Speed control

"How To" by our Pilot Staff
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JaBog32_Dirty
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Speed control

Post by JaBog32_Dirty » Tue May 17, 2005 9:08 am

Hi,:D

Just a simple question. How do you control speed? Constant Powersetting or constant IAS. I read that you guys use padlock on lead. Do you do power changes by feel (muscle menory) or do you use the N1 indicator? You can't see N1 when in padlock, so do you have a button assigned to get a glimpse of the N1 gauge?

Thanks,...

Dirty :mrgreen:
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It's not the speed that kills you... it's the sudden stop!
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Lawndart
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Post by Lawndart » Tue May 17, 2005 11:59 am

Read your resume and looked at the screenshots (both the ones you posted here and on your website)! :wink: Looks very promising! ...the time difference might be the downfall for you flying with us and your right about irregular schedules working for an airline. We still manage to fly (about half of us on the team most practices) roughly 10-15 hours a week, but it takes some serious dedication! You're welcome to tryout however...

As far as the speed control, lead uses a constant power setting (rpm), but also makes power ups and power backs as necessary, normally in 5% increments. We normally fly with the power set at 85% or 90% which transfers easily to muscle memory on the throttle both as lead and wingman. While in formation (and padlocked) we don't ever switch views or look down to check power setting. There's no need to! You'll know where lead has his power and then you can jockey around your throttle as much as necessary to stay with him (many maneuvers require different throttle inputs for each pilot). So, to sum up... lead always knows, either by muscle memory or glancing down on the tach where the power is set to and the wingmen listens for the power up or power back calls and then uses muscle memory and their own technique to maintain formation and move their throttle.

There are really only a few times when you'd want to look away from padlock with Numpad 0 to glance down. Checking flap setting, speedbrakes indicator light or checking whether the smoke is on using the F4 view. Other than that, you could fly a full show and never take your eyes off lead the whole time. Numbers are irrelevant while maintaining formation. Different settings and speeds do change the characteristics of the plane, but all you need to worry about as a wingman is to grin and bite your upper lip :mrgreen: and just stay in your spot, no matter what!

As far as your question about our mod being compatible to the lomacleague-mod? I have no idea! Why would you need it to be compatible? You can just uninstall our mod after using it...

LawnDart
Stryker
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Post by Stryker » Fri Aug 04, 2006 8:03 am

Found this thread after a search but it doesn't answer my question so here goes. You do say that for the most part Boss will fly at a constant power setting. Other then transitioning to landing or from a point after take off, when does Boss need to power up or down by those 5% increments u mention? Is it often? Power changes make formation more challenging...I would think you would want to keep them to a minimum. Thanks!!
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Lawndart
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Post by Lawndart » Fri Aug 04, 2006 3:02 pm

Wow! Makes it hard to answer a thread that's over 15 months :!: old and 15 month old procedures on top of that. We've come a long way since then... Boss changes power as he needs to, typically now you'll hear: "Power up, power up, little power up". The cadence determines the amount of change, but generally it isn't more than 1.2%-3.8% (you get the idea). Now, for certain maneuvers, we do power up from 88%-ish to 95% with a cadence of: "Power up, power up, power rrrriiiiiiiigggght ooooooooooooooooonnnn uuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuup". Bottom line, Boss does what he needs and we as wingmen hang tight. Having said that, if Boss uses induced drag, whiffers and plays the airspeed vs. altitude game well, then typically a power change if even needed will be around 2-3%, that's it.

LD
Stryker
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Post by Stryker » Thu Aug 17, 2006 4:04 pm

Thanks for updating a reply on the speed change question LD. Hope we can get within those same parameters in the near future.
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