rudder pedals-how to fly properly?

[David198502]

hey guys!
thx to my girlfriend, now i have ch rudder pedals(thx Katharina)

they arrived two days ago.i installed them without problems and also clod didnt make any trouble when i assigned the axis.
i immediately tried them out.
well the first experience was a mixed one.it took me only a few minutes to get used to use my feet now but i had big problems to give accurate inputs.

pretty soon i got to the conclusion, that the problem is the design of the pedals, where one have to put not only the toes and balls, but also the heels on the pedals all the time because ch put a sort of can on the rear end of the pedals, where the heels are supposed to rest.thats a pretty dumb design in my view, cause as far as i know, in real planes such thing doesnt exist, and also in cars its absent.
this position not only made my steering inaccurate but also put me into a position, where my back pretty soon began to hurt.
so it didnt last more than two hours, until they got modded.
i took saw and cut the superfluous "heelcans" off and then grinded the new rough surface with abresive paper to make it smooth again.
now i can control the rudder with my balls and toes
its now much more precise and besides, i can rest in a comfortable position for hours without having backache.

i really enjoy now to be finally able to keep the slip ball centered.
and this is my acutal question:
should i try to keep the ball centered during the whole flight and fight?
cause before i got pedals, i used the hatswitch on my fighterstick to steer the rudder, and therefore i mostly just ignored the slip ball.
when i went into a turn, first i gave ailerons and when i reached the desired bank, i gave only elevator to proceed my turn.
so in every moment during a turn, i always gave input with only one axis.
i was of the opinion, that this would lead to minimum counterforce with the smallest surface of the plane possible and therefore the plane would maintain higher speed.(hope this is comprehensive)

but now when i make a turn, and try to center the ball, i have to give and maintain inputs on all three axis.
wouldnt that slow the plane down more quickly, than ignoring the center ball and do the turn just with ailerons and then elevators?

[ATAG_Snapper]

Congrats on your new rudder pedals. I've been using the non-Pro CH Pedals for over 10 years now. The two pedals are set much too close to each other, but aside from that they work so well I've never replaced them.

The best thing you can do is practice a LOT making coordinated turns where combat is not an issue. Obviously, you don't want your head buried in a cockpit during a dogfight monitoring your slip 'n yaw gauge. A coordinated turn is the most efficient way to TIGHTEN your turn, plus it ensures your bullets are going in the direction of your travel -- which is what you want when peering through your gunsight.

You can also use your rudder pedals to introduce deliberate yaw. This can throw off an enemy's attack run if you're travelling in a slightly different direction to where your nose is pointing. (Well, in theory, at least. In practice? Relying on this trick in CoD will probably get you DEAD! LOL) .You can sideslip beautifully in CoD if you need to lose altitude quickly without picking up speed -- very handy when landing your aircraft in a combat zone and you can't spend a lot of time on a nice, long, slow landing appoach. Also, your new pedals are invaluable when strafing gound targets in making fine adjustments to your bullets' point of impact as you rapidly approach your target.

You have many reasons now to thank your very lovely girlfriend for such a thoughtful and useful gift!

[David198502]

all i can say so far is, that flying in cod feels waaay more realistic with the pedals.and it makes way more fun.take offs and landings are a real joy, now beeing able to use axis for brakes and rudder.
i also noticed a difference in how i damage spitfires.now that i use rudder at almost every attack, except when im directly at their six, they tend to catch fire more often on the wings.
im not sure if i ever saw it happen before i got the pedals.

now the only downside is, that i dont dare to go online yet, fearing that my virtual pilot with 58 kills will end in the channel because im not too confident with the pedals yet.but i think in a week, ill be ready to take that challenge as well again.

yes my girlfriend was really nice this christmas.under the christmas tree i found the book "spitfire on my tail" and the bill of the pedals.
now im off to be thankful

[ATAG_Dutch]

Originally Posted by David198502

now i can control the rudder with my balls and toes

I know exactly what you mean!

My G940 has similar 'cups' for your heels, but I wouldn't dream of customising them as you have.

