Following on from a conversation with FT tonight, we decided that this post should be a sticky instead of hidden in a miscellaneous thread, so here it is......
Use our server, its what its there for. It runs 24/7 and is imaginatively called dangerdogz, p/w xxxxxxxxx
The reason its there is so people can practise anytime they want, without the worry of human breathers ruining there practise time. Its set up so there is enemy bombing raids focussed on the Hawkinge, Lympe and Dover areas, Hawkinge, Manston and Lympe are all available to use. Most bomber raids come in at around 12-15000 ft. Manston is the safest place to start if you don't want an enemy bomb to disrupt your practise!
You will cold start, just as on ATAG.
Wed night on ATAG will not be the best time to be asking a hundred questions of how do i do this, this thread however is the perfect place, and our server is the perfect place to practise these things.
Things you will need to know.
1) how to start your engine (ie turn the fuel on, move the throttle forward an inch or so) and how not to overheat your engine and blow the engine after 30 seconds (THIS WILL HAPPEN IF YOU DON'T OPEN THE RADIATOR AND REDUCE YOUR PROP PITCH).
First thing i do upon getting in a new plane is open the radiator to 100%, before anything else, should be the first thing you do.
Only time i use 100% pitch is for take off and landing, even in combat rarely if ever go above 80%, cruise normally around 60%.
2) how to set your compass, Do this whilst your engine is warming up.
http://dangerdogz.com/forums/topic/10317-setting-your-compass-in-spits-and-hurris/
This thread, and post number 13 by Robo explains the compass much more in depth,
http://theairtacticalassaultgroup.com/forum/showthread.php?t=4011
3) how to set your gunsight and turn it on. There are two wheels on the gunsight, one is to set it to your convergence (note, this is in yards, your convergence in the ini files is in metres so you need to convert), and one is to set it for the wingspan of what you are hunting. I use the clickable cockpit mouse cursor to do this whilst the engine is warming up. There is a button located behind the gunsight on the left hand side to turn it on and off, although i map a key for this myself.
this thread is also useful for puting a little pic in your cockpit, giving enemy wingspans,
http://dangerdogz.com/forums/topic/11248-quick-reference-to-the-huns-wingspan-for-your-instrument-panel/
Some more useful stuff,
a) If you want much more effective weapon loadouts that the stock ones, here you can have mine! (convergence set at 200m so you need to use 220 yards when setting your gunsight up)
http://dangerdogz.com/forums/topic/11247-my-ammo-belt-loadouts/
Note there is no tracer in these loadouts, as this gives away you are firing, there is however plenty of DeWilde, which gives a flash on impact which is better than tracer imo.
b ) Also if you haven't tinkered with all your info windows, again you can have how i have set mine up to give you a headstart,
copy this text into your confUser.ini file found here,
C:\Users\kevin\Documents\1C SoftClub\il-2 sturmovik cliffs of dover - MOD
At the end of the file, look for the [ChatWindow] section,
This may require them to be moved around a bit if you're not running 1920 x 1200 like i am though.
[ChatWindow]
0:-1=-posSize '0.016 0.861 0.152 0.139' -titleStr "Info Window" -alpha 0 -ualpha 0 -vscroll -wrap -history 100
0:262144=-lay 0 -fnt 0 -clr 0
1:-1=-posSize '0.819 0.595 0.181 0.145' -titleStr "Secondary Controls" -alpha 130 -ualpha 0 -history 10 -timeout 15
1:5=-font 0
1:4=-font 0
1:7=-font 0
2:-1=-posSize '0.000 0.005 0.200 0.200' -titleStr "Info Window" -alpha 50 -ualpha 0 -vscroll -wrap -history 90 -timeout 25
2:2=-font 0
3:-1=-posSize '0.781 0.007 0.215 0.188' -titleStr "Info. Window 1" -alpha 20 -ualpha 0 -vscroll -wrap -includeTime -history 5 -timeout 10
3:4=-font 0
3:3=-font 0
3:131072=0
3:1=-font 0
3:6=-font 0
4:-1=-posSize '0.264 0.002 0.450 0.991' -titleStr NetStats -title -border -alpha 50 -ualpha 0 -custom
4:-2=-font 0 -color 120 -columnWidth '0.113 0.197 0.354 0.161 0.104 0.070' -columnSort 2
Anymore questions, ask away!
+++ EDIT +++ Removed server password - this is a public area