posted 04-06- 08:03 PM               

Jeeves kinda convinced me to release her by his rather excited and complimentary response to the beta he flew (thanks Jeeves!)

The last of the known bugs are:
tail wheel DOF needs fixing
Canopy needs remapping
ASI needs fixing (Air speed indicator)

If you have the latest patch installed then only use the La7 if you are flying her, she has the new code for Manual Prop Pitch which means the AI can't fly her till Bryan fixes the code up right, but if you're flying you can control the prop pitch by adding the following to your Keyboard.inp

inpPropPitchUpDigital = Control UpArrow : 0 5
inpPropPitchDownDigital = Control DownArrow : 0 5
inpToggleAutoPitch = Alt A

Please post any bugs, comments or pretty screenshots in here

Werner, I've not dumped this in the downloads section because this is a beta test version for feedback etc thats right.. take your finger off that trigger.. LOL

The link to d/l is:
http://members.nbci.com/naturlich/La-7.ZIP

no mission included, you must make one using mission ed

Extract to your Media folder

Happy flying guys, hope you like her

~Nat~

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7./JG3 "Naturlich"


"SDOE... What and where would you like to fly today?"
http://members.nbci.com/naturlich/index.htm

posted 04-06- 08:35 PM            

quote:

---

Originally posted by Nat:
Werner, I've not dumped this in the downloads section because this is a beta test version for feedback etc thats right.. take your finger off that trigger.. LOL

---

Whoa! Didn't expect to see my name come up in that. What do you mean, "take your finger off the trigger"? I'm not a big beta critic around here! Heck, I rarely even have the time to test betas anyways!

Werner

posted 04-06- 10:21 PM            

W. Molders
President
Werner's Removals

See, I haven't lost my sense of humour.

posted 04-06- 10:53 PM            

Thanks! I'm really looking forward to taking this one for a spin.

Werner

posted 04-06- 11:22 PM               

Sorry guys, I'll get these things right one day

posted 04-06- 11:52 PM               

Am I that convincing ...maybe I should be talking to jedi LOL....(jedi-- I am kidding bro-- no one enjoys your work more than I do and I know the SBD will be worth however long it takes to finish! )

I just hope everyone has the same experience I have had with her....lots of surprises in this one!

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Brought to you by the campaign for a better Dauntless!

posted 04-07- 02:31 AM            

I just flew the b17/la7 DM exhibition mission, and I swear it was like something out of IL2. I watched the La7s of course, and while several would take engine hits and then power glide to an inconspicuous belly landing, some of the collisions were spectacular. One for instance, where one B17's tailgunner was shooting at a La7 - all the little shredded wheat damage we're used to, and like in the IL2 promo videos, then a big chunk of cowling flies off, and the wings take damage. More shots to the engine, and then get this - the engine block separates from the plane, and true to the laws of physics, the centre of mass of the two stay on the same course while the two objects themselves diverge slightly from the explosion, but while the flaming (and I mean big plumes!!) engine block sailed under the B17, the plane tipped slightly to its port side and knifed right through the port wing of the plane!! It looked almost the same as that sequence of shots from IL2 where you see the Yak knife through a He111. Absolutely stunning!

In the next mission I flew the La7, and took on a B17 that fell out of formation. While I'm sure the FM needs tweaking, in its current form its fun to intercept bombers with - high cruising speed, good climbing ability... I would get about 2K feet above and behind the bomber, then zoom in and aim for the inboard engines(the reticles rule!). As I closed to within about 100ft, snap roll and inverted dive. I did this, and a few barrel rolls around the bomber to get behind it again, for long enough to empty 200 rounds into one B17. I got an engine smoking and a few small explosions for my effort, with 10 rounds left. In my last pass, just as I was inverting, the last rounds blew off the vstab of the bomber. I popped to outside view, and the La7's fuse was ripped all to pieces, but the engine hadn't been hit (I figure because of my barrel rolls, they were shooting at me from the side). I landed her at Eastbourne.

This plane is loads of fun, especially for a beta. I strongly recommend it!

