Milviz Corsair short review

Discussion Hub Aircraft
1

Corsair…

I did not purchase the Spitfire. Watching videos, you can see that it does not simulate engine temperature at all

And I do love those monster radials. My favorite is A2A Texan. I did try P-47 Thunderbolt DCS, but did not purchase it…

With manual now placed in documents folder - You know you have to read it.

In cockpit - Thanks for tooltip, but I find them confusing with what you can select, not actual. Very fiddly with this option with park brake, and tail hook up/down.
I bind the park brake to a button, but activating, the throttle does not move.

You have to use TrackIr to figure out auto lean auto rich positions.

RPM governor. I find the range very small. And it does not operate correctly with rapid throttle movement. It should be a delay, then overshoot with a rollback. And usually with a bang in the exhaust when fuel here ignites…

Takeoff Challenge.

I tried every trick in the book. Example: Hold stick back at MAP40 then push stick forward while slowly increase to TO power. After 20 attempts I checked YouTube. Solution: there is no trick. Instant full power, stick neutral - easy forward with right rudder feed in.

But still it occasionally snap to left without warning, and impossible to catch with max rudder. I do not know why yet, but I will figure it out.

Landing.
Fly in hot when it is dirty. It drops like brick with no bunch up at touchdown when you cut throttle. Rollout with tail wheel locked.

What I am not happy with:

Governor behavior.

With trim set for TO. It should be roll and yaw at higher speeds unless corrected

Noise with cockpit open. Drive a car at high speed and open the the window… you know what I mean with howling sound…

What I like:

The Sound!!!

Temperature Control - You may (will) blow the engine.

Dirt and weathering. Finally an aircraft that looks real.

The manual. <along with CRJ this is another step away from xbox gamers to serious simmers.

With a few updates, this will be on par with aircraft systems in DCS WWII fighters.

  • Japs called it Whistling Death. I wish MSFS could have a flyby option… enough said…

(This review is based on my flight test - submitted to fs 2020 FB)

2 Likes
2

I agree. But it is fun to fly once you get it in the air. In VR it’s great!
Could be louder with a little more rumble. I also love the sound of radials.

3

I’ve had zero issues with takeoffs using this method-

Set aileron and rudder trim to 6 degrees
Lock tail wheel
Gradually feed power while keeping slight back pressure on stick
Once I reach about 60 kts I gently release the back pressure and add a little right rudder, at this point the rudder is effective enough to counter the torque

1 Like
4

Ditto!

Only trouble I have is it can be difficult to see clearly when setting the trims - especially the aileron.

5

If you have tooltips (I think) enabled, you can hover the cursor over the knobs to see what they’re currently set at.

6

Anyway someone could write a mod to the flight characteristics so the plane can just fly nicely. And then those that want to drag wings on the ground can still do so?

This thing is crazy, I can get 3 takeoffs and landings perfect, then the next time, its heading off to the left, and wanting to flip over or something stupid.
It really makes it no very fun, to just struggle.

At first it was a challenge, but then it makes no sense when you do everything the same that worked before, and off you go…

7

I forget the actual numbers, but Corsair pilots typically had something like 40 hours of training in type before heading off to combat, after having trained through Pipers, Stearmans or Ryans or WACO’s, and then another 40 hours of training in T-6 Texans… Notice the trend here…

Practice. Make sure you’re using a consistent action. Lock the tailwheel and apply throttle slowly, don’t just slam it forward. And always remember simulating flight is always harder than in real life because of the lack of forces on you and feedback from your controls.

And make sure you’re using a set of rudder pedals and not an X-Box controller or the keyboard.

3 Likes
8

I understand it can be a challenge but using the steps I outlined I have very few issues taking off. Lock the tail wheel, set your trim, and most importantly keep back pressure on the stick until at least 60 knots since your rudder is ineffective before that speed. Once I got 60 I can lightly let off the stick to let the tail come up and apply a little right rudder to keep everything straight.

1 Like
9

I felt this way about the Spitfire, but having spent some time visiting all the POIs in the UK, I have gotten tremendous satisfaction out of figuring this plane out. I’m now at the stage that I can grease most of my landings, and if I’m focusing, takeoffs are almost a breeze.

I’m going to spend some time in the Corsair soon to see if I can figure it out. When I had just bought both, and only had a few hours in each I found it was the easier of the two to land, if nothing else.

1 Like
10

There’s no checklist procedure or amount of practice that can spare the hard snap to left (or right) at 40 knots or so. It doesn’t matter if you jam the throttle or ease it up. It doesn’t matter if you lock the tail wheel or don’t. Rudder and aileron trim. Crosswind or calm. It either yaws on you, or it doesn’t, regardless of what you do.

