Climbing

[BMV1995]

I have a BIG problem with climbing (especcialy bombers) .
I know it is one of the basics and i can climb pretty well in fighters (not good but better than with bombers or dive bombers) but I just don't get it how to climb properly . Can someone help me and give me instructions (I would go to the clinic training sessions but I live in Europe and they are usually too late )
thanks for any help

[Latrobe]

To climb in any plane, just press alt x. This will engage auto-climb and you will automaticlly climb out. Every plane has different climb speeds, some can climb 4,000 ft/sec and others (such as bombers) can only climb 1,500 ft/sec. Yak, 109, spit, and P-38 are some of the faster climbers. To see what climb rate you have look at the climb gauge in the cockpit (don't have a picture of it to post right now but it's the one with 0 to 4+ and 0 to 4-).

[BMV1995]

The problem with the auto climb was that when i had a bomber i had to pull the stick towards me all the time because if I let go or put on auto climb it went down and usually (not always) crashed in a tree or the ground .

[Yossarian]

BMV, make sure your flaps are retracted, and that you have gotten your speed up.  I think that if your flaps are still down, you probably won't accelerate enough - I used to have this problem.

<S>

Yossarian

EDIT:  I just read your above post more carefully, and that certainly sounds like you just don't have enough speed.

[Chewybacca]

the bomber is dipping down to get speed first. 

[Estes]

Yep, what chewy said. Not uncommon for bombers to dip down to pick up the speed needed to climb. Also, if you want to get technical with it. Look at the help files and find the dot commands. You can set your climb rate, salvo etc. with dot commands. Not to mention they come in handy for a lot more than what I mentioned above. With dot commands, you can change countries without having to go to the O'club on the cliboard. You can move to a certain field without having to find it on the map. (I use this one the most)

There are a bunch of other dot commands, I'd recommend you take a look at them and print them off. They can come in quite handy.

[PFactorDave]

You can move to a certain field without having to find it on the map. (I use this one the most)

Amen to that!  I use that one all the time.

[BaldEagl]

Almost every plane in the game auto-climbs @ ~150 mph ias (the white needle on the speedometer), including bombers.  Don't let speed drop below that and you should be fine.

[SPKmes]

no bomber techy here, but have heard around the place about fuel loads. these don't need much to get you from one end to the other so less fuel, lighter load especially if you are chocka with heavy ord.

[snowey]

auto climb is your friend especialy in bombers

[Gryffin]

The problem with the auto climb was that when i had a bomber i had to pull the stick towards me all the time because if I let go or put on auto climb it went down and usually (not always) crashed in a tree or the ground .

alt-x is actually auto speed, not auto climb. It will raise or lower the nose of the plane to maintain a target speed. By default, when you enter the cockpit, that speed is set to be the best climb speed (which is why it is useful for climbing). If you want to change the target speed use ".speed XXX" in the radio bar.

If you are above the target speed and you hit alt-x the nose of the plane will rise to slow you down until you reach the pre-set speed, and vice versa. Try flying level for a few seconds after take off so that you can accelerate to at least 150 - 160 mph before hitting alt-x and see if that makes a difference.

As others have mentioned in this thread, also make sure that gear and flaps are up after takeoff.

[EskimoJoe]

Before you go into auto-climb though, make sure you have enough speed. Also, 25% fuel is plenty in most bombers.

[uberslet]

Also, 25% fuel is plenty in most bombers.

like lancasters

[Krusty]

150 is the low end for most fighters's default speeds. Spits are about 160 or so, 109s and some other planes are between 155 an 165 (that area). Some planes, however, like the FW190, auto climb at about 170 mph or more.

Bombers are usually between 130 and 150, but the Lancasters' best climb is around 160-170.

Don't even hit auto climb in the jets until you pass 300mph, or you will nose dive and lose your perks.

[bozon]

BMV, make sure your flaps are retracted, and that you have gotten your speed up.

I bet this is the problem.

The climb speed in bomber is pretty low - 150-160 mph. After take off, climb just enough to clear any obstacles and level the plane to pick up speed. Start raising the flaps one notch at a time (it is lowered two notches down when you spawn iirc) till they are fully up - they only make your climb worse, never climb with flaps out. Flaps may allow you a steeper and slower speed climb (this is why they are used on takeoff with bombers), but they make the climb RATE slower.