I surrender I'm joining the army!

Days of trying head to head with a 109...we converge.... I have the height advantage every time, engine set 45@2700 (max continuous) I dive in at last second to hopefully jump in on his tail...he shoots past me and climbs a little and I chase for hours eating his exhaust never closing in. I use my HUD top of screen to gage the horizon hoping for speed increase adjust RPM and MP I use a little, yo-yo with the horizon again hoping for speed, he climbs higher I get further, typical!!

Or

With the in game instant combat/intercept I sneak up on the cargo jets down just one.... the rest scatter and again I play chase for hours loosing distance. I did get help (and thank you) with adjusting the engine management to get speed but it is not working for anything that flys that I go up against (hot air balloon included).

I fly with everything set to easy because I had trouble with constant spinning ever time I banked the wings and wings tearing off...not good.

I've flown Falcon 4.0, Il2,USAF, LOMAC, BOB, Pacific Fighters, EF2000, lots of Jane's titles and tons of others since 1996. Cougar joystick. I guess this one for me is too much to handle. I have been battling this air to air combat problem with this particular game for months. I am wearing out. I could just stick to air to ground and pray nothing flys near me.

I do want to thank you for all the help, you are all a bunch of good guys, obviously better pilots than me...my hats off to you!

I'd suggest that you fly around getting to know your 51 by pushing it to its limits. I know it sounds silly and I thought it was silly but it is the way it is in this sim. Get the feel of how far to pull on your stick so you're on the edge through out the turn. This alone has really helped me.

In combat you need to set your RPM to 3000, and work the throttle gently enough so that it never exceeds 3100. Secondly, max your manifold pressure, and then press "e" to break the wire and engage War Emergency Power. Keep a close eye on your engine temperature, and try to stay fast in order to maximize cooling. If you get too hot, decrease your manifold pressure a bit and get some airspeed back.

Yes, this is one of the most challenging and realistic combat flight sims ever made. Il-2 and similar WW2 air combat sim titles were the shallow end of the pool compared to the DCS P-51.

Playing tag....

I use the prop planes to practice on and have a 109 thrown in to make it interesting.

The An-30 is just off to your left when you start at about 1000, then the other three come in, another An-30, a Tu-95 and the ME-109.

All of them go for the airport at about your 1600.

Just on that I find helps me get used to the 'stang.

Do pay attention to the 109, slippery little bugger that can out turn you and his 20mm will cause you pain.

At first I thought the Emil was to easy for the P-51 but it is good, keep him off your tail and set up your attacks, you should be able to take out both An-30's before the 109 gets to be an issue.

P51D Practise.miz

Gaining ground

Question.... in gaining ground on an opponent above you and way ahead after engine is maxed out, would you suggest doing a slight yo-yo type maneuver of not more than 500-1000 feet dip to gain speed or just stay true and level till you get to around 325 MPH then slightly gain the altitude on him? Also do not use any form of flaps to gain altitude I am assuming.

Thank you.

IIRC, the P-51D's best climb speed is around 175mph. Unless your engine is running too hot, that is your target airspeed for gaining altitude quickly.

Right, no flaps.

In combat, flaps are useful for decreasing your turn radius. But be warned, in some cases the will reduce your turn rate! In a nose-to-tail fight you generally want flaps up to maximize turn rate. In a nose-to-nose fight, e.g. some kind of scissors, you generally want a notch of flaps (or even more!) to minimize turn radius.

IIRC, the P-51D's best climb speed is around 175mph. Unless your engine is running too hot, that is your target airspeed for gaining altitude quickly.

 

Right, no flaps.

 

In combat, flaps are useful for decreasing your turn radius. But be warned, in some cases the will reduce your turn rate! In a nose-to-tail fight you generally want flaps up to maximize turn rate. In a nose-to-nose fight, e.g. some kind of scissors, you generally want a notch of flaps (or even more!) to minimize turn radius.

You might want to clarify this by saying "ideal non-combat climb." It's fine for keeping your engine temps low on your average climb out but don't expect to catch anyone if you're going 175.

Days of trying head to head with a 109...we converge.... I have the height advantage every time, engine set 45@2700 (max continuous) I dive in at last second to hopefully jump in on his tail...he shoots past me and climbs a little and I chase for hours eating his exhaust never closing in. I use my HUD top of screen to gage the horizon hoping for speed increase adjust RPM and MP I use a little, yo-yo with the horizon again hoping for speed, he climbs higher I get further, typical!!

Don't despair and give this a go. This recipe works for me 9 out of 10 times with the 109 set to Excellent. Sometimes he gets a few lucky shots on the initial merge which can ruin your flight. I ran this about 20 times over the weekend. (Works beautifully at equal altitudes)

-Enter the merge at close to 300. Don't be afraid to go (As they even said in WW2) Balls Out. As long as you have airflow and your coolant doors wide open you can fly 62/30 with no issue. (I try to keep it just shy of redline when in pursuit then back off as soon as you can) Remember: Speed is life.

