Author Topic: Simple flight questions (Read 778 times)

Spiked · « **on:** January 05, 2006, 09:12:49 AM »

Well ... I am guessing they are simple flight questions for most. This is my first flight sim, I have never flown irl, and I have been addicted to WW2 aircraft since I was a kid. Using an Saitek X45 as my stick.

I can get off the ground without auto takeoff ... however I am sure it is some of the ugliest flying you have seen. As smooth as I try to be I am still a half a breath away from ending up a smoking stump on the run way.

Question ... other than retracting gear, what else should I be doing so that I can gain alt without about 30 seconds of heart thumping struggles?

Next Question ... once I have alt (phew) and flying along nice and lvl ... for no apparent reason (have not change throttle or moved the stick) the plane goes all batty on me ... bringing on another 30 seconds of heart thumping struggles to get control back. All I can think of is possibly wind shear? Does the game have that in? (my noobness is showing I know)

Unable to gain speed .... I find I have a heck of a time getting above 200 mph in any plane unless I am diving. Which of course makes it a bit hard to catch even an AI plane doing nice slow circles around the airfield. Again ... any pointers as to why that might be.

Shooting I can do .... I understand leading, deflection, lag etc. Played enough other games that I will be able to figure that out.

Landing ... hahaha ... not even gonna worry about that for now.

Thanks for any help, tips, pointers.

Your friendly neighborhood noob.

bigsky406 · « **Reply #1 on:** January 05, 2006, 09:41:42 AM »

First thing I would recommend is calibrating your stick. Be sure to press every button on the stick and move your throttle all the way back and forth. Of course move your stick through it's full range of motion and don't forget to twist it too.

Go to settings, joystick, calibration.

Without a proper calibrated stick your toast. Unless you fly like me then your burnt toast cuz I'm toast on a good day...ha

Hope this helps

The Fugitive · « **Reply #2 on:** January 05, 2006, 07:09:59 PM »

Yup, the stick is first, cal it in windows then in the game. Next, its ok to use the auto take-off setting, nobody will know

For now I'd say use it so you can work out "flying" first.

On auto take-off, when you "appear" on the runway give it full throttle. The plane should stay strait and gain speed smoothly. If it pops off auto take off then your stick may be "spiking" Go back to the stick set-up and move the dead band slider up a bit. The idea here is when your stick is at rest you should have strait lines displaying across the blue box that showes the stick movement.

Once you have the stick settled down and the plane will take off by itself, next is to try and keep away from that " smoking stump on the run way"

Let the plane fly out and gain some altitude. Once you are higher....use the views to look around with out moving the stick around.... level off. Once you move the stick it will turn the auto takeoff off. Hitting "x" I think will turn the auto level on so you can fly level.

At this point the plane should pick up some good speed. Once over 250 you can start to do some manuvering.

Good luck, and welcome to Aces High !

hammer · « **Reply #3 on:** January 05, 2006, 09:02:16 PM »

Spiked, check out this simple guide to takeoffs and landings

x0847Marine · « **Reply #4 on:** January 06, 2006, 10:19:26 AM »

Taking off...
Bombers or fighters?.. and which ones?

Auto take off lets you grab a beer, I find it an asset.

Schatzi · « **Reply #5 on:** January 06, 2006, 11:07:33 AM »

Come by the Training Arena..... theres people there that can show you how to take off, land, shoot, basic flight maneuvers, advanced combat tactics, auger in style.... almost any question will find its answer.

For stick setup: Make sure its setup and calibrated properly in windows. Then go ingame to SETUP > CONTROLS > Joystick. In Calibrate Stick you should calibrate your stick. Usually its autodetected by AH (if windows installment is correct). In case you dont get any stick input at all (or only some axis/hat etc) go to Select Stick, select you JS from the list and click on SET ALL INPUTS. Recalibrate.

You should get smooth input then. If your stick is very touchy or spiking, go to Stick Settings and lower the sliders to the left and/or add deadband and some damping (for each axis seperatly!!). If you have trouble with these settings, ask in the TA (training arena) or do a search in this forum on 'stick setups'.

Elyeh · « **Reply #6 on:** January 08, 2006, 01:02:28 PM »

Check your stick in windows. X45's have a bad habit of going bad after a short while. Make sure you are getting full throttle input.

After take off , get flaps and gear up hit your combat trim on.

Also keep in mind alot of planes take time to get up speed. You may be expecting too much too soon. also how much fuel are you taking off with?

