First Video, with questions....

[sjohnson]

Alright, I dont know how to edit the film to ask questions during it, so...

first takeoff, this has been happening alot lately.. I go full flaps, start the engine pull about 1/2 back on my stick (supposed to lock the rear wheel) go 100%, as I start to roll, i start heading left a bit, so I apply some right rudder, as I take off the plane rolls left and smashes down.

Second takeoff, much better.. not sure what I'm doing differently.  you can watch me trying to shoot down the enemy planes,

1) I have too much airspeed and I constantly zoom past them, having to reline up for the shot..
2) I really have alot of problem with my fine aiming, it takes me forever to score a hit, and these planes are not even dodging..... Any way to improve on this?  It just feels like my plane is all over the place.

Video file is located at...
http://www.mediafire.com/?0reglbtw2rz

not sure how to attatch it here yet...

[Lusche]

A few comments on takeoff:

Your plane is veering to the left because of the torque effect from the engine.

At your first takeoff attempt, you had flaps deployed and tried to force takeoff too early. That resulted in a stalled condition and a crash.

In your second takeoff, you did not use flaps, which is the right thing to do. You don't need them unless you're taking off from a CV or sometimes with heavy bombers.

I noted that you engaged auto-angles (shift-x) after takeoff. Do not do that. Your plane will will at a fixed climbing angle with a complete disregard to airspeed. Your climb rate will be suboptimal at best, and you migh even crash.
If you are taking of manually (like you did), get some airspeed first (app. 200mph), then press alt-x for autoclimb. That will basically let your plane climb at best climbing speed (there are some exceptions, but you will learn about this much later). If you engage auto-climb too early, your plane will nose down to gain speed. No good idea if still close to the ground

Usually "auto-takeoff" is enabled by default (you can see it written in green across your screen). That means, your plane will take off automatically, you need only to apply full throttle. Auto-takeoff is immediately disabled if you move any controls.
If Auto-Takeoff is not enabled at all, check it settings: Options-Preferences-Flight

[Murdr]

You should not need flaps to lift any figher off of an airfield.  The first attempt you retracted your flaps *which raises your stall speed* and caused yourself to stall in the process.  The difference on the 2nd attempt is you were 20mph faster when you retracted your flaps.

I didn't watch the whole film, but I watched enough to see that you were trying to shoot while being out of trim with a tail heavy condition.  You'll want to avoid having to push forward on the stick while also trying to line up a shot.  Use the combat trim feature to trim the plane for you, or if you prefer, manually trim so you do not have to use forward stick to keep from pitching nose up.

Also for offline, go to clipboard>options>arena setup>environment>arena settings.  Find "flight mode flags" and double click.  Check the box to enable the lead computing site.  Once that is done, you can look at one of the drones, press the tab key, and crosshairs will appear to show where you need to aim to actually hit the target plane.

[sjohnson]

Originally posted by Lusche
A few comments on takeoff:

At your first takeoff attempt, you had flaps deployed and tried to force takeoff too early. That resulted in a stalled condition and a crash.

Because I'm sorta hard headed, and Just want to make sure I understand...

The whole point of flaps is to generate lift at lower speeds, correct? so my plane can stay in the air while my airspeed is lower.

What your saying is because I went full flaps (only option on that spit) my plane started to lift off before the airspeed was high enough, which caused it to stall out, and splat, right?

Hmm, I use the flaps all the time on takeoff, maybe thats been one of my big problems!

What about on the big planes? Bombers, etc? Should I start off with flaps, or none?

[sjohnson]

Originally posted by Murdr

I didn't watch the whole film, but I watched enough to see that you were trying to shoot while being out of trim with a tail heavy condition.  You'll want to avoid having to push forward on the stick while also trying to line up a shot.  Use the combat trim feature to trim the plane for you, or if you prefer, manually trim so you do not have to use forward stick to keep from pitching nose up.

Also for offline, go to clipboard>options>arena setup>environment>arena settings.  Find "flight mode flags" and double click.  Check the box to enable the lead computing site.  Once that is done, you can look at one of the drones, press the tab key, and crosshairs will appear to show where you need to aim to actually hit the target plane.

Alright, looking up the combat trim thing now, I know I saw it referenced somewhere, Thanks a ton!  I dont understand what the "Tail heavy condition is" but I assume you mean my tail is trying to drop, which forces my nose up, to compensate, i'm pushing down on the stick.. I'll look it up to be sure Im understanding.

As for the lead site, THANKS! I didn't know it existed!!  That will help me learn my angles!

[Lusche]

Originally posted by sjohnson
Because I'm sorta hard headed, and Just want to make sure I understand...

The whole point of flaps is to generate lift at lower speeds, correct? so my plane can stay in the air while my airspeed is lower.

What your saying is because I went full flaps (only option on that spit) my plane started to lift off before the airspeed was high enough, which caused it to stall out, and splat, right?

Hmm, I use the flaps all the time on takeoff, maybe thats been one of my big problems!

What about on the big planes? Bombers, etc? Should I start off with flaps, or none?

Flaps generate lift, but awhole lot of additional drag too.

Also sometimes planes are harder to control when using flaps. Your nose will pull up, you will have to push your stick forward or to trim your plane accordingly. For a new pilot it's generally better to use the atomatic combat trim and leave the flaps up.

I almost never use flaps when taking off in bombers. Just take care that you are not taking off into the direction of a hill/mountain, and you will be fine. Let auto-takeoff do the work for you. BTW, in most bombers flaps are already one notch down when deploying on runway.

[Murdr]

Originally posted by sjohnson
I dont understand what the "Tail heavy condition is" but I assume you mean my tail is trying to drop, which forces my nose up, to compensate, i'm pushing down on the stick.

What is physically happening is that as you gain speed, your airplane produces more lift.  To compensate for that, you either have to push forward on the stick, or trim the elevators down to keep the nose from pitching up.  The "tail heavy" "nose heavy" is just pilot lingo describing which way the nose wants to pitch without stick input.

[Trip01]

The other replies are right about not using flaps for takeoff. Also, dont try to lock the tail wheel unless you're taxing in which case it's stick all the way back. On takeoff the stick should be neutral. In most fighters you don't need to pull back at all, it will just lift. Then you'll need to input some aileron to correct any roll. Counteract the yaw with rudders.

Trip

[StuB]

Originally posted by sjohnson
Because I'm sorta hard headed, and Just want to make sure I understand...

The whole point of flaps is to generate lift at lower speeds, correct? so my plane can stay in the air while my airspeed is lower.  Everything has it's penalty....flaps increase lift, but add drag. During takeoff the drag penalty is usually not worth using flaps.

What your saying is because I went full flaps (only option on that spit) my plane started to lift off before the airspeed was high enough, which caused it to stall out, and splat, right? You can lift off with flaps because you can barely get enough speed to get airborne...but then you end up bleding off what little speed you haveed and begin to sink back into the runway.  Because your flaps were deployed, you can't accelerate enough to stay airborne.  

Hmm, I use the flaps all the time on takeoff, maybe thats been one of my big problems!

What about on the big planes? Bombers, etc? Should I start off with flaps, or none? You can roll down the runway with flaps up to help you accelerate faster.  Shortly before you begin rotating off the runway you can drop them a notch and lift off....but don't try to climb too steeply.  When you raise the flaps again be prepared for it to sink a little bit during the transition.  

[Latrobe]

Here's a very simply but helpful equation you can use on takeoff.

Gravity > Slow plane

Gravity < fast plane