RAF_Louvert

. Some Settings INVINCIBLE: Sounds good, but it ain't. You can't even land, the instant you wheels hit the dirt “Poof “ you're at 2000 feet AUTO RUDDER: To be avoided at all costs. It'll make the most nimble aircraft into a dog, that's the purpose of the twist function on your Joystick. If your joystick doesn't feature it, throw away that hunk of junk AUTO MIXTURE: The Newbie's Friend. By turning it ON you're letting the computer take care of the mixture adjustment duties. If your aircraft barely has enough power to remain aloft at 7000, mixture adjustment is likely why. AIRCRAFT STRESS: Some aircraft have a weak lower wing, they're ok when new, but with age and or battle damage, you can dive and lose a wing. .

. A Little Clarification About the Functions of Autopilot and Trim World War One; there was an existing form of Autopilot that depended on magnets and pulleys, as most of these birds had NO electrical system outside of a switch for the engine magnetos. But if not set-up right you'd find yourself in an unfriendly country if your petrol lasted that long. And it was much too expensive to install in an aircraft bound for battle. Which explains why Autopilot just refuses to work properly in OFF. It was never there. PS: Some British pilots, late in the war, had battery powered map-reading lights. Auto-trim: While some find these birds difficult to fly, it was their very unstableness that separated each one from the next. There was NO Auto-trim on any aircraft. But there have been conflicting reports of pilot-controlled elevator trim on the SE5a in 1918. Some aircraft had Ground Crew adjustable trim, on reports of flight manners, from the pilot. Some had no adjustability…period. Judgement call on its use. In real life pilots would take her up for a short flight, just so they could give instructions to the Grounds Crew. It might take 2 or 3 such short flights to get everything dialled in. That picture of the young officer reporting for duty on the Flight Line…pure Hollywood. To be fair, I'd say trim once at the start of the flight, then hands off. Some use Auto-trim as a sort of Autopilot. You still need to be there, but you can read a book, glancing at the monitor now and then, not holding the joystick. Best done at 17,000 where chances of being 'disturbed' are less. .

. The Story Behind the Force Feedback Joystick Now some people will disagree with this way of thinking, different opinions make the world go around. I don't see how in the name of all that's holy, you can fly an F18 Hornet, and a SE5 with the same Joystick. The Hornet can't vibrate at 585 MPH, it would self-destruct; while the SE5 firing it's weapon, shakes like a washing machine on steroids. The only way to simulate it is with a Force Feedback Joystick. You'll feel the instant you're flying, instead of everything getting smaller. And most importantly you'll feel the stall coming half a second before it arrives, giving the pilot ample time to alter his activities, thus avoiding the stall. It could be a lifesaver. Especially with WWI birds, many times after take-off, you can attempt to gain altitude too quickly and stall. It's very easy, to change, just level out and build some speed, when you feel the 'Death Rattle'. Without Force Feedback, just stall and die. In a dogfight you might make one turn too many. You can maintain the attack and stall, and the Hunter becomes the Hunted. Or you can break off the attack, rebuild speed, and attack again. Without Force Feedback you don't have a choice. The stall itself is just the lack of physical ability to fly; below a certain speed, it just stalls. The only way to recover with these low power engines is to dive in order to gain speed of air over your wings and control surfaces. Not enough altitude…you die. If it feels unnatural to you to bring your left hand across your body in order to work the throttle, (throttle on EVO is bad), there are ways around such a predicament. I'm rather fond of the Saitek Throttle Quadrant, and if you use the massive clamp deal it comes with for a boat anchor and just secure the quadrant itself to your desktop it works great. Use adhesive back Velcro and you can put it wherever you want. It features 3 stalks, of which you can only use one, the other two vanish, and the slots are neatly covered with black tape. It also features 3 Rocker Switches, which function like 6 Buttons, programmable of course. That Micky$oft Sidewinder II is a great FFB Joystick, but it's painfully short of buttons. My personal opinion as far as OFF is concerned: any HOTAS would be a bit of overkill. The WWI pilot never had all those controls at his fingertips. About the only positive is the left hand throttle, which I simulate with the Saitek. That leaves you free to use a Force Feedback joystick, then add your choice of pedals and TrackIR to round things out. That's just the way I did it. I'm sure there are other versions of the OFF experience. .

