Blenheim operating limits and checklists

[JG53Frankyboy]

actually, the Blenheims CEM is of that kind i wish EVERY developer would have to fly it for ,lets say, 10 missions (with a groundstart and at least one change from fine to coarse pitch every mission ) and for every mission he blews his engines he would get 10% less salary in that month !

perhaps that would let them think again......................

With this being the only british bombcarrier - i dont see good things for any comming online "war" with the BoB scenario .

The whole radial's CEM have to be looked in again IMHO.

[Redroach]

okay, so what the freeek am I doing wrong? I can't seem to be able to load bombs (or get them to drop) on this thing -.-
After getting familiar with that diva, spending a few hours to get that big old gasket-blowing thing in the air and fly comfortably, I thought "hay, now let's bomb something". Not. I've done a.. well.. standard load-out in the options/plane menu with red tracers and 4x250lbs bombs (it's over max. takeoff limit then). So I tried, and tried, several times, then scoured the forums and found out that the loadouts are STILL not working in stock quick missions (I did the cross-country one).
Okay, next step: FMB. I set up a quick route to bomb the Boulogne harbor, set my loadout done earlier in the plane options, and changed fuel loadout to 90% to bring T/O weight down to below the max.
So I flew to Boulogne - I couldn't change fuel loadout in the preflight screens, and everything was greyed out(again) but in the air, I tried my guns, which had red tracers by now. Good sign, but I still couldn't bomb in any way...
Could someone please give me a step-by-step checklist to get (droppable) bombs on that thing? That would be great, while we wait for a fix...again.

Oh, and what about the bombsight? I figure that (after entering ALT and TAS) you've got to get the target into that little ring mounted on the rails, then drop, right?

P.S.: Also, when throttling down to sink before landing, I somehow freeeked my engines.. they didn't rev up properly anymore (when going to fine pitch for landing approach) and delievered no more power, leading to a crash 200m before the landing strip . Whats the proper procedure to prevent this? I think the engines got too cool during descent - maybe I should have re-activated carb heaters...
P.P.S.: Do I have to switch on the autopilot for my tail-turret gunner? Or is that done automatically and he becomes active when bandits are near?

[baronWastelan]

Originally Posted by Redroach

Also, when throttling down to sink before landing, I somehow freeeked my engines.. they didn't rev up properly anymore (when going to fine pitch for landing approach) and delievered no more power, leading to a crash 200m before the landing strip . Whats the proper procedure to prevent this? I think the engines got too cool during descent - maybe I should have re-activated carb heaters...

You are right about the engines getting too cool during descent. My procedure is to close cowling flaps (radiator) and carefully monitor gauges conveniently located behind the pilot and open flaps when temp goes above 200.

[theOden]

Originally Posted by JG53Frankyboy

..
With this being the only british bombcarrier - i dont see good things for any comming online "war" with the BoB scenario .
...

So true.
Spending 5 to 10 minutes RAMP start just to see engine failure right after T/O unless you work exactly along a thin red line of procedures really doesn't make you feel like you just played a combat sim turning off the computer.

[JG53Frankyboy]

Gp to FMB
select any map
select an blenheim
Than selesct the bombloads and save these bombloads as "2x500" and "4x250".
Than these bombloads will apear in the armamentchoices in the singlemissions.

Keep in mind that the shortcutcommand "release bombs" does not work from bombardierposition, only from pilotposition. From bombardierposition you have to click the small yellowbuttons left on the desk with the mouse .....
You need an open bombdoorcommand shortcut. You will not find a lever in the cockpit because the real blenheims doors were springopened by the weight of its bombs....

You have the choice between salvo (all bombs) and single. The bombsfuzes are alwasy armed. Yo not much to set in comparison to german bombers.
Good luck!

[JG53Frankyboy]

And yes , the gunners are shooting with Ai.
I personaly dont bother anymore with shooting manually......
And online delete all tracer rounds from my gunners, nice surprise for human flown interceptors

[Redroach]

ah dummnit... thanks so far, guys! Why didn't I think about the bomb-bay doors? I knew they were bungee-operated in real life, but I've already looked up here and read about the necessity to open b.b.doors.
And thanks for the procedure!
Now if you tell me how exactly the bombsight works, I'll write up my personal take-off procedure

[phoenix1963]

Can't help with the bomb sight I'm afraid.

On another topic, for the first time I took a Blenheim up to 10k ft from parked... it took forever climbing at +2-3 boost and about 400 ft/min. But more seriously, I'm convinced the Blen in CloD has no auto-rich mixture with altitude.

