Battle of the Beams (WIP)

[Torric270]

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Battle_of_the_beams

I have built 2 basic missions (day/night) to demonstrate the use of and to train on radio navigation beacons and the Lorenz Blind Landing System that we have in the game.

Planes that can follow the beams and use the Lorenz are the Ju-88s and the He-111s. The Br20 can follow a single beam for navigation. The 110s and the stuka can use the Lorenz without issue. The Lorenz range in game is very limited so it's use is very limited.

Radio navigation beams for navigation: In game, beams are transmitted from Radio beacon generic long range masts and Airfield radio NDB beacon. These can be picked up in the magnetic compass in the Ju-88 and the He-111 on a needle with a white "P" which represents going "TO" a beacon and a black "S" which represents going "FROM" a beacon. 2014-02-24_00004.jpg. In the Br20, this is represented in a gauge with a pointer needle. 2014-02-25_00002.jpg

To lock on to a beacon: Keys needed: Increase/decrease Course Setter. Increase/decrease Primary Radio Navigation Frequency and increase/decrease Secondary Radio Navigation Frequency. Primary is for nav beams, secondary is for the Lorenz. Change the primary channel to the beam channel and the needle will swing in the direction of the beacon. In the Ju-88 and He-111 turn the course setter until the "P" lines up with the white notch and this will give the course "TO" the beacon.

To be on course, the needle, the red triangle (planes nose) and the white notch all have to be lined up as shown in the pic. If the needle and the white notch are lined up but the red triangle is not, turn the opposite direction to start getting the red triangle lined up.

The Lorenz gauge can also pick up these signals and can be used to measure distance. The horizontal needle will raise when getting closer to a beacon and lower the farther away from the beacon. The vertical needle will just flop back and forth and is of no use for now. 2014-02-24_00002.jpg

Lorenz Blind Landing System: To assist landing in bad weather and at night. Seen in the Lorenz gauge the vertical needle with give left/right indications. If the needle leans left, then turn a little right. The system also consists of an outer beacon and inner beacon, which lights up a white (Ju88) or amber (He-111) light when flying over the beacon. I go into more detail later when describing the mission.

The mission: To bomb Ramsgate airfield using radio navigation beams. This mission was set up to aid in training and to demo the system using autopilot. In game settings for now, have no map icons and no map path unchecked to aid in plotting courses.

AP demo: You spawn in a Ju88 at St-Omer, turn the course setter to 333 and hit AP, the first beacon is on channel #300 (default) The needle in the mag compass should line up as you fly towards Calais where the first beacon is. As you get closer, notice in the Lorenz gauge the horizontal needle rising. Flying over Calais on the way to Ramsgate, the needle will flip and the "S" will line up to read "FROM" the beacon.

Mid way between Calais and Ramsgate turn AP off and switch the primary and secondary radio nav channels to 301 and turn the course setter to 314 and hit AP again. This is the 2nd beam at the left crab leg near Dunkirk which will be used for the time to drop bombs. As Ramsgate approaches the needle, which should be to the left of the notch will move towards the notch. When the needle and the notch line up, the bombs will drop. (The AP is not tied to the beams). Watch the results in the ventral gunner, or hit Control F2 if you have external views. The bombs should hit the target, do not expect this to happen when flying it manually. This system was used for area bombing, not pin point accuracy.

After the bomb drop the plane will make 2 right turns to fly back to France. After the 2nd turn, turn off AP and turn the primary/secondary channels to 302 and line up the course setter, hit AP. The plane will fly to the 3rd beacon at French Cliffs. After it hits the cliffs it will make a left turn towards Oye-Plage. Once the turn is complete, hit AP and turn primary/secondary nav channels to 303 and line up course setter, hit AP. I use the 4th beacon to assist with landing as the Lorenz does not have the range. Also in this demo the plane will not fly low enough to activate the outer/inner beacons and it will most likely not get a Lorenz signal. The plane will fly over the airfield and land if left alone. To see it at night time, do the same with the 2nd mission.

