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AI fuel issues


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So I just purchase this campaign a few days ago and experience bad fuel usage issues.

Mission 1:

I was flying 10,000 feet at 2600 rpm and AI report low fuel just when I turned east at Argentan. I restarted the mission and after reaching 10,000 ft I reduced to 2200 rpm and AI reported low fuel half way between Argentan and Flers. So it didn't seem to save as much as I hoped. My initial orbit at Sainte-Croix while waiting for all of the planes to take off was at 2400 rpm in a right hand 20-30 degree orbit and 100-150 feet per minute climb. When I started heading east I turned up the rpm to 2600 until I reached 10,000 feet which is where I reduced rpm to save fuel.

 

Mission 2:

I took off and similar to mission 1 I did a right hand orbit (hoping the inside for others in flight would fly slower and save fuel). Again I climbed to 8,000 feet at only 2400 rpm waiting for the time to red smoke message. Once at 8,000 feet I again reduced rpm to 2200. As soon as I went to engage the AI while doing there attacks report low fuel already.

 

Is this normal? Is there something else I can do to save fuel better? I myself when checking the needle am at full fuel even when I tell them to RTB.

 

edit: nevermind this post, I did some testing with fuel reporting script and I can use that to practice taking off, gaining altitude and finding ways to help the AI save fuel. I think the AI go full power if in a climb, so a slow climb for me might not help them save fuel. I will have play around and figure it out. I know from testing AI doesn't burn fuel in a straight line while in level steady flight and formation, so it is just finding a way to get to altitude fast enough so I can level off which is when they will reduce rpm.

 

edit 2: after toying around I noticed that if you do the optimal 2650 rpm, 7lb/in^2 climb to 10,000 at whatever angle allowed me to maintain 185 mph, and then level out and reduce speed it seems to help a lot. So best to just get to altitude and level off rather than slow climb. I replayed mission 1 and managed to take out 4 supply trucks near flers and then after the attack my wingman reported low fuel so we went back to base but they ran out of fuel climbing back up to 10,000 to cross the front line, where I still had plenty to make it to the airbase. So seem they still burn crazy amounts attacking, even though it only lasted 2-3 minutes. When testing I did notice during a flight from Senaki to Tblisi once leveled I was almost even +/- 1%, when I told them to RTB and land at Tblisi they were 6-7% lower than I was even though it was even though it was a 100% straight flight without any direction turns greater than a couple % to fix heading and no altitude changing, pure 10,000 ft flight heading 98 degrees all the way there. So AI does seem to burn a tad bit more but maybe it could be down to throttle usage. I kinda used mine after trimming to get the sweet spot since rudder trimming doesn't get you perfect but a bit of throttle can make slightest of adjustments which gets you hands off.


Edited by Kazius
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  • 7 months later...

I have just flown mission no. 5 (the long one) and there was a serious problem with fuel. Near Evreux, all my wingmen reported bingo fuel, so I have to send them RTB. There were only two short attacks on ground targets recently and the rest of the time I ordered them to fly in a finger four formation.

So why they burnt so much fuel?

 

The second flight (Enfield 2) do not have the fuel problem so soon. But before Argentan I noticed fuel shortage too, so I have to ask for vector to Saint Croix base and return ASAP too.

 

How can I manage my fuel and fuel of my wingmen better?

 

NOTE 1: To avoid the danger of overcooling my engine I flew 2850 RPM and +7 PSI boost but the temperature of the water was still very low (just above 60°C). Hmm it seems to me that the absence of the thermostat simulation is the culprit that leads to the higher fuel consumption rate because we cannot fly, e.g. 2650 RP and +4 boost with much lesser fuel consumption...

 

NOTE 2: I am playing the campaign with the newly updated Normandy map (DCS open beta).


Edited by tapi

Smoke me a kipper I'll be back for breakfast! (Ken Gatward before his solo Beaufighter mission 1943)See vid here

HW: i7-12700K, 32 GB RAM, MB PRO Z690-A DDR4 , GTX 3080, LCD UltraWQHD (3440x1440) G-SYNC 120Hz,Tobii Eye Tracker 5, VKB Gunfighter III (KG12 WWII), MFG Crosswind, AuthentiKit Throttle & Trims, Windows 11 64-bit

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Not played with the Spit but this just sounds like DCS in general. I've been playing the M2000 Red Flag campaign and I've seen my wingmen reporting low fuel while I've only recently ditched my external tanks. A number of times I've watched them all drop out of the sky long before the missions over. AI wingmen just seem to burn fuel far too quickly.

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Well, just tried no.5 mission again and now with slightly better result. I flew 2400-2500 RPM and 4-7 boost and tried to fly smoothly and with only minimum commands concerning AI formation. We did two ground attacks with one pass each only. The first "bingo fuel" from AI came in a cca half of the pre-planned way and so I asked ATC for direct vector home a we all RTB. No wingmen lost.

 

EDIT: While in the mission, once happened my engine started to cough and I noticed that water temp is only 55°C. I immediatelly add throttle and RPM for about 30s and water temp rose above 60°C and engine started to run smoothly again... IMHO this confirms my suspicion that DCS Spit cannot fly for a long time under 2650 RPM and +7 boost without overcooling...


Edited by tapi

Smoke me a kipper I'll be back for breakfast! (Ken Gatward before his solo Beaufighter mission 1943)See vid here

HW: i7-12700K, 32 GB RAM, MB PRO Z690-A DDR4 , GTX 3080, LCD UltraWQHD (3440x1440) G-SYNC 120Hz,Tobii Eye Tracker 5, VKB Gunfighter III (KG12 WWII), MFG Crosswind, AuthentiKit Throttle & Trims, Windows 11 64-bit

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OK, I tried no.5 mission again (for the third time) and this time I flew 2300 RPM and 0 boost almost all the way. And to my surprise there was no NO SINGLE SIGN OF ENGINE OVERCOOLING though most of the time my water temp was 50-55°C.

We did two one pass strafing attacks (with RPM 2650 and +8 boost). Until the end of the mission no AI reported bingo fuel. All of us completed full mission route!

Duration of mission was 1:05 hour and in my lower fuel tank remained cca 30 gal.

Note: most of the time we flew at 3000 ft climbing only shortly at the beginning to 5000 ft to cross the front and the same on the return at the end of the mission.

 

So I have to correct my conclusions from the previous post: It is possible to fly with with low rpm and low boost for a long time to save fuel without the engine starts to be too much overcool. The key for long range missions is probably not to climb high and do not involve in a long combat (either air combat or multiple strafing attacks) so not to let AI burn too much fuel.


Edited by tapi

Smoke me a kipper I'll be back for breakfast! (Ken Gatward before his solo Beaufighter mission 1943)See vid here

HW: i7-12700K, 32 GB RAM, MB PRO Z690-A DDR4 , GTX 3080, LCD UltraWQHD (3440x1440) G-SYNC 120Hz,Tobii Eye Tracker 5, VKB Gunfighter III (KG12 WWII), MFG Crosswind, AuthentiKit Throttle & Trims, Windows 11 64-bit

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