Horizon indicator on the F4U-1a

[wgmount]

Are the marks on the side of the horizon indicator on the F4U indicative of 30, 45, and 90 degrees of banking? I got some help with Badboy today on the flat and rolling scissors and I noticed a tendency to drop my nose, morfiend noticed it also. After some flying on my own I have come to the realization that I was banking to steeply and was losing lift not much past the the second mark on the horizon indicator.

[mtnman]

Close...  0, 30, 60, 90.

The further you roll, the less lift generated by the wings, until you reach a point where you can't keep the nose up.  As your bank steepens, you can overcome that to a point if you're fast enough, and if you pull with the elevator (which slows you down).  Depending on the situation, that can either help you or hurt you...

[Stones]

Sorry to butt in wgmount. <S>
 
As this thread is concerned with cockpit dash gauges.  Can I ask what the small needle indicates on the ball gauge.
I understand that the ball indicates a plane is travelling in a different direction than what the nose is pointing. 
I can generate this when scrubbing E via cross control, if I've too much smash and want to land.
The needle indicates something that I do not know.

As wngmount said, the horizon indicator shows bank in degrees.

Some AC have 2 needles 1up/1dwn and a ball. (hurricane 2c)

Thanks

Stones 

[Dawger]

Without getting into the math, bank angles past 60 degrees rapidly require higher G loads to maintain level flight.

At 60 degrees of bank a level turn requires 2 G. At 83.6 degrees of bank you would require 9 G's to maintain level flight. Level flight is impossible at 90 degrees of bank as there is zero vertical lift being generated by the wing.

In Aces High we all black out at 6.7 G (somewhere near there ...I haven't tested it lately) so we can't do much level turning past about 65 degrees of bank without a black screen. Nearly all high G turns in Aces High need to be nose low in order to maintain energy or nose high to convert energy to altitude for follow on maneuver.


Stones,

The instrument with the ball is called a turn and bank indicator. The purpose of this instrument is to give the pilot an indication of rate of turn (the needle) and the coordination of the turn (the ball). It is primarily important for instrument flying. There are many instrument maneuvers which require specific turn rates, most of them based upon a 360 degrees turn requiring 2 minutes to complete. In Aces High the turn rate needle is not of any concern.

The ball is a handy tool for gunnery and dive bombing. The ball indicates turn balance as you correctly stated. Ball in the center means the airplane is going where it is pointed. Ball away from center means the airplane isn't going where it is pointed. This is especially important when dive bombing. Ball in the center is an important criteria for a dive bomb attack to be most accurate.

[Stones]

 In Aces High the turn rate needle is not of any concern.

Thanks. I will now ignore it.
Seems a little strange that the game, shows and animates this though

[Dawger]

Thanks. I will now ignore it.
Seems a little strange that the game, shows and animates this though

The game attempts to duplicate the instruments actually present and the true operation of those instruments. It is a bit of historic accuracy and the ball portion of the instrument is useful occasionally.

In Warbirds you could display a slip indicator (the ball in the gauge is a slip indicator) under your gunsight. While this was not strictly historically accurate (there was no such HUD capability in WWII) it was more realistic because you can certainly FEEL a slip or skid in real life.

To simulate what this feels like just take a ride in a car. The side force you feel going around a corner or curve is what you feel in an airplane in uncoordinated flight. Coordinated flight means all of the forces acting on the pilot are a straight line from the top of his head to his seat. No side forces are felt if you are flying coordinated.