Rod Hyde Interview Excerpts

Flying Corps!!

I know, if its made by Rowan, you have your doubts. And if you are a serious virtual pilot, those doubts are justifed. Rowans previous graphics engine suffered from compatability limits, and their flight model was awful. BUT....times are changing! Rowan has written a completely new graphics engine to back up a completely new simulation.

Rod Hyde is not only Managing Director at Rowan Software Ltd, he is also involved in Research, Games Design and Coding.

Here are some excerpts from an interview with Rod Hyde:

Q: As gamers become more experienced flight sim pilots they require more of a challenge. How realistic will the flight model be?

A: The flight model has been upgraded so that many of the idiosyncrasies of WW1 aircraft can be experienced. Here is a short list:

Gyroscopic effect

Slipstream

Torque

Adverse yaw: Roll to the left and get an unwanted yaw to the left. Most noticeable on the SE5.

Wind: Cross wind landings are difficult, a ground loop is easy to achieve.

Moving CoG: At the beginning of a patrol, on the Camel, forward pressure was needed on the stick to avoid climbing. Later in the flight the fuel used would result in the CoG position changing and so the aircraft could be flown "Hands Off".

The aircraft will stall and spin. It will be possible to steer the aircraft on the ground using aileron (due to adverse yaw effect) as well as rudder.

Pilots will be able to take advantage of the different aircraft performances during combat. For instance, aircraft with higher top speeds can zoom higher than lower powered aircraft.

We showed the model to Andy Sephton who is the Test Pilot at the Old Warden Airfield. The Old Warden Airfield is the home of the Shuttleworth collection which includes a number of WW1 aircraft that are still airworthy. You can still see these aircraft fly during the summer months.

Anyway Andy was impressed with the model and suggested a few improvements which I am attempting to implement now.

Q: How good will the enemy AI be in Flying Corps, and have any improvements been made in this area?

A: The AI has been completely rewritten to reflect the realities of combat during World War One. In the past we have relied on a generic set of enemy aircraft AI.

In the past we have produced flight models that were very forgiving. Aircraft stalled gently and nosed downwards without the hint of a spin. Also for many years our flight models have included an automatic trim which was activated as soon as the player returned the stick to the central position.

Over the past few years the number of computer flight sim pilots has grown enormously. We think that the number of skilled flight sim pilots is now large enough for us to develop a more accurate flight model. There is no doubt that the Sopwith Camel is one of the most difficult aircraft to learn to fly, and so we are concentrating on producing as accurate a simulation of the aircraft as possible. Many will find it too difficult to fly. For them a more forgiving model will be available. However, for those who persevere, there will be the satisfaction of using the idiosyncrasies of the camel to their advantage in combat.

Rowan is also working on a sim based on the Korean war titled MiG Alley... Check out this page of development notes , then head to Rowan's site to check it out for yourself!!

Take me to the Coming Sims page

Take me back to the Flying Corps Preview


Last Updated October 25th, 1996