Distance Icons

[WWDarkdiz]

Noob question here...

 

When flying aircraft that use imperial distances (miles, mph, yards, feet), the distance markers to waypoint icons are in WHICH unit?  Same for metric (pretty sure metric distances displayed are in km).  Also, the distance to other planes, is it in yds*1000 (imperial), km (metric)?

 

For example, when flying a say a Termpest, the range icon to other aircraft may indicate 0.40.  Does that mean 400 yards? 400 metres?  In an IL2, the same reading, 0.40, does that indicate 400 metres?

 

Really not sure here...

 

Diz

[Hot_Rod]

Hi Darkdiz14,

 

I’m pretty sure those in-game distances are always displayed in kilometers, regardless of which aircraft you are flying.  So 0.40 displayed would be 0.40 km (or 400 meters) - again, regardless of whether you’re flying a Spitfire, Tempest, P-51 - or Bf109, Fw190, Il-2, etc..

 

Another example would be the weapon’s convergence distance in the setup screen - the distance you set is always metric (i.e. 0.40 = 400 meters).

I don’t believe there is any setting that would change that - but someone can correct me if that’s wrong.

 

Hope this helps.

 

 

Rod

[WWDarkdiz]

6 hours ago, Hot_Rod said:

Hi Darkdiz14,

 

I’m pretty sure those in-game distances are always displayed in kilometers, regardless of which aircraft you are flying.  So 0.40 displayed would be 0.40 km (or 400 meters) - again, regardless of whether you’re flying a Spitfire, Tempest, P-51 - or Bf109, Fw190, Il-2, etc..

 

Another example would be the weapon’s convergence distance in the setup screen - the distance you set is always metric (i.e. 0.40 = 400 meters).

I don’t believe there is any setting that would change that - but someone can correct me if that’s wrong.

 

Hope this helps.

 

 

Rod

Thanks Hot_Rod, still a little fogged here though.  In Brit/US planes with adjustable gunsights, the units clearly are yards for range, and feet for base wingspan.  I guess pilots would have to convert "on the fly" (pun unintended) from metric (if that is the distance indicated on the icon) to yards in order to get correct range information from the icon.  I realize that the gun convergence setting on the aircraft setup page is always in meters, but the conversion when setting up (not having to do mental math when flying) seems easier (ie 275m is pretty close to 300 yards if 1.09 yds/m is used as a conversion).

In terms of the actual distance indicated on nav waypoints, since the scale we are looking at is fairly large, the actual unit seems to be irrelevant, as if it is in km, it is close enough for government work to yds*1000 to make little difference, it just messes with a pilots mindset (ie are we in imperial or metric?).  Is the ICAO standard knots and nautical miles (at least that is what I was trained in)?  Clouds the issue even more.  Guess I'll have to get out the dividers and actually do a measurement of sorts...

 

[busdriver]

2 hours ago, Darkdiz said:

I guess pilots would have to convert "on the fly" (pun unintended) from metric (if that is the distance indicated on the icon) to yards in order to get correct range information from the icon.

 

Welcome! Check out Requiem's Air Combat Tutorial Library. Specifically this video or this playlist,

 

Icon indicated range/distance is indeed metric. 

 

2 hours ago, Darkdiz said:

In terms of the actual distance indicated on nav waypoints, since the scale we are looking at is fairly large, the actual unit seems to be irrelevant, as if it is in km, it is close enough for government work to yds*1000 to make little difference, it just messes with a pilots mindset (ie are we in imperial or metric?).

 

The mission map grid is indeed metric. Each numbered grid square is 10 km x 10 km or ~6.2 statue miles. I emphasize statue miles rather than nautical miles, since western airspeed indicators of the period display mph IAS and not KIAS. Likewise in the screenshot below, the airspeed is mph, and the leg/segment time is simply a ballpark ETE.

 

 

 

[69th_chuter]

He said "statue". 

                             

                           hehe

[WWDarkdiz]

Excellent Bus Driver, thanks for the info.  I figured it was, as MGRS is metric.  I actually paused a mission, took out my trusty dividers, and measured the icons (I know, what a geek!).  Didn't even puncture the screen ;)

 

I'm just north of you, Winterpeg, now in lockdown >:{  Lots of IL2 in my near future methinks