IL2 Birds of Prey: Hints, Tips, and FAQ's Thread
 

Since many people are having some problems with their plane or just want a few tips on how to fly, I figure everyone can post questions and answers here so that future forum members/readers or IL2 gamers can learn everything they want to know and ask some questions if they have any.

Here are some FAQ's from players of BoP:

1) Why does my plane go into a spin/stall everytime I try to turn?

If you are having problems keeping your plane from whirlybirding into the ground, I and most people here would reccomend turning down the elevator sensativity down a couple of knotches or buying yourself a flight stick and get into the true flying experience.
Also, keep in mind that in real life, a pilot can't pull the stick all the way back and when pulling tight turns, you LOSE airspeed resulting in a stall/spin.

2) Why does seem that my engine dies for no reason?

If your engine dies on you while your flying, you may have suffered some hits earlier that you didn't notice. You can overheat your engine by using too much WEP(War Emergancy Power) which you should only use when neccesary and not for extended periods of time.

3) Why do some of the planes not have a cockpit view?

When development of Birds of Prey first started, it was never originally planned to have 40+ planes for the player to use. It was only planned to have only 12 flyable planes for the player to use, while the rest was for the A.I. You can expect to see cockpits in future DLC's.

4) How do I use Trim?

Trim is what keeps the aircraft stable without so much use of the joystick. Trim can be set by pressing A on the gamepad. There will be no indication that trim is set when you use it. You can only feel it. When you set the trim, it will lock the plane's current roll and pitch and keep it that way. If your planes tends to roll in one direction after leveling it out and setting the trim, try applying the rudder in the opposite direction of the roll. The roll is caused by the torque of the engine, which make the plane tend to want to turn with the propellers.

Anyone wanting to read more about Birds of Prey, you can visit the website http://www.il2game.com/

Tip: You don't need to complete all of the training missions to access realistic and simulation difficulties in the demo, just the last one.


How the Trim Button Works:

Move the sticks to where they need to be to keep the plane level, then press A. For example, to cancel out the torque effects of the engine press the rudder stick slightly to the right until it stops the plane rolling and press A. The game will keep the rudder in that position even after you release the stick. Same with elevator. Most planes of that era didn't have aileron trim.

Here's a simple but neat thing I found, you can cycle through views of all of the planes in the air after you crash by pressing the LB and RB buttons. I've crashed a lot so I know!

When attacking bombers don't fly straight and level behind one for more than a few moments or you'll have your engine shot full of holes.

That's neat. I never noticed that.

Incase anyone missed it, I found a glitch to where if you bail out, pause, go to options, hit apply, then resume, the camera will no longer zoom out and will return to it's position before you bailed and you can watch your plane crash from close up and have the pilot survive.:)

I have a small question, in the Tiger Hunt mission the FW190 seem a bit faster then P-51, what am i doin wrong?

Got another thing to say.
I'm always dogfighting in the Tiger Hunt mission.
WHY do i keep losing speed after a while of playing?
I didnt use WEP at all, might have had a minor hit but no Damage acoording to the indicator.
So why do i keep losing speed until my Engine just stops?
Is this another bug or thing just in the demo?

Probably engine damage, you may have only taken 1 hit which won't make the indicator change enough to notice.

I wish it would post engine damage in the scroll on the right side of the screen where it says your flap and gear status.

Like:
Engine: Damaged
Engine: Overheat!
Engine: Dead
Engine: Inoperable

No dont think my engine ALWAYS get hit, to me now it is 1 small hit no sight of damage = dead within 5 mins.

Edit: I just have to complain for a sec, I hate trim so much...
Excuse me!