The one thing I’ve found that can salvage the take-off roll is to right toe brake to stop the left yaw. Full right rudder doesn’t work. Practice can maybe make you less swervy until you’re stable on two wheels with the tail up, but it’s nearly impossible to keep the nose straight through it all. Unless, randomly, it decides that your take-off is going to be smooth and uneventful.

I blame the base simulator for this behavior and not the add-on aircraft itself because the Spitfire and Waco both exhibit this hard left yaw as well. Maybe heavy tail draggers are inherently unstable in this new flight model. Maybe it’s the controllers being used. Maybe the simulator is just inconsistent from one user to the next.

1 Like
11

Can you reduce the P factor in the flight model, and mod this thing? I was even thinking about copying the spitfires just so it would be more enjoyable, but not sure if it will work.

I know there were lots of people working on the F-15 when it came out.

It would be really nice just to be able to take a flight, not hear that glorious sound of dragging a metal trashcan down an alley…

12

The Waco developers (Carenado?) apparently updated the model to tame the take-off behavior, so maybe see what they did.

I know weight plays a huge role in the take-off stability, which is probably why the Spitfire is easier on the take-off, and why the Corsair becomes much more unruly with all the tanks filled. Take-offs are easier when lightly loaded, but it will still careen off the runway on you if you don’t use differential braking to steer and dance on the ailerons and then the rudder to keep from tipping. I’m guessing these are quirks in the base flight model that are just being exacerbated by the “extreme” weight and torque of the plane compared to other stock tail draggers like the XCub.

13

you can reduce prop RPM lever to about 60% before takeoff - and set one notch of flaps. Very easy to maintain centerline but once airborne you need to raise flaps, level the nose, and push the prop control steadily forward to full before climbing.
Prior to takeoff make sure you add one notch right aileron, one notch nose up on the elevator trim, one notch right rudder as well - and slowly raise the throttle until you feel the left yaw moment (reduced by setting the prop to 60% or so) then gently add power and slight back pressure to get the mains off the ground. Then - as above - level off to prevent stall, add prop RPM to full power, raise flaps and gear - then climb out making rudder and aileron adjustments as needed.
This works every single time.
NOTE - you also need to move the CG forward a bit - however - you cannot go too far forward from the full rearward ‘default’ CG because if you do the airplane will spawn and then in the most undignified manner - tilt forward onto its nose. You have to keep the CG point just rearward of the center of the flyable range indicated on the ‘fuel and weight management’ screen - set between 30-33% MAC

14

check the aircraft CG or ‘center of gravity’ default and move it toward the center of the ‘flyable range’

if you want to adjust the Corsair’s aircraft .cfg file and know where to find them (there are more than one in MSFS for each plane) look for a line called ‘propeller yaw factor’ or similar - I think Flying Iron used a setting of 2.1 or so - save a copy of that file to use if you want to be safe - then change the number to 1.5 or less and save changes.

15

Thanks for the suggestions. I always set the CG to the recommended numbers though.

I tried to follow your steps by the book above (as all the others have suggested as well). RPM lever down to 60% or so, and gradually, I mean super slowly nudging the throttle forward… but once it hits a certain airspeed, it will just start yawing hard left and goes off the runway. The only way to stop it I’ve found is right braking.

16

I’m wondering why I’m not experiencing the snap roll? Sure, I have to be careful, but, I don’t have any problem taking off with the Tail wheel lock set. I’m using CH Products Rudder Pedals and a Logitech Extreme3D Pro Joystick, and my sensitivity is set to 0 on the rudder pedals. I used to have it set to -50%, but I found the rudder pedals snap too hard with such a deep sensitivity curve, and I find linear works better for me.

Could it be you’re lifting the tail too soon?

Edit: I’m just using default CG

Edit 2: I just checked and I changed my Joystick X and Y axis sensitivity to -35% as well.

17

I don’t know. The behavior seems inconsistent between users.

I can jam the throttle full forward, full RPM, no trim settings, no tail wheel lock. As long as I toe brake to steer, it’ll take off fine for the most part. Nothing seems to matter. It might be a controller issue. I’m using CH Rudder Pedals and a Sidewinder joystick.

18

Like I learned from flying the WACO, I do work to keep the tail down until close to lift off speed…

19

The tail is down when it yaws hard left. Once I can get the tail up, it’s usually more stable and controllable.

1 Like
20

yes - I forgot to list locking the tail wheel on the Corsair - that has to be done as well.
Not sure why people would have different experiences WRT that nasty prop torque yaw moment - that doesn’t make sense unless the difference is in taking all the other pre-flight steps - but even so - the airplane wants to depart to the left at 40kts indicated no matter what.
For me - reducing the prop RPM lever was the only way to reduce the severity of that departure - and the rest of it just helps maintain the centerline without the PIO’s that lead to trashcan dragging down the alley lol

1 Like