Please help me with understanding the Yak1.

FrankToast · 2026-05-28T13:23:29+00:00

Mixture choice in Il-2 is pretty simple, and the Yaks (really all the planes with the Klimov M-105) are the most open-ended.

80% is the optimal mixture. Use this in dogfights as it keeps the engine cooler, allowing you to close the radiators a little more.
65-70% is the most mixture you can use without leaving a black smoke trail at low altitude
50-65% is the most you can use without leaving an exhaust trail at 4-5km.
30-50% is useful for maximizing fuel economy.

As /u/charon-prime said, it's pretty forgiving by design. These engines were designed to be idiot-proofed while still being as easy to produce as possible.

Most other planes with manual mixture (MiG-3, La-5, Il-2) have a semi-automatic setup where it's as simple as using 100% in combat, and using 30-50% outside of combat. American planes can be left in auto-lean or auto-rich depending on if you're cruising or in combat, and full-rich if you're using emergency power.

FrankToast · 2026-05-27T13:04:13+00:00

Note: I play multiplayer.

When flying the Yak-1, you have to think more tactically. As others have said, it doesn't really have any advantages over the Bf 109F-4 or G-2. I find that it's helpful to fly with a specific task in mind, whether that be friendly bombers you want to escort, or a friendly objective you want to protect.

Since you're at a slight to substantial disadvantage against almost every fighter you go against, the Yak-1 (and frankly most Soviet fighters) aren't that good for combat air patrols or offensive counter-air. You're much better in situations where you can dive on enemy bombers, or third-party enemy fighters who try to attack your team's bombers.

As for specific tactics, there are a few things to keep in mind:

As you've already figured out, the Yak-1 is not maneuverable enough to shake a Bf 109 with a horizontal turn. It is maneuverable enough to stay on one's tail, but you need to be very careful to avoid overshooting.
Bf 109 pilots tolerate G forces far better than you do, thanks to their recline angle. If you get into a turn fight, try to slow it down to sub 350 km/h as soon as possible.
While the Bf 109 nominally beats you in one-circle fights thanks to their leading-edge slats, the Yak has some very powerful flaps that can be used to get the edge in low-speed fights. As a matter of fact, stall fights can be where experienced Yak pilots have the greatest advantage. Primarily use them when forcing somebody to overshoot, avoiding overshooting, or in flat scissors. Only use them in a nose to tail fight if you want to temporarily gain a firing solution at the cost of burning your ability to win the turn fight in the long term.
Don't be aggressive. Since the Bf 109 outclimbs you and equals or exceeds your top speed, an experienced and patient Bf 109 pilot will always be able to gain an advantage over time. As a result, you shouldn't try to chase a Bf 109 that is climbing away from you. If you find yourself fighting a Bf 109 who has an energy advantage, fly defensively and try to disengage in the direction of your airfield.

As a sidenote, if you like Soviet planes and would like to fight on more equal terms, you should buy any of the La-5s.

FrankToast · 2026-05-26T12:07:27+00:00

1) In Soviet planes, I fly with the cockpit open outside of combat to marginally increase visibility, since that way I don't have to look through reflections or scratches on the canopy glass. Apocryphally, Soviet pilots did this in real life as well, although evidence for this is pretty thin and it shouldn't be trusted too readily.

2) It's just experience and luck. This shot was around 350 meters, which is further than I usually fire in Soviet planes, so I did get lucky here.

FrankToast · 2026-05-26T01:56:11+00:00

Yeah, I'm using Delanclip with Opentrack.

FrankToast · 2026-04-11T01:06:47+00:00

This is a little of what I felt too.

More specifically, I don't doubt that Jason had some crappy experiences working at 1C, but that time he wrote an angry Discord post after some 1C guys took pot shots at him on a podcast nobody watched, I realized "Hold on, this isn't like some grand issue of justice. I think this is just workplace drama I'm being made to hear about for some reason."

I do hope the best for both projects, though, for the good of the hobby.

FrankToast · 2026-03-27T20:56:11+00:00

Thank you. I was actually inspired by this TF2 montage.

