All flaps auto retract if you increase speed. This should only be present in two three aircraft types.
This is a "situational realism over technical realism" issue.
Real life pilots flew under strict discipline in managing their aircraft, and use of flaps during combat were grossly uncommon. They were either utilized by a relatively handful of experienced pilots (compared to the many more common pilots in service of all WW2 participants), or a desparate last measure in dangerous situations, which even in that case usually had to do with pulling the plane out of a dangerous dive or stabilizing the plane near the verge of critical stall.
People will dig up all kinds of anecdotes concerning how their favorite pilot or favorite combat squadron used flaps extensively,
but the reality is every bit of such action was usually against the official doctrine laid out by the high command. Remember, the high command had much more to think about than satisfying the combat lust of one skilled pilot, or one 'special' squadron. Average people fight the war, not just a handful of vets - and when it comes to keeping the average guys alive, simple and direct method of control comes in more important than the fancy maneuvering and gadget fiddling.
That being said, game pilots do not fear death nor damage to their planes. They do crazy stuff which in real life would be highly unsanctioned and potentially dangerous or suicidal. They push the plane to dangerous situations with all kinds of unorthodox - or 'gamey', if you will - methods for the sole purpose of winning the fight. The trend is apparent and undeniable. People use devices in ways that are unsanctioned in real lfie, which as a result, distances the reality of the game from reality of actual combat.
Take for example, the excellent WW2 flight sim IL2/FB.
It's flap fest over there. Every plane can deploy flaps at quite high speeds - which as a result, has led to a bizzare game reality in which the use of flaps has become almost a 'standard' combat technique, which in real life, clearly was not. Dangers of overshooting the target? Pull back throttle, kick rudder, and just dump flaps instantly. Who care if they get jammed - as long as you lose enough speed, and shoot down your target, you can always return home. Or if it fails? Then you get shot down. Again, who cares? It's not as if you really die. Dump flaps, get the gears out at 500km/h - as long as you slow down enough before they are fully deployed, you're fine.
Or, take the example of the manual pitch control system the Luftwaffe planes have in IL2/FB. In real life the override settings were used only under very special emergencies. However, in the game, people have abused it to push the RPM over normal limitations and just under the 'breaking point' - which in effect, has become a "second WEP" for the LW fighters. No real life pilot would ever think of managing his prop pitch system that way - and yet in IL2/FB, it's a "standard technique" for 109 and 190 pilots. Need the extra engine power? Switch on the MW-50 and override auto prop-pitch control, push the RPM to dweeby levels and you plane will soar.
The problem?
IL2/FB developers have fallen under the spell of
'technical realism';
'simulate every plane function to the full, and the game will be more realistic and immersive.
Well, the reality is just the opposite - simulate all the plane functions, and the gamers will simply pull it out of its normal context and find ways to abuse it.
It's a game. People do that. ...
HTC's approach on the flaps is different. Sure - the flight manuals will usually list conservative figures for limits of their planes. There are always safety margins to such stuff. But then again, who's gonna determine the 'absolute limit'? A randomizer? Or, if you were an average combat pilot fighting in the war, what are the odds that you will gladly use flaps at speeds that aren't allowed in your manual? After all, in real life, you have a life to lose.
People who complain about the auto flap retraction do so at a certain, repetitive manner on a
very specific occasion. They rely on the flaps to tighten their plane's turn, usually to gain a gun solution or follow the enemy's defensive maneuver to its last.
The thing is, its usually when they try to follow an enemy plane that clearly turns better or is much lighter and nimble than one's own, they meet this problem. They push it to the limit - sometimes it works, sometimes it fails. And when it fails, they come to the boards complaining about how the auto-retraction has ruined their flight.
Take for example, the classic argument of some P-38 pilots. They argue that the P-38 is somehow the only special plane that relies so much on the flaps. They get into a tight loop contest against a lighter plane, try to tighten the loop during the downward section of the loop maneuver at low altitudes, realize that their speed is gaining too fast, and the flap retracts, the plane stalls out and augers.
Frankly, it's a load of bullshi* if you ask me. In real life, in that situation, no real life pilot would retract their flaps in the face of losing control of their plane and crashing to the ground. However, again, in real life, ithey wouldn't have gotten into that situation in the first place.
It's a no brainer - if the enemy does something that seems too dangerous to follow, then you go around it, not try to follow every move like a magnet. But then again, these guys are so confident about their skills and their planes that they just have to pit a 17,000lbs plane against something half its weight and turn radius. When it works, it feels great no doubt. But when it fails, then you're dead, like any pilot in any plane. They took the risk when they entered the tight chase - they failed in managing their own plane, and then they start blaming the system for it.
...
In other words, what the 'get rid of auto-retraction' guys want, is simple.
They don't care if the flaps get damaged and jammed stuck. Be it a tight loop or a tight turn, they will just dump flaps out and keep it there. Who cares if the plane is damaged? At least if the flaps don't retract but gets jammed, the desired flap effect will stay, and they will still get to shoot down the enemy plane, regardless of what kind of damage their plane might take or not.
There you have it - no better explanation to the term "gamey" or "dweeby". The reason why some people want to get rid of auto retraction, is exactly what the auto retraction is trying to prevent.
Situational realism must rule over tech realism.
