Automatic flaps - Revision history

U42773747: /* List of planes that have this feature */ Tested some planes i could. I dislike blanket-marking plane families (appearantly Corsair has no flap protection despite being F4U, maybe a bug, idk.), but i have no choice on the matter.

2024-05-24T17:43:20Z

‎List of planes that have this feature: Tested some planes i could. I dislike blanket-marking plane families (appearantly Corsair has no flap protection despite being F4U, maybe a bug, idk.), but i have no choice on the matter.

U42773747: A different way to fit citation into page without having to copy-paste it down here.

2024-05-24T17:01:56Z

A different way to fit citation into page without having to copy-paste it down here.

U42773747: I lack deeper knowledge on the subject, but i want to make this page to put it into game mechanics on "aircraft" main page. I also have no clue what "floating" type flaps mean, maybe it's what i described as "auto". I guess you can moderate it as you like

2024-05-23T20:03:58Z

I lack deeper knowledge on the subject, but i want to make this page to put it into game mechanics on "aircraft" main page. I also have no clue what "floating" type flaps mean, maybe it's what i described as "auto". I guess you can moderate it as you like

New page

Automatic flaps are a feature of aircraft, which allows the aircraft to control flap angle on its own within certain limits.

At a minimum, this feature can prevent the pilot from destroying their own flaps and/or help increase the plane turn rate without thinking about it too much. At a maximum (mostly seen past Rank VI), it allows to strategically designate flaps position beforehand and with that enable new moves (which would be impossible otherwise), or smooth over those that would feel clunky otherwise.

== Protective mechanism ==

At the lowest level, automatic flap protection prevents the user from deploying flaps when all it can achieve is self-destruction and will automatically disable them when critical speed threshold is crossed. While very prohibitive and sometimes overly sensitive, it will prevent pilots from obliterating their own plane on accident and may even trivialize takeoff procedure for fast planes such as the Lightning F.6.

{{Notice|Flaps protection does not care that someone might need flaps again in a few seconds and it does not send messages about turning them off. Pay attention!}}

Pilot must use flaps again manually to deploy them again, and if it's impossible, a prompt will say that they are "blocked" and specify why.

<gallery mode="packed-hover" heights="200px">
Flap protection Lightning F6 pic1.jpg| Takeoff flaps are not blocked as plane is currently slow
Flap protection Lightning F6 pic2.jpg| Mechanism blocks pilot from using the flaps due to high speed
</gallery>

== Automatic flaps ==
Automatic flaps will adjust themselves to maximize aircraft agility while remaining outside of self-destruct zone. Certain planes inherently use flaps as a part of their movement set and take control away from the pilot entirely (like some rank VIII planes will say "no flaps" despite clearly having them).

Otherwise, with automatic flaps pilot can input desired flap angle (be it combat, landing or takeoff) and the plane will try its best to use the closest possible angle, trusting that the pilot knows what they are doing. For each situation, payload and plane, a different flaps position may be required and it's still a job of the pilot to figure out what they need.

As an extreme example, a VTOL jet such as Harrier GR.3 requires at least takeoff flaps to employ VTOL (as otherwise it may crash due to lack of lift, especially when loaded with bombs), and to fully stop midair it needs landing flaps. It would be an insurmountable task to manually slow down the plane and determine perfect moment to use certain angles of flaps, all while controlling the engine thrust angle and looking for opponents. Automatic flaps allow Harrier pilots to "request" landing flaps position beforehand, so they can focus on task at hand and naturally enter and leave hover state as they slow down to strike or speed up to leave.

<gallery mode="packed-hover" heights="200px">
Autoflaps harrier pic1.jpg|"Landing" flaps position issued, but not used due to speed
Autoflaps harrier pic2.jpg|"Landing" is in full effect due to a matching speed
Autoflaps harrier pic3.jpg|"Takeoff" is in effect instead due to "landing" destabilizing the plane otherwise
</gallery>

While this may not seem like much to an unaware pilot, the difference in movement is making this feature almost integral for certain aircraft (at least when they are used for their intended purpose).

==List of planes that have this feature==

Be aware that this list is compiled from Patch Notes below and it might not be the complete information as of the time of writing and/or reading.

