Starting out questions.

[stanley550]

Hello everybody.

I've been a big fan of flight sims a while ago (about 10 years),  but never really flown anything since then. 

I have a full setup,  joystick, throttle, rudder pedals and getting trackir in a few days.

I've been flying aces high for a bout a week now.  But I'm having some serious problems in combat.

At first I turned off  combat trim and stall limiter OFF.  I love messing with the trim while flying, and trying to control the plane without a stall limiter, knowing that its all up to me, and nothing is there between me and the control of the aircraft.

However, i am pathetic in a dogfight.  I either get shot down in the first seconds of anybody getting on my 6,  or i stall out and embarrassingly plummet down to the ground without firing a single shot.

After flying like this for a week, it sucks all the fun out of the experience, so I've decided to tune down my "hardcore-ness"  and turned combat trim on, as well as stall limiter.
That helps out in a dog fight quite a bit, but at this point, i feel like i'm cheating.

So.....


1.) Would you recommend learning to fly this game without stall limiter right away, or should I get some time behind the stick before disabling the limiter?

2.) Combat trim annoys me, so I will probably go back to manual trimming, especially since i have all controls needed for that on my throttle stick.

3.) What would be the easiest beginner fighter to learn to fly?  Something forgiving, but nimble enough to turn in a furball.

4.) Who would I contact to get some flight training.  Its a bit hard to polish skills in a furball, since it gets a bit hectic there.

[Lusche]

1.) Would you recommend learning to fly this game without stall limiter right away, or should I get some time behind the stick before disabling the limiter?

I would recommend keeping stall limiter disabled. You will to have to get used to it anyway, and it just robs you of some critical turning performance. However, I kept it enabled myself for my first weeks, but I was rarely "dogfighting" but mostly BnZ'ing or using hit and run tactics in a LA-7. If you are going to furball in any way - keep it off!

2.) Combat trim annoys me, so I will probably go back to manual trimming, especially since i have all controls needed for that on my throttle stick.

Depends a bit on what plane you are flying. Some planes like the F4U's, or P-38s and to some extend 109's do require (or at least benefit from) manual trim. But with many planes like the Spitfires, you can keep it on for the beginning, which allows you to concentrate on the  other, most basic aspects of combat first. You can easily start to integrate manual trim at a later point.
Even today, after 5 years I use CT 90% of the time.

3.) What would be the easiest beginner fighter to learn to fly?  Something forgiving, but nimble enough to turn in a furball.

Spitfire (IMHO particularly Spit 8 and 9), N1k

4.) Who would I contact to get some flight training.  Its a bit hard to polish skills in a furball, since it gets a bit hectic there.

Check out the Aces Hight Trainer Corps Website
And/or use this forum, or simply drop into the TA in the evenings. Often there are some good players in there, that can help you a lot without being "official" trainers.

And welcome to AH!

[Ruler2]

Stanley, I would suggest starting out with stall limiter ON, but turning it off when you don't need it.

A good beginner plane that you have to have some skills to fly would be a Yak or P51, Once you learn how to use them, they are VERY potent, and if you know how to use THEM, you will be able to fly other planes better as well.

[Ghosth]

Stall limiter off for sure, combat trim ON until you have 3 - 6 months in game. Then decide if manual trim is worth the work for you or not.

Spitfire is an excellent choice, from the Seafire up to the 8-9.

I'm in the TA most weekday afternoons at some point normally around 3 - 5 central.
If that doesn't work email or PM.

[stanley550]

Cool, thank you very much.

[RTHolmes]

Stall Limiter definitely off, Combat Trim On (trim manually later if you find it helps)

Spit IX or VIII (if you really need the range)

[FLS]

Stanley in case it's not obvious to you, the TA referred to above is the Training Arena and it's a good place to practice without getting shot up. Damage is disabled there and trainers like Ghosth will help you get up to speed.

[Spatula]

Stall limiter OFF. CT on. Fly a spit 8,9, 16, or N1k2. You have to learn to grow a very thick skin for this game, as getting shot down is part of normal life for everyone. The learning curve is rather big, and those that don’t give up in frustration from being shot down, go on to become quite proficient and can at least hold their own. Most new people who join get shot down, LOTS, and LOTS - this is perfectly normal, we've all been there. Slowly but surely, you will start to not die so quickly, then you will progress to being able to put up some sort of fight, then you can progress to actually fighting, then to winning sometimes, then maybe to winning more than 50% of encounters.

The bottom line is, it will take time and perseverance. Treat each defeat as an opportunity to learn. Make sure you film, AND review, your fights on a regular basis. Submit them here for comments and analysis. There's a lot of great sticks here who are willing to help you.

[lulu]

WELCOME

A6m can help too. i started with spit's family - and p38s have no torque moment.
Be sure your joystick is well calibrated in AH - ask to a trainer or read some posts.
Setting views is also important.

 

[Bubbajj]

You also need to scale your stick. There are a bunch of topics on this if you search. You have to have Stall Limiter off if you want to learn how to handle the planes. But if you need a break, take a A6M5 with the stall limiter on and it will still outhandle about anything in a furball. My whole first year I didn't even know what a stall limiter was. It's a real pain to re-learn how to fly when you turn it off because it really does make a big difference. +1 on the spits to learn with, they are very forgiving craft to fly. Hurricanes are easy too. FM2, F4F are nice to fly but the views suck. Another +1 on getting your views set up right, this also makes a BIG difference. Unless your especially gifted with this sort of thing, your looking at a years long process. Find a Trainer. It will certainly shorten this leaning curve. I wish I had gotten trainers.

[2ADoc]

I would sugguest the Stall limiter off and set the combat trim to where you can turn it off during a dog fight.  Also I would sugguest the F4U as a starter plane, once you learn to fly it well you can fly just about anything.

[texastc316]

Stall limiter off. CT on for awhile. And just fly your favourite plane. Plus read read read everything on the training page. And pick you out a trainer. Have fun

[stanley550]

Awesome guys, thank you so much for so many replies and comments.

I've been flying whole day today with limiter OFF and Trim ON.  Tweaked the scaling of the stick and the rudders,  been working on my rudder control whole day.

Managed 2 kills in the WHOLE day, but I'm happy,  weaved and bobbed my way out of a couple of tight situations and crashed a whole lot.    Having fun, and thats the whole point of this  game, isnt it? 

I have my trackir coming in tomorrow, cant wait.  I really dislike the snapping views,  they disorient me quite a bit.  Also have to learn to fly without being glued to the instruments, i stall very easily when I'm too concerned about keeping my eye on a bandit on my 6, or if I'm chasing someone.

so far so good, my comeback into flight sims is proving to be as much fun as it was 10 years ago.

 

[PFactorDave]

Stall limter off.  Don't fall into the trap of learning the bad habit of depending upon it.

[2ADoc]

I am not sure BUT, I have heard some some people have problems with the Trackir because they cant look behind them.  I have never used it, so I am not sure.  One of the guys in my squad had it and one of his problems was because he couldnt check 6.  Just a heads up, no pun intended.