Bumpy runways and bouncing discussion

[D-Daze]

On 7/7/2026 at 6:02 PM, Gavrick said:

It is quite challenging to find sources describing the behavior of shock absorber struts.

At present, the shock struts are "by default" tuned to absorb energy during landings with a high flare — and the aircraft "dropping" from a height of several tens of centimeters (roughly one foot). In this scenario, they will absorb the impact energy and reach full compression.

This represents the "reference behavior" of the landing gear suspension as a whole, in the absence of other data (which, as I noted, are seldom available).

Therefore, if you happen to have any materials — documents or videos clearly showing the shock absorber operation — I would be very interested to review them.

I don't think it's s a compression issue.  It's the rebound effect.  The rebound once the aircraft has touched down is way too strong. Even with very little compression, coming in at a near straight on approach, the aircraft wants to bounce.  That's been my experience with every aircraft.  Maybe I suck at landing.  Lol Been playing since CFS1 though and never had bounce issues.

[Jade_Monkey]

Lol everyone having bounce issues, even at takeoff, and all of a sudden people are convincing themselves it's their own fault 🤣.

Clearly there is a middle ground where it can be both.

[Habu]

On 7/12/2026 at 4:47 PM, Jade_Monkey said:

Lol everyone having bounce issues, even at takeoff, and all of a sudden people are convincing themselves it's their own fault 🤣.

Clearly there is a middle ground where it can be both.

i agree, many times, my plane goes in the air by itself because it bounces.

There is a problem with some airfields.

 

[Captain_Trips]

I like it.  Makes it all the more thrilling. Wheeeee!
😀

[YoYo]

I thought the problem with the F-51D, for example, had resolved itself after 002, but I have a feeling it appeared again after 003, and now it's just like it was at the beginning. I'm testing on the unpaved K-49 airfield.

[BlitzPig_EL]

K-13 at Suwon is appreciably smoother than the other concrete runways I have flown on so far.

[Whittle]

On 7/12/2026 at 4:01 AM, YoYo said:

I finally recorded a video showing that everything is fine. This isn't a paved airport (asphalt or concrete slabs), but a more difficult, unpaved one. No issue for F-51D. 

That looked like a non-trivial bounce to me!

[pr0x]

I can make relatively smooth three-point landings in the Yak and LA-11 without bouncing most of the time. The biggest concern for me is take-offs. It feels very bouncy and like you are dangerously close to a prop strike.

[YoYo]

The problem has clearly returned on K-49/F-51D. It was fine before, but now we're jumping around like a circus act again.

Edited July 27 by YoYo

[Captain_Trips]

K-41 has a lot of undulations in the runway.
You can see it.  Look at the far edge of the runway.  You can see the humps.
I assume that isn't a historical touch.  Can' imagine they wouldn't bulldoze flat for a concrete runway.

[AndreiTomescu]

57 minutes ago, Captain_Trips said:

Look at the far edge of the runway.

looks like the ceiling in my entrace bathroom: i have ...ahem...ahem....repaired it myself. 🙂 

now i understand why all the flyes and mosquitos are upset: they are bouncing at take-off !

[AEthelraedUnraed]

2 hours ago, Captain_Trips said:

K-41 has a lot of undulations in the runway.
You can see it.  Look at the far edge of the runway.  You can see the humps.
I assume that isn't a historical touch.  Can' imagine they wouldn't bulldoze flat for a concrete runway.

Not sure about K-41 specifically, but overall, bumpy runways are certainly historical. Even today, runways aren't always flat:

[FuriousMeow]

There's a difference between flat and level. The runways are all flat, but they are not level end to end - or side to side in some instances. That's the case in the real world as AEthelraedUnraed showed.

Its possible some airfields may have the undulations too frequent or the min/max difference between each peak and trough too great. Would need to survey each field/runway as it was back then to get that answer.

Edited July 28 by FuriousMeow

[Captain_Trips]

1 hour ago, AEthelraedUnraed said:

Not sure about K-41 specifically, but overall, bumpy runways are certainly historical. Even today, runways aren't always flat:

 

Wow.  That is amazing. 

How hard could have been just to bulldoze it roughly flat?  Out in West Texas you'll see highway where they just cut through hills rather than go over them.  

However it doesn't bother me that much.  It's a little fun.

I just thought it was noise in the terrain data.  I'm fine with it if it is historically representative.  
If it had been Marston Mat I wouldn't have been surprised.
 

Edited July 28 by Captain_Trips

[BlitzPig_EL]

1 hour ago, AEthelraedUnraed said:

Not sure about K-41 specifically, but overall, bumpy runways are certainly historical. Even today, runways aren't always flat:

That's not bumpy, it's undulating, there is a big difference.  In game the "bumpy" runways have high frequency, abrupt "bumps", not the low frequency slow rollers we see in that photo.  It's like taking off on a washboard.

Edited July 28 by BlitzPig_EL

[FuriousMeow]

Some fields are good, others are like flying a rock skipped across a lake as speed picks up. 

So it may be less the landing gear shocks and that some fields just need their runway elevation data re-examined? Like Kangwan, I think its that one - a NK field up on a plateau next to a river and a big dam - its short while both sides of the runway slope down but its fairly smooth takeoff. Probably my favorite field so far, if that's the right name. Will update this evening if not. Or the field you take off from for the Black Thursday mission, that's a pretty smooth takeoff roll despite not level. 

Then there's others that can literally launch you into the sky like the NE most field on the coast in SK territory. Will grab the name later for that one. 

Maybe just need to do a test and report fields that could stand-in for ski ramp carrier takeoff and verify the elevation map is accurate for them. 

[AEthelraedUnraed]

2 hours ago, BlitzPig_EL said:

That's not bumpy, it's undulating, there is a big difference.  In game the "bumpy" runways have high frequency, abrupt "bumps", not the low frequency slow rollers we see in that photo.

Oh I agree, there's a difference. My post was meant to show that "flat" is a relative term, and that runways exist that by common parlance would not be called so.

Do not forget that many of these airfields were constructed 75 years ago, for reasons of short-term rather than long-term necessity, in a war that all combatants expected to last only shortly. I expect that they were generally built to a standard of "good enough" rather than good. As such, I would not immediately disregard any bumps as unhistorical until I've seen evidence to the contrary. As FuriousMeow says, we'd need to see pictures of the airfields as they were back then.

[KillerBee]

It’s better than pancake flat!  I’ll just have to become a better pilot.

[FuriousMeow]

I just tried K-49 with a F51 and not seeing any issue with it. Takeoff is fairly smooth for a dirt runway, but no launches into the air, just lift off around 100MPH with 2 notches flaps. Landing equally smooth full flaps touch down around 110 or less.

I ran it both directions. Even kept on the ground until 120 when no longer wanted to remain grounded.

The one real thing I originally took notice of was when I was intentionally holding a F80 to the ground... I was probably just so fast In a real world takeoff I would have been in the air as well.

[KoN]

Bouncy, bouncy, Devs please fix this awful system we have. Take off and landings along with bad frame rates in VR is making a right mess of things.

Maybe my frame rates are so low that I bounce and stutter on landings and even a take offs. And its just not me seen many vets brake that prop on a bouncy take off. 

Yes I get it the runways were uneven and that's great and real,  but I don't see F51 braking and bouncing down the runways to brake apart on take off in real life . Not from footage I've seen.

DCS has a far better system in place. Maybe I'm comparing this too much too DCS. 

If anyone got footage please send here. 

Seems to me we have a very strange hydrophilic and damper system and a breaking system. 

Edited Tuesday at 01:36 PM by KoN