For the sake of simplicity, some plane links currently refer to their entire family (may have a different name in your nation)

{| class="wikitable sortable" style="text-align:center"
! colspan="3" | Planes with smart flaps
|-
! Aircraft Name
! Rank
! Capability level
|-
| {{Specs-Link|f8f1}} || III || ???
|-
|-
| {{Specs-Link|f8f1b}} || IV || ???
|-
|-
| {{Specs-Link|f8f1b_france}} || IV || ???
|-
|-
| {{Specs-Link|p-51h-5_na}} || IV || ???
|-
|-
| {{Specs-Link|f_14a_early}} || VIII || ???
|-
|-
| {{Specs-Link|f_14b}} || VIII || ???
|-
|-
| {{Specs-Link|f8f1}} || III || ???
|-
|-
| {{Specs-Link|f-5e}} || VII || ???
|-
|-
| {{Specs-Link|f-5e_aidc}} || VII || ???
|-
|-
| {{Specs-Link|f-5e_fcu_thailand}} || VII || ???
|-
|-
| [[F-16_(Family)|F-16]] || VIII || ???
|-
|-
| [[F-4_Phantom_II_(Family)|F-4 Phantom II]] || VII - VIII || ???
|-
|-
| [[Harrier (Family)|Harrier/AV-8]] || VI - VIII || Automatic flaps
|-
|-
| {{Specs-Link|f-105d}} || VII || ???
|-
|-
| [[A-4_(Family)|A-4]] || VI || ???
|-
|-
| {{Specs-Link|a_10a_early}} || VI || ???
|-
|-
| {{Specs-Link|a_10a_late}} || VII || ???
|-
|-
| {{Specs-Link|mirage_f1c}} || VII || ???
|-
|-
| {{Specs-Link|mirage_f1c_200}} || VII || ???
|-
|-
| {{Specs-Link|lightning_f6}} || VI || Protective mechanism
|-
|-
| {{Specs-Link|lightning_f53}} || VI || Protective mechanism
|-
|-
| {{Specs-Link|f-84f_iaf}} || VI || ???
|-
|-
| {{Specs-Link|f-84f_germany}} || VI || ???
|-
|-
| {{Specs-Link|f-84f_france}} || VI || ???
|-
|-
| {{Specs-Link|f-84f_italy}} || VI || ???
|-
|-
| {{Specs-Link|f-84f_israel_iaf}} || VI || ???
|-
|-
| {{Specs-Link|f-84f}} || V || ???
|-
|-
| [[MiG-21_(Family)|MiG-21/J7]] || VI - VII || ???
|-
|-
| [[MiG-23_(Family)|MiG-23]] || VI - VII || ???
|-
|-
| {{Specs-Link|mig_27k}} || VII || ???
|-
|-
| {{Specs-Link|mig_27m}} || VII || ???
|-
|-
| [[MiG-29_(Family)|MiG-29]] || VIII || ???
|-
|-
| [[Typhoon (Family)|Typhoon]] || II-III || Protective mechanism
|-
|-
| [[F4F (Family)|F4F/Martlet]] || II || ???
|-
|-
| [[F6F_(Family)|F6F Hellcat]] || II - IV || ???
|-
|-
| [[F4U_(Family)|F4U/Corsair/F2G-1/AU-1]] || II - IV || ???
|-
|-
| {{Specs-Link|f2g-1}} || IV || ???
|-
|-
| {{Specs-Link|n1k2_j}} || IV || ???
|-
|-
| {{Specs-Link|n1k2_jko}} || IV || ???
|-
|-
| {{Specs-Link|j7w1}} || IV || ???
|-
|-
| {{Specs-Link|a7m2}} || IV || ???
|-
|-
| {{Specs-Link|a7m1}} || IV || ???
|-
|-
| {{Specs-Link|j6k1}} || IV || ???
|-
|-
| [[AD Skyraider (Family)|AD-2/AD-4/A-1H]] || IV || ???
|-
|}

==See also==

Citation from patch notes that introduced this mechanic (as-is):

''Flight Model changes:

Automatic adjustment of the flap extension limit or automatic retraction of the flap depending on the current speed has been added to the aircraft with automatic flaps, “floating” type flaps and flaps with protective blow-up mechanisms. The list of these aircraft is: F8F-1, F8F-1B, P-51H-5, F-14A, F-14B, F-5E, F-16 (all variants), F-4 Phantom (all variants), AV-8A, AV-8C, AV-8B+, Harrier GR.1, Harrier GR.3, Harrier GR.7, Sea Harrier FRS.1, F-105D, A-4 (all variants), A-10A Early, A-10A Late, Mirage F1C, Mirage F1C-200, Lightning F.6, Lightning F.53, F-84F, F2H-2, MiG-21 (all variants), MiG-23 (all variants), MiG-27 (all variants), MiG-29 (all variants), J-7 (all variants), Typhoon Mk.1, F4F-3/4/Martlet, F6F (all variants), F4U (all variants), F2G-1, N1K1/2, J7W1, A7M (all variants), J6K1, Douglas AD-2/4, A-1H''

