MIG-3 Flaps don't work

[Gromyak]

Pretty new to IL-2, have started trying to learn the MIG-3 after learning the I-16.  The problem I've found is that the MIG-3 flaps don't work...they won't retract unless you set the flap limiter to zero...and if the flap limiter is set to zero, yeah, that's right, the flaps won't deploy.  The technochat says that the flaps are retracting, but if you look at them in 3rd Party view, you'll see that they are not.

I saw a lot of posts on the old forum about the MIG-3 flaps, with the devs saying that they were "working as intended", which seems hard to believe, since they don't work at all.  For now I'm going to drop the MIG-3, which is a real shame because otherwise I liked it a lot.

Sorry if I seem a bit bitter, but I've just spent about four hours trying to get the flaps to work, without any success.  

[Flashy]

Did you watch Requiem's training video on the Mig 3?
 

 

[bzc3lk]

 

Edited December 5, 2025 by bzc3lk

[MaxPower]

Hey yo Requiem made a cool video about that.  You might have heard of it (jk)

[AEthelraedUnraed]

On 12/5/2025 at 4:05 AM, Gromyak said:

Pretty new to IL-2, have started trying to learn the MIG-3 after learning the I-16.  The problem I've found is that the MIG-3 flaps don't work...they won't retract unless you set the flap limiter to zero...and if the flap limiter is set to zero, yeah, that's right, the flaps won't deploy.  The technochat says that the flaps are retracting, but if you look at them in 3rd Party view, you'll see that they are not.

I saw a lot of posts on the old forum about the MIG-3 flaps, with the devs saying that they were "working as intended", which seems hard to believe, since they don't work at all.  For now I'm going to drop the MIG-3, which is a real shame because otherwise I liked it a lot.

Sorry if I seem a bit bitter, but I've just spent about four hours trying to get the flaps to work, without any success.  

You're correct about the flaps not working as they should; it should historically be possible to extend/retract them with a single push of a button regardless of the flap limiter setting and right now it isn't.

However I personally don't think that's enough reason to drop the MiG - it's still one of my favourite aircraft 🙂 Combat flaps are usually not worth the hassle anyhow IMO since they bleed energy, and after takeoff / before landing you have enough time to adjust the flap limiter.

[cigad]

You don't seem bitter, you seem justifiably frustrated—and rest assured: you're not crazy, and it's not a bug in the traditional sense. It's just very poorly explained and quite counterintuitive, especially if you're used to aircraft like the I-16.

[Czech693]

Unfortunately, Requiem's video was made when the MiG-3 was using the original flap control method.  So, it's not useful for the current flap system, which is more borked than the original one.

[FuriousMeow]

Here's how the flaps work:

Lower flaps - hold. The degrees down you are getting is the red writing and indicator on the floorboard behind the control column. Once you release, that's the angle the flaps will deploy to. You keep doing this until full extension of the flaps, but the flaps retract each time you press the key/ button to deploy more.

Raise flaps - hold. Same as above, the red writing will show where the flaps will stay retracted to when you release but the flaps fully retract while the retract key/ button is being pressed.

Its pretty simple, it just takes time and doesn't have set deployment points like some others.

There's the flaps lock/unlock lever to the left, and the wheel below that which indicates the direction the flaps are being set to. But other than something to see move, they don't offer much help just the deployment settings matter in red on the floorboor behind the control column.

The MiG3 is not much for turn fighting, the flaps wouldn't help even if they were like the 190 or 51's anyway with set steps.

Edited December 16, 2025 by FuriousMeow