The L-39 will cure what ails you!

Although I understand the principles of flight well, when I first picked up DCS I wanted to get straight into the combat part as soon as possible. I learned the A-10, P-51, F-86 and more recently the F-5, and have studied tactics and weapons employment to enable this. It worked well enough, I can blow things up with good reliability and my BFM keeps me at about even odds in PVP...most of the time.

However, I seem to have jumped a step or three, I guess you'd call it the "intermediate" level of flight training, where you learn how to control your aircraft with precision, hold a perfect descent rate, adjust for wind drift, and polish up your maneuvers in a clean, coordinated fashion. This got muddied over somehow when I was learning to pull high-G turns, aim my guns and work the various targeting systems.

This was laid bare when I was flying my beloved F-5 and trying to fly a controlled dive to aim my bombs...I found that I cannot coordinate my speed, dive angle and descent rate simultaneously to enable accurate bombing. CCIP mode in the Hog is great, but it facilitates sloppy flying by calculating that impact point for you, and you don't need to do much but fly until the pipper is on the thing you want to kill and unleash your payload. It's an easy aircraft to fly and, for better or worse, covers up a lot of the steps you may have missed in training while you bomb with precision using its sophisticated systems.

The F-5 won't allow for this, however, and neither will anything else that requires manual bombing or even rocket launches. Coordinated flight across every axis is required, and I found myself unable to do this, to my great shame and embarassment. I've been at this for years now...where did I go wrong? How could I have put so many hours into this and still lack fundamentals?

What to do now?

Enter the Albatros!

The L-39 is the perfect module for going back and working out bad habits I've picked up. I originally bought it to support development, but the last few days it has become my go-to plane for unlearning bad habits.

Great stuff...unfortunately the jet trainers have, in my opinion, gotten too harsh of a reception from us, but they're actually perfect for what I need right now, and I'd bet many other folks could benefit from them for the same reasons.

Anyway, thanks to ED for a great module that is far more useful than I think most give it credit for! It's fun to fly, easy to learn but also will let you know where you're doing it wrong. Perfect.

Hopefully, it'll help polish up those stick/rudder/throttle skills enough so I can finally dead-aim those manual weapons and fly formation...there's always more to learn, which was always the attraction of aviation, anyway.

If you're doing it right, DCS will never become boring, no matter how long it takes for the next module to come out.

Now, if I only had a spare few hundred thousand bucks...I hear L-39's are "affordable" jets to own...

Well said. I agree - there's still so much to learn. While we're usually here waiting for "the next big thing, we could use some of the more under-utilized (and under-rated) modules to get ahead in the DCS world... :) For fun, and for the learning experience.

Back to basics never hurts. Usaf guys fly the t6 before any jet.

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Great post!

I love the A-10C and I think I'm quite good with it, for a virtual pilot. But I find a lot of truth in what you say and I think most DCS pilots (definitely including myself!) would profit from actually taking the time to fly and learn one or several of the trainer aircraft.

I totally agree. Still figuring out the best parameter for a 40 degree DB delivery with a release alt of 1500ft and still rarely getan closer then 40ft.

I'd be happy if I ever get a successful barrel roll out of an L-39.

The L-39 is great fun, IMO one of the top dcs modules. It's truly a great training and aerobatic aircraft and also close in performance and flight dynamics to the A-10.

Plus, I challenge any detractors to proficiently employ it in combat and call it boring or un-challenging :joystick:

I posted a training Szenario for db procedure in this thread:

https://forums.eagle.ru/showthread.php?t=176064

After trying this a few dozen times Z diagrams for the CCIP delivery with the A10 are really a Joy.

I got this plane last week, and god I LOVE it! I'm having a lot of fun "re-learn" the basic of navigation and all! Really smooth plane too!

I love the L39 and fly it most the time. It taught me navigation and all the NDB, flight paths, glide approach, RSBN etc etc. It was a bargain buying it, brilliant module.

Mizzy

L39 is the only plane yet i can land 3+ times in row without breaking the landing gear or anything else :D. in one stint.

personally i think the F5 makes for a better trainer. its obviously not actually a trainer, but after all US does use the T38 Talon, a 2 seater aircraft based on the F5 as a trainer jet. I think having to fly a SUpersonic jet will proably better prepare pilots for more modern 4th gen fighters, than a under powered subsonic jet, and at the same time youl get a multifunction combat capable jet to use as a fighter-bomber, or for air combat Vs legacy aircraft like the Mig21BIS, as well as being able to be used as an Aggressor aircraft for WVR combat training. F5 is also very maneuverable, and fun to zip around in for AErobatics servers.

That besing said actual trainers, L39 is better suited for a Eastern aircraft, because of the avoincs are more comparable to eastern ones. .. while the Hawk is better for western aircraft. It had a rocky release, so it was hard to recommend that trainer initially, but there been some major fixes as of late ,and addition of the backseater position.

Then again IRL pilots actually have to get used to the feel of flight, which isnt quite the same as in a virtual environment, so virtual pilots can afford to skip trainers at the end of the day.

I am hoping the Hawk ends up being the trainer it needs to be. It's already a fun module, and they've made huge progress on it. Best wishes to VEAO as they work forward.

As for the F-5 as a trainer like the T-38, I had that thought as well. However, for some reason, flying the L-39 made me better at flying the F-5 (and apparently unrelated craft like the FW-190, even!) in a precise, controlled way. Every time I fly the L-39, I get better at flying everything else.

Your mileage may vary, but I'm having such a good, valuable experience with the Albatros that I thought it was worth sharing.

Of course, if I could only afford the F-5 or the L-39, I'd go with the F-5 for sure. You obviously don't have to worry about crashing a real aircraft here, but for the time spent in the virtual cockpit, I learn more, faster, in the Albatros.

Great post...I have been stuck on the C-101 myself for the last month, and the hawk for the last two weeks.....will be starting with the L-39 probably this week or the next. Its amazing how much you can learn from these trainers, and how they improve your ability and understanding of other modules.

Anyway if you guys enjoy training missions there is a guy by the name "Emolina" who created an interesting assortment of non combat type missions (for several modules) where you just pretty much use your knowledge of the systems and the info in your kneeboard to navigate to your destination. They make learning the trainers pretty fun and intresting.

here is a link: https://forums.eagle.ru/showthread.php?t=172869

I have been really enjoying these missions lately with the trainers.

Its amazing how much you can learn from these trainers, and how they improve your ability and understanding of other modules.

A lot can be learned just by flying Su-25 (A or T variants) about landing and BFM. But as they ain't clickable you don't learn anything about starting and system procedures and such where these trainers are great.

And then of course when you are limited not to have advanced weapons and such systems, you are forced to fly with what you have and focus just to basics.

It is just something that really address bad habits many has, by wanting first to go to combat sides.

It would just be so nice if the front seat of the trainers would be available to be seated for free with these modules by the module owners seating rear, so there would be more people flying in pairs and have change to do so without requiring both pilots to own the same module, as so many wants to pick just one like Hawk, C-101 or L-39 and then you are out of luck when you don't want to buy same.

But considering when someone wants to learn fly, any of these three module is great for beginner who doesn't want to dip feets to serious combat.