. How to Continue to Fall Until You Hit the Ground: Taking a Dirt Nap (This may or may not apply if you're already dead.) On the left side of the Workshop: Set ‘Auto Exit CFS3’ to ‘ON’ Set ‘Auto Exit Mission’ to ’OFF’ Any other way, the instant your aircraft is considered unflyable by the Manager the mission just ends…NEXT! It's enough to piss off the Pope. NOTE: You must have ‘Hat in the Ring’ installed as without it those controls don't even exist. .

. TrackIR Goodies TrackIR is a bit of a vampire in that it strongly dislikes bright lights, especially sunlight. That includes reflected light, so if you're folically challenged, (i.e bald), cover that chrome dome as it has been known to cause problems. If you're just starting to use TrackIR, you'll feel a bit woosie. Not to worry, it happens to everyone, you'll quickly become used to it. But I'd advise in the beginning that you keep a pail handy, just in case. There was a guy who bought TrackIR for use in Phase 1. He had flown every sim since CFS1, he used TrackIR and lost his lunch all over his keyboard. Turns out he would get violently airsick. Who knew? The following day he took out an eBay ad. People have actually asked here where they can buy Dramamine wholesale, so there must be a need. I've heard of many temporary cures, from pills to wristbands. I'd say see an MD if you are so afflicted. Then use TrackIR One common problem the beginner complains of is their inability to get the exact sight alignment to head position during a dogfight. Just get it close, and then hit the ‘F12’ key. The sights will center themselves to match your head position. Beginners will get real familiar with ‘F12’. PS: It's always good to ‘F12’ it when the mission starts. What is TrackIR: How to Build a Free Track, for those who can't stretch their budgets or sneak TrackIR past the Wing Commander: Build a Free Track Video .

. Navigation The early aviators didn't have pop-up maps or GPS do help guide them. They only had dead reckoning and landmarks to help. Most carried maps either folded up or on a scroll that they could use. Of course, after flying over an area long enough, they learned the landmarks and views so that they didn't need them so much. Fortunately, Winder's scenery is so good you can do the same. To navigate, you need maps. Forget the in-game map. It's too vague and misguided. There are several posts about maps here. Look in the Knowledge Base stickies, it’s a good place to start your search, as is the OFF Downloads section. By the way, part of the F5 HUD is a perfectly working compass. With good maps and a functional compass, who needs the 'M' key? TRICK: If you drag the compass into the center of your TAC, both still work perfectly (assuming the screen is cycled to aircraft). If you use Padlocking and Brackets the compass gets rather hard to read. .

. As many of you know, for a good long time our former OFF comrade Uncleal had accrued and posted a rather large and very useful string of topics directed towards helping the newcomers with some of their virtual flying woes. However, when our sometimes-surly-but-always-well-intentioned veteran caught a Blighty one and was sent back, his collection of wisdom went with him. But being the helpful sort that he is, he has forwarded them along for reposting so that all those searching for these ever useful OFF Hints 'n Tips may enjoy them once more.They are reproduced here in their entirety from Uncleal’s own notes, and remain intact with only minor changes in spelling and punctuation. Enjoy, oh you seekers of knowledge. . ************************************************************************

. Send 'em to me Pol, I'll take a look and see just how much work is involved, and if I can I'll take care of it for you. .

. Bloody April meets Black Friday, eh Hellshade? .

