2) Check the chalkboard that is in the tower at each field. It tells you how much fuel is available, whether the ordinance is available etc.
Simple scenario, one that I've had happen to me: I land my IL-2 at a field, and I'm missing my left aileron and have an oil leak, so I want to get a fresh plane rather than just rearm. I exit, then click to take off. Pop-up: Ordnance is disabled. I click to close the pop-up, click to close the second disabled-ordnance pop-up, and then go to the hangar. Pop-up: Ordnance is disabled. I click to close the pop-up, click to close the second disabled-ordnance pop-up, and select no bomb load. Pop-up: Ordnance is disabled. I click to close the pop-up, press ESC to hide the clipboard, and select no rockets. I press ESC to bring the clipboard back up and select a launch direction. Pop-up: Fuel load is limited to 50%. I click to close the pop-up, select 50% fuel, and
then I can take off. Except that, only
after I go through all this process do I get the pop-up "You are unable to fly that plane from this field" because someone's popped the last FH at the field while I was fighting the FE to get it to not load what I couldn't take.
So why, when the FE pops up the 'Ordnance is disabled' window -- and it does it twice, once for bombs and once for rockets -- does it
not set my ordnance loadout to 'none'
automatically, rather than making me go back and unselect them, and the same for fuel -- after telling me that my maximum fuel load is 50%, why do I have to manually select 50% fuel load, instead of setting my fuel load to 50% for me? And if I'd had drop tanks, it would have been worse -- I'd have gotten three ordnance pop-ups -- two for when I had both bombs and rockets and one for when I selected no bomb load but still had rockets -- a pop-up for no drop tanks available, and a pop-up for only 50% fuel available. If the available fuel is under 125%, drop tanks are unavailable, so 50% fuel limit
implies the unavailability of drop tanks; a separate check is redundant.
I can just imagine the conversation the pilot is having with his ground crew: "Same loadout as last sortie." "We don't have any bombs for you." "Okay." "And we don't have any rockets." "Okay. Then I won't take any bombs." "We don't have any rockets." "You said that already. So I won't take any rockets." "We don't have any drop tanks." "Okay, so don't mount any drop tanks." "We can only give you a 50% fuel load." "Okay, give me what you can." "And we don't have a plane for you to fly." It sounds like the ground crew are all morons.
Done
intelligently, you would go to the hangar and
immediately get a 'You can't fly that plane' pop-up if the hangar(s) are down so you don't have to go any further, and when you get an 'Ordnance is disabled' pop-up, you click on it, and your ordnance loadouts are set to nothing. If the fuel loadout is below what you had, you get the 'Max fuel is X%' pop-up, you click on it, and your fuel load is set to the maximum available, eliminating drop tanks if necessary. Or not even have to go to the hangar. You try to take off, and get the same pop-ups, and your ordnance and fuel loads are reset for you.
The same conversation with a much more intelligent ground crew: "Give me what I had last sortie." "Sorry, sir, we don't have a plane for you." "Okay, I'll run over to [insert field here] and try there." Or, if planes are available, "We don't have any bombs or rockets." "Okay, skip the ordnance." "And we can only give you 50% fuel, so no drop tanks." "Okay, give me what you can."
