Bomber Problem

[Mobius0077]

Ok every time and I mean every time I try to get the formation of bomber sto go up they will NOT follow. And everyone has told me to slow down for them to catch up.... I do, but they stay at the same speed like 30 knots. They simply will not follow.

[streetstang]

How many notches of flaps are you using?

Nomally what you want to do is get your lead buff in the air, get some speed and then when you get above a certain alt they'll form up on you.

If  you use too much flaps they wont follow you fast enough and will pop soon there after.

Morph

[Curval]

The B17 automatically drops two notches of flaps...I think the B24s do too.

Here's what I do:

I retract flaps fully before applying any power.  Then I hammer the throttle to max.  About 3/4 of the way down the runway I drop one notch of flaps.

Once I get to about 300-400 feet off the ground I retract the flaps and then go to manifold pressure 40.  Drones catch up every time.  Just don't try any radical turns at all before they are in proper formation.  In fact NEVER do any radical turns in bombers  .

[Mobius0077]

Yeah alot of the time i do full flaps, but thats because i fly the heavies, and they are sorta hard to get off the ground.

Manifold Pressure?

[Flossy]

Originally posted by Curval
The B17 automatically drops two notches of flaps...I think the B24s do too.

Only if you use auto-takeoff.... I use manual takeoff and rarely have a problem - if I do, it my own fault.  

[Kweassa]

After take off, make sure of your alt AGL. Your plane must be over 200ft from the ground in order for the drones to start auto formation maneuvering.

 You have to remember that even if these are just drones, their flight performance does not exceed that of the real plane. It's not going to make sudden superspeed bursts and catch up with the lead buff. So, after you make sure of your alt, if you see a drone lagging behind chop throttle and go as slow as possible, until the drone forms up on you.

 In some cases, the drone not only lags behind, but is way below your plane. This is usually caused by irregular/unstable take off process where one of the drones 'snags' a hilltop or some other piece of ground when it is trying to take off. In this case, slow down as much as possible, and lower your altitude to the level of the drone lagging behind, so the drone does not have to fly uphill to try and catch up with your lead buff.

 Now, if you can't do that because there's a hill or a mountain in your way, then it means you chose a wrong place to take off from. Get up from a base more fit for a bomber to take off.

[Curval]

Originally posted by Mobius0077
Manifold Pressure?

Manifold pressure is controlled by the throttle.  Look at your instrument panel, you will see a guage for it.

[OOZ662]

When you get into the air, push F3 and look behind you at your drones. If you take off like a normal person, they'll be above you and off a bit to the side. Slowly pull up to match their crazy climb rate and altitude and roll just a little so you waft infront of the second plane's nose. You may have to do that a couple times, but when the drones twitch you can turn on autoclimb and go back to your beer.

btw, full flaps wrecks bombers. Two flaps wrecks bombers. I don't use any flaps for buff takeoff, but the method of one notch later down the runway would probably work aswell. Pushing forward on the stick and raising the tail (without smashing your props, of course) will reduce drag and make the bomber gain speed and lift more economicly.

[mechanic]

most important thing here is fuel loadout.

never load a big buff with more than 25% unless you want to fly around the map for hours on end.

25% will get you 3 sectors and home if managed correctly.

[Mobius0077]

Well I'll be. Thanks guys your tips have worked. I offically love bombing lol.