Level stabilizer "fix" in the next patch? (To luthier)

[Riksen]

Hi luthier...
Well i know u probably get PM all the time and there are several of them for u to read still (just guessing), but are u guys going to fix the level stabilizer on the He-111 any time soon? I mean, i see patch after patch coming out, which is great, but none of them contain a fix to the level stabilizer. I just love flying bombers and this is pretty much the sole reason i like il-2, but the lack of a level stabilizer just makes impossible to level bomb in the COD.
So if im not asking too much, could u guys fix that in the next patch or tell me when that is going to be fixed??

Thxs

[Blackdog_kt]

There is already a level autopilot. Set the gyro compass to the magnetic compass heading, then align the desired heading on the gyrocompass with the actual one so that the plane doesn't drift off course when you engage the autopilot. Finally, switch on the autopilot in course mode. It takes a few seconds for the gyroscopic system to stabilize, but it does fly level after that and you can also command it to make small turns and corrections by changing your desired heading in the gyro-compass.

Known issues:
1) The gyro-compass doesn't work in the Ju88, so you can't use this method. It's a known bug and we are waiting for a fix in a patch. It works fine in the 111 and in the 110.
2) It seems that even if you align the actual and intended headings, it still takes some turns to stabilize. When it does, it seems like it's off by some 5-10 degrees. I don't know if this is a bug or a realistic limitation of the gyroscopic autopilot system.

For the blenheim and br.20 it's harder because they don't have an autopilot. However, they also don't have a sensitive gyro-bombsight. If you trim them well you can fly them from the bomber's seat manually and drop bombs that way.

I hope this helps. I think the current system is more realistic (if a bit buggy at present) but having the level stabilizer for lower difficulty settings would be good too.

[PissyChrissy]

Originally Posted by Blackdog_kt

There is already a level autopilot. Set the gyro compass to the magnetic compass heading, then align the desired heading on the gyrocompass with the actual one so that the plane doesn't drift off course when you engage the autopilot. Finally, switch on the autopilot in course mode. It takes a few seconds for the gyroscopic system to stabilize, but it does fly level after that and you can also command it to make small turns and corrections by changing your desired heading in the gyro-compass.

I've been attempting to do this with the HE-111, but the wobbling back and forth in course mode goes on infinitely for me

I align the gyro compass with mag compass, then align the desired course with the gyro, engage course mode, and the plane banks left, turns 5 or 10 degrees, then turns back towards the desired course, passes it, goes 5 or 10 degrees beyond the desired course, the turns back to the left again, over and over, and never settles - constantly passing the desired course by 5-10 degrees....

I even tried turning up the the time compression and watching it for what was probably the equivalent of 5 minutes and it never settled on a course.

Any thoughts?

[Blackdog_kt]

This is because it's somewhat off as described above. Compounded with the 111's slower control response it might end up over-shooting the heading it tries to achieve, which initiates another turn that overshoots again and so on.

It could also be a case of the gyroscopes needing some time to align.

However, it works fine in the 110 even if the desired heading is still a bit off. I've found out that i can set it reasonably well and have it stay level upon engaging the autopilot, because i got used to the amount of offset as it's displayed on the instrument (i let it settle a few times on different headings as a test and i found out it's always off by approximately the same amount of degrees).

Since the desired heading compass card is off, you will need to input a "wrong" desired heading, altered by the same amount of degrees that the system is inaccurate, to compensate for the error and keep the plane from drifting. As an example, let's say you are flying due north and you want to engage the autopilot, it should look something like this:

---330---N---30--- (actual heading)
-----330---N---30--- (desired heading with corrective offset incorporated)

It's about 5-7 degrees offset, but if you set it like this it's almost dead on and takes no time to stabilize (in the 110 at least). From that point on, you ignore the read-out of the desired heading compass card and fly by the actual heading, commanding turns by altering desired heading by the amount of degrees you want to turn (it's like steering the plane with a console/joypad controller from that point on). The read-outs might be different but the differences between headings are the same, so if i want to turn 10 degrees left based on the directional gyro/actual heading, i can simply reduce the desired heading by 10 degrees and it will correctly turn to where i want it.


Hope it helps.

[PissyChrissy]

the infinite wobble being attributed to slow control response in the HE-111 may be a good guess. I haven't tried it in the 110 yet.

I'm going to try aligning my gyro to my mag compass while on the ground, leave it for a few minutes before taking off, then see what happens..... just in case it's an alignment/calibration issue caused by the plane being in motion (to date I've only tried using this system in missions that begin in the air).

[Redroach]

Originally Posted by Blackdog_kt

Since the desired heading compass card is off, you will need to input a "wrong" desired heading, altered by the same amount of degrees that the system is inaccurate, to compensate for the error and keep the plane from drifting. As an example, let's say you are flying due north and you want to engage the autopilot, it should look something like this:

---330---N---30--- (actual heading)
-----330---N---30--- (desired heading with corrective offset incorporated)

isn't it something like ~10deg x cos(alpha), with alpha being the angular offset from an east-west orientation (for example west being 0 and east being pi, have I got it the right way?)(*). The "about 10deg" are taken from a post by luthier, regarding compass offset.

Just playing around with my very shaky rememberances on considerations regarding the magnetic poles from school...

(*) alternatively, probably better/more intuitive: 10deg x sin(beta), beta being angular offset from a north-south orientation...

[Fusek]

i think it would benice to have a 'level stabilisor' command when you are in the bombadiers position.More like the bombadier asking the pilot to keep the plane in this alt and heading.

[Redroach]

that's what blackdog is trying to tell you...

But what I ask myself, because my wisdom in WWII bomber systems is limited, is, whether the "level stabilizer" or that limited autopilot is the one which is more historically accurate. If it's the latter, maybe the level stabilizer is missing for a good reason, isn't it?

[JG53Frankyboy]

yep, but this is STILL a PC simulation/game.

In Mulitplayer it might work when you have two humans players in one bomber. But will you have this always ??

[Saintblu]

If you can select infinite ammo surely we can have the horizontal stabilizor back eh? It needs to be back in the game especially on multi player. If we impliment the current procedure it will just be ruined from flak or heavy cannon shot.