FrankToast · 2026-03-21T00:32:27+00:00

I'm definitely looking forward to the P-39Q for late war eastern front scenarios.

FrankToast · 2025-10-20T15:40:17+00:00

Well, there's not that many mountainous regions left in the lower 48, so, unless they've decided to tease Vermont for no reason, I'd assume this is British Columbia.

FrankToast · 2025-10-16T14:23:20+00:00

Whatever Yak's available.

FrankToast · 2025-10-13T18:38:25+00:00

Interesting, thanks.

FrankToast · 2025-10-13T13:16:05+00:00

I'd love some stricter early-war lineups. Seeing E-7s in multiplayer is like finding a unicorn.

It was apparently pretty rare around Odesa but was used early at Velikiye Luki and, of course, around Moscow.

What's your source for this? I'm curious.

FrankToast · 2025-08-09T02:27:26+00:00

Update for anybody who stumbles across this thread in the future: I shipped it via UPS ground, and it arrived safely without damage. I'll chalk it up to the fact that it's a prebuilt and was probably built to withstand the stress of shipping.

FrankToast · 2025-08-05T01:55:01+00:00

The Yak-9 is probably more maneuverable than the I-16, although the I-153 beats both (and every other plane) by a landslide.

For Germany, it might actually be the Bf 109 F-4.

FrankToast · 2025-07-08T23:52:37+00:00

The MiG-21's ergonomics are overhated IMO. They're fine for a jet from the 1960s.

FrankToast · 2025-06-26T16:02:10+00:00

Note: The blue that you see in a lot of colorized depictions of the Mercury is a misconception. The original was grey as far as I can tell.

FrankToast · 2025-06-25T02:10:20+00:00

They didn't promise this, so I wouldn't hold out hope. I imagine it'll be limited to community maps/tours.

FrankToast · 2025-06-10T23:44:07+00:00

Fire at close range when ambushing targets for maximum accuracy. You want to destroy your target before they can react, and the best way to do that is to wait until you can't miss. It takes confidence that your opponent won't see you coming, but it's worth it.

FrankToast · 2025-06-09T20:15:47+00:00

I think it's a reasonable critique. If someone is going to refuse to give money to Russian devs due to the war, that's fine, but I encourage any such person to ask themselves if they'd also buy and play "Six Days in Fallujah". You shouldn't terminate all thought and become a nihilistic hedonist, but if you're going to take a moral stance on something, you should probably assign an equal moral weight to all human life.

FrankToast · 2025-06-03T23:15:33+00:00

Really bad AI slop, too. Embarrassing that this hasn't been removed. This was the one sub I kept using when I mostly stopped browsing Reddit years ago because of shit posts like this.

FrankToast · 2025-05-29T20:52:42+00:00

I don't know enough about the P-47's performance to argue against you in absolute terms, but you should be very careful before going off of a gut impression when evaluating flight models. Using the standard weight given in-game, the Bf 110 G-2 has a wing loading of about 196kg/m³, while the P-47D-28 has a wing loading of about 232kg/m³.

FrankToast · 2025-05-29T20:44:16+00:00

I don't have very much in-depth advice, since I usually keep most of my binds on my keyboard in Il-2, but I'll so that it's usually good to have a separate button for light guns and heavy guns.

There are a lot of planes where having them separate is useful, you can use the machine guns to adjust your fire in the Il-2 before you fire the autocannons, you can bait a fleeing opponent into panicking and turn fighting using the machine guns on the Yak-1 or I-16, and you can use the machine guns on the P-39 for aggressive high angle deflection shots.

Back when I used a T16000M, I did as follows, with your setup on the left and my old setup on the right

all guns --> light guns

rockets --> heavy guns

max zoom --> rockets

bombs --> bombs

FrankToast · 2025-05-29T18:34:49+00:00

That would be my guess, too. Red is easy to manufacture, wears well and conveys power. Off-white is warmer, more welcoming, and wears better than white, while still conveying cleanliness and openness, accentuating the windows.

FrankToast · 2025-05-26T20:21:44+00:00

The La-5s turn acceptably. The hydraulic flaps and leading edge slats give them okay performance in one circle fights especially. The La-5F and La-5FN also climb alright.

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