DCS Warbird Survival Guide

Finding that flying that P-47 or Mosquito or other WWII fighter is a more of challenge than you hoped? Before you rage quit and go back to your F-18 - check out these tips for getting in touch with your inner Warbird pilot.
If you have even better tips for those of us who are struggling drop by my Discord and start a conversation
/ discord
There's more to come, subscribe to make sure you don't miss it.

[@lionelbowhunter468]

I realy hope DCs will dig deeper in WW2 area, this planes are already very well modelled and DCS need just have a bigger community who could come in the WW2 area just adding more flyable aircraft according to their respective time, more campaing "à la IL2" , more units. I wish this time will come true. Thx for your video, greeting from France ^^

[@Sidekick65]

Thanks for the comment, Lionel. I agree. I'd also like to see some better "assistance" modes (particularly with engine management) to make the transition to warbirds a bit easier. I think that might help make them a bit more popular.

[@jakey-poo401]

Agreed! My own personal soap-box I preach from is the need for the P-38, especially if they are going to be expanding onto the PTO (that I think it's a bad idea to be expanding into another theatre of war before fully fleshing out Normandy is beside the point).

[@lionelbowhunter468]

@@jakey-poo401 when people arrive the other person are added. I have noted that on evenings. I just wish more people to be enjoyed by WW2 planes

[@mikesolyom6884]

I like the analogy comparing the controls to a helicopter's. Making a change to one control surface usually requires a follow-on change to another. Just imagine trying to do all that while maintaining formation. I bet those warbird pilots that converted to jets later on found the switch amazing. Also, I think you did a great job on picking the shots and the editing for this video.

[@Sidekick65]

Thanks Mike. I appreciate the kind words - particularly considering the source! This the thing that I am slowly coming to grips with. Flying those planes REALLY was a matter of touch and feel. So much of what those pilots learned was just muscle memory and it is really hard to recreate that in a flight sim. And as those cues get more and more subtle (with higher fidelity flight models) it gets harder and harder.

[@tomaszwota1465]

​@@Sidekick65 FFB helps a bit. You can feel the buffeting, you can feel the sloppy controls in low speeds and can thus time your maneouvers while you still have some stick authority, you can feel the force of air pushing on control surfaces resulting in stiffening of the stick when in dives. I got myself the Rhino FFB base and I can tell you, it's such a pleasure to use it with warbirds.

[@deetwodcs4683]

I love how you used the A-10A to talk about modern HUDS! Old school all-time - every-time baby!

[@Sidekick65]

Thanks!

[@HecmarJayam]

Such a great, well thought out and articulated video. Thank you sir.

[@Sidekick65]

You're welcome. Glad you enjoyed it!

[@HecmarJayam]

@@Sidekick65 You have a wonderful voice and delivery. May I ask why you stopped flying (IRL)? My apologies if you already addressed this somewhere else. I just think you seem to have the right "pilot's mindset" and its a shame you are not out there in the skies anymore.

[@Sidekick65]

I only ever flew as a teenager -.I got my private license as an ai cadet. After high school I moved away and had neither the time nor the money to stay current.

[@HecmarJayam]

@@Sidekick65 That makes sense. Still, this makes your depth of knowledge even more impressive. I am going through my own PP studies and I appreciate the attention to details and the use of proper terminology in your videos. Thank you for what you do! 👏

[@Sidekick65]

Thanks for the feedback. Glad to know they were helpful.

[@hansn.433]

Coming from a reallife cessna pilot i can confirm that the "Arschgefühl" (feeling it with your ass) is the most important instrument in visual flight rules flying. With that you can judge very finly how good you are cornoring and flying. Also you get alot of information about the Speed and State your plane is in by the force feedback of the yoke (same goes for trimming). And last but not least, the 3d vision of real life gives alot of feedback flying relative to other planes or on and close to the runway. So it really gets alot mor difficult in the simulator because you are being stripped of your most important sensory information. Very good points in you Vid. Keep up the good and calm work

[@Sidekick65]

Excellent points. Thank you

[@alexsachse]

