Aces High Bulletin Board
Help and Support Forums => Help and Training => Topic started by: jimson on February 26, 2008, 05:29:38 PM
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I practice offline but I can't bring it down successfully. What's the easiest landing plane I can practice in til I get the hang of it?
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Really it's a matter of personal opinion. For me, it's a P-38 because of the counter-rotating engines (no torque), good flaps, and tricycle landing gear. Give that a try. Keep with it, you'll eventually master it.
If you want to learn single engine crates, come in lined up on the runway. Slow down enough so that you can get your flaps out. Get down do about 90-120 mph, with a nice and easy desent (less then 1000 ftm, really it's just personal). As you're coming down, you're going to want to slow down enough to the point where you almost stall, that way you can get a nice "3 point" landing, where all three wheels touch down at the same moment. After that it's just cutting throttle and using rudder/ailerons to manage torque. At least that's how I do it. Give it a try, see what happens.
donkey
Found under "Game Info" -> "Need Training?" -> "Airfield Landings." It also has pictures. (You can also find tips for Carrier Landings and much more under "Need Training." Also try this site. http://www.netaces.org/
A combat landing is a compressed version of an "overhead" or "break turn" approach. Military landings do not use the rectangular patterns used in civilian aviation with discrete downwind, base and final legs.
The entry to a standard military overhead pattern is usually flown upwind at 1,000' above ground level (AGL) directly overhead (or slightly offset to the right) the runway. At the upwind numbers, the pilot performs the "break," banking left into a high angle of bank (60° to 90°), throttle to idle, pulling up to 6 g's in the crosswind turn to bleed off airspeed until rolling out on the reciprocal heading from the runway.
Once established out of the break, you are in the "downwind" and should be approximately 1nm abeam of the runway. Descend to 600' AGL and extend gear and flaps. At the "abeam" position, directly abeam the landing area of the runway, count 15 seconds then begin a continuous descending 180° turn back to the runway at 30° or less of bank, maintaining 140 MPH throughout the turn. Roll out approximately 1,000' from the runway and less than 200' AGL. Work throttle and elevators to be 95-110 MPH over the runway threshold, then reduce throttle and gradually pull back on stick to flair to a smooth touchdown at about 100 MPH.
Hold the stick back to lock the tailwheel and steer with rudder while applying brakes .
Controlling your rate of descent is important for all landings. Remember that power controls altitude and elevators control airspeed. To increase rate of descent, decrease power. To decrease your rate of descent, increase power.
After you've made a few successful landings, you can practice a combat landing. A long, slow, straight-in approach into an airfield leaves you vulnerable to enemy aircraft and ground vehicles. A combat landing will get you on the ground and in the tower in well under a minute so you can celebrate your victories with a trip to the refrigerator.
Approach the field at full speed and full power, descending to 1,200' AGL approximately 5 miles from the field. You'll have plenty of energy available to fight your way into the field, if necessary. The tight pattern will also keep you inside the protective ack of the field. Maintain full throttle and align with the runway, descending to anywhere from 50' to 500' AGL.
Notes:
*When using Combat Trim, the aircraft will pitch up when lowering flaps . You can either push the nose down or add down elevator trim until slight back pressure is necessary to hold the aircraft level. Combat Trim disengages when any trim is used.
It's not necessary to use full flaps all the time. If your plane only has one flap setting, extend only if necessary just before landing. Remember that the goal of a combat landing is to get on the ground quickly, not to be a juicy target floating gracefully above the runway for 10 seconds.
Most taildraggers are landed on the main gear first, not a 3-point landing.
After you've rolled out from the break and begun the 180° turn for landing, your scan outside the cockpit to your landing point increases from mostly outside after the 90 to almost completely outside the cockpit after the 45. Your throttle and control inputs become instinctive from the sight picture. Check the section on the Look Forward View to set a view looking down the cowling like you see in these cockpit screenshots.
PS: Can someone help me with how to link on aces high? I always just get the redirect address that takes me to the main page when trying to post a thread url. Thanks.
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easiest, i think the F6F. What you trying to land thats giving you problems?
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The F4F-4 and FM-2 are very docile aircraft. Might want to try either one of them.
Donkey: Some parts of the website use frames. You have to read the url of the linked page while mousing over the link on the navigation menu inside the frame.
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Stay away from the F4U until you have this down. It's the hardest plan to land without ground looping and you will just become frustrated. Generally speaking any of the lighter more maneuverable planes (Zekes, Spits, etc)are good starters.
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F4Us are cake to land.
A6Ms are probably the easiest fighters though.
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38's with tricycle LG.
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Originally posted by Karnak
F4Us are cake to land.
A6Ms are probably the easiest fighters though.
As I told a squadmate...
The first thing I think when I climb into an F4U is 'oh chit, I'm going to auger on take off'.
The next thing I think about, once I get it into the air, is 'oh chit, I'm going to auger on landing'.
I can takeoff/land the 190, 109, and even the 152 with confidence, but the F4U is the devil.
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The spit14 is the hardest plane for me to land.
The c205 is the easiest of the planes I fly.