If you want to see outer/beacons light up the Lorenz gauge and possibly get a Lorenz signal, turn AP off at Calais on the way to Oye-Plage. Get down to 150 m lined up with the runway, between Calais Marck and Oye-Plage if you pick up the Lorenz the vertical needle will stop flopping and will read right, left, or middle. At the outer beacon (white light will flash if you fly over it) start descending towards the runway to get the inner beacon to light up right outside the runway.

Next post will be flying it manually so my pics will upload.

Edit: Post updated with new missions with airfield % damage.

Here are the missions: BEAMS.zip

[ATAG_Colander]

Thanks Torric!

Beam me up Scotty

[ATAG_Lolsav]

Will give it a try once i am able to. Thanks for the work Torric (and explanations).

[Torric270]

Flying the mission:

Once again you spawn in a Ju88 at St-Omer (If you change it to a 111 in FMB, always add 7 (340, instead of 333) in the course setter). Set the plane up for cruise settings, 1.15 ATA and 2100 (60% throttle, 15% prop) Set dir gyro to the repeater compass course and the course AP and engage mode 22. You will drop down to about 4300m. The goal is to fly a course to the beacon and then away from the beacon on a course of about 333 (in the mag compass) which I got by using the in game nav tools. Before adjusting course left/right to line up the needle/triangle/notch, make sure the dir gyro and repeater compass read the same. If on course, needle lined up you will usually get a dir gyro/repeater compass course of 337 and a mag reading of 333. This will all need to be constantly updated as you want to fly a very precise course. As the first mission is in daylight, you can go to the bombardier's station to see how you are doing.

As you fly over the Calais the needle will flip, it will take it a little while for the needle to line back up completely so just keep flying your course. At mid-channel, switch the primary/secondary channel to 301 and turn your course setter to 314 (once again using nav tools from 2nd beacon to a point in front of the target (S of Ramsgate) to allow time for bomb drop. The needle will end up to the left of the notch, and the red triangle to the right but just keep flying your course towards Ramsgate.
As you get closer the needle will move towards the notch, make sure your bombs are armed and bomb bay doors are open. I have had success in the 88 using both series with default spread and with a salvo drop. In the 111, so far I have only hit close using the default series drop. This is all trial and error so find out what works best for you. When the needle is completely in-line with the notch, hit the bomb drop button and watch for results.

After your bombs are away, change your primary/secondary radios to 302 and then line up the course setter with the "P" lined up with the notch, this will be your return course to the French cliffs, handy eh? (Should get about 164) Turn to right (the more gentle your turns are, the less the mag compass flaps around) until you get close to course 164, then realign the needle to get the new course, realign dir gyro to repeater compass and engage mode course AP if you choose to. This course does not need to be as precise as we are just setting up for the landing. Continue flying toward the French Cliffs and start descending when you think you will be out of danger of flak/night fighters (none in this mission).

Hit the cliffs at about 1000m and once your needle flips for flying over the beacon, start a gentle left turn towards Oye-Plage and turn primary/secondary radios to 303 and then line up then needle with the course setter. The goal is to descend down to 150 m by the time you hit Calais Marck so we can use the Lorenz. You should have your gear down and flaps as needed and going about 200-220 km/h. Between Calais Marck and Oye-Plage you should get a signal in the Lorenz gauge giving left/right directions. If the needle is leaning right, drift left. (this system is not perfect and it does not line up perfectly with the runaway at the moment, it will direct you a little to far right. When you hit the outer beacon the white light will go off signaling you to start the descent into landing. As you get close to the runway you will hit the inner beacon light which is the indication to cut throttle and start your flare for landing.

Once you are bombing in the general area of Ramsgate and landing during the daylight mission you can try your hand at the night time mission. By the time you land in will be almost completely dark so you will need very precise flying. As you will see the runway has some red lights to help you.

