spitfire's direction indicator freezing

[SunCup]

Hi Simers,

 

Does Spitfire pilot encounters the same probleme with the spitfire's direction indicator freezing?

Each time I take a hard turn the indicator is stopping moving during severals minutes ?

[Weegie]

You referring to the Gyro compass?

 

That happens to me in most aircraft I've flown as I recall, I think it's a "feature" as the Gyro would be thrown out of wack and take a while to right itself.

 

If you turn gently it continues to function. Admit it can be a bit of a PIA but I think it's the way it is to mimic the real thing

 

I'm not long back to IL2 so others with more experience will confirm that or set me right

[Vortice]

It is normal. The gyroscope will freeze during hard turns.

 

The main compass behind the stick always works though.

[jollyjack]

Some bugs aren't bugs:

 

[Carl_infar]

Its same irl. After a hard turn it needs some time to settle down

At least You dont have to align it with magnetic compas heading periodically during flight...

Edited January 9, 2022 by Carl_infar

[AEthelraedUnraed]

To elaborate on what some others said above, it's historical.

 

The gyroscopic compass could become damaged if you'd use it in too steep maneuvers. To prevent this, the pilot had to lock it before starting combat maneuvers. After maneuvering, the pilot could unlock the gyroscope again.

 

The game does all of this this automatically. Once you haven't done steep turns for 30 seconds or so, it'll unlock the compass again. There's usually some kind of magnetic compass you can use in the meantime.

[Bert_Foster]

We are talking about the Directional Gyro (DG). Its modeled poorly in the sim. IRL If you exceeded the Gimbal limits (About 55deg in pitch and roll) the DG would spin not freeze (as it does in the sim). After you roll out the DG would eventually stabilize but on a random heading. The Pilot then would simply note his heading from the compass, cage and set the DG heading by pulling the knob to cage it then rotating the knob to align the DG card with the heading. Once set the DG would indicate good heading (without acceleration errors) as long as the pilot stays within the Gimbal limits. The set heading would drift (precess) slightly, maybe 3 degrees per 15minutes. So the pilot regularly updates the DG heading from the compass.

 

So in combat (IRL) its useless (since it will be toppled) but as soon as you get a breather you can instantly cage and reset it . In the Sim you have to wait some variable time for the DG to magically sort itself out and align with the actual heading. Be nice if the Sim provided the ability to cage and reset the DG ...... same for the AH on those fitted with cage functions.

 

[AEthelraedUnraed]

2 hours ago, Bert_Foster said:

We are talking about the Directional Gyro (DG). Its modeled poorly in the sim. IRL If you exceeded the Gimbal limits (About 55deg in pitch and roll) the DG would spin not freeze (as it does in the sim).

The gyro isn't modeled at all in the sim, rather the caging process is modeled. Once you start maneuvering heavily, your "virtual pilot" automatically cages the gyro, and uncages it when things have quieted down, which is what you're supposed to do. So although I agree it would be nice if there was a manual cage/uncage button with a chance of damage if you forgot to cage the gyro, the current system follows normal procedure as far as I'm aware, and so is realistic enough IMHO.

 

2 hours ago, Bert_Foster said:

you can instantly cage and reset it

The reset process you mention doesn't sound very instant to me...

[Roshko]

Out of interest:

A direction-indicator that only works under specific conditions and has to be calibrated frequently using the compass. What are the advantages over the normal compass?

[AEthelraedUnraed]

8 minutes ago, acebone said:

Out of interest:

A direction-indicator that only works under specific conditions and has to be calibrated frequently using the compass. What are the advantages over the normal compass?

Good question. I would say it's because large chunks of metal (i.e. the engine) and electronics (radio, avionics etc.) tend to lead to magnetic deviations.

[Diggun]

18 minutes ago, acebone said:

What are the advantages over the normal compass?

I would suggest that, as a quick reference, it's generally 'good enough' to get you pointing in at least roughly the right direction (i.e. 'towards the UK' or 'Towards France'), and you can then refine with the (cumbersome to read and difficult to quickly see) massive thing wedged between yer legs (woof).

[Roshko]

yeah - but in real life? "You get this thingy to replace your compass, only you still need the compass to constantly calibrate the thingy, because it fails if you fly like a fighter" - there must have been some advantage to the direction finder?

Edited January 10, 2022 by acebone

[Dakpilot]

A compass does not read correctly unless in unaccelerated level flight, whereas a DI will only topple in aerobatic manoeuvres 

 

(simplified) 

 

Cheers, Dakpilot 

[Voidhunger]

Yeah, allied compass hidden between legs , feets and miles . No thanks ?

[Bert_Foster]

20 hours ago, AEthelraedUnraed said:

Once you start maneuvering heavily, your "virtual pilot" automatically cages the gyro, and uncages it when things have quieted down, which is what you're supposed to do.

But my "virtual pilot" allows the A/H to flail around aimlessly and fails to cage it ?

[LukeFF]

8 hours ago, acebone said:

Out of interest:

A direction-indicator that only works under specific conditions and has to be calibrated frequently using the compass. What are the advantages over the normal compass?

 

Directional Gyros are more stable than a traditional magnetic compass. 

[enyak]

Basically in a constant turn the gyro will continously display your heading allowing you to level out at the desired course while the compass will only reorient itself after levelling out.

 

Update: You realize how much you miss that gyro when you practice turning to a new course in a plane with compass only IRL.

Edited January 11, 2022 by enyak

[ilmavoimat]

The P8 compass doesn't and never has worked correctly. It is a magnetic compass and as such always points North, the aeroplane effectively rotates around the compass. As modelled it behaves like a gyro compass i.e.points towards the heading. This has been raised many times but so far has not been addressed by the dev team.

 

[jollyjack]

Now i really thought that the Gyro was an Italian cycle affair; who needs a compass to find it? Just head south towards the sunshine ..