Or an A20 you can come in hot and slam that thing down.
F4U's are easy to land....trust me take up a Spit14 and try that.
In your landings make sure you get slow, come in straight, use your flaps and lower your gear.
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Flying the P-38 is like driving a Cadillac. Taking off, flying, and landing.
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I don't understand how anybody can find the F4U hard to land. It practically lands itself. All you have to know is not to cob the power. I think people read about the real F4U and get nervous and mess up due to nervousness, reinfocing their idea that it is hard. The AH F4U is a total *****cat in every way.
I've trashed many Mosquitoes on landing though.
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Originally posted by jimsom88
I practice offline but I can't bring it down successfully. What's the easiest landing plane I can practice in til I get the hang of it?
the p38 i'd say as the counter rotating engines cancel out the effects of torque.
here's something to try.........take off, fly away from the field..not too far...climb to about 1,000 feet alt, then come back parrallell to the runway..either side is ok......now pull your throttle back, and maintain your alt......slow the plane to about 150 or so, keeping yourself on runway heading, and waching it. when it's about 45 degrees behind you, make a gentle turn, and drop 1 notch of flaps. maintain your speed and let her descend slowly, keeping the end of the runway in your view. imagina a slope as you're going down it. when you turn onto final, you should be at about 500 feet or so, 2 notches of flaps, and put the end of the runway in the center of your windscreen....then doo what you need to do to keep it there......as you get closer, more flaps, and slow more...i normally cross the "fence" at about 100KTIAS, and full flaps. as your aim point(the end of the runway) goes under your nose, lower throttle a bit more, and GENTLY try to keep your alt at this point. as you do this, she'll start sinking in a nose high attitude. if you were at proper alt(about 20 feet or so above the ground) she should settle in for a very nice landing. this is easiest in the P38 as mentioned so you don't need too many corrections for engine torque.
i hope i got this into text well enough to understand........i fly cessnas, and that's pretty much how i land them...although pattern alts vary, and speeds are way different.....but in here you can do the same..once you're used to the "feel" you can eliminate the pattern, and just start comming straight in, cutting the corners off, etc......
hope this helps ya a bit..........
oooo,,,and the absolute BEST wayt o learn.....go into the training arena......and DON'T be afraid to ask questions in there.......trainers are there because they like helping us. most anyone in there will also offer advice/help if there's no trainers in there. that's pretty much how we all learned........
<> and welcome aboard!!!! :aok
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P-47 has a pretty wide landing gear set, and the P-38 has the counter-rotating props. So, one of those two I'd say are the easiest.
D-Hog is a terribly hard plane to land without ripping your left wing off. :)
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Land? We can land? Why'd no-one tell me?
Oh, I know, tis cos I fly stupid and forget lol.........:D
I find the spits easy to land (except for the 14 and I dont generally fly that)
Also easy are the 202, 205 etc.
All I do is line up the runway, aim for approx the middle (distance wise), out gear (once slowed down enough), then out flaps, reduce power to a reasonable glide/rate of descent is reached and plop it down on the tarmac, using rudder to keep it straight and apply brakes. I normally get the stall warning just before it hits the runway.
Wurzel
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Easiest for me is: C-47, B-24, B-17.
Sorry, had to...
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Well, I'm sure it's the pilot more than the plane, I'm practicing in a spitfire mark8, I'll try some of the others and just keep at it.
Thanks for the tips
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Stick with the Spit 8. It was my first plane, and is a great first plane to learn in. Swapping around will only create more difficulty for you. I come in at around 1500 feet, flaps on, around 100 MPH. Watch your altimeter, as you get really close to ground level (can vary base to base), reduce throttle completely or shutoff engine, as soon as you hear the tires burp on the tarmac, raise flaps, keep plane straight, and as your speed slows pull full back on the stick and begin applying your brakes. It sounds so simple in condensed form, but you are doing the right thing in practicing. Keep it up!:aok
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I agree with Yankedudle on the goon and bombers being easy landers, I also agree that F4U's are the hardest to land succesfully. I find the P51 and P47's are easy landers as are the P40"s and A6M2's.
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While spits may have docile handling and easy-mode stalls, they have a narrow track landing gear. Perhaps not the best for landing practice. A wide, stable, landing gear is better to land with because once you touch down you are very stable, and can slow down without risk of toppling over (as new folks might do).
Planes with wide landing gears that I would suggest first:
P-47 or P-51: Both a bit faster approach speeds. Not best but do-able.
Fw190s: Use flaps and don't over-control it or you might stall out. Not as good at slow speeds as spit but still decent
Ki-84: Once you slow past 165mph you can use the flaps. Full flaps and this thing floats gently. Wide landing gear. Good visibility. I suggest this one to practice landing with.
Not a definitive list, just the first thoughts off my head.
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Originally posted by yankedudel
Easiest for me is: C-47, B-24, B-17.
Sorry, had to...
Actually thats pretty good advice. Learning to land the easy ones will help you in landing the fighters. I know spending my first few months in bombers and goons allowed me to make the transition to fighters needing only to learn the combat end.