Werner

posted 04-07- 03:10 AM               

I had the same thing happen...only the cowling and the fuselage were sliding together at the same pace....I was watching to see which piece won-- but then the fuselage disintegrated in a huge explosion What can I say Nat--I am glad you are with us and not with EAW or IL-2

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Brought to you by the campaign for a better Dauntless!

posted 04-07- 09:34 AM               

Werner, excellent battle report I know exactly the scene you refere to, that must have looked awsome.. shame you didn't captuer a screen shot lol

The FM is very close but I'm sure it has failings though, I'm just not skilled enough to maybe fine tune it without messing the rest of it up (believe me I've been through this over and over) but, that said, this was one of the highest performing aircraft of the whole war on any side, it would out perform almost every Messerchmitt, and from my findings in SDOE there's currently only the Yak3 and Spit IX (PTO not included) that match her in any respects, so she is a top of the line fighter but that said, in the same way Jedi has been constantly upgrading the Corsairs, the same can be said for the La7, the finished version will be version 1, not a final version

Sunray, I wish I could tell you whats going wrong, the La-7 REQUIRES PP6 though, so maybe this is the problem?

Not hearing the bomb whistle is possibly linked to the number of sounds the La7 produces, I've found that the game must have a limit to the number of sounds playing at once, and the engine sounds take priority, so it's possible that the game has emmitted the bomb whistle.

posted 04-07- 05:13 PM               

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Brought to you by the campaign for a better Dauntless!

posted 04-07- 05:27 PM               

If anyone else is having problems with the shadow, or if you don't have a textured prop, then this little download should fix it.
(177kb) http://members.nbci.com/naturlich/La7Update.ZIP

posted 04-07- 05:50 PM               

Other than that, it's interesting reading anyway LOL

History:
First flown as the LaGG-5 in January 1942, the La-5 was not the first example of the mating of a more powerful air cooled radial engine with an airframe designed for a liquid cooled inline, however it may be the most successful. A result of the reengineering of the decidedly unsuccessful LaGG-3 to accept the Shvetsov M-82 radial, by July all LaGG's on the production line were reworked toward this end.

Very light, exceptionally maneuverable and over 30 miles per hour faster at low altitudes than the 109G, the La-5 demonstrated a much welcomed improvement over its inline predecessor and was one of the first Soviet fighters to achieve parity with their German adversaries. The La-5 was a superlative low to mid altitude air superiority fighter. It excelled at close in, high G maneuvering combat, had sensitive controls, great climb and dive qualities, and excellent stall recovery. While hindered somewhat by its limited armament of only 2, 20 mm cannons, this was finally a fighter that would demand the respect of the Luftwaffe.

Progressing from the La-5 to the La-5FN with its more powerful M-82FN engine (FN= Forsirovanni Nyeporedstvenny or "boosted engine")and a lighter airframe, the La-5FN proved its worth over Kursk, and would become the standard Lavochkin of the massive air battles of 1943. The final variant of the family was the La-7. Reaching operational status in May of 1944, the La-7 was the result of a major redesign effort to reduce drag and further decrease weight. As a reward for their work, the Lavochkin team produced a fighter that was just as maneuverable with an even higher top speed, and is widely considered the finest Soviet fighter of the war.

As a testament to the quality of this group of fighters, Ivan Kozhedub, the highest scoring allied ace of the war with 62 confirmed kills, scored all his kills while in a Lavochkin fighter. During the course of the war he flew the La-5, the La-5FN, and finally the La-7. His last kill of the war was scored while in an La-7 against an Me 262.

posted 04-07- 11:06 PM               

No problem Dinga, just glad you wanted to express so often how much you like it

posted 04-08- 03:56 AM            

Two things I noticed though, and I suppose to be expected in a beta but:
1. Look backwards, then pull back on your stick. Note the floating control surfaces.
2. Also when the engine panels are blown off, the metal ribbing is very cool, but it too 'floats', since it doesn't attach back to the plane. Really only visible close up, but still.

I am indeed nitpicking, but I'm examining the plane now as a very-close-to-finished product, because imo its in that league.

Werner

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Visit Abbeville Field Today!

posted 04-08- 08:48 AM               

If you set max prop pitch, the plane will not thrust forward at all, and the same applies if you set too low a pitch. Just set the pitch to max, then slowly start reducing the pitch until you see the ASI climbing steadily, then leave that setting.