I fly warbirds almost exclusively in DCS, (mostly the P-47) and it really is work throughout the entire flight. I agree with all your points, especially the turn / slip indicator. It's something I find myself looking at every few seconds, turns or no turns. Yes, some warbirds you can trim somewhat and ease some of the load, but trim is also needs to be constantly adjusted because flight characteristics change all the time in a warbird because you didn't have an auto pilot. Also, I use the rudder as much as I use the stick. One thing that really enhances the warbird experience is (1) VR and (2) haptic feedback though something like a buttkicker. Much of the non-visual cues are transmitted to the pilot through vibrations as you pointed out, and a buttkicker is really much more of a useful addition in warbirds than in jets, where it's mostly a nice-to-have. But in a P-47 for example when the engine is faulty during startup, you can hear it of course but you can also feel the different vibrations and therefore are able to identify a problem much quicker than the gauges will tell you.

[@Sidekick65]

Great points! Thanks for taking the time to post. Glad you are enjoying the videos.

[@tomaszwota1465]

FFB. FFB is great to have with warbirds.

[@headintclouds3657]

Great analysis Iain. You have helped me to cement my views about flying a sim jet in DCS (easy) versus flying a light aircraft in the real world (harder), which I did the other day. You are absolutely right about how the information is presented to you in an analogue GA aircraft (or war bird for that matter) and by how much you rely on “feel” through the controls and movement through the seat of your pants. I am now pondering whether to invest hours in the sim or hours (and £££) in a real aircraft to master flying my chosen bird. Ah, first world problems!

[@Sidekick65]

Thanks for the detailed response! Glad to know that it is not just me.

[@urgentsiesta7606]

Great video - "happy" to learn I'm not the only one who struggles with, but loves, warbirds. Also quite nice cinematically (and that USN Texan trainer livery ends up looking quite smart on the Jug).

[@Sidekick65]

Thanks. The struggle is real 😫 . It was fun to put together.

[@daveslow84]

Absolutely excellent video as always! Currently struggling with my first warbird :D

[@Sidekick65]

Good luck. Keep at it.

[@Danny-gs5dv]

Kind of mind blowing that I can be casually watching this. Thoughtful commentary which gave me a lot to think about. I appreciate the effort that you put into the video. Kind of crazy it only has a thousand views. If only flightsims wasnt such a niche already. Subscribing, good luck on your channel growth :D

[@Sidekick65]

Thank You so much for this thoughtful comment. I appreciate the kind words and the support.

[@Guenol]

Been flying Sim warbirds since Chuck Yeager's Advanced Flight Simulator. You are right on the money... Practice makes perfect...

[@Normie...]

I would love to see an engine management video. Thanks for the great video!

[@Sidekick65]

It's in work! Thanks for the encouragement

[@ctguy1955]

I bought a Amiga 500 in 1988 and purchased every single flight sim available. Once I purchased a PC, I was into battlefield FPS but once I found out about DCS, it is all I do. What a difference in graphics with a i9-12900K cpu and 2080TI gpu and 5200 speed Ram has made compared to my 5 year old system. PS Your voice is awesome and easy to understand, and I thank You so much for making these videos. Clear skies Mike

[@Sidekick65]

Thanks for the feedback, Mike. Glad that the video was helpful.

[@JD-xh3ex]

What a great video!

[@Sidekick65]

Thanks!

[@fetticrockett3201]

the bf109K . The most dangerous plane to learn

[@TheDM3002XTuber]

Warbirds should be the start point of learning to fly :-). Everything after that is easy 😉. Personally find the TF-51 way underrated in DCS. At least to learn to fly. Modern Jets don't require you to fly, you need to manage the mission. At least that is my view on this. On the part about the Warbirds sim, I think DCS has made large steps between the Dora and the Jug, for example the ground handle is has more feeling of the weight of the plane(when diff braking for example) I think that these kind of dings make it easy to "feel" the plane.

[@Sidekick65]

Very good points. Good to hear from an experienced warbird sim pilot.