Good luck!

[Torric270]

For BR20 pilots, you can still bomb using one beacon and time of flight. Here is a pic flying the 333 course for 8:30 from Calais to Ramsgate using the in-game ruler. The bombs hit near a road to the left of the airfield.

2014-02-12_00007.jpg

[ATAG_Freya]

Wow, this is amazing work Torric! I've never explored this aspect of our beloved sim, I'm looking forward to getting a go at this, Thankyou!

[heinzknocke]

Any updates re the WIP just getting into the bombers found this very interesting will be needed to carry out the BLITZ at night. Its a shame the maps not bigger to include places like Coventry and places in Northern UK bases in Norway etc .

Heinz

[Torric270]

Any updates re the WIP just getting into the bombers found this very interesting will be needed to carry out the BLITZ at night. Its a shame the maps not bigger to include places like Coventry and places in Northern UK bases in Norway etc .

Heinz

No work has been done as the title probably should have read Battle of the Beams demonstration. I am no mission builder, I just built these two missions to show the potential of using the navigational beams.

I made it to show single player mission builders that they could build some missions or a campaign around the idea or multiplayer mission builders that they could include it in the online missions for daytime use of navigational aids for the German bombers both in finding their target and returning to base.

Sorry for the confusion.

[heinzknocke]

Ah ok no problem thanks for the reply been using your Beams demo enjoyed using it.

Heinz

[EG14_Marcast]

I tried the day mission but I didn't succeed.....if I set route 333 in the corse setter the plane is going to Dunkerque, not to Calais. I hope in a video tutorial one day

[Torric270]

I tried the day mission but I didn't succeed.....if I set route 333 in the corse setter the plane is going to Dunkerque, not to Calais. I hope in a video tutorial one day

Sorry, I have yet to make a video.

I could try troubleshooting: Which plane, course set off of mag compass and not repeater compass, etc, etc, but I think it would be easier to try one of 2 things or both.

I will make my mission into a mp mission and if you want we can try to find a time to get on TS together or meet on server 2 if a Bliss mission is playing, we could do some training on there.

[RAF74_Buzzsaw]

Thanks for your work Torric.

[EG14_Marcast]

I will make my mission into a mp mission and if you want we can try to find a time to get on TS together or meet on server 2 if a Bliss mission is playing, we could do some training on there.

Thanks, Torric. When you'll be ready let me know your availability and we'll agree about a date. Our time zones are different but we meet often online

[Torric270]

Thanks, Torric. When you'll be ready let me know your availability and we'll agree about a date. Our time zones are different but we meet often online

I converted my single player mission into a small MP mission that I can host, so next time that we are both on (and have time) we will be good to go.

[ATAG_Lolsav]

There is so many new bomber pilots around this thread deserves a *bump*

Edit: More info on beam here: http://theairtacticalassaultgroup.co...ad.php?t=13037

[1lokos]

Find this in IL-2(ru) forum (quote from wehrmacht-awards), seems that crazy AFN-2 needle in Clod is not really too crazy.

The first clip simulated an aircraft flying into the beam. It enters to the left of the beam, into the dot-zone. You can see that the instrument is pulsing left with the dots. Also note that a strengthening of signal makes the instrument point left. It was important for the pilot to distinguish between the pulses and the more gradual swings of the needle due to changing signal strength:



of The: second clip simulates the aircraft's starting on the left of the beam in the Access dot-zone and flying starboard Into the dash-zone.

