One of my favorite planes to fly in FS9 is the Sky Unlimited Bf-109.

However, the P-torque when taking off is a monster to deal with, and usually results in some of my ugliest take off attempts.

What is the correct procedure (as near as FS9 will allow) for dealing with this force using a twist grip stick? Or is there one at all? Twisting hard over makes lifting off in a reasonably straight line near impossible.

Until I can pony up for some rudder pedals, I need to find a less sloppy alternative to what I'm going through now.

Thanks for all help. 

after you take off, try making turns with the torque, rather than against it.

Echoing the others... Take your time lifting off, and in some aircraft, you may not need to use full power to lift off in a reasonable distance anyway.
I know that you know that hovering helicopters requires a multitude of small corrective movements on the stick to stay stationary....in the same vein, taking off in a powerful tail dragger will require a number of small sensitive inputs into the rudder and throttle to maintain a straight line.

Try not to focus on the runway environment.  Look out past the departure end and pick something way out there as a guide.  Since you know this is coming, anticipate your rudder application as you gently open the throttle.  Small corrections, timely and smoothly to avoid zig-zagging - each zag is always more the previous zig  .

Speaking of runways, I forgot to mention that the Bf 109 like many other WWII fighters was originally intended to operate from grass airfields. Take offs & landings were made as far as possible directly into wind.

One thing to remember with many of the WWII fighters, they had massive amounts of power that weren't needed for takeoff, just look at the manifold pressure at full throttle.  These planes have massive supercharging systems to increase high altitude performance, but you don't need it all down low.  Many would take off at reduced power settings, plus slowly increasing the power as speed increases.  At slow speeds there simply isn't enough rudder authority to counteract 1700+ hp spinning a 7 foot prop!

Thanks to all of you! 

@davysims- You're right on the money, I only have to use a quarter throttle, if that much, during take off now,  the P-torque is still present, but much more controllable and predictable now, and I wind up leaving the ground in almost the same distance as my full speed ahead take offs. 


Ghostrider- That is a tremendous helpful tip after leaving the ground.  Looks intentional and feels natural instead of fighting to stay straight or turning against it.


I love it when I learn something new & useful. 

Nav wrote on Sep 5^th, 2009 at 2:58am:

I could be wrong but don't think most single-engined WWII fighters had this feature. Certainly not the Bf 109 & Spitfire.

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Not sure about using brakes on a typical WWII fighter during take-off or landing. That would usually end in disaster.

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That's a bit of a generalisation & depends on the type of engine fitted. The Rolls-Royce Merlin used on the Spitfire, P-51D & many other British types rotates in the same direction as most American engines. However, the more powerful Rolls-Royce Griffon fitted to later marks of Spitfire rotates in the opposite direction. This caused a lot of accidents when the later types were first introduced into service.

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You only have to look a the prop blades when the engine is not running. The prop on the Bf 109 rotated clockwise as viewed from the cockpit. http://www.richard-seaman.com/Aircraft/Museums/Hendon/GermanWw2/index.html

Note that the direction of prop rotation is not always accurately defined in FS flight dynamics.