S3 Series

I would like to know why sticky grass inside and around the airfields is so lethal in the game. Right now if you run off the runway with any speed at all wheels down it usually results in a nose over and instant death. That is fine if it is accurate but it has ended many an otherwise successful night for players during S3s. I'm not a pilot so I have no real world experience to draw on but is this really accurate?

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Instant flip over, no, especially on a field. LW planes were designed to land on prepared grass fields, front lines blitzkrieg and all that. Were instant flip overs in 190s? Those seem to have ridiculously sensitive reaction over the pitch axis when it either goes off runway or the smallest amount of brake pressure applied. It could be going 20mph with the stick back and still flip right over.

I'm not a certified pilot either, but extreme failure for slipping off the runway seems excessive, ground looping perhaps, or damaged gear maybe, but sudden explosion?

When in doubt, keep it tween the lines.

My thoughts also. So in a no flaps landing I will always come in wheels up from now on. Gotta play the game I guess. Last frame I rolled off the end of the runway and immediately died.

It can be surprising just how "sticky" real world turf can be. It doesn't have to be very soft before the drag created is very evident. My friend Bill Bunn put a P47C on it's nose when he taxied off the edge of the pavement into the soft soil along the edge. We got the B-17 stuck on dry turf in Florida when the pilot pivoted on one wheel while parking and spun the tiniest of little depressions. It took nearly cruise power to break loose.

That being said I've taken off in a 206 and left ruts 4-6 inches deep until I had some speed up. Takeoff roll was probably double the norm that time, directional control was challenging.

The sticky grass in Warbirds is pretty sticky, IIRC it was started to stop things like guys driving B25s around the field killing tanks.

Now don't get testy, but if you're having issues with nosing over landing (with or without flaps) it's more a technique problem than a FM problem. Nearly everyone lands too fast in Warbirds which means you have to fly the airplane onto the runway. Wrong in so many ways.

Slow the airplane down, on short final any increase in pitch should cause the stall horn to come on. A smooth gentle flare to a nose slightly high attitude then just let the airplane settle onto the runway. If sink rate picks up use a little bit of power to arrest the sink perhaps combined with a slight increase in pitch attitude. If you just increased pitch you will likely stall and "arrive" rather than "land".

Remember also that stick back increases brake pressure so if you're starting to nose over you can ease the stick forward and usually stop the forward pitch, if not just release brakes completely.

The slower you are at touchdown the less braking it takes to stop and the less inertia the aircraft has -- less likely to nose over.

Thanks Col.

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Thanks Col but the 190, A-8 in particular, does not behave normally. Stick back means almost nothing to it and the slightest brake pressure even at slow speeds from taxiing flip it right over on its back. I almost crashed last frame after moving 20ft from the spawn for takeoff and tapping the brakes. Pitch over is worse at slow speeds than at high in the 190.

^^ what Zinhwk said.

190 has always been like a coiled mousetrap when landing... tap..tap...tap...tap..tap..
even at slow speeds the tail wants to go over your head. If you pull back to keep the tail down you are adding more breaking power.... DOH

Not saying it's right or wrong, because the game is my only experience with it.

You can set the sticky grass outside the artwork by putting in a bounding box. Some designers like it really tight to the field art while others give you some serious latitude. This effects all planes equally but how they behave to sticky grass is different and is set in the FM I think.
This is the number one complaint and sometimes when the sticky grass is so close to the ending of the field causes more grief than it should.
I am on the fence if it should be as tight as it is sometimes or more space given. I think for MA terrains much more space should probably be provided.

One would think for these island terrains where there isn't much room for anything off the runway, that sticky grass could be turned off? The only flat surface where you can even taxi is the runway itself.

The only way I know of turning off sticky grass is to place a bounding box over an area. Road tool objects are supposed to stop sticky grass but we have seen too much of it appear where it should not. Still not sure why it happens in some areas and not others.