I decided to do some basic climb testing of a small sample of AH2 fighters.
My criteria was simple. First, I tried to balance fuel weight as much as is possible. Some aircraft would carry 25% total volume, others 50%.
Tesing was equally simple. Spawn on runway, auto-takeoff engaged (eliminating any pilot influence), start engine and go to max power (WEP engaged)
Standard of measurement: Time to 5,000 feet from wheels stopped.
Results:
Bf 109G-10 - 82 seconds (50% fuel)
La-7 - 84 seconds (50% fuel)
Spitfire Mk. XIV - 89 seconds (50 % fuel)
P-38L - 91 seconds (25% fuel)
P-47D-40 - 94 seconds (used my favorite 6 gun, 247 rds/gun config, 25% fuel)
F4U-4 - 95 seconds (25% fuel)
Fw 190D-9 - 97 seconds (50% fuel)
Interesting factors noted:
1) Both the P-47 and P-38 displayed sharp increases in climb rate as they passed 4,000 feet. Both easily exceeded 4k/min once above that altitude. Must be related to turbo efficiency.
2) The P-47 required more than twice the takeoff roll than the Bf 109 or La-7. This added 7-8 seconds to time-to-climb total. Once above 4k, the D-40 climbs at least as fast as the SpitXIV!
3) Initial acceleration is everything in this test. The first fighter airborne was the La-7. Once airborne (about 2 seconds after the La-7), the Bf 109G-10's better climb rate made up the difference rapidly. Passing 10k, the P-47D-40 appears to climb faster than the La-7, and the La-7's advantage decreases between 4k to 10k.
4) At 5,000 ft, all aircraft tested are climbing at a rate exceeding 4k/minute (the Dora only just barely).
5) Configured with 8 guns and full ammunition load, the P-47D-40 loses 300-400 fpm.
My regards,
Widewing
