Autopilot VS mode.

[MachFly]

I'll like to have an option of keeping the autopilot in vertical speed mode.
I know all of you will be screaming that it did not exist during WWII, but neither did the autopilot that we have.


Say you have 3+ enemy fighters on your 6 and they are all faster than you, but you are capable of outclimbing them. So you just set you autopilot to climb at 5000ft/min (or what ever your airplane can do) and you'll be safe (just make sure you don't stall).

[Jayhawk]

This just doesn't feel right to me.

[MachFly]

This just doesn't feel right to me.

Could you elaborate on that? What exactly does not feel right?

[Krusty]

Climb rate depends on weight, power, excess thrust, altitude, starting E....

More often than not you'd stall out.

There's no reason to base it off of climb rate. Ever. Best climb rate will be at a specific speed, regardless of other considerations. Your best bet to outclimb anything will be to zoom then go into best climb rate speed once you slow down.

Take a look at the climb rate next time you engage auto climb.. It's NOT a constant. It spikes and jumps and dips.


Plus if you're in combat don't use auto pilot! You are trying to out climb somebody? Use your human input device to make your plane do just that.


-1

[guncrasher]

Could you elaborate on that? What exactly does not feel right?

why not just pull on your stick?  if everybody has the same tools, then nobody has the advantage.  the real advantage on pulling up is knowing that your enemy cannot keep the stick straight up as good as you can.

semp

edit:  krusty he's talking about making it easier on him to rope a plane with his 109.

[Krusty]

See my last comment. He shouldn't be thinking to use auto pilots while in combat.


Also the other factors are at play as well... Auto VSI from what starting point? How will that work? Skyrocket you up like autoclimb does now? The thing about auto climb now is that if you can't make that speed it lowers the nose to make that speed. It's simple enough. Too fast = nose up, too slow = nose down.

How would that remotely work for auto VSI? Too low = ??? The game won't control your engine power, nor your flaps, nor any other inputs... What if it can't make the setting you want? Well that's going to happen in most cases.


Plus, just setting a climb rate won't determine your ability to out climb something with a lesser climb rate.

A P-51 can out-climb a 109K4 as long as it as more E.


Again, why would you even contemplate going auto pilot in the middle of a fight?

[MachFly]

Climb rate depends on weight, power, excess thrust, altitude, starting E....

More often than not you'd stall out.

There's no reason to base it off of climb rate. Ever. Best climb rate will be at a specific speed, regardless of other considerations. Your best bet to outclimb anything will be to zoom then go into best climb rate speed once you slow down.

Take a look at the climb rate next time you engage auto climb.. It's NOT a constant. It spikes and jumps and dips.


Plus if you're in combat don't use auto pilot! You are trying to out climb somebody? Use your human input device to make your plane do just that.


-1

Your best climb speed changes changes as well, just like you described it for everything else. You don't always have energy to zoom climb, if your loosing an outnumbered turnfight with aircraft that are faster than you in a straight you can outclimb your opponents at slow speed.
Your climb rate jumps up and down because your autopilot had trouble setting the speed and keeps overshooting it.  Then it slowly decreases with altitude.

I might not have used the best example regarding using it in combat. However if you are flying on autopilot and want to gain a certain amount of altitude it is a lot easier to base it on VSI (give you wont stall & your VSI does not lag).
The simpler autopilots also climb on VSI not airspeed.

[MachFly]

post deleted

[MachFly]

why not just pull on your stick?  if everybody has the same tools, then nobody has the advantage.  the real advantage on pulling up is knowing that your enemy cannot keep the stick straight up as good as you can.

semp

edit:  krusty he's talking about making it easier on him to rope a plane with his 109.

I'm not trying to make it easier for me, I'm trying to add another feature for everyone, a lot more realistic one.


BTW I do not fly 109s

[Krusty]

Best climb speed doesn't change much... It's an aerodynamic thing... That speed gives most lift over the wings. Over the course of climbing from the deck to 30K, the IAS for best climb varies maybe 10mph at most... 10mph won't affect climb rate all that much (try it out, you'll see only a minor drop in fpm climb rate).


You get best rate of climb by matching a set speed. Always.

[MachFly]

Best climb speed doesn't change much... It's an aerodynamic thing... That speed gives most lift over the wings. Over the course of climbing from the deck to 30K, the IAS for best climb varies maybe 10mph at most... 10mph won't affect climb rate all that much (try it out, you'll see only a minor drop in fpm climb rate).


You get best rate of climb by matching a set speed. Always.

Take a large airliner for example, your climb speed will be different if your loaded with cargo or if you have nothing on board. Your angle of climb is what stays the same, but since we don't have a gauge for angle of climb we have to use speed.

[Krusty]

Take a large airliner for example, your climb speed will be different if your loaded with cargo or if you have nothing on board. Your angle of climb is what stays the same, but since we don't have a gauge for angle of climb we have to use speed.

Your rate of CLIMB will change based on weight... NOT the actual optimum forward airspeed you achieve that rate of climb with.

[MachFly]

Your rate of CLIMB will change based on weight... NOT the actual optimum forward airspeed you achieve that rate of climb with.

It depends on both.
Sure it primarily depends on your weight, but if your lighter you can maintain slower airspeed therefore use that energy to climb.

[Krusty]

It depends on both.
If your lighter you can maintain slower airspeed therefore use that energy to climb.

Uh... no... I don't think it works that way at all...

[MachFly]

Uh... no... I don't think it works that way at all...

So you do not think your stall speed depends on weight?