@@ Line 71: / Line 71: @@
 |-
 |-
-| {{Specs-Link|f-5e_fcu_thailand}} || VII || ???
+| {{Specs-Link|f-5e_fcu_thailand}} || VII || Automatic flaps
 |-
 |-
@@ Line 77: / Line 77: @@
 |-
 |-
-| [[F-4_Phantom_II_(Family)|F-4 Phantom II]] || VII - VIII || ???
+| [[F-4_Phantom_II_(Family)|F-4 Phantom II]] || VII - VIII || Automatic flaps
 |-
 |-
@@ Line 86: / Line 86: @@
 |-
 |-
-| [[A-4_(Family)|A-4]] || VI || ???
+| [[A-4_(Family)|A-4]] || VI || Automatic flaps
 |-
 |-
-| {{Specs-Link|a_10a_early}} || VI || ???
+| {{Specs-Link|a_10a_early}} || VI || Automatic flaps
 |-
 |-
@@ Line 98: / Line 98: @@
 |-
 |-
-| {{Specs-Link|mirage_f1c_200}} || VII || ???
+| {{Specs-Link|mirage_f1c_200}} || VII || Automatic flaps
 |-
 |-
@@ Line 119: / Line 119: @@
 |-
 |-
-| {{Specs-Link|f-84f_israel_iaf}} || VI || ???
+| {{Specs-Link|f-84f_israel_iaf}} || VI || Automatic flaps
 |-
 |-
@@ Line 125: / Line 125: @@
 |-
 |-
-| [[MiG-21_(Family)|MiG-21/J7]] || VI - VII || ???
+| [[MiG-21_(Family)|MiG-21/J7]] || VI - VII || Automatic flaps
 |-
 |-
-| [[MiG-23_(Family)|MiG-23]] || VI - VII || ???
+| [[MiG-23_(Family)|MiG-23]] || VI - VII || Protective mechanism
 |-
 |-
@@ Line 143: / Line 143: @@
 |-
 |-
-| [[F4F (Family)|F4F/Martlet]] || II || ???
+| [[F4F (Family)|F4F/Martlet]] || II || Automatic flaps
 |-
 |-
@@ Line 149: / Line 149: @@
 |-
 |-
-| [[F4U_(Family)|F4U/Corsair/F2G-1/AU-1]] || II - IV || ???
+| [[F4U_(Family)|F4U/F2G-1/AU-1]] || II - IV || Automatic flaps
 |-
 |-
@@ Line 167: / Line 164: @@
 |-
 |-
-| {{Specs-Link|a7m1}} || IV || ???
+| {{Specs-Link|a7m1}} || IV || Automatic flaps
 |-
 |-
-| {{Specs-Link|j6k1}} || IV || ???
+| {{Specs-Link|j6k1}} || IV || Automatic flaps
 |-
 |-
-| [[AD Skyraider (Family)|AD-2/AD-4/A-1H]] || IV || ???
+| [[AD Skyraider (Family)|AD-2/AD-4/A-1H]] || IV || Automatic flaps
 |-
 |}
 ==See also==

@@ Line 1: / Line 1: @@
-Automatic flaps are a feature of aircraft, which allows the aircraft to control flap angle on its own within certain limits.
+Automatic flaps are a feature of aircraft, which allows them to control flap angle on their own within certain limits. This feature was added during update [[Update_"Alpha_Strike"#Flight_Model_changes:|"Alpha Strike"]].
 At a minimum, this feature can prevent the pilot from destroying their own flaps and/or help increase the plane turn rate without thinking about it too much. At a maximum (mostly seen past Rank VI), it allows to strategically designate flaps position beforehand and with that enable new moves (which would be impossible otherwise), or smooth over those that would feel clunky otherwise.
@@ Line 33: / Line 33: @@
 ==List of planes that have this feature==
-Be aware that this list is compiled from Patch Notes below and it might not be the complete information as of the time of writing and/or reading.
+Be aware that this list is compiled from Patch Notes and it might not be the complete information as of the time of writing and/or reading.
 For the sake of simplicity, some plane links currently refer to their entire family (may have a different name in your nation)
@@ Line 178: / Line 178: @@
 ==See also==