front of german aircraft have a 90 degree angle from the cockpit where the russians are at something like 115 degrees so over a right angle.

 

[hetstaine]

Nice work, expect a promotion and bunch more medals.

[RedKestrel]

On 3/29/2020 at 8:34 PM, flagdjmetcher said:

 

 

 I always get a chuckle out of the way my pilot nonchalantly answers "Roger" when told to clear the runway after landing, while sitting in a derelict MiG with bent prop.  

 

 

That's the famously dry Russian humour bleeding through.

Honestly the MiG is one of the most challenging planes to take off and land with in the sim, up there with the Spitfire, so if it gives you issues don't worry, that is normal - it gave the RL pilots no end of trouble too, and IIRC it contributed to the decision to cease production in favour of other types. The tailwheel unlocks at 50% of the rudder travel. The nose is long and the engine is powerful so it wants to swing, so you need a lot of rudder to keep it straight. Takeoffs are best managed at lower throttle settings and frequent, short stabs of rudder - often called 'dancing on the rudder'. If you do accidentally unlock the tailwheel, things are difficult but not impossible, you just need to be more aggressive with the rudder.

For landing, the tailwheel is still an issue and you have a pretty high landing speed required, which complicates things. Basically, if you bounce with the MiG, or land uncoordinated (i.e. yawing to one side or another) the instability of that will eventually transform into a ground loop if you are not careful. You have to watch the ball on rollout and correct for yaw as soon as you can. Wait too long, and the nose starts to swing. Once that happens it becomes difficult or nearly impossible to stop, especially at the end of the roll where you have lost almost all rudder authority.

[Halon]

I find spotting 109's isn't too bad now, they're fairly distinctive. When I get stuck in I'm looking for the skinniest aircraft in the sky. I think you'll sometimes be in situations where you just have to make a decision and pick an angry speck in the sky to start following. There should be one of two outcomes, either you catch up and see its an enemy and can shoot it, or you see its an ally and you've just become a wingman.

[flagdjmetcher]

9 hours ago, RedKestrel said:

That's the famously dry Russian humour bleeding through.

Honestly the MiG is one of the most challenging planes to take off and land with in the sim, up there with the Spitfire, so if it gives you issues don't worry, that is normal - it gave the RL pilots no end of trouble too, and IIRC it contributed to the decision to cease production in favour of other types. The tailwheel unlocks at 50% of the rudder travel. The nose is long and the engine is powerful so it wants to swing, so you need a lot of rudder to keep it straight. Takeoffs are best managed at lower throttle settings and frequent, short stabs of rudder - often called 'dancing on the rudder'. If you do accidentally unlock the tailwheel, things are difficult but not impossible, you just need to be more aggressive with the rudder.

For landing, the tailwheel is still an issue and you have a pretty high landing speed required, which complicates things. Basically, if you bounce with the MiG, or land uncoordinated (i.e. yawing to one side or another) the instability of that will eventually transform into a ground loop if you are not careful. You have to watch the ball on rollout and correct for yaw as soon as you can. Wait too long, and the nose starts to swing. Once that happens it becomes difficult or nearly impossible to stop, especially at the end of the roll where you have lost almost all rudder authority.

 

Yeah, I actually have a higher success rate with the 109.  The cool thing about the MiG though is that it's a tough bugger.  So many of my landings involve sliding down the runway on one wingtip and one wheel, doing a full 360 yaw and fetching up against the control tower.  MiG settles back down on its undercarriage, I pop the canopy and saunter off like I'd been practising that trick for years.

 

2 hours ago, Halon said:

I find spotting 109's isn't too bad now, they're fairly distinctive. When I get stuck in I'm looking for the skinniest aircraft in the sky. I think you'll sometimes be in situations where you just have to make a decision and pick an angry speck in the sky to start following. There should be one of two outcomes, either you catch up and see its an enemy and can shoot it, or you see its an ally and you've just become a wingman.

 

That's a good way to think about it, especially now that I've gotten used to recognizing 109's from behind so I'm less likely to shoot up my own side.  It's still immensely frustrating though hearing my own pilot voice on radio saying "engaging enemy fighter, it's close" while I'm frantically looking around trying to find anything at all.  I just haven't worked out how to clear the immense blind spots behind and below without wildly manouevring and losing all my speed. 

 

Funny story from yesterday's mission: I'm in a 109 slowly slowly gaining on an unaware MiG in a tail chase.  After several minutes, I look to my right and there's the guy's wingman a hundred metres abeam of me and on the same level.  I can only imagine he thought I was part of their formation, although I didn't think the AI could make that kind of mistake (and d'oh the nose of the 109 is painted bright yellow FFS).  Anyway, we fly along for a while, good formation buddies, while I'm wondering whether to try a shot with the flare gun.  Eventually I think I'll try to get a bit of separation so I can turn into him, but as soon as I change course he gives this kind of "holy shit!" wiggle and suddenly starts manoeuvering.  At which point I lose sight of him and his lead and never regain it   

Seriously, I count it as a good sortie if I can a) spot an enemy ever and b) maintain visual contact for a whole minute.