Grass runway and AccuSim P-51 [RESOLVED]

[whamil77]

I have noticed that the P-51 really takes a beating on a grass runway, so rough that a couple of times I have nosed-over at low speeds. Watching Kermit Weeks' video of his P-51C flight off a grass strip on YouTube, I don't see the bouncing and lurching. I have tried replacing the runway with concrete and asphalt and set it to transparent, which alleviated the roughness but calls for the wrong fx for grass.

Is there a way to decrease the bouncing and lurching in a setting somewhere or is it "hard coded?"

[Lewis - A2A]

Hello,

Can you let us know if you are an Accu-sim or Accu-feel user and are you all updated?

thanks,
Lewis

[whamil77]

Hello,

Can you let us know if you are an Accu-sim or Accu-feel user and are you all updated?

thanks,
Lewis

Accusim P-51 and P-51civ only. I intend on getting Accu-feel in the near future but currently only have Accu-sim for the Mustangs. I am updated to 10_13_15.

[whamil77]

Turns out the tailwheel was mostly to blame. The mains seem to be damped appropriately. I was able to considerably improve grass runway handling by increasing the damping ratio on the tailwheel strut. The tail still kicks up occasionally, but with a considerably reduced amplitude and frequency than before. The original damping ratio was 0.6. I changed it to 0.8 (same as the mains).

[DHenriques_]

Turns out the tailwheel was mostly to blame. The mains seem to be damped appropriately. I was able to considerably improve grass runway handling by increasing the damping ratio on the tailwheel strut. The tail still kicks up occasionally, but with a considerably reduced amplitude and frequency than before. The original damping ratio was 0.6. I changed it to 0.8 (same as the mains).

Just FYI for your realism and immersion factor.
Be aware that on grass the tail wheel on the 51 doesn't bounce around or flex vertically on the strut very much even on a bumpy surface. If the grass surface is bumpy the entire aircraft might compress the main struts a bit as the plane goes over the bumps but the overall feeling is solidity. The 51 is heavy enough where most of the "bumpiness" on grass is absorbed by the struts and you don't feel much in the cockpit.
Dudley Henriques

[whamil77]

Turns out the tailwheel was mostly to blame. The mains seem to be damped appropriately. I was able to considerably improve grass runway handling by increasing the damping ratio on the tailwheel strut. The tail still kicks up occasionally, but with a considerably reduced amplitude and frequency than before. The original damping ratio was 0.6. I changed it to 0.8 (same as the mains).

Just FYI for your realism and immersion factor.
Be aware that on grass the tail wheel on the 51 doesn't bounce around or flex vertically on the strut very much even on a bumpy surface. If the grass surface is bumpy the entire aircraft might compress the main struts a bit as the plane goes over the bumps but the overall feeling is solidity. The 51 is heavy enough where most of the "bumpiness" on grass is absorbed by the struts and you don't feel much in the cockpit.
Dudley Henriques

That's exactly the characteristic I was looking for. None of my real P-51 time was on grass or a bumpy surface, but I remember it being the easiest to handle tail-dragger I have ever flown with little or none of the characteristic bounce on a wheel landing I had seen on others. In the sim, the mains seemed to act appropriately on a bumpy surface, but the tailwheel strut would launch the tail into the air even with back-stick applied, resulting on a nose-over on a couple of occasions. Changing the damping ratio on the tailwheel strut calmed this behavior to more closely match what I imagine it should be.

[DHenriques_]

Turns out the tailwheel was mostly to blame. The mains seem to be damped appropriately. I was able to considerably improve grass runway handling by increasing the damping ratio on the tailwheel strut. The tail still kicks up occasionally, but with a considerably reduced amplitude and frequency than before. The original damping ratio was 0.6. I changed it to 0.8 (same as the mains).

Just FYI for your realism and immersion factor.
Be aware that on grass the tail wheel on the 51 doesn't bounce around or flex vertically on the strut very much even on a bumpy surface. If the grass surface is bumpy the entire aircraft might compress the main struts a bit as the plane goes over the bumps but the overall feeling is solidity. The 51 is heavy enough where most of the "bumpiness" on grass is absorbed by the struts and you don't feel much in the cockpit.
Dudley Henriques

That's exactly the characteristic I was looking for. None of my real P-51 time was on grass or a bumpy surface, but I remember it being the easiest to handle tail-dragger I have ever flown with little or none of the characteristic bounce on a wheel landing I had seen on others. In the sim, the mains seemed to act appropriately on a bumpy surface, but the tailwheel strut would launch the tail into the air even with back-stick applied, resulting on a nose-over on a couple of occasions. Changing the damping ratio on the tailwheel strut calmed this behavior to more closely match what I imagine it should be.

Sounds like a plan to me )
DH