DCS Bf-109 K4 - How to Take Off: By JC

[Asid]

Saturday, July 8, 2017
By: JC
DCS Bf-109 K4 - How to Take Off


Topic for today: taking off in the Bf 109 K-4 Kurfürst. This is from a custom-made scenario played in DCS World Alpha, with the Normandy map. The take offs shown in this post are from the Carpiquet airfield.

In a clear day like this and in a clean configuration, we fly.

The K, as many of the other variants, had a powerful engine (a 1,800-hp DB 605 D), a narrow landing gear plus a small tailfin and rudder. This particular combo may put you virtual pilots in a pickle during take offs. I know it did for me.


According to the DCS manual, you should set up your trim at +1, set flaps to 20 degrees, give it throttle to 1.35 ATA and then -in an understatement of colossal proportions- "proceed with take off".

In some airstrips across Europe, mostly the ones where German allies got acquainted with their new Bf 109s, there was a so-called "Messerschmitt corner" where Bf 109s would be literally driven to by rookie pilots during failed take offs. The corner was beyond the end of the runway, to the left of the direction of the take off.

If you find yourself a dweller of the Messerschmitt corner, you should read this post.

I take off with the Governor Automation Switch in the automatic position. You can set it to manual, but the automatic position is able to deal with the pitch changes during of take off.

That little black switch below the throttle assembly is the Governor Automation. Set to "Auto" (down) right now.

Pitch trim to +1. The pitch trim is set with one of the big wheels on the left.

The other wheel shown above is for the flaps setting. For take offs I set it to 20 degrees, as stated in the manual.



Read on: Click Here

[Lusik]

And then you have to land the thing.  I admit that I had some problems with the first few. Even now, a long after a break,  I would probably have serious problems.

[Frankie]

The details of the interior controls is uber-staggering. Grooves on knobs. Grooves on metal wires. "Bicycle chain"-like chains. Scratches on metal surfaces. Metallic curves. Nuts and bolts. DCS does it again. Almost nothing left for the imagination.