When I got to 10k+, I started getting the shakes - just like the Hurri before it was fixed. Also, as I got higher it was harder and harder to maintain engine power and airspeed.

56RAF_phoenix

[Redroach]

to be honest, I don't think the Blen belongs to that altitude... she starts struggling at 7000 feet for me and won't do anymore without carb heat above that
But if you insist, slap on the heaters and go for auto-lean mixture, that would be my tip... although you're somewhat limited in terms of boost when going lean.

Anyways, I think there's still interest in working startup procedures, so here is what works for me:
-[OPTIONAL]The Autopilot knows how to lock the wheel brake. Hit it for a few seconds and look for the lever on the steering column until its done... the AP will begin startup procedures instantly, so for max. realism, don't do that
-select "Inner" tanks for both tank selectors, located at your 4 o'clock. Above these selectors, there is a 3rd one, which is, I believe, for cross-feeding in case of engine failure. It doesn't hurt (so far) to switch it to 'on'. To get the corresponding tank content displayed, switch the fuel level gauges to 'inner' - on your 8 o'clock high.
-pull back on your stick to be able to see the magneto switches. Activate them all.
-activate carburetor heaters, located on your 8 o'clock low, right beneath the pilot seat. I just switch them on/off rather than having them on a slider, so for me its 0%-100%.
-set mixture to the lower half (pulled towards you) of the quadrant, getting 'auto rich' mixture. See Blackdog's postings in this thread.
-set prop pitch to 'fine' - slider all the way up (!)
-set radiator full open, just as a precautionary measure
-throttle to 5-10%
-start left and right engine individually. You may get some mileage from actuating the primer pump, located to the right of the pilot's seat. For me, it's somewhat ambiguous.
-if you've got both engines running, wait a minute and do something else in between, like calibrating your gyro. The engines are rather precarious in the first minute or so, so don't choke them.
-[OPTIONAL]You may close your radiators in order to get temperatures high faster. However, that's a bit tricky and you shouldn't, under no circumstances, forget to re-open them fully for take off. That WILL kill your engine fast. I just leave them open until at cruising altitude.
-switch off carb heaters to get an extra kick for take-off (with them on, engines run a little bit too 'rich')
-If the engines run solidly, rev them up to 40% (step on the wheelbrake of course) in order to get oil temperatures up to 40deg.
-back to idle/10%, grant the engines a little rest
-rev up to around 70% (so that you can still hold the blen with the brakes) and watch the engines going crazy, revving up and down on their own. Wait until you've got stable rpm on both engines.
-back to idle/10%, again, a little resting...again, a safety measure
-activate the boost cut-out in order to get higher boost for Take-off. This is again somewhat risky as you can blow your gaskets in 30 seconds or less. YMMV.
-step off your brake and throttle up for take off. Go full throttle but don't go into the extra-boost region yet. With no airflow over the engines, this will kill them even faster.
-once going 60-70mph, I normally go into extra boost. Not the full 9lbs, rather around 7-8 and only very briefly, for about 20-30sec. max. as airflow is still somewhat scarce.
-lift off at 80-90mph, raise your gear immediately. Don't pull up immediately, let her build up a little speed, probably for quite a while. Deactivate boost cut-out.
-compensate for rudder mis-trim: for me, it's at least 40 clicks 'left' in order to get her flying somewhat straight.
-Now, it's your decision: I normally go for coarse pitch quite early, in exchange for extra-bad climbing performance until I picked up some speed. However, you may very well be able to stay a bit longer at fine pitch if you monitor engine temps properly.
-switch carb heaters back on. I just feel safer with them.
-my cruise settings: around 6000ft, throttle 50-60% auto-lean mix (switching at around 5k ft), coarse pitch, 180-200mph, engine temps arond 220-230deg (don't exceed 250!), rads 1/4 open, carb heat on, well-trimmed to get a good bombing approach.

[phoenix1963]

Originally Posted by JG53Frankyboy

actually, the Blenheims CEM is of that kind i wish EVERY developer would have to fly it for ,lets say, 10 missions (with a groundstart and at least one change from fine to coarse pitch every mission ) and for every mission he blews his engines he would get 10% less salary in that month !

perhaps that would let them think again..................

Absolutely! I rarely complain here, but this CEM model suggests the devs make changes and then never fully test them with realistic flights.
If it were so easy to overheat engines with the rads open while taxiing the RAF would never have got off the ground as a squadron! Plus the manual instruction (in Klem's pdf) wouldn't say to takeoff with rads closed.
56RAF_phoenix