Released: Multi-Throttle Support for IL-2

[MikkOwl]

This is obviously not just about throttles, it has grown to feature a myriad of functions.

VERSION 4.0 FEATURES:

- G940 button LED support! Let there be (red, yellow and green) light.
- Any controller axis assigned to control any engine, with the same accuracy as default IL-2 (0% - 120%).
- Dual Prop pitch support.
- Trim tweaking - can limit the range of trim (all IL-2 planes have the same universal, very large trim range, which is mostly not needed, with the exception of elevator trim) and off-set the center of the trim from center (most planes mostly ever use the rudder trim range in one direction from center, leaving the other half of our trim controllers wasted, meaning more touchy overly sensitive trimming)
- Enable toe brakes to function on rudder pedals that have them. With differential braking.
- Start/stop and feather buttons for each seperate engine.
- 'reversal bug' removal from throttle and trims of G940.
- Works online (some people were concerned - only the instrument reading part of device link does not work in multi-player)
- Works with TrackIR 5 (some people were concerned)
- 100% Mod compitable.
- (Radiator on axis support.. though only for the persistant)
- Graphical user interface SETUP program (normally no one would care, but compared to what was before, that is a really huge step forward )

You can ignore any virus/malware warnings - false alarm. It comes bundled with "Netcat", nc.exe, an old and proven network utility, that has by some evil people been used as a trojan (if using it in a certain way). Because of that and that it can open network ports I suppose some anti-programs can react to it. Netcat is necessary to establish the link to IL-2's "device link", even though it is just inside the computer. You can read about netcat on wikipedia: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Netcat

Download link to version 4.0:
http://hem.bredband.net/mikko.artist...by_MikkOwl.zip

FREE SOFTWARE: If you found my work to be of good use to you and that it enhances your enjoyment with IL-2 and the hardware you bought, consider donating what you think it is worth to you through PayPal, adressed to "mikko.artist@bredband.net". I share my work freely with everyone, but I too need to make a living. I worked very hard and put a lot of time into this software, going far out of my way writing the code, the documentation, endless hours of testing features that never work right until several dozen adjustments are made).

[335th_GRSwaty]

I beleive this is a must for bomber pilots!

I put approximately 30 hours into this work

and I think you did great!

[Qpassa]

Thanks

[335th_GRSwaty]

I have set up a mirror here.

[MikkOwl]

Now that we have proper control over our multi-engined planes, how can we make use of it? Since it has not been around before and no one seems to know much about how one can make use of it, here are some examples of what you can do in a twin-engined (as well as four engined in some cases):

1. When on the ground, you can steer the plane with your engines instead of rudder and wheel brakes. More fun than you would think, and not easy.

2. If an engine radiator is damaged, or has a coolant leak, throttle it down compared to the healthy engine to avoiding it over heating and breaking down. Compensate the yawing in that engine's direction with opposite rudder trim.

3. You can help your turns in the air a bit by reducing power on the engine on that side of the turn, allowing this engine to cool a bit and saving a bit of fuel.

4. If your stabilizer control surface (i.e. rudder) is damaged, or even shot off completely along with the stabilizer, you can use the engines to yaw the plane.

5. Similarly, if the ailerons go on one side or both, you can roll the plane with the engines as well. Airplanes stay airborne because the airflow over the wings provide lift. If one wing has less airflow than the other (such as when one engine is giving less power than the other), that wing will provide less lift than the other wing. Since lift is a force upwards, and the wings then no longer privide identical push upwards, the wing with less airflow over it will start to drop and the other rise - and you are rolling your plane.

6. Even if you lose ailerons, rudder and elevator control, you can control altitude, roll and yaw by only using your two engines. Your total airspeed then determines if you climb, stay level or descend. Any difference in engine power on either side makes the airplane both yaw and roll towards the lower powered engine, letting you make turns. Actually managing a landing under these circumstances is no doubt very difficult, but making it to your own lines for a ditching or even a bail out should be possible - and satisfying. And to think of the satisfaction of ditching on your airfield, or even managing a landing! It has been done several times in real life in much larger planes. Once by a cargo plane in the US Air Force in Iraq around the year 2005, which was taking off. This plane managed to go around and land again despite having only the engines to steer with. There are other famous accounts of the pilots in passenger/cargo planes doing the same.

7. Getting out of a spin/flatspin/stall:
The plane is skidding wildly in one direction. Normal recovery is stick forward, opposite rudder and throttle down. With a multi engine, it should be possible to let the engine on the inner side of the skid keep going, as it then provides asymmetrical thrust in the opposite direction of the skid, helping the rudder to stop the skidding/rotation. I do not know if this actually works or not, but in theory it sounds proper.

8. At the top of a zoom (sharp climb) where you start to go so slow that the control surfaces barely work, like when performing a 'hammer head' maneuver - or otherwise trying to do sudden sharp skids to the side on top of a zoom below effective airspeed for control surfaces to work - reducing throttle on one engine should make you yaw in that direction, providing more yaw authority than would otherwise be possible. Maybe even more than a pursuing single engined plane might have, despite our plane weighing more and being slower.

[Perrenegger]

Thanks so mutch!!!...

i was looking for something like this for a long time...

I love flying the p38 Lightning, and now would be posible to fly it with his proper facultys as a twin engine fighter...

THANKSSS!!!...

[MikkOwl]

Good news: I'm discontinuing the development of this version using keys to send - I figured out how to use 'devicelink' as interface instead, sending direct axis commands into the game instead of having to use keybinds (end result should be just like having several throttles and prop pitch in game).

And also, I figured out how to control my LED lights on the G940 through the program. I can absolutely already change them when we click buttons and stuff like that, but I am trying to figure out how to get information from IL-2 (through devicelink) into my autohotkey programs, interpret it, and then send the appropriate color change to the buttons. That would be aaaaawesome.

[JG301_HaJa]

Bloody great work there mate

It's people like you that give us poor sods a great time.
Keep it up

[Qpassa]

Thanks dude, you 're our last hope

[Artist]

Hi MikkOwl,

Originally Posted by MikkOwl

... I figured out how to use 'devicelink' as interface instead, sending direct axis commands into the game instead of having to use keybinds

The great thing about your earlier approach was that it works both in offline and online mode. As far as I know, devicelink is *not* fully available in online mode... I now for sure that devicelink does not reveal any information in online mode, but it may accept input in online mode, at least i read somewhere that it does...

Regards,
oj123.