It's taken me a while to get used to pedals (only had them since May), but now I couldn't go back.

[ATAG_Snapper]

Your girlfriend sounds like "a keeper". Lucky man!

"Spitfire on my Tail" is an excellent book. It really gives a perspective on a whole way of life that was very, very tough -- right from boyhood.

[EAF331 Starfire]

Originally Posted by David198502

i really enjoy now to be finally able to keep the slip ball centered.
and this is my acutal question:

should i try to keep the ball centered during the whole flight and fight?

but now when i make a turn, and try to center the ball, i have to give and maintain inputs on all three axis.
wouldnt that slow the plane down more quickly, than ignoring the center ball and do the turn just with ailerons and then elevators?

The short answer to your question is YES! You should always keep the ball centered

Benefits of a centered ball will:
- give your a/c a higher airspeed!
- give your a/c a higher accelleration
- give your engine the maximum amount of cooling
- make you lose the least amount of energy during turns and climbs and you want to maximize your energy.

But you have probably already read through the other answers and found out that thing are not that simple and there are times when asymetric flying are beneficial.

If your aircraft have rudder trim you should use that instead.
While I on trim; All WWII aircrafts are designed with an equlibrium. At a certain speed, the aircraft won't need neither trim or correction by pedals.

[David198502]

Originally Posted by ATAG_Dutch

I know exactly what you mean!

My G940 has similar 'cups' for your heels, but I wouldn't dream of customising them as you have.

It's taken me a while to get used to pedals (only had them since May), but now I couldn't go back.

i hesitated as well first, but then thought that it can just get better.it took me about 20 minutes to cut the cups off with a small hacksaw.
the result was pretty convincing....one hardly sees that they were not built that way originally.
and the handling now is much better.i have both my fighterstick and the pedals set to 0% sensitivity and no deadzones, and i now have no problems to give even the smallest inputs that way.
it was really worth the 20minutes effort.


@ snapper:yep she's definitely a keeper!and yes...the book is really interesting.many "facts" i wasnt aware before and written in a way, that one(at least me) cant stop to read further.

[VO101_Tom]

Originally Posted by David198502

hey guys!
thx to my girlfriend, now i have ch rudder pedals(thx Katharina)

...

pretty soon i got to the conclusion, that the problem is the design of the pedals, where one have to put not only the toes and balls, but also the heels on the pedals all the time because ch put a sort of can on the rear end of the pedals, where the heels are supposed to rest.thats a pretty dumb design in my view, cause as far as i know, in real planes such thing doesnt exist, and also in cars its absent.

It depends on the type. When you need a strong push or pedal a long way, you must be heel on the pedal all time (and because of the brake, the pedal must be pressed on upper part). That was all the German type, but for example the P-47 as well: (pedal from 11:20, brake from 20:20)

How to Fly the P-47 Ground Handling, Take-Off, Normal Flight, Landing 1943 Training Film

[SharpeXB]

I have all the CH controls, Fighterstick, Throttle and pedals
they are all extremly good. The pedals have a smooth precise action and a long travel distance which makes them more accurate for small motions. all the stuff is quite solidly made, I feel I could stomp my feet on these pedals for years. A trick I figured with them as most game pedals are light and get pushed around was to put them on a piece of rubber shelf liner, not they stick to the floor and won't slide. The cups never bothered me but yeah I suppose that's not realistic.
I do mostly Rise of Flight and rudder is the important control in some of those planes like the Camel and Dr.I, it's a blast. When I swtiched from a twist stick to pedals I had to learn all over again.

[Bounder!]

Originally Posted by David198502

now i can control the rudder with my balls and toes

Sorry, I know it's childish but I nearly fell off my chair when that mental image flashed through my pathetically immature brain

Anyway, ahum,.. just wanted to thank the OP for the post, was a nice read as whilst I don't own rudder pedals I really do want some. Something that had put me off was reading about the raised footrest design causing problems and it does seem a silly design but you have come up with an ingenious and simple solution, salutes o7