Altimeter full real.

[Bonkin]

Originally Posted by Varrattu

I do not understand. Bokin please try to explain it.

Regards Varrattu

Think I was a bit quick of the mark with that last comment. I don't think I made sense either!

All altimeters are calibrated through the pressure setting... so yes they do have a scale... but I've noted that to adjust them to read zero on the airfield the pressure setting has to be down around the 980mb level and doesn't change much.

If your flying around in real airspace its important that in order to ensure safe vertical navigation the other people around you have their altimeters calibrated the same as you, i.e. they are using the same pressure setting. Generally, around an airfield you would be provided with a QFE pressure setting. Putting this into you altimeter would mean that it would read zero when your on the airfield.

When you leave the airfield airspace you generally change the pressure setting to QNH. This would be given to you over the radio and would mean that your altimeter would read the altitude above mean sea level. As pressure is a variable, QNH pressures differ by regions.

Finally, when flying above what is known as the transition layer the altimeter pressure would be set to 1013mb - and your height is translated as a Flight Level.

Point I was trying (but failed) to make was that there are no pressure settings given over the comms so to me it seems somewhat irrelivant at the moment to start adjusting the altimeter scale.

Thinking it through... there could be some testing done here to deterime at what heights the radar reports bandits are at and then adjusting the sub-scale to see if it using Flight Levels?

[Varrattu]

@Bonkin & @cheesehawk

Thanks for the clarification.

Varrattu

[Bonkin]

Originally Posted by cheesehawk

Radar isn't what actually reports bogies, it's aircraft in the air. If you have an aircraft on your side (player or AI) that gets withing "spotting" range (I haven't quite worked this one out yet), you'll get the contact radio call. For example, you can have German flights cruising around all day over France, but until you get a British aircraft there to "see" them, you won't get any radio calls. Ever notice online that sometimes you get calls of Hurri's or Spits at Hawkinge at 200m (200m from sea level, consistent with ground altitude), and sometimes you won't? You get them when a player is over that area, and "spots" the new aircraft spawning in. Even your own plane makes radar calls, so your pilot is doing this without your input, but I think you don't actually get the call (at least, I've heard people report calls on the same side, and I don't receive them at all and the contacts are in my grid area, but maybe there's a radio range too?).

Are you sure about this Cheesehawk? Does it apply to AI also? Historically of course we had radar and the Royal Observer Corps. The latter dotted around the coast would attempt to confirm e/a type, numbers and height as raids came in. Seems a bit odd (in the game) that in order to get a radio report of enemy location they have to be spotted (or in the same area) as one of your own aircraft (or AI?) in the air?

Originally Posted by cheesehawk

But back to the topic, did smaller fields update the barometric pressures back then? I think air traffic control was a bit more primitive, and especially during war time, wonder if they really did keep someone on the mic announcing pressures as planes came in

I don't know the answer to this - but again, for safe vertical navigation for aircraft in the circuit I suspect they did. The control towers were there for that very reason - control. In the real world when joining an airfield control area you are given the QFE, runway in use and wind. I don't imagine it was any different back then.

[322Sqn_Dusty]

The best guess we (of the virtual 322) could make about the altimeter is (currently) that the altimeter would be setup above sea. Sealevel plus approx 100ft. Sadly setting up the altimeter could be the cause of some crews to crash doing it.

[Varrattu]

For every flight / take off the REICHSWETTERDIENST prepared a weather forecast for start location and destination. Also included was the QFE for departure aerodrome and destination aerodrome. For this they used the form --Vordruck RWD F2--.

Source: Der Flugbetrieb der Luftwaffe, L.Dv.5/1

http://i-filez.com/downloads/i/19160...ffe_3.rar.html

Regards Varrattu

[322Sqn_Dusty]

Interesting test.

[Bonkin]

Originally Posted by cheesehawk

I have made extensive tests on this, and yes, I cannot get radar to report anything at all. I've tried adding AI Actor airports, AA, power on, everything I can think of, including adding radio towers/trucks, etc. If there are no other friendlies in the air, I cannot receive a report. I can get radio messages telling me to join the pattern if I put airport towers up, so its not that there are no messages, just cannot figure out how to make radar ones work.

On the other hand, even removing all radar objects (except the map default ones), I can receive reports when 2 flights of aircraft get within visual range of each other. Even testing from the German side, where there are no map default radars, I can get contact reports as long as German aircraft (AI or Player) get within range of enemy a/c.

I've tried at least 20 times, adding up to 50 radar stations of all types onto the map, and consistently these are the results I get. However, I could still be doing something wrong, (maybe a script or trigger set?), so it might be possible in game to get radar, but neither I nor anyone else I've asked can figure out the method.

Originally Posted by IvanK

You can determine the exact elevation in metres using FMB. Place an object on the ground then read the Z co ordinate in the bottom left corner. Using this you can determine each airfields elevation. If you park your aircraft on the ground and set your altimeter to the exact known altitude you then automatically have the correct atmospheric pressure (QNH) for the map.

Here are all the UK airfield elevations obtained from QMB and verified in game. I will compile the whole lot into a single PDF once all the data is in. Apologies to the French if the spelling is a bit off

Guys (Cheesehawk and IvanK), thanks for the explanation and effort that you've put into this.

When the dynamic weather is fully integrated I'm looking forward to seeing where it takes us. I like to fly full real and am hoping that we'll have to take account of pressure settings for navigation and finding the enemy. I also imagine that knowing the height of an aerodrome above sea level might be useful for high level bombing - but currently that's a whole part of the game I've yet to look into.

[Osprey]

No Gravesend in the list?

Still, I understand it's too risky to bomb, what with No.501 County of Gloucester being stationed there

[IvanK]

Here you go in attached zip a PDF Gravesend included. Revised Formating as well.

It would also seem that the QNH varies with the time of day. Thats what I am seeing on the ATAG server anyway.

[VBF-12_Gosling]

Chaps

I have gone a bit further with my Enroute Supplement. 616Sqn now has a Flight Planning Office:
616Sqn Flight Planning Office

There is a fair amount of useful information in the website as well.

Its still not quiet fininshed and there are a few more runways to enter etc...

The lower charts are clickable for printing too.

Gosling
Lt RNVR
616Sqn