Ait, so the basics. The definition of "bail-out" is "to jump clear of a plane, often causing injury due to high airspeeds, g-forces, and the airflow past the plane". Now, to bail without splatting your face all over the ground, you have to make split second decisions. If you wait a second too long, your chute won't open and yous a ded man. So when your plane is critically damaged you either jump or not. This guide will include bailing scenarios, test results, and whether or not to jump. Update 3.2.01 has changed the bailout mechanics of all planes based on the G-Load factors and airspeed as well as condition of the pilot.
"43. The ability of the crew to bail out is now limited by the G-load (including its direction), airspeed and crew health (wounds);
44. Crew bails out differently depending on the G load direction - down if the load is positive and up if the load is negative."
Oh, and to bail press Control and then E.

This part of the guide has situations in which you may be in. (Solutions will be explained in the last section).

#1

The first, and probably most common, is a fighter with powerful cannons gets on your tail. And speaking of the tail, it goes poof after a few well-landed shots. So now you're plummeting to the ground with no control and getting motion sick from the spinning. What do you do?

#2

You're a cute little HE 111 and you have just finished your bombing run. A few friends have joined and decide to give you some gifts of 20mm cannon fire to your props! Yay! As the gifts pepper your wings, pretty orange flowers start growing out the engine. Then the engines stop working. Oops. Those weren't flowers.

#2.5

Same scenario as 2, but this time your fuel tanks blow or only 1 engine's down.

#3

You got a little excited diving after that low-flying bomber and kinda rip yourself apart. You're now going, like, 650 KM/H and your control surfaces have broked. (Moral of the story? Know your limits).

#4

You're a little gunner short and sto- ok, stop with your jokes already. They're cancer. In all seriousness, this is the fourth scenario. You are a gunner in either a Pe-2, IL2, HE111, or Ju 52. Your pilot is killed (honor to serve you, sir) and the plane begins to go into a nose dive. What just happened?

#5

Your repair warranty has finally expired and you just realized your wings were made by a drunk Russian factory worker out of recycled vodka bottles and other Russian memes. As they fall off, you wonder "this new lifetime warranty won't last much longer if I don't get this thing under control!"

#6

xxXn0oB_guNnurXxx just shot your own tail off! nuf said

So I did a little messing around and found out some critical info as to the specifications and data of your aircraft. I have all the bail-out times at the aircraft's optimal speed and different altitudes. These are only the stock game's bombers, fighters, and attackers (excluding He111, because everyone knows at least one of those gunners won't survive). It also includes parachute-opening and bail-out times. Some other important things you should know: German aircraft tend to have faster bail-out times because the canopy pops right off, unlike the Soviet push-back ones. The speed also depends on how fast you're going, faster means it's slower, slower means it's faster (confusing).










Legend:
GA = Ground Attack. About 500 meters.
LAB = Low-Altitude Bombing. About 1 kilometer.
BOM = Bombing. About 2 1/3 kilometers.
DGF = Dogfighting. About 1 kilometer.
BOMBK = Bomber-Killing. About 2 1/3 kilometers.
TJ = Time for character to open canopy and bail.
PO = Time for the chute to deploy and open.
All time is measured in seconds.
All gunner modifications are attached.

IL2 DGF
Pilot: 4 TJ, 2 PO
Gunner: 9 TJ, 3 PO
IL2 BOM
Pilot: 4 TJ, 3 PO
Gunner: 10 TJ, 3 PO
IL2 GA
Pilot: 4 TJ, 4 PO
Gunner: 6 TJ, 3 PO
Yak Ser. 69 DGF
Pilot: 5 TJ, 4 PO
Yak Ser. 69 BOMK
Pilot: 5 TJ, 5 PO
Yak Ser. 69 GA
Pilot: 7 TJ, 3 PO
Pe 2 BOM
Pilot: 5 TJ, 4 PO
Gunners: 9-12 TJ, 4 PO
Pe 2 LAB
Pilot: 6 TJ, 4 PO
Gunners: 14-18 TJ, 5 PO
Pe 2 GA
Pilot: 7 TJ, 3 PO
Gunners: 12-16 TJ, 3 PO
BF109 G2 DGF
Pilot: 3 TJ, 4 PO
BF109 G2 BOMK
Pilot: 3 TJ, 4 PO
BF109 G2 GA
Pilot: 3 TJ, 5 PO
JU 87 D3 BOM
Pilot: 3 TJ, 4 PO
Gunner: 10 TJ, 4 PO
JU 87 D3 LAB
Pilot: 3 TJ, 3 PO
Gunner: 11 TJ, 4 PO
JU 87 D3 GA
Pilot: 3 TJ, 3 PO
Gunner: 10 TJ, 2 PO

#1
So if your tail is just somewhat damaged, then you can probably land this baby back at the 'field. If it's broken completely, then try to attempt a crash landing, but remember to keep Michael Bay far away. And finally, if your whole tail section just came off and you are spinning, bail as soon as you can. If you are too low though (200 meters or less) then don't bail if you want a chance at surviving. If not, then watch as your pilot splats along with your plane.



#2
Okay, so with 2 engines ded it's kinda hard to keep the plane in the air. Try to land the plane, because if you're in an HE 111, then you are probs high up. You can just glide back or make a smooth crash landing (though remember Mr. Garfield's words: A crash landing is just a crash, not a landing). Or you can just be a selfish piece of crap and jump without informing your gunners and watch as they drift helplessly into the ground and explode.



#2.5
Your fuel tank just blew? Jump. There is a very high chance your gunners are either seriously wounded or dead, same goes for you. There is also another huge chance that the other tank will blow killing you or ripping the wings off. As for the engine, just turn it off and go into a shallow dive. No need to bail unless the fire doesn't go out or spreads.



#3
You best bail as early as you can. If you're going too fast the canopy will jam and you won't be able to get out. Think of it as being trapped in room without a door in a sinking ship with a laser. You better make yourself a door quickly or else your lungs will fill with water and your body will never be found (slightly morbid).



#4
Inform your fellow gunners if you have any and make sure you are not speeding towards the ground or your chute has a chance of opening way later than you think it will.



#5
First of all, why are you going so fast that you ripped your plane to pieces? Bail. Duh. Maybe you can live long enough to make another stupid mistake. Second, go to your Steam library, right click IL2 Sturmovik: Battle of Stalingrad, and click unistall. Oh wait, you can't do that. You couldn't read the warnings on the side of your screen. Come on, unless you're doing it intentionally, it's hard to go fast enough to break your wings. At least #3 is understandable, you just got excited. But this? Really?



#6
First scream obscenities and rage at that stupid little 7-year-old gunner in the back of your plane. Then wait until the absolute last minute to bail (I recommend at least 400 meters) and watch as that stupid nerd either plunges face-first into the ground or tries to bail like you did and kills himself. Though the latter is more satisfying and self-fulfilling.

In conclusion, I'm glad you stuck through little Grammar's guide to one of the smallest features in the game. Although I may only have 3-5 hours, I have been shot down enough to understand this. I hope this helps both older and newer players understand how to bring Hans or Dmitri back to his wife and kids safely. :)




Small tip for those younger readers:

If you are doing a summer reading project, read your book and then if you have a speech-to-text device or an iPad or iPhone, create an email to yourself and say your project to your email. Then take the stuff you said from your email on your computer and copy and paste it to a word doc or something. Make some finishing touches and add your headers and PRESTO! A summer reading project that took minimal typing and only a few days to finish!

Have a great day jumping out of your plane!



P.P.S.

If I missed anything or misspelled something or anything like that let me know and of course give this a good review!