=69.GIAP=Navigation Training section
BASIC NAVIGATION TRAINING
Good morning Kadet!
Remember your first flight with the =69.Giap= Squadron? Not only where you thrilled & exited, you where probably also disorientated & sweating like a madman!! Yet your Flight leader was calm & new exactly where the flight was at all times!
Learning how to navigate in game will greatly reduce your anxiety & confusion during a flight or mission. It will increase your confidence & will contribute to the effectiveness of your flight in achieving its mission targets & objectives.
Correct flight planning from ‘Your’ part will ensure that you enjoy the missions more & make it back to base with fuel in your tanks on a regular basis.
We are going to cover the three basic methods used for Navigating ‘in game’. However, it is recommended that you always use a combination of the three in order to achieve a correct flight plan - Plan your flight & fly your plan.
Distance estimation
This are practical estimates:
A grid square in an Il2 map (ex Ardennes) has 10 km from ‘corner to corner’ on its 90 degree axis & 13 km on a 45 degree angle.
It will take an aircraft traveling at 300km/ph 2min to travel the 10km.
It will take an aircraft traveling at 300km/ph 2min & 30 sec to travel the 13km
So, using this simple method you can work out your flight time, arrival on target area & landing time.
Natural Navigation
This begins the moment you take off. As you do the circuits waiting for everyone to Form up, prior to heading to their mission. Ensure that you check your surrounding ground area & contours:
- Concrete or grass a/f
- River north of a/f – Y junction – squigly river…
- Large town south a/f
- Railway track parallel with a/f
- High ground – mountain nearby
Make a mental note of this or write it down, you will need to familiarize yourself with the area for when you RTB.
Heading to target - you will now follow natural & man made in game features like the rivers, coasts, cities & roads to your target area. This method is highly effective, although routes are normally longer since you have to follow the ground references instead of heading straight from A to B.
However this method is very useful for low level flying missions. It becomes ‘very limited’ to ‘useless’ if flying at night or conditions are terrible & cloud cover is low.
Compass Navigation
All aircraft come with a Compass (plus we have it on the bottom left screen), this is by far the most precise way of navigation. Through clear, dark or foul weather, you will be able to navigate, destroy your target & be the first back at the Serzhants mess!! This is called instrument flying!
It is extremely useful & highly recommended that you make yourself a copy of the map that you will be flying, this will give you time before the mission to work out your headings, distances & timings, well BEFORE the mission!
A compass needle always points:
- North (360)
- South (180)
- West (270)
- East (090)
So, with an in game grid map, printed & preferably protected with a plastic cover & a hand held protractor, you can plot all the changes in direction for your mission flight plan. Distances can be calculated using the distance estimation method & ground references used to confirm your location.
Important - Always know which is the heading to ‘Friendly Lines’, you do not want to be working this out with half a wing missing & 2 Fokkers on your six.
In game Map - The 'in game map' may be moved to a more suitable position on your screen by showing the map, placing the mouse icon over it & pressing the left & right mouse button at the same time, keep pressed & drag the map to any suitable position on your screen.
Note – The on screen map will show you ‘exactly’ where you are the first time it is opened during a mission, so always leave closed. Use your printed map at all times & open the ‘in game map’ only in case your completely & utterly LOST!!
Enjoy the trainings.
Good luck and never fear to ask if you don't understand something or if you have any problems.
S!
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