DRAG CHUTES

[alexis99 124]

I'm interested in fitting a drag chute to the B-1B, not necessarily the animation, but at least the effects of a drag chute; i.e. rapid deceleration.

So if anyone has any experience of this, please chip in.

 

I only know of two aircraft which currently feature drag chutes: EF2000/Typhoon and F-117; the former has animation, the latter does not, and indeed the effect has been stricken out (//) in the data file.

If anyone knows of other aircraft with drag chutes please advise.

 

With the Typhoon, the drag chute is coupled with the Airbrake. There is an entry in the aircraft Data file which says "Deploy when on gears="

That setting is currently on TRUE. So if you have the airbrake out, or activate the airbrake, and your gear is on the ground, then the drag chute deploys.

If you change that to FALSE, then every time you operate the Airbrake, on the ground or in the air, your drag chute also deploys.

At no point is the drag chute key command CTRL+B used.

 

So the question is: does any aircraft have a drag chute which is operated by CTRL+B?

 

Moving on:

The F-117 in WOE does not have airbrakes, whereas the one in FreeFalcon does. Ancient wisdom was that the real F-117 did not have airbrakes, but maybe current wisdom is different. I don't know.

The important thing is that ours doesn't. So you can press the airbrake key till the cows come home and nothing happens, and no text message appears at the bottom of the screen.

As you may remember, I mentioned that the drag chute entry for the F-117 had been struck out, so I un-struck it (un-remarked, is it?). I also capitalised the C in Chute, in case it is case-sensitive.

I made the entry Deploy when on gears=FALSE

This has activated the drag chute feature.

Now when you push the Airbrake key, you achieve rapid deceleration, which is the braking effect of the chute, and a message at screen bottom says "Airbrake deployed" (or whatever)

By changing back to Deploy when on gears=TRUE, you must still have the airbrakes deployed to get the drag chute effect.

TRUE is the safest way to go. You don't want a mid-air incident. And you still have to press the airbrake key to get the chute to deploy.

 

So to get a drag chute effect in the B-1B, I need a drag-chute SYSTEM entry, and a drag chute section in the aircraft data file.

I would have to set Deploy when on gears=TRUE, since the B-1B does have an airbrake system, and if set to FALSE, every time I used the airbrake, the chute would pop out.

As I mentioned above: once on the ground, you still have to press the airbrake key to get the chute to deploy.

 

Now I'm getting greedy: How do I get the animation?

 

Anybody who is ahead of me on this, please advise.

[tonipm99 33]

As far as I know, the Drag Chute key doesn't work. There are quite a few aircraft with chutes, can't tell which ones (except for the F-5E and the Typhoon), but none use a separate key. Again, at least those which I've flown.

 

As for the animation, sorry but the B-1B model around here, if it is the same in the various packages, doesn't have any visible chute.

 

And finally, let me clear out that the real F-117 doesn't have a separate airbrake, as in the F-15, etc. I think, in order to create drag, it deflects the flaps and ailerons in different directions, but I'm not sure.

[alexis99 124]

Thank you for your prompt reply, tonipm99.

 

I have to first of all declare a certain embarassment in that I can find no record that the real B-1B actually has a drag chute, or drogue chute as they like to call it.

However, all is not lost, as I have successfully installed a working (but invisible) drogue chute in the B-52G.

 

Thank you for supporting my belief that the Ctrl+B drag chute key is inoperative. Probably an intended feature that was not implemented.

You have to admire the genius of the Typhoon builder who installed a working, visible version.

It is his data file notations that I have borrowed for the B-52.

 

I had to do a bit of re-reading in my collection of F-117 books today, and not one of them, even the newest Haynes Manual mentions an airbrake.

The  deflection of flap and ailerons is, I believe, speculation, which internet discourse has championed and derided in equal measure.

The FreeFalcon F-117 adopted the rotating taileron concept, and did implement an airbrake in their model.

However, mine definitely has no airbrake, but it does have a working drag chute, which when deployed gives the airbrake deployed text message.

 

Thanks again for troubling to reply.