. Coming soon to a theatre near you ... Barmy OFFers and the Holy Grail (of WWI Aviation Artifacts) Thrill to the epic saga of one intrepid group's quest for the most highly-prized aviation treasures of the First World War. Wonder in amazement at the discovery of Baron Manfred von Richthofen's DR1, found intact in a barn in Shropshire. Look on in awe at the unearthing of Captain Eddie Rickenbacker's actual pilot log book in which he detailed how he single-handedly brought down the entire German Air Service. Gasp at the finding of Major Billy Bishop's complete ego hiding in plain sight in Kanye West. If you see only one movie this year, make it this one! this film is not yet rated, though it's already assumed it's intended for less-than-mature audiences ....

. Olham, if you are going where I think you are, don't forget I made the following file available about two years ago: .

. Perhaps they just need some professional counselling. They have been though a lot after all. .

. I wonder if they're hiring mechanincs at 'The Vintage Aviator'. I can bring my own tools, although I don't know how I'll get 'em past customs when I board Air New Zealand. .

. Danke, mein Freund, I'll give 'em a go! .

. Ummm...yeah...sure I do Javito...and if you give me an hour or so I'll have full documentation to go along with them. Would you also be interested in Lanoe Hawker's Victoria Cross and mustache scissors, or how about George Guynemer's Legion d'Honneur and suspenders, because I have those around here somewhere too. Now let me think, where did I put all that stuff when I cleaned the place this spring... .

. I post this eBay listing only because I find it funny how often these pieces of fabric pop up for sale. At last count there were enough "actual pieces" of MvR's red triplane to cover about six more such kites. Fabric From MvR's Plane For Sale At least you'll get an interesting book with this deal. Now then, whoever buys this, I have the actual bullet that killed MvR and I'd be willing to part with it for the right price. Oh, and I have his Blue Max for sale too, (almost forgot about that). .

. I agree as well Gents, such items should be kept in places where all can enjoy. But here is an interesting, (and sad), aside to this. Over the years museums have actually been known to turn away such items if they have no room to display them. Now there's the pity. .

. This weekend I ran across a unique offering on eBay: the original combat report for American ace Elliott White Springs, in which he claimed his very first kill. The item did not sell as the asking price was $7,500, but I did save all the images the seller had posted of the document and have reassembled them here for those who might be interested in this wonderful bit of Great War aviation history. I find it interesting that CO Billy Bishop is giving support of Springs claim while Spring in turn provides support for one of Bishop's claims. Don't you wonder how many eyebrows might have been raised over this up at HQ? Cheers! Lou .

. Yes Olham, I have played around with those some in the past and I would give it another go to see if I've changed my mind on them. My current screen res is 1920x1080 32bit color. Thanks Sir. .

. That's what your ground crew is for Olham. .

. Macklroy, I have come to the same place on this as Olham. I went back and forth on the fuel management too, but now start every mission with full tanks, (which appears to be historically accurate as well). Perhaps it is just the amount of stick time I've now had in this fantastic sim, but as long as I don't do something really stupid I can usually engage the enemy and win the fight, or set up the AI so that I can run away and live to fight another day, if the situation so dictates. Here are my current workshop settings: .

. You know what the difference is between the Western Front and Kindergarten? ... guns ... hee hee hee, I crack myself up .

. OK folks, now this is just ridiculously cool. Earlier today I finished getting the new bus ready for my current campaign pilot, 2nd Lt. Havard Anderson of 4 RFC, and went out on the next assigned sortie to check it over and grab a few screenshots, after which I rolled it into the hanger. And there, standing in the corner of the shed, was a mechanic with a replacement rudder for a Quirk. Not just any old Quirk mind you, but Havard's brand new Quirk! Look at the custom tail number I put on the Lieutenant's plane and then look at the portion of the tail number showing on the rudder being placed in the corner by the mechanic. Our wonderous and beloved devs actually set the sim code to grab the piece in question from the custom paint scheme chosen. Just makes a bloke go all giddy it does. .

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. Which is why I work on and fly ultralights. Flyby, build your hovercraft Sir. If you can dream it, you can do it. .