Polikarpov I-16 Stalling?

[fuzzychickens]

Everyone, just do this.

1. Go into training, pick the I-16 and set altitude at a few thousand feet.
2. ONce in air, push your stick foward and hold it there (doing an outside loop).
3. Notice your engine will die - the carburator can't supply fuel to the engine under negative G.

Which brings up another point, there is no way to restart the engine like you could on the PC.

Using WEP will kill any engine - but this is not why most of you experience the stalled engine in the I-16, it's negative-Gs, you have to minimize this.

This points out Oleg and crew's dedication to realism in the original PC game - the kind of interesting things you learned from that game you would never know from playing other so called flight sims.

[Soviet Ace]

Originally Posted by fuzzychickens

Everyone, just do this.

1. Go into training, pick the I-16 and set altitude at a few thousand feet.
2. ONce in air, push your stick foward and hold it there (doing an outside loop).
3. Notice your engine will die - the carburator can't supply fuel to the engine under negative G.

Which brings up another point, there is no way to restart the engine like you could on the PC.

Using WEP will kill any engine - but this is not why most of you experience the stalled engine in the I-16, it's negative-Gs, you have to minimize this.

This points out Oleg and crew's dedication to realism in the original PC game - the kind of interesting things you learned from that game you would never know from playing other so called flight sims.

Someone's been taking an interest in Soviet planes

[Raw Kryptonite]

I could swear opening and cutting the throttle tried to restart the engine. I would start to run, but the prop didn't turn.

[Voyager]

The I-16 doesn't have an onboard starter, so you can't restart it mid air. Other float carb aircraft such as the very early Spitefires should be restartable, but may take several tries, if it is modelled the way it was back in the PC game. This gets into a roiling debate about whether or not aircraft engines should be air-startable at all. (Us PC gamers are a bit nuts, you see.)

As for the I-16's handling characteristics, my understanding was that the I-16 line had its center of gravity (CoG) uncomfortably close to its Center of Lift (CoL). When the CoG is forward of the CoL, you're plane will nose down when it stalls, which should naturally get you out of it, but if the CoG is close to the CoL, you will generally stay in about the same attitude, which tends to put you in a flat spin. Flat spins are bend over and kiss your backside good-bye, because you're in for a world of hurt.

Some other aircraft with this habit include the P-39D models (The N's and Q's tended to have their armour stripped out which helped fix the CoG problems), and the P-51D with the upper fuselage fuel tank full. (Was Maddox able to model multi-tank fuel systems for this game?)

Have fun!

Harry Voyager

[havard01]

I can remember this happening on the PC versions of Sturmovik too, it's good if they have carried it over to BOP.

I'll just have to handle the I-16 with a bit more care! (Easier said then done with just a joypad at the moment though.)

[M3-SRT8]

I've never played any version of iL-2, but, I'm guessing the I-16 is unstable around all three axis. Probably very easy to spin.

LJB

[Soviet Ace]

Originally Posted by M3-SRT8

I've never played any version of iL-2, but, I'm guessing the I-16 is unstable around all three axis. Probably very easy to spin.

LJB

Actually, under the right circumstances the I-16 was a good fighter. But the problems with it, were forward viewing, take-off, engine problems, and landing. Most of the pilots that flew the I-16, were killed while either taking off or landing.