stick/throttle/peddles advice

[UdieNow]

All
I just made up my own set of rudder peddles and throttle controls from an older racing wheel set. works pretty well, and makes GV'ing alot easier, but now my flying is down the toilet.

Found its a huge change going from flying with just one hand (stick) to a full set-up. Think the main prob I'm having is co-ordinating my feet with both my hands/eyes. ( I have been practicing in offline mode...no probs flying slow circles:lol)

Any tips to get used to a stick/throttle/peddle combination would be greatly appreciated.

Thanks in advance
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[Schatzi]

I went through that same adjustment period a few weeks ago. Its weeks of hell . But in the long run, youll never regret it, its really worth the hassle.

The first tip i can give you is: Patience! Hang in there... while it may not look like it right now, youll adjust pretty quick. It took me about a week to get back to fairly comfortable levels. That does NOT mean i didnt use my patented "step-on-the-wrong-foot-tailspin" every now and then . Give it eight weeks.

Fly a plane that you are familiar with, that you are comfortable in and that preferably needs a lot of rudder input to fly.

Force yourself to use the rudder (sometimes conciously). Do not avoid situations, on the contrary.

On the first days, it helped me a lot to just practice takeoff, landings and taxiing around the base. Helped me get a feel for the "how much" on the peds.

Then i just upped in the TA and tooled around with sideslips, barrel rolls, flying through hangar... not neccessarily in combat situations, just fly around.
To relearn gunnery, the offline drones are of a lot of use.

Also, if you notice your inputs are too jerky or not as fine tuned as they should be, maybe you need to play around on scaling some.


Oh, and did i mention patience yet?


Hang in there! And let me know if you need a sparring partner.

[UdieNow]

Thanks Schatzi

I'll prob take you up on your offer sometime when I'm able to be online longer then just 20 min spurts.

Thanks Again.
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[Benny Moore]

One important thing - when you push with your right foot, the ship yaws right, correct?  If not, then your pedals are backwards from the way real aircraft are.  Aircraft rudder is not like a bicycle, where pushing with your right arm makes the bicycle turn left.  Again, with airplanes, to yaw right, right pedal slides forward and left pedal slides back.

[Blagard]

Just thought this might make you smile.

As a lad I built my own karts for racing others down the local hills. These things were extremely crude but enormous fun. The front axle steering was either with a rein like string tied near the front axes ends or more normally when going a rate of knots downhill steering was by placing the feet on the front axle. To steer left you have to push the right foot forward and allow the left foot back and visa versa.

Bear in mind I did this a hell of a lot in my youth. Then onto college and join the gliding club. I had a real problem in the early flights re-educating my brain to push right foot forward for right rudder. Some of those take offs snaked down the runway as the battle to do the right thing fought with the habit of years before!

On line I fly rather badly! Despite having rudder pedals and using them correctly to take off, land, side slip approachs etc. The rest of the time in the air I hardly touch them. In fact I frequently take my feet off to ensure I don't accidently put some rudder in! To lazy to use them in ACM except the occasional involantary kick reflex to line up the gun sight but that of course can play havock with the anticipated trajectory. One of these days I am going to fly just watching the ball to see how much rudder I ought to be using!

Edit addition
Just been up, The ball seems too lazy to be true, anyway it does not  work as well as a bit of string! The T45 Swallow I flew had a pitot (spellling?) head directly in front of the cockpit. Every one who flew it used the six inch string that was tied to the pitot head tube as the slid/slip indicator! must be one of the first HUD's!

[Benny Moore]

Blagard, I strongly recommend taking your own suggestion.  Spend a great deal of time performing various maneuvers while attempting to keep the ball centered.  While I do not recommend keeping the ball centered at all times in combat, such exercises do vastly improve one's flying.  Incidentally, I think that your avatar is the best I have ever seen.

[moneyguy]

go out and get shot down a bunch . the longest part it took me to remember was that the pedals where there. in a while you won't have to think about it.

[Blagard]

The advice may be good, but somehow I doubt I will try to apply that much effort. I know I could be better but I am happy with my average 2  Kills/Death rate. It goes down when defending vulched fields and back up when I actuallly get a bit more alt!

Learning fundamental ACM is more important than accurately balanced  flying, but if you do have pedals, you need to be able to co-ordinate movement with the stick and even if its only basic things like holding in the right amount of rudder when taking off! - So you have to practice enough for rudder use to be second nature like moving the stick.

Accurate flying at speed requires minimal rudder input, so little that I bet a lot of people will overdo it. As the speed comes off you will find rudder more important. In short you need to be able to use rudder without thinking about it but don't get fixated on accuracy,  A sim can't give you that seat of the pants feel - not yet anyway!

I am not yet convinced that a high degree of accuracy with rudder has that much pay back in this game. I am certainly not knocking those who can fly that accurately - any improved skill is good, but it relates more as a finishing touch than a basic essential.

[Benny Moore]

I don't know; I fly P-38L and spend the majority of my time in combat at about 100 M.P.H.  I don't know what I'd do without my rudder.  Actually, I do; I'd quit flying altogether.  That's what I do whenever I have to send my pedals in for repairs.

[Blagard]

Benny I did say when the speed comes off its more important. At 100mph almost any plane would benefit from assistance from the rudder.

The point I was making was that spending loads of time trying to fly with the ball in the middle is not my idea of significantly improving flying skills in this game.

As another intersting angle on the rudder pedals I would not be without them in a FP or M16!

Whilst I am up top gunning, I also keep on the move. You steer the GV with the pedals and aim and shoot with the stick. It all helps with co-ordination the more you use them, so perhaps doing this may improve the situation for people new to pedals that have to educate the brain how to use them without really having to think about it. In the end getting to use them so its second nature is all about practice. Getting to use the right amount flying is the tricky bit.

On vulched fields I often take off watching my six. I apply a touch of rudder as normal to keep straight using the runway marks as a guide to hold my line. Thank goodness we don't use a mirror as that might really throw me! The big prop planes need a bootful of rudder to keep straight!

[Mace2004]

Originally posted by Blagard

Edit addition
Just been up, The ball seems too lazy to be true, anyway it does not  work as well as a bit of string! The T45 Swallow I flew had a pitot (spellling?) head directly in front of the cockpit. Every one who flew it used the six inch string that was tied to the pitot head tube as the slid/slip indicator! must be one of the first HUD's!

An off-topic but funny piece of information here but did you know the F-14 also had a yaw string?  A simple piece of string attached to the top of the nose right in front of the windscreen of a $35 million fighter.  Sometimes the simplest answers are the best.

Mace