Daidalos Team's Room -QUESTIONS AND REQUESTS ONLY - For 4.11

[Pursuivant]

Originally Posted by SaQSoN

So, I repeat again: gear drop can be caused ONLY by lock damage.

I think you're generally right, but I also think that there are causes other than damage which might make the lock fail, or fail to engage in the first place. A combination of wear, vibration and/or poor maintenance could set up a situation where lock barely holds the gear in place, so that it drops when the hydraulics are hit.

The paradox, though, is that there is gun camera footage which shows both landing gears dropping in a pattern consistent with loss of hydraulic fluid. Otherwise, it would have to be a very lucky hit indeed to take out all the locks on both gears at once!

Others have pointed out that cockpit or electrical system damage could cause gears to come down. Also, as you point out it's possible that pilot error (hitting the wrong button) could also cause the gears to deploy.

Originally Posted by SaQSoN

PS Hydraulic fluid doesn't burn. The fire was probably from small fuel tanks, located on the front edge of Hurri wing. There is nothing in the video, that may hint, what caused the gear to extend.

In the case of the Hurricane, I think that you might be right, assuming the Hurricane was relatively low on fuel so that the other fuel cells didn't catch fire.

But, hydraulic fluid can burn if you use the right liquid! For example, during the Cold War some Soviet planes used alcohol as hydraulic fluid (doesn't freeze as easily at high altitudes). As a result, they had a problem with readiness as ground crews were prone to siphon off hydraulic fluid for illicit, unintended, purposes.

Anyhow, I think we're both in agreement that, regardless of origins, it would be nice if landing gear drop and hydraulic/pneumatic system failures were modeled in the game.