Originally posted by frank3
Could the propellors on WWII-planes be turned into the wind, so they wouldn't cause any drag? (like modern prop-planes) Or did they just turn down rpm as low as possible
There aren't many singles out there with full feathering propellers. The ones that do have them are 99.99% of the time turboprops. In fact I can't think of any off hand that I've seen or flown that are piston powered with feathering propellers.
Multiengine airplanes (two or more engines) are equipped with full feathering propellers because when you lose an engine you have already lost 50% of your power. Because they are wing mounted (with very few exceptions A500, C-337) they have this lovely thing we like to call Asymmetric thrust. Because of this we lose 80% of our performance. Think about this...if you lose an engine you're down 80%! That's 20% left. Unless the airplane weighs over 6000 lbs (not typical of a light twin) or stalls at an airspeed higher than 61 kts (also not common) there is no FAA requirement for the airplane to have any single engine rate of climb for certification purposes.
The FAA requires of me that I perform a drag demo for all of my multiengine students prior to them going for a multiengine check ride (private, commercial or instructor add-on ratings). What this does is demonstrates to them the loss of performance in various configurations with an engine out.
(Keep in mind these numbers still have your good engine operating at full power!)
For instance:
Critical engine (if applicable) windmilling... -600fpm Penalty
Full Flaps........................
.............................
.. -800fpm Penalty
Gear Down.........................
............................-500fpm penalty
Add those together and that's a total of 1900 Feet/Minute in the wrong direction. If the airplane climbs at 1500 ft/minute with both engines operating then you lost an engine most light twins are doing quite well to get 250 ft/min on the remaining engine. If you left the propeller to windmill without feathering it then you're going down at 350 Ft/Minute.
That's a long ado about nothing except that the drag is modeled in the game...and if you're just now 'discovering' the propeller control then prepare for a brand new experience. In the single engine fighters if you use the - key on the numpad to pull the prop back following an engine failure or simply run out of fuel...prepare to be pleasantly surprised when you see how far you can stretch your glides.
Also take note, that the P-38 and other multiengine airplanes have full feathering propellers and this too is modeled in the game. If you shut them down in flight...they don't windmill.
Good Luck!
