Radiator Question

[btasm]

Although I've played Il-2 for a bit, I've never actually assigned a joystock control to the radiator, because quite frankly, I don't know what impact it has. Maybe I should, but I haven't.

Now, seems to me that with 4.11.1, aircraft overheat with frequency and, I suppose, employing the radiator might, by goodness, be useful. So I have assigned a slider to it. Just can't figure out where to take it from there. So, some questions:

1. Does using the radiator, in fact, help prevent overheating?

2. Does using the radiator (assuming it helps cooling) have a negative impact on performance and, if so, how much?

3. I assume that by "opening up" the radiator, the higher percentage it's open, the greater the cooling effect, correct?

Any insight on this would be great.

PS: I've got a limited number of sliders, etc. on the joystick so assigning one to the radiator means removing another, so I'm trying to assess the pros and cons. It does not appear that you can operate the radiator with keystrokes.

Thanks.