-Pull a hard (but not too hard) left turn the second he passes. Try not to climb too much in the turn & preserve your speed as much as possible.

-Once you have him on your nose he will either climb or dive and head at you. Try to turn into him as he comes by you again. Always try to cut off his shooting angles as you merge.

-It might take a couple scissor turns before you can get inside his turn. The 109 will then most likely begin his large radius circle after a short tangle as long as you don't let him on your six.

-Then it's just a matter of energy management and geometry. Cut inside the circle and climb and dive to get a little extra speed. When you get back up to 300+mph you can close the gap pretty quick. Then let your K-14 do the rest of the work. The constant turn routine isn't very realistic.. but it is what it is. He rarely deviates once in the turn.

- Also watch out for this: Sometimes after taking some damage the 109 will dive and then go from full combat speed to snail speed in about half a second. There must be an invisible drag chute or some massive instantly-deploying dive brakes you cannot see. Just be aware, it will take some effort to match his speed. However, it's nothing to really worry about because at this point he is committed to flying home... defeated.

Open coolant and oil flaps fully. Set rpm to 2800 Fly elliptical orbits, using full rudder at the top. On the way down push throttle to 55 manifold pressure, and throttle back just after bottoming out to 45 at the peak of applying rudder. The AI will run like chicken-shiet.. a few circuits and it's swiss-cheese :)

gdotts: The P51 is a very simple a/c to fly (except when you require extreme maneuvering - DCS that is)... In combat situations, open coolant and oil radiators. Watch your temperatures when your speed is below 200mph. Manifold pressure you generally don't need to go beyond 55, 45 is a good average RPM is also good at around 2800 If you keep these settings you'll never blow an engine... So it's now all about combat and maneuvering. Like the AI, 90% of human pilots lack any imagination required to kill. There are the few that can fly their a/c to the max and kill, but of those there is a minor proportion that have both skills. It takes time but you'll get there :)

After playing with the 109, here's a few thoughts..

- If you higher than it, it'll fight you

- if it get's higher than you and can run, it will.. and it goes around in 'endless boring' circles.

- when it runs, its good practise for engine management and deflection shooting.

Keep the fight in the vertical, and if it runs, make sure you have the speed to catch it.. otherwise just restart the mission. It actually does make mistakes.

In the '001' trk, the AI looks like it's a bit 'confused' before it starts to run = valuable time lost.

I prefer the Russian P51 - it has more 'guts'

I must be getting blind, as I can see zip when the plane moves off a few 100m

Me109_001.trk

Me109_002.trk

After playing with the 109, here's a few thoughts..

- If you higher than it, it'll fight you

- if it get's higher than you and can run, it will.. and it goes around in 'endless boring' circles.

- when it runs, its good practise for engine management and deflection shooting.

 

Keep the fight in the vertical, and if it runs, make sure you have the speed to catch it.. otherwise just restart the mission. It actually does make mistakes.

 

In the '001' trk, the AI looks like it's a bit 'confused' before it starts to run = valuable time lost.

 

I prefer the Russian P51 - it has more 'guts'

I must be getting blind, as I can see zip when the plane moves off a few 100m

At first I thought the 109 had a very simple routine but after flying against it some more it has surprised me here and there. The P51 is a more dangerous foe overall but it's otherworldly marksmanship can get a little frustrating (at almost all skill levels). If you are rolling and kicking the rudder it's hard to believe EVERY round finds it's way to your aircraft, even at considerable distance. Right now, I believe the 109 AI feels more "real"... despite that automatic 300mph great circle silliness, which has been well documented and we've been told it will be improved upon.

You're right, the 109 can be tough to keep an eye on but I've definitely noticed myself improving.

I'm willing to take a bet that the AI 'run away' point is calculated on total energy (Potential + Kinetic and maybe a constant or two) At the moment it's total energy is greater than yours, it bugs out on the great wide circle. They should give it a bit more 'imagination' when you catch it, as its line of flight is too straight, making it an easy target. :)

despite that automatic 300mph great circle silliness, which has been well documented and we've been told it will be improved upon.

At first I thought the 109 had a very simple routine but after flying against it some more it has surprised me here and there. The P51 is a more dangerous foe overall but it's otherworldly marksmanship can get a little frustrating (at almost all skill levels). If you are rolling and kicking the rudder it's hard to believe EVERY round finds it's way to your aircraft, even at considerable distance

I've set myself up as tag for the ME109.. if definitely has 'ACE' marksmanship and once on your tail it actually flies like a human, except when you 'mow the lawn', then it acts like IL2 and gets stupid and misjudges everything.

Not only that, it should outfly the P51 when slow, but it tends to stuff that up as well, coz with slats and flaps it should kill the P51 anytime....

Waiting for improvements.. tick tick tick