Is it possible to have the takeoff direction as set in the database a dynamic setting that changes in accordance with the wind?
Its great that we have wind enabled for a more immersive environment but our takeoff direction is always fixed and I frequently find myself taking off with a tail wind and even worse a cross wind blowing up from the rear of my a/c (4-8o'clock positions).
In reality of course aircraft would take off into wind or at least into minimal cross wind. Although not always possible to avoid a crosswind they would at least avoid a tailwind by taking off into the wind. However most large operational airfields would have multiple runways to allow for crosswinds and as such aircraft would have four directions they can take off in. Is it possible to utilise this in SEOW? some sort of automatically changing take off direction dependant on wind?
Wind, crosswinds and takeoff direction
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IV/JG7_4Shades
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Hi Classic,
Sorry, lost track of this post. It is possible to write code to do this, but I haven't yet thought through what other issues it may introduce, e.g. for runways that have nearby terrain interfering with takeoff and landing at the other end of the runway etc.
Cheers,
4S
Sorry, lost track of this post. It is possible to write code to do this, but I haven't yet thought through what other issues it may introduce, e.g. for runways that have nearby terrain interfering with takeoff and landing at the other end of the runway etc.
Cheers,
4S
IV/JG7_4Shades
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SEOW Developer
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Classic_EAF19
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Thank you Shades. Yes I had considered the AI, IIRC in SEOW virtually all airfields are setup as optimised for AI operations to minimise crashes at take off and landing. However certainly from my recent campaigns I have seen very little AI so I thought it worth a few losses for a more immersive environment. I guess for implementation it could be a campaign setting to enable/disable dependant on the expected AI use. Also it need not be automatic but perhaps a setting in the industrial tab so that it would become part of the planning sequence to set the takeoff direction for each airfield, would that lower the workload in terms of coding?
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IV/JG7_4Shades
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Hi Classic,
Let's think about this some more.
The present airbase toolkit allows each airbase to have a primary landing and takeoff direction (governed by the ATC_Mode parameter in the Airbases table) and a landing pattern parameter (e.g. Left Base, or Right Base etc) that is available from TD 4.11.
Over the years, some problematic airbases have been allocated ATC_Mode and Landing_Pattern values that suit local terrain obstacles. All these values are set for each airbase in the SEOW database, but can be edited by admins at any time during the campaign.
Now, we have variable wind effects which mean that at some stages during the campaign some airbases may either have strong headwinds, crosswinds or tailwinds on the preferred takeoff/landing directions. The MP displays these conditions for commanders' benefit.
It would be good for commanders to be able to order changes in runway direction (i.e. the opposite direction) if wind conditions require it. However we would need
1. a system that operates for ALL flights planned at each runway (we don't want some commanders choosing a reverse vector and some not, causing planes lining up at opposite ends of the same runway in a mission!).
2. a system where commanders could choose the landing pattern to be used during reversed operations (left/right/straight in)
3. to ensure that changes in reversal would be propagated to ALL flights already planned at the airbase in question during the mission planning phase, and all subsequent flights (what if commanders disagree about whether the reversal should take place?)
4. to consider how long the reversal should last (how many missions, indefinitely?)
To make this work will require structural changes in the DB, DCS code revisions and GUI interface support in MP.
Cheers,
4S
Let's think about this some more.
The present airbase toolkit allows each airbase to have a primary landing and takeoff direction (governed by the ATC_Mode parameter in the Airbases table) and a landing pattern parameter (e.g. Left Base, or Right Base etc) that is available from TD 4.11.
Over the years, some problematic airbases have been allocated ATC_Mode and Landing_Pattern values that suit local terrain obstacles. All these values are set for each airbase in the SEOW database, but can be edited by admins at any time during the campaign.
Now, we have variable wind effects which mean that at some stages during the campaign some airbases may either have strong headwinds, crosswinds or tailwinds on the preferred takeoff/landing directions. The MP displays these conditions for commanders' benefit.
It would be good for commanders to be able to order changes in runway direction (i.e. the opposite direction) if wind conditions require it. However we would need
1. a system that operates for ALL flights planned at each runway (we don't want some commanders choosing a reverse vector and some not, causing planes lining up at opposite ends of the same runway in a mission!).
2. a system where commanders could choose the landing pattern to be used during reversed operations (left/right/straight in)
3. to ensure that changes in reversal would be propagated to ALL flights already planned at the airbase in question during the mission planning phase, and all subsequent flights (what if commanders disagree about whether the reversal should take place?)
4. to consider how long the reversal should last (how many missions, indefinitely?)
To make this work will require structural changes in the DB, DCS code revisions and GUI interface support in MP.
Cheers,
4S
IV/JG7_4Shades
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II/JG77Hawk_5
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- Location: Sydney, Australia
If the weather shows a particular initial wind direction after initialisation it could be straight forward to have a quick look at the airfields and see which ones are really on a heading that will cause regular problems and request they be set to "swap" so takeoff is in reverse direction.
To have the ability to do this from the MP could cause all sorts of problems as 4Shades has noted as it will cause collisions if done after any missions are planned.
An auto "swap" function based on weather forecast could be a possible modification to the DCS (performed during analyze).
However, but in my experience the wind in a campaign usually comes from the same general direction with variations. If the airfield direction is set correctly at beginning of campaign then it really shouldn't need to change for the duration. I haven't seen a 180 degree wind shift yet.
To have the ability to do this from the MP could cause all sorts of problems as 4Shades has noted as it will cause collisions if done after any missions are planned.
An auto "swap" function based on weather forecast could be a possible modification to the DCS (performed during analyze).
However, but in my experience the wind in a campaign usually comes from the same general direction with variations. If the airfield direction is set correctly at beginning of campaign then it really shouldn't need to change for the duration. I haven't seen a 180 degree wind shift yet.