IL-2, rudder athority, trackIr and AH

[Vinkman]

I bought the DVD version of IL-2 1946 to get an idea of what some of the planes not included in AH would be like, namely the P-63. I've had it for a couple of days and have some quick questions/observations.

1) The view system only supports 3dof whether it fixed or when using Trackir. This seems like a catastrophic oversite that head movement is restricted to rotation, with no translation in the original programing. I Really enjoyed flying the P-63. Really hated having to move the plane instead of my head.

The view system and software in AH is a quantum leap better.  

Question: I read on the web, that there is a bunch of mods that can be performed to update IL-2 to support 6dof, but none are from the manufacturer.  Has anyone successfully gone through this process?


2)  The rudder was modelled very differently. I have noticed in the AH model that when flying straight at cruise speed the rudder doesn't do much [as compared to elevator and aileron]. But for the first few degrees of movement the plane will rotated quite quickly and dramatically. As modelled this feels like a mass effect of the rudder. Flip the rudder left and there is a reaction force the pushes the tail of the plane in the opposite direction. This only works as far as the travel of the rudder. The aerodynamic forces from the rudder seem to do very little in comparison. I notice this most when I rudder left to change the direction of the plane. The first 5 degrees happens instantaneously then the plane creeps at about 0.5 degrees/sec until I'm pointing on the heading I was looking for, only to lose 4 degrees back again when I center the rudder. In IL-2 the dynamic effects of moving the rudder were almost nonexistent, and the aero-forces were very pronounced. [2-3 deg/sec?] I don't own or fly a real plane so I have no idea which program has the ratio of these effects in proper balance.

Question: Any thoughts on rudder modelling in AH?


 

Vinkman

[RealDeal]

If you're looking for the rudder to turn the plane, don't. Because real airplanes don't turn by using the rudder. Rudder controls Yaw about the verticle axis. In real airplanes the horizontal component of lift is what turns the airplane, not the rudder.

So what I think I'm reading is that when you push down the rudder peddle the nose deflects a few degress as expected but doesnt continue? Thats to be expected and is close to real life. When you yaw the aircraft, the wind is then hitting the aircraft broadside which in turn pushes the tail back behind the nose limiting the amount of yaw. One thing you might find intersting is that longer aircraft usually have more rudder authority because in effect its longer empennage acts as a larger lever which creates more force.

RealDeal

[Ghosth]

As Realdeal said you can only get so much with "just" rudder. Its a balancing act, rudder input swings tail one way, nose the other, but only until enough of the tail is hitting the airstream sideways to counter the rudder input.
At that point it is going to hold, and not deflect any more. So 20 -30 degrees yes, release the rudder and the plane "snaps" back because the airstream is pushing it.

Roll 45 degrees, add a touch of back stick and the plane will smoothly do a banked turn.

Rudder can also be used to boost or increase roll rate, to turn a straight roll into a barrel roll, or to adjust nose for gunnery.

In a hard banked turn 75-90 degrees rudder can be used to hold the nose high or low, depending on what your looking for.