[@stephensanford5273]

I would agree that managing the mission is much more of a task on SOME jets. But then there are the MiG-21, F14, F5 (no autopilot in that thing) the AV8B, which I don't think anyone regards as "easy" to fly, even compared to warbirds. Sure, the Hornet, is easy, as is the JF-17 (flies like a jet trainer, very predictable and gives you plenty of warning before it tries to kill you, which is rare, unlike the Harrier, Tomcat or MiG-21.) I would say that the general-purpose multirole jets are the easiest to fly, the F16, F/A-18 and the JF-17. While the specialized aircraft, (Tomcat=interceptor) Tomcat, Harrier, Mig-21, are more complicated and involve more "flying". While warbirds have boost and RPM, on the Tomcat and Viggen you've got compressor stalls. On the Harrier you have the whole balancing a jet aircraft on a pogo stick thing, while the MiG-21 just wants to murder your capitalist ass to further world revolution or something. But here's the thing, I've put every aircraft I own in DCS into a smoking crater. However, the more I fly anything, the more I become aware of the vices, warnings, and "feel" of the jet. I can't count how many times I've ramp striked in a Tomcat. But I also don't remember the last time I did ramp strike in it, because I've got many, many hours in it. I'm pretty sure I'd understand my P47 much better if I had even a hundred hours in it. (Or even 10, lol) It was very frustrating to learn to land a Harrier in VSTOL mode, but as my hours build up in it, now it's just another landing, following my mental checklist, feeling the jet and putting it down gently. Anything is predictable if you have enough hours in it and everything is harder when you don't have as much experience with the systems.

[@Sidekick65]

@@stephensanford5273 Great perspective. Thanks for sharing it!

[@johnmclean6498]

Well done video which should be mandatory for Newbies to flying in DCS. I agree that jets have made it easy for us - and perhaps lazy. I never do Hornet carrier work (which requires lots of constant familiarity), without a trip up in the Mossie or Spitfire. I agree with your five points, and recited them before you put each one up! The "Ball" is especially important in the P 47, as that big round engine is torquey and airspeed is difficult to achieve and maintain. Its complicated to fly and I kind of hate it, but it teaches you valuable lessons. Thanks and good work.

[@Sidekick65]

Thank you, sir. I appreciate the kind words. Please feel free to reccomend the video to all new (and old) DCS pilots you know! 😉

[@michaeldwyer3466]

I will also add that there seem to be little quirks among the different maps as well. I like flying the I-16 (even if it has some major issues). Tanking off is really difficult, but I have realized that the grass airfields on the channel map are far easy to take off from than the grass runways on the Normandy map or any of the hard surface runways on other maps.

[@Sidekick65]

Good tip! Interesting. Thanks!

[@iijg27rich36]

Loved the video. Try being a 109 fanatic in DCS lol

[@Sidekick65]

Maybe one day!

[@2FlyCaptain]

One good way to take care of the engine is to make sure the manifold pressure doesn't exceed the RPM. The best practice is to keep them squared. When increasing power for instance to 30 inches MP, increase RPM first to 3000, then increase the throttle to 30. When coming off power, take out the throttle first then reduce the prop RPM to match. If you're flying at 30 MP and 3000 RPM it's known as 30 squared. It's a little confusing to start with but if you do it it just becomes muscle memory.

[@Sidekick65]

Good advice! Thanks

[@chrisgrube-he1gr]

Good rule of thumb. However, this rule starts to fall apart when dealing with supercharged and turbocharged engines that can boost twice over what is indicated under RPM. Case in point, the P47 can push 52"mp at 2400 rpm. So while squaring will work fine in normally aspirated engines..doesnt apply to advanced piston engines.

[@travisdelongchamp]

I’m looking forward to the engine management video. Most dogfights end with me blowing up the engine, no matter how much I try to manage the power. I partly blame the DCS AI, since it feels like they aren’t hampered by engine management and can climb at full power to a stall without overheating. Also, I’d like to mention that while learning to fly tail wheel in real life, I pretty much learned how to wheel land using DCS warbirds to practice. Probably saved my instructor’s back (and stomach) from bouncing and swerving down the runway as much.

[@Sidekick65]

Hey, thanks for the comments. Working on the engine video now. Glad you found the video helpful.

