SE Airbase Programming

SEOW allows significant flexibility in setting up the air traffic operations systems at each airbase. These systems can be programmed per airbase via the Airbases table of the SEOW database.

Landing & Take Off Directions via ATC_Mode

Every airbase in SEOW has its own "normal" takeoff vector specified by the Landing and Takeoff coordinates in the Airbases table of the DB. Usually, we try to have aircraft landing from the west and taking off to the east, but of course not all airbases are aligned that way so there are varying directions of takeoff vector.

Unfortunately, IL-2 comes with some celebrated "bad" airbases where AI aircraft will have great difficulty taking off due to proximity of trees and hills etc. Tuapse Field in the Kuban is just one such case.

SEOW allows admins/commanders to vary the "normal" takeoff vector on an individual airbase basis. This is done manually by editing the record for the airbase in question within the Airbases table. The relevant field is called "ATC_Mode" (air traffic control mode). You can set this to

• "landingpoint" - which means that aircraft land AND take off at the normal landing end of the runway.
• "takeoffpoint" - which means that aircraft land AND take off at the normal take off end of the runway.
• "swap" - which means that aircraft swap the landing and take off ends of the runway.
• "normal" - which means that aircraft land at the landing point, and take off at the takeoff point of the runway.

Tuapse Field is best used with "landingpoint" for ATC_Mode.

Good commanders will investigate their airbases and use them accordingly to best effect. SEOW has optimal ATC_Modes set for SOME airbases, but not all. Anyone who finds better ATC_Mode settings for airbases is encouraged to post the information at SEOW Official Forum [1] for inclusion in the next release.

Landing and Approach Control via Landing_Pattern

Recent versions of the TD mod introduce the ability to change the direction of the base landing circuit for each flight. SEOW implements this by ensuring that each flight to each different airbase has the base landing circuit direction (defined for each airbase) applied to the flight waypoints. The Landing_Pattern field contains these circuit directives. Valid entries for the Landing_Pattern field are

• "Left Base" - standard IL2 left-hand landing circuit.
• "Right Base" - right-hand landing circuit.
• "Short Left Base" - short left-hand circuit.
• "Short Right Base" - short right-hand circuit.
• "Straight Approach" - straight-in approach.

Remember, SEOW will apply the same landing circuit directive to all flights landing at the same airfield, as determined by the Landing_Pattern value for the airfield. Commanders have no direct control over either the airfield ATC_Mode or Landing_Pattern values.

Concealed Airbases

SEOW now allows airbases to be invisible to enemy forces, that is to be concealed from display in the Mission Planner. this may be useful for campaign scenarios involving partisan or sabotage activities using rear-area light aircraft operations from temporary grass strips. Concealing an airbase from enemy view is achieved simply by adding a text directive to the airbase's Airbase_Name field in the Airbases table. The format of the directive is "[secret_x]" where "x" can be either "r" for Allied or "g" for Axis view.

• "[secret_r]" - will display the airbase in the MP for Allied commanders, but not Axis commanders.
• "[secret_g]" - will display the airbase in the MP for Axis commanders, but not Allied commanders.
• "[secret_n]" - not recommended, but will hide an uncontrolled airbase from both sides.

The text directives above will be replaced by "(concealed)" in the Airbase tooltip header bar where the airbase name is displayed in the Mission Planner. The admin user always sees all concealed airbases on the map. If a concealed airbase is captured by the enemy, i.e. its Control value changes in the Airbases table, then both sides will see the airbase in the Mission Planner.

For example, the West Front 44 airbase named "A78 Florennes" could be concealed from Axis view simply by changing its name in the table to "A78 Florennes [secret_r]". In the Mission Planner the airbase name would then be displayed as "A78 Florennes (concealed)" and only Allied commanders would see the airbase on the map. Concealment can be done at any time during tha campaign, but it makes most sense for the campaign admin to do these concealments before the campaign is initialized. Some map sectors in the MP show locations of all permanent airbases on the map images so it is recommended that new temporary airbases are defined and concealed for best covert effect.