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What is this landing stuff of which you speak? I've yet to encounter it in the game myself......:noid :noid
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Guppy, it's like that thing you do when you get all those "You have Ditched" messages....
:t
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Originally posted by yankedudel
Easiest for me is: C-47, B-24, B-17.
Sorry, had to...
I'd agree with this too, if a new person wants to get a feel with landings and get a few under there belt, The C-47 is really easy to land.
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Zeke is super simple. Line up with runway, cut power. coast down to about 150, drop flaps, it will settle quickly with full flaps, add power, just enough to keep it floating earthward. As it settles near the runway, pull back on the stick to get nose up and let it float to the ground. Using flaps and getting the speed down are the probably the most important things. once the tail is down you pull back on the stick all the way. This locks the tail wheel. Just remember to get the speed down and float in on flaps. The stall buzzer will tell you if you get going to slow. just add power as needed. The zeke will float in and will land at like 85mph with full flaps. Landings are a non-event with a bit of practice.
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Originally posted by bergy
I agree with Yankedudle on the goon and bombers being easy landers.
hahaha, i think yanke was being a smartazz w/ the bombers and goons, but they are pretty easy. i learned to land in bombers because of external view
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Back when I played, I found the easiest plane for me to land, was the one I flew the most. But, I found the P38 pretty easy to fly.
Go into the Training Arena and select a plane. Take off from a field, circle back around with some decent altitude, and line up with the runway. Keep decreasing your throttle steadily, and make sure you dont slam your nose into the runway. Try to keep a nice angle upwards, kinda like you're stalling. You should be going pretty slow on decent, and on the verge of stalling.
Mind you, I did all of this off of pure memory. I haven't played in, well, I don't remember how long. Maybe a year or two.
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Originally posted by waystin2
Stick with the Spit 8. It was my first plane, and is a great first plane to learn in. Swapping around will only create more difficulty for you. I come in at around 1500 feet, flaps on, around 100 MPH. Watch your altimeter, as you get really close to ground level (can vary base to base), reduce throttle completely or shutoff engine, as soon as you hear the tires burp on the tarmac, raise flaps, keep plane straight, and as your speed slows pull full back on the stick and begin applying your brakes. It sounds so simple in condensed form, but you are doing the right thing in practicing. Keep it up!:aok
While I generally agree about switching around, I tried some other planes and was able to land.
I was getting frustrated and felt I needed to get some successful landings because ditching or crashing every time didn't seem to be helping me learn.
Thanks for all the advice folks.
Jim
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Originally posted by Krusty
Planes with wide landing gears that I would suggest first:
Fw190s: Use flaps and don't over-control it or you might stall out. Not as good at slow speeds as spit but still decent
Even though the 190's have wide-track gear I fly them a lot and I still bounce them on landing almost every time.
The F4U's are easy to land, but not for some people.
The F6F likes to turn as it comes to rest and takes a lot of rudder/wheel brake to correct.
I find the Ta-152 the harderst to keep from ground-looping on me.
The P-38's are easiest.
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i'm a rookie myself and i've found the spitfire to be the easiest to
land
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The Trimset command greatly increased my survivability during F4U landings.
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Managed to do a perfect (by my standards) landing in an F4U1C today - as in all parts intact, on centreline etc. I landed at a tiny bit above stalling speed, full flaps, and locked tailwheel ASAP.
As for easy planes to land, I'd say the A-20G/Boston III, and when you want a bit more of a challenge perhaps the P-47.
Personally, I wouldn't recommend Spitfires, as their landing gear is so narrow.
Yossarian
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The Trimset command greatly increased my survivability during F4U landings.
:aok what fuze said
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Practiced in wildcat for awhile to get the feel of things, now able to land the spitfire most of the time.
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Here's how I usually do it...
Come in to the base FAST... VERY FAST (Sometimes over 400!), and at about 2000' AGL.
When you're about a mile out, chop the throttle and give it FULL RIGHT RUDDER... also give it LEFT AILERON to compensate. The plane will try to dip, but stick with it and keep it level. Use ailerons and elevators to steer the plane to the runway... but don't let off the rudder, as the rudder will slow you down in a hurry!
Once your speed drops below 200, you can drop your landing gear.. don't worry about the groaning, crunching sounds!
At about 180, you can start giving it flaps.. once your first notch engages you can release the rudder, level it off and 'ride the runway'. Once you have full flaps (about 140-150) you can ease it down onto the wheels and apply the wheel brakes.
If it looks like you are going to overshoot the runway, veer to the left side of the runway, give it full right rudder (and right wheel brake if you can)... the plane will spin sideways and rip off the wing, but you'll stop quick and about 90% of the time stay on the pavement.
If you have a little more room you can rock it left and right using rudder + wheel brake (reverse the rudder if it starts to tip over) and this will stop you very quickly as well.
This maneuver takes a lot of practice, but becomes second nature after awhile, and is very effective if you're in a hurry to land, or coming into a very HOT base! I wouldn't recommend it if you're in a perked ride though.. it's just too risky!