That was nice!

[StarOfAfrica2]

Originally posted by Grits
ROFL...this IS late war for the CT. We see '42-'43 the most with a good bit of '44 thrown in and very rarely '45, but thats as it should be for the CT IMO. I can say without a shadow of a doubt that if you learn the '42-'43 planes in the CT and go back to the MA you will be a better pilot.

Amen!    Since I have dedicated myself to flying the Hog as much as possible, I have developed this system in the MA.  

Start of tour, go to F4U-1.  Too long in the faster -1D or the cannon armed -1C and I start to get cocky and do stupid things.  I've found I can rack up some decent kills and also get a really good hit % flying the Hog, if I fly smart.  I start taking it for granted, and I start to go downhill real quick.  I think this is true of almost any plane.  So to "school" myself, I force myself to go back to the F4U-1 for the first half of the tour, only checking out the -1D for jabo runs.  I really think it's a better overall dogfighter anyway, but you have to work harder on the E management to get fast and stay fast in it.

Its easier in a plane like the Hog because I have an early and a late version to switch back and forth.  Same with the F4F - FM2 or the C.202 - 205.  But really you can apply that more broadly, as Grits said, just by flying the early war rides and learning to manage your E well, then when you hop into a faster, late war ride, you have that advantage built in to how you fly.

[Grits]

Actually, the -1 is faster than the -1D or -1C, but does not accelerate or climb as well.

[StarOfAfrica2]

Originally posted by Grits
Actually, the -1 is faster than the -1D or -1C, but does not accelerate or climb as well.

I'll take your word for it.  If I take either one with 50% fuel and a single DT, the -1D runs about 15-20 mph faster at 10k.  Maybe there is something I'm missing to make the -1 go faster?

[Grits]

HT's speed charts on Netaces show that at all alts above 2k the -1 is 10mph faster than the -1D, on the deck is only a couple of MPH. It could be because the -1 carries much more internal fuel than the -1D, lots more so that at 50% the -1 actually has much more weight.