[@looneytunes47]

So when its a Challenge? its oh so much more rewarding when you get it figured out and start to master the beast

[@seancolvin8545]

Most newer players barely figure out how to take off and land before the jump into combat . The sIms are amazing but the player have very little idea how it works before they shoot down, screaming at DCS because it is too hard to fly or the flight model wrong. I have alot of flight flight history like you however I am mediocre WW2 pilot I staying with P-47D not moving on to next hot thing. I also have P-51D and BF-109K . Any player will need to keep running same aircraft because all switch just dilutes your aircraft training. Keep up the work fellows

[@Sidekick65]

Thanks. I agree that this is very much the issue we are facing these days. The aircraft are so well modelled that their differences really matter and there are so many to try that it is difficult to get proficient. Thanks for the comment and the kind words.

[@ColonelAkirNakesh]

Hey Sidekick! Is there a warbird that is best at destroying tanks in CAS? I only have the Spitfire but my next module looking at something better at the ground role. Those Panzers and Stugs are calling my name :)

[@Sidekick65]

Well the short answer is that the Jug with Rockets is probably your best Anti-tank option. The Mosquito with rockets would be a good second choice - in fact any fighter with rockets is probably OK. The long answer is that, contrary to the popular impression, WWII fighter bombers were generally pretty ineffective against armour. I have seen a few books and reports that list the "kills" by allied fighter bombers in Normandy and afterward and the vast majority are "soft" transport vehicles (like by a factor of almost 100:1). Fighters were also very effective at taking out locomotives. But tanks? Not so much. Again, it's not generally appreciated, but by a wide margin the majority of sorties were flown as what we would call battlefied interdiction rather than true close air support. So rather than replicating a modern A-10 "tank killer" mission a more historically accurate (and probably satisfying) mission for WWII FB's would be to take out convoys of trucks, or supply dumps or things like that. In which case, the P-47 or the Mossie is your platform of choice - which coincidentally is why they are the two WWII aircraft I actually own ;-). BTW - there is a P-47 mission on my site (and a video on my channel somewhere) that has slightly more "realistic" ground attack scenarios. All of which is to say that you may find it a bit frustrating if you decide to embark on a career as an ace tank killer. Not that it cannot be done, but it neither DCS nor historical authenticity make it easy. Happy to discuss it in more detail on my Discord channel if you like. Good Luck!

[@ColonelAkirNakesh]

@@Sidekick65 thanks for the detailed reply!

[@TheCrash1983]

can the opposite be true i can fly war birds but as soon as i have DMS,TMS,COOLIE and such it hurts my brain

[@astrogumbie2399]

I been wanting to get back into DCS but it seems like my Hearts not in it, its not the game its me and my hang ups and life at the moment but as soon as I can get back would love to fly with you and anyone who would be into flying warbirds choppers or jets I think I own every module but 1or 2

[@negativghostrdr]

The timing has to be right. I've purchased a lot of DCS stuff over the years and simply didn't have time for the learning curve and all of the screwing around it can take to get this working well. Also, it seems that the available hardware has finally caught up to what this software demands. I just got a nice rig to run it and am now playing in VR. The fact that they've gone multi-thread with DCS now is also a game changer. I'm going to try multiplayer tonight and see how that goes. Also, I've joined a couple of facebook groups for DCS enthusiasts. It looks like a very large, active, and supportive community!

[@dcs-web-editor]

Have you tried a 3-DOF or 6-DOF motion rig ? I.e. Yaw2

[@Sidekick65]

I have not

[@chrisgrube-he1gr]

I can assure all you that if you could actually FEEL the Gs most of you are pulling in DCS..it would weed out the majority of the hardcore dogfighter guys. Personally I've pulled a max of 6 Gs real world and it's always punishing. And there is the main problem with sims. We don't get the physical feedback of flying and don't have the opportunity to out G your opponent because the software makes G-LOC the same for everyone.

[@sthompson3]

There are a lot of interesting observations in this, but I've now listened to the first 10 minutes of an 18 minute video and have yet to hear anything in the way of a "survival guide." You should choose a better title.

[@SPFLDAngler]

Not really a guide if you spend most of the time just explaining why you think it's hard to fly warbirds in DCS....