How to make meaningful edits to flight path and altitude/speed

[CobraPower]

Hi Everyone,

 

I’m currently playing a long PWCG campaign with the AR-234 and have started using the great PWCG feature of editing waypoints.

 

Unfortunately, I have minimal knowledge as to what would be a realistic edits to a flight path in combat scenarios as opposed to regular modern flight. For example, I’m currently set to do a contact patrol mission and I edited the flight path to have less “zig zags” than what came up as default. But when it comes to altitude, it has me flying below the cloud layer of 1000m but I’m wondering if I should be flying way up above the clouds and dropping down below once I get to my ingress waypoint. Also, should I be increasing the speed above 500km/h for the longer legs if my plane can handle it?

 

If anyone is familiar with the way things would have been done realistically and standard rules to follow it would really help me to understand that as a base when I decide to make my edits. I don’t doubt PWCG makes good defaults but I have seen Pat mention more than once that sometimes editing can make it better.

 

 

 

 

[PatrickAWlson]

You can.  The reason for the low altitude is that is, as you have discovered, the low cloud over.  You will not see ground attackers above the clouds.  Feel free to edit as you see fit.  TBH I am not sure what the real pilots on the eastern front did when faced with poor conditions.

[czech693]

And you can't see the ground for navigation, assuming you're not showing your aircraft on the map (game GPS).  Above the clouds, you have to depend on dead reckoning flying a course and calculating the time to get to the target.  Also, you would have to compensate for wind, which at altitude may not be the same as it was at your homebase, and you can't see any terrain features to judge that.  Flying below the cloud deck let's you see the terrain for navigation, but at real low altitudes it gets harder to recognize terrain features and you have to fly partially by dead reckoning.  It's all fun and challenging.

Edited June 3, 2024 by czech693

[CobraPower]

Thanks for the tips!! 😄