basic control tutorial question

[Angry_Kitten]

is there a tutorial using simple words and sentences that can show a person the ins and outs of the following:

 

1. basic logic behind keymapping

 

2. basic methodology of using thrustmaster WCS hotas 

   1. single engine 

   2. two engine planes and any possibility of working each engine independently with it

 

3. method of working flaps

 1. pitch nose heavy/tail heavy

 2. rudder trim flaps for that interesting "make it pull to this side"

 3. aileron flaps for when dealing with crappy engine on one side or heavy load on one side only, "need to drop BOTH 1,000 lb bombs at a time.." 

[RedKestrel]

15 hours ago, pocketshaver said:

is there a tutorial using simple words and sentences that can show a person the ins and outs of the following:

 

1. basic logic behind keymapping

 

2. basic methodology of using thrustmaster WCS hotas 

   1. single engine 

   2. two engine planes and any possibility of working each engine independently with it

 

3. method of working flaps

 1. pitch nose heavy/tail heavy

 2. rudder trim flaps for that interesting "make it pull to this side"

 3. aileron flaps for when dealing with crappy engine on one side or heavy load on one side only, "need to drop BOTH 1,000 lb bombs at a time.." 

Don't have a linked tutorial for keymapping but I will give you what advice I can. You might also want to check out Requiem's Air Combat Tutorial Library on Youtube. It has familiarization for all the planes, and goes through which ones have which types of controls (though not the keybindings themselves. You can figure out from his video what each plane needs). 

The Air Combat Tutorial Library - YouTube

Somewhere on the forum once was a tutorial laying out the necessary keybindings for the engine management of each plane. Can't find that at the moment.

The key-mapping in this sim is a little obtuse at first. The key mapping is for the game as a whole and you cannot assign different keys for different planes. It  can be a little overwhelming as there are a large number of key bindings, but most planes do not use all of them. I recommend keeping the keybindings as generic as possible so switching between aircraft isn't so hard.

Assigning keys is easy - there are a few columns in the mapping so you can assign multiple keys to the same controls - so you can have keyboard shortcuts and joystick buttons if you want. Just click on the control, then when prompted, press the button or key combo you want to control that function. Pretty straightforward. The more difficult thing is dealing with all the different key mappings, and knowing which planes need which controls. Most planes in the sim do not have aileron trim, for example. Many do not have rudder trim (Bf-109, the Yaks. I-16, etc.). The Axis fighters mostly have automated controls that only require you to use the throttle to control the engine, no worrying about the RPM or mixture.

There are several different key bindings for similar functions, and the only difference is that they are modeled differently in the various aircraft. Set your keybindings so that the same buttons adjust the same thing in every aircraft. This is only difficult because there are different key mappings for if the adjustment is made via switch or axis, or called something different on the plane (e.g. the Bf-109 doesn't technically have trim tabs, it has an adjustable stabilizer. From the point of view of most virtual pilots, they are functionally identical, but the sim has different bindings for them.)

For trim, assign the same trim adjustment buttons to all of the keymapping for the particular movement direction: the same buttons for Elevator trim- Axis, Elevator Trim - Switches, Adjustable Stabilizer Trim- Switches, and adjustable stabilizer trim - axis. Why? Even though it says 'axis' in the keymapping screen, you can bind one button to go down and another to go up!  This simplifies things massively if you just bind the same trim adjustment buttons to all the keymapping and then every plane will be adjusted the same. Do the same for rudder trim, and aileron trim.

 

For engine controls, the same thing: For example, bind a button for RPM increase/decrease to all the RPM adjustment possibilities and for increasing and decreasing prop pitch in case you want to do it manually in the (very) few planes that allow it in sim. Keep it simple.

As an aside, there are only two planes in the entire sim that have a controllable turbocharger - that is the P-47D-22 and D-28. You can link the turbo control to the throttle in those planes with a keypress, so if you don't fly them very often, just do this at the beginning of every sortie and you will almost always be fine.

For radiators, I assign one set of keys to oil radiators, one set to both the water radiator and inlet flaps, and one set to outlet flaps. Inlet and outlet flaps are the radiator controls for radial engined planes, which to my knowledge never have a water radiator, so its OK to have one key control both, and they have a similar function on keeping the engine cool so it makes sense to me. 

Your HOTAS has one axis for throttle, so controlling engines independently may be difficult, but not impossible. The sim has key bindings to switch between controlling both engines, controlling 1 engine, or controlling a second engine (or a third engine with the Ju-52, I think, haven't flown that one). So you can switch between engines and adjust the throttle independently if you need to, then switch back to controlling both when you want to be synchronized. In the planes I have flown, I have never really found it necessary to control the engines independently, except when one fails and I need to feather the propeller. There are  keybindings to feather propellers if one engine fails so as not to have too much drag - not all planes have the ability to feather the propeller. 

For your question about flaps - not sure if you mean flaps (like for landing or maneuvering) or trim control. I assume trim.

Pitch trim can be used to make your plane nose or tail heavy. Rudder trim affects yaw, or side to side movement, and you use the trim to mitigate any yaw induced by the engine or loadout. Aileron trim affects roll. Because any rolling motion also tends to induce adverse yaw, and any yaw can induce rolling, aileron trim and rudder trim are linked. I honestly don't bother with aileron trim on the planes that have it and just trim the rudder to have the ball on the slip indicator centred (coordinated) in level flight at the speed I'm flying. That will usually mitigate any rolling tendencies enough that I don't need to fiddle with aileron trim. 

Different modes of flight require different trim adjustments. Any time you increase speed or change the plane's attitude, the required trim to stay in that position will change. I basically adjust trim as needed to keep the nose pointed where I want to go with no or minimal control input, though it is not always possible to fly 'hands free' in these planes. 

During combat I don't touch rudder trim and just use the flight controls for those. I will adjust pitch trim to reduce the need to be pushing or pulling on the stick when lining up on a target. 

If you have an engine out and you have aileron trim, go for it, use it in conjunction with feathering the propeller and rudder trim to deal with the yaw. For bombs, honestly I just drop the bombs in one pass so I don't end up trying to come around for a second run with 1000lbs on one wing, just too difficult to control and line up even with trim.

Anyway, hope this is helpful and not just confusing.

[Angry_Kitten]

RedKestrel, 

 

The reply was not that confusing. Its just that i have seen a lot of confusing "information" in some of the online videos and even in a few of the posts here the following has happened to the best of my understanding

 

the pitch trim flaps have been referred to as also being

 

1. the flaps used when landing/taking off. "adjust flaps to 20% and hit the throttle...."

2. the wing flaps on stukas used when dive bombing

3. in some instances i have seen them insinuated as being  a sort of "air brake"