S~
I recently noticed that I was having difficulty landing, of all things. I'd get kills, come home, sometimes "shot up", and crash. The more I crashed, the more insecure I got. You're dead meat in this sim when you lose confidence in any critical area. Prior to this, I'd never really had a great deal of problems in this area. During matches with TUSA, I'd always prided myself in losing less aircraft and pilots than anyone on the team.
Anyway, after flying WarClouds and really keeping track of my stats for over a month (perhaps this was the missing bit of information), I noticed that successfull landings were my glaring weak area. A particular weak spot for me was landing highly damaged aircraft or FW's (which don't glide all that well) with dead engine.
Most squads advise their pilots during a match to "bail" in high-wingloaded A/C. Most matches I've participated in (not scrims, matches) start with two or three times the available aircraft than pilots. That advice makes sense. On the other hand, most flying groups don't emphasize emergency aircraft control techniques.
I went to Eco and asked him to teach me how to land. Why? Because in my year in TX, I can never recall seeing "TX-Ecodragon fails on landing approach" message and he's a great guy to learn from. (He is also the only guy who can consistantly kill three or four enemy aircraft while never missing a beat in his conversation over TeamSpeak).
While I watched and listened, I saw him do things I'd never noticed before. He taught me "slips", "skids" and how to bring my aircraft home in any condition. We recorded some tracks, and I spent the a few hours practicing what he taught me.
One of the first cool things that I noticed about Eco's approach, was the very high angle of attack that he could succesfully pull off. Try landing on short and final from 900-1000 meters in an FW to see what I mean.
I've flown this sim online for two years now, and just learned how to land. How:
1) I checked my Ego at the door,
2) I listened
3) I worked at it
4) I had FUN!
90% of virtual pilots make the same mistake over and over. They think that their entire value is wrapped around how many "kills" they get. As Executive Officer and Battle Commander (I know a few things about tactics, leadership and can actually spell sometimes) of TeamUSA, I can tell you, no body gives a hoot about your kills. The better sim pilots and leadership personnel care about things like, "can you follow orders", "can you be where your'e supposed to, at the right time", and "are you thinking and acting in a team manner".
Anyway, I posted a track of my progress. It's not that big of a deal, I'm still sloppy but I have much better control. The first attempt is with a busted propeller and ends in a 3 point landing. I do run off the runway, but I did'nt lose the plane.
The second is a sloppy two-point from about 500 meters.
If you feel bad about ANY performance issue in this sim and you have'nt caught Eco and tried to work with him, one-on-one, you only have yourself to blame. He is hands down the best pilot in this sim. Nobody else is even close. He is also the best teacher.
Thanks Eco, thank you very much. I only wish I'd learned to listen a bit earlier.
https://webspace.utexas.edu/joem/ThanksEco.ntrk?uniq=-8wf9heS~
Black 2 TX Flight Leader