Spiked · « **Reply #7 on:** January 09, 2006, 12:41:24 AM »

Thanks for all of the tips & info. Felt comfortable enough after playin offline for an hour or so I hit the MT. Oooh what a rush. Finished the day with about 6 kills .. and the cost was only about 50 to 60 planes - maybe more .. (tax payers are gonna be pissed). I was unable to land any of them alais ... but landing in general still eludes me.

Only two issues left to resolve other than my crappy piloting/gunnery. My hat "up" isn't working (it does in calibration so not sure wtf is wrong) so I have to use keyboard to look up ... which is a pain in the bellybutton when tryin to stay alive. No idea why.

I can't seem to toggle the mic on. I can hear all the warnings (and believe me there were a ton .... thanks guys) but I am unable to speak for some reason. I know the mic works ... just got it and used it today on Ventrillo. I am doing something wrong there.

I flew in a MC.205 all damn day and have decided I love the plane (might be the endless supply of ammo ... good for someone who can't hit the broad side of a barn).

Anyhow ... thanks again for the info and help in game. And hats off to those I was able to assist in jacking up their kill totals. Loved every minute of it.

Schatzi · « **Reply #8 on:** January 09, 2006, 03:03:22 AM »

6 kills on first day?? Whoa - took me a week to make that! Seems like youre doing great already

.

Hat 'up' (which is basically HAT forward), is mapped to "look forward" (different from the 0 position!) - i have that one mapped to an over-the-nose view(all up and to one side).

either you need to map the HAT 'up' manually to the "look up" view, or - my recommendation - use another button for that one and set yourself a forward view up.

Arrow keys, Pge up/down to move head position, F10 to save.

Come by the TA to get everything else sorted out and to work on that 'landing' thingy

. Also check out http://www.netaces.org ..... might find some answers there. Or contact the trainer corps at trainers@hitechcreations.com .

And welcome to your new Addiction!!

USHilDvl · « **Reply #9 on:** January 09, 2006, 02:55:08 PM »

Just a couple other things to check, along with all the other good advice so far...

If you are correctly calibrated in both Windows and AH, you've checked your connections to make sure nothing is loose, your gear and flaps are actually up, and you've checked and set the apprpriate "dead band" on your stick...

...then also check your loadout. Full bomb load, full fuel, full ammo...and you'll be low, slow and heavy on takeoff. Using Auto-takeoff, a bomber in this trim will climb out on the edge of stall for quite a ways. try to do it manually and you only get one mistake before faceplanting on the asphalt.

Try lightening the load and see if performance improves. Especially critical if you try a carrier landing! Can be very tricky with a fully-loaded bird. FWIW...I agree that Auto-takeoff is a perfectly acceptable tool...even good sticks use it to simplify things while they get ready configured and ready for the upcoming fight. No one knows the difference anyway...unless you go manual and plant 'er tail up in the fringe!

For the mike...make sure you have checked your key mapping. IIRC, the range radio is f12 (?), and tuned channel is T. You are either using the wrong key, or no key is currently mapped for that command. Also, mic has settings in AH, as well as Windows. Make sure that mic level is up high enough.

You'll love this game, and this config stuff is just part of becoming intimately familiar with your ride. You will discover tips, tricks, little knacks for getting specific things done...they go on endlessly. Easy to learn...very hard to master! That's what'll keep you coming back for more.

Lastly, Shatzi is right. The TA and NetAces are the bestest place to start. And start yourslf a Flight Manual!. Laugh now...you'll use it later.

Good Luck!...you won't find an equivalent gaming community anywhere else.

Spiked · « **Reply #10 on:** January 09, 2006, 05:04:39 PM »

All of the information provided has paid off. Actually landed kills today ... actually on the runway with the plane still running

!

~~all who helped out! See ya in the air and hopefully not on my six.~~

RedTop · « **Reply #11 on:** January 09, 2006, 07:06:32 PM »

Spiked....even tho your new...your welcome to fly with the guys I fly with. 171 VOX channel and we fly for knights. We aint all that great but we have a laff or 2 and die like ole pros.
Tell em RedTop sent ya.

Schatzi · « **Reply #12 on:** January 09, 2006, 08:46:40 PM »

Spiked, youre very welcome. >S<

Take RedTop up on that offer! 71 Sqn are a great bunch of guys. Crazy, but lots a fun.

Schutt · « **Reply #13 on:** January 12, 2006, 02:22:20 PM »

I guess you mean if you push your head switch forward nothing happens?

That is because the up view should be mapped to a seperate button, so you can use your hatswitch AND the up view to get a angled up view in the direction you press the switch (eg left-up, forward-up)