These first two clips do not only simulate a blind landing approach, but do also simulate the "Knickebein" beam guidance system used in early 1940 at the start of the Battle of Britain . At that time the earlier Ebl.1 receiver would still have been fitted to the German bomber aircraft:



the Clip a three simulates the "Vor-Einflugzeichen" (VEZ) or first beacon Approach. The VEZ was located 3000 meters before the runway. This is a slow pulse, low tone signal. The pilot would approach on a constant height and on hearing the VEZ would start a given descent. Keeping one eye on the variometer and the other on the AFN he would be near the ideal glide path onto the runway



. the Clip a four simulates the "Haupt-Einflugzeichen (HEZ) or main beacon of The Approach HEZ WAS Located 300 meters before the runway This was a fast pulse, high tone signal;. the HEZ is an urgent warning that the pilot does not have a lot of time to make adjustments the pilot would check his height and had to decide to continue the landing or abort By now the runway lights should be visible for the final approach..:



of The fifth clip Shows the aircraft's flying Along the beam. It starts in the centre, moves to port into the dash zone, corrects but overshoots to the starboard side into the dash zone. The aircraft ends back onto the beam:



of The final clip Shows all signals in a the single clip, the aircraft's flying is in the Access dot-zone and the VEZ and HEZ are triggered in the quick succession. Not a very realistic scenario, but it allows to different signals to be compared:

(GT) The original link to the post of the notorious enthusiast Funksammler'a - http://www.wehrmacht-awards.com/foru...d.php?t=897250
Video №1 - the plane is included in the left side of the radio beam system or a blind landing "Knikebayn" - points zone
Video №2 - plane crosses the ray from left to right - first part of the points zone, then a constant signal, then - dash
Video №3 - plane in the zone of constant signal crosses the first marker beacon (VEZ) blind landing system for 3000 m from the front edge of the band (or first marker beam "Knikebayn" system)
Video №4 - plane in the zone of constant signal crosses the second or main marker beacon (HEZ) blind landing system for 300 m from the front edge of the strip (or the second marker beam "Knikebayn" system)
Video №5 - aircraft flying in the area of ​​continuous signal is then deflected to the left (point zone), but the pilot adjusts course and first goes to the right (in the area of ​​points), but in the end returned to the DC signal zone.
Video №6 - flight simulation aircraft that goes wrong for the landing - strip comes to the left and takes the first points of the zone signals VEZ, then immediately HEZ (in reality to fly 2700 m from VEZ to HEZ needed more time in the video made just for clarity)

From the image below, you can easily understand what is happening in the video

post-3724-0-59998600-1485862349_thumb.jpg

... it was the unexpected ripple vertical arrow AFN, I thought she should move smoothly.

[Torric270]

Excellent find!

Find this in IL-2(ru) forum (quote from wehrmacht-awards), seems that crazy AFN-2 needle in Clod is not really too crazy.

[Torric270]

Small Update: With a big thanks to ATAG_Freya, this mission now includes a % damage to Ramsgate airfield (just like in some MP missions) to give better feed back how you are doing bombing wise.

Get the updated mission here: BEAMS.zip

[Torric270]

I also meant to add: For the Mp crowd, one can practice on several MP missions, London Ruft, Raiders, and Steamworks to name a few. London Ruft would be the place to start as you can fly from Oye to Lympne or Littlestone or vise versa to easily fly "To" a beacon.

Hats off to the mission builders for including these in the missions!

[Zenit]

Awesome! Thanks a lot!

[Little Bill]

As I walk this land with broken dreams
I have visions of many things
But happiness is just an illusion
Filled with sadness and confusion
What becomes of the broken-hearted
Who had love and now departed?

Reading these old posts I often look through the names of those involved and wonder what happened to this person or that person that I no longer see on the forum. Did their PC die, did they stop gaming, maybe moved on to another game? Or perhaps they passed away? Maybe when the next big update is competed TF could write a book on the subject, ha ha ha.

[ATAG_Snapper]

So true, Little Bill.

Three come to mind right away: JTDawg, ChiefRedCloud, Steve (Ziegler); I dealt with these chaps here on the forum on a daily basis. They were true gentlemen and a genuine pleasure to work with.

I'm sure there are more that have likewise "slipped the surly bonds of earth", many that we may not know of other than they no longer log in here.