4.12 development update discussion and feedback

[Treetop64]

Originally Posted by Spinnetti

looks great! - I know I've irritated people on the mod sites with this, but the FW had an all electric landing gear (one of, if not the first) - unless the motor got hit it wouldn't flop open like hydro systems do with pressure loss... few seem to want to model this correctly

Not only damage to the motors, but damage to the uplocks and any of the joints could cause them to drop as well. Just because the gear actuation was electric doesn't mean they were impervious to damage. Electrical systems are beneficial because they save weight and complexity, not because they are indestructible.

[Spudkopf]

To me the footage is quite inconclusive in regards to determining if the gear dropping is due to damage or as a deliberate act by the pilot (like a sign of surrender), the fact that the pilot does not seem to take any evasive action at all just raises far too many questions as to the true circumstances of whats actually happening here. Further you can only see the starboard wing at the moment the gear begins to drop so it is also unclear what is happening on the port wing.

I'm not in any way disputing the possibility or non-possibility of a gear failure drop and do not have an opinion either way, but I do have to question the validity of the video evidence presented.

[ElAurens]

Originally Posted by Spudkopf

a deliberate act by the pilot (like a sign of surrender),

Um, that was not a clip from a video game. It's war, no real combat pilot would take the gear comming down to have any meaning other than system failure due to damage.

[EJGr.Ost_Caspar]

I've once seen a different vid, showing a hit Fw190 extending its one gear. Dunno where to find though.

[Spudkopf]

Originally Posted by ElAurens

Um, that was not a clip from a video game. It's war, no real combat pilot would take the gear comming down to have any meaning other than system failure due to damage.

No need to treat me like I'm some three year old Hollywood inspired moron........I'll admit the surrender thing is probably fantasy and a wrong call, but there are numerous documented accounts of the dropping of gear including by mistake.

That aside my point is that as evidence, this clip on its own is next to useless without some knowledge as to the circumstances in which it was taken so unless there is an after action report or other data available or unless you are an expert in such things, then the only two people who really knew what happened in that clip are the pilots.

Sorry to be so negative.

Again I have no issues with the possibility that the gear could drop on the Fw-190 as a result of battle damage, just the assumptions made about this particular clip.

[felix_the_fat]

regarding possible reasons for gear drops:
Johnnie Johnson ["Wing Leader" Penguin edn 1959 p301] wrote this about some 190s in the act of surrendering to some Spitfires:
"The Huns waggled their wings, dropped their undercarriages, and generally behaved in a nervous manner..."

As he described it, this happened in the last few days of the war.

[Treetop64]

Originally Posted by Spudkopf

...a deliberate act by the pilot (like a sign of surrender)...

...In a naive, fairy tale world.

In the video, it is the real world, in a real war. The pilot doing the shooting doesn't have time to assume that the gear dropping is a sign of surrender. His job is to destroy the aircraft, and he sees signs of that occurring.

What if he thought "Oh, his gear is dropping. That means he surrenders. I'll leave him be now.", only to end up being shot at by the guy he just left alone after he had a change of heart. Kinda silly.

On the other hand, fighter vs. bomber situations over western Europe could sometimes play out differently, as there have been documented cases fighter pilots escorting badly damaged enemy bombers home, though that occurred very seldom.

Originally Posted by Spudkopf

...the fact that the pilot does not seem to take any evasive action at all just raises far too many questions as to the true circumstances of whats actually happening here.

Yes, it does raise questions. The pilot could already be wounded and unable to maneuver. He could have panicked and "froze". Maybe it's a novice pilot and he has no idea what to do. Maybe he's just given up to the apparently inevitable.

However, what is obvious is that a pilot in his aircraft is being shot down. No reason to imply that something else is going on here. It's war, and it's hell.

Originally Posted by Spudkopf

Further you can only see the starboard wing at the moment the gear begins to drop so it is also unclear what is happening on the port wing.

So, what?

Originally Posted by Spudkopf

I'm not in any way disputing the possibility or non-possibility of a gear failure drop and do not have an opinion either way, but I do have to question the validity of the video evidence presented.

Well, you're certainly free to do so. No real reason to bring the video footage to the fringes of conspiracy theory, however. It's fairly straight-forward.

[Snake]

Originally Posted by IceFire

No it's not released. Work continues. These are some screen shots from a couple of the RC's that I spent some time taking for your enjoyment.

Work continues on what? I thought it's.....done!

[Derda508]

Thanks a lot IceFire.
The pics look great!

[_1SMV_Gitano]

Originally Posted by Snake

Work continues on what? I thought it's.....done!

The work on bug-hunting/fixing. The 3rd RC was expected to have no critical bugs but at least one was found. We all hope to find no more such bugs and release the patch!

EDIT: about landing gear damage: such feature was not taken from mods.