I'm really struggling to control the dr1, i can't seem to get to grips with this bird whatsoever. I can't even get her to turn without fighting me all the way,and winning snapping back around on me and pitching skyward everytime!

What am i doing wrong as no other plane reacts or flies in this way, at the moment i hate this plane i really do


Any help much appreciated

I'll post a video of my flying tommorow if my explanation is a little vague!

It's porked.
(Always wanted to say this)
I like videos.
Greetings,
Catfish

RUDDER!

Yes i thought this, like the camel i thought it likes rudder! but isn't helping me.

Well for a left turn, you need alot of left rudder to keep the nose down, for a right turn you need left rudder to keep the nose up. If you are used to inline engines the need to use the left for both turns seems unnatural, but you get used to it. It just takes practice to get the feel for how much rudder you need. It is not one of the easier planes in ROF for a new pilot, but once mastered it is one of the deadliest.

Keep the stick a bit forward all the time. Push it further forward before beginning to bank left, then use left rudder to keep the nose down when the turning circle tightens, and the plane's roll angle gets steeper.
For a right turn pull the stick slightly back after (!) banking with the ailerons. The more steep the angle gets (more banking - ailerons, and pulling - elevator), the more left rudder you can apply to keep the nose pointing at the horizon. Always use a reference like clouds or the horizon for your heading, and elevation. Due to the rotary you need left rudder for either turn. When in combat, use one hand for the keyboard gun trigger, and keep the other reserved for your joystick input.

While practicing, make only small inputs. Use your fingertips only to rotate the stick for rudder input (without pedals).
It is just when you move a real stick to the right for maybe 20", your joystick does that with 1/2". It is "a bit sensitive", but that's what the Dr.I is all about. You will get used to it Albatros pilots hated the Dr.I until they knew how to fly it.
But then I still think the Albatros is a bit more elegant lol

The Dr.I is easier to fly than the Camel and really more good-mooded, but the controls are a bit more "to the point" (I even think it still is too clumsy regarding flying sideways). I have been to a museum today and had a look at the Dr.I - there is no way comparing it to a Sopwith tripe, it is much more "compact" and sturdy. You almost "see" its capabilities, cantilever wings, no wires and this thing is SHORT.

Greetings,
Catfish

You can't really fly it the way it would seem natural.

It turns left very nicely if you know how to do it. I actually prefer turning left with it. If you know all of the different forces acting on it and how they work, then it's odd behavior makes more sense.

Basically on a tight left turn you end up with close to full left rudder and almost full right aileron. The left rudder keeps the nose down to counteract the gyro forces, and the right aileron keeps it from continuing to bank to the left counteracting the left rudder.

Takes some practice and a smooth use of controls. It's hard to explain how to use the controls for it, since each maneuver is so different, and then the direction you do it changes everything again.

I flew it a lot in free flight with no enemies just to get used to it. I'm not sure videos would help that much unless you can see what the control inputs are.

Just put more hours on it.

Great help guys, i will give her some more practise later today. your right it can't be flown like any of the other planes, it just shocked me at how different it actually fly's.

I guess it shows just how good the fm is in rof, thanks again for the tips guys

One of few games where players aren't complaining that the Dr1 is too easy.

It's best to practice by trying to fly tight horizontal turns. The easiest way to do this is to get up to a few hundred m altitude and try to get the nose to run along the horizon throughout the turn. The Dr I can hold height even in a very tight turn so you can go round and round until you feel comfortable with it.

I suggest hopping in and out of external view and pausing/unpausing every now and again to look at the aircraft's attitude. In flight sims there just isn't the "out of true" sensation of sideslipping one gets in a real aircraft. Looking at people flying Dr Is online, quite a few don't seem to realise they are flying very uncoordinated turns with a lot of yaw - not good because of the extra drag it creates and the risk of departing controlled flight.

Because the aileron authority is rather poor, and rudder is powerful and produces a lot of roll, sharp turn are best initiated with a kick of rudder and aileron. To get a rapid roll into turn, a bootfull of rudder can be used, but back it off as soon as the aircraft goes into the bank otherwise it will snap roll right round. In tight left-hand turns, I find I get a controllable steep turn with about 30% full left rudder to hold the nose down and a slight out-of-turn aileron. In right turns, I find I end up with very slight left rudder to hold the nose up.

Cheers,

RD.