Originally posted by Dingy:
Outaccellerate?
Maybe.
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Absolutely. Above about 250mph, the Typhoon outaccelerates anything under 8k... including 109s or Yaks. Where it falters is at speeds below that, and if it gets too slow, chances are it'll never get enough headway to outrun either of those planes.
Outrun?
No way...maybe if pony has no WEP left or has much more fuel than Stang. May take a sector or two to catch but believe me...you WILL be caught. Just ask Wardog or Bash who also fly the Tiffy extensively...as Wardog has said..."the only plane which I really fear is the P-51". And for good reason.
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No way. The only way that 51... coalt and co-E, mind you, is going to catch the Typhoon is if the Typhoon bleeds off too much speed in turns and gets below its magical acceleration number. The Typhoon bleeds an incredible amount of speed in turns. If the 51 can force some turns and get the Typhoon under 200mph, it's another ballgame. Though I don't know for sure, it also seems that the 51 zoom climbs better.
Outturn? Again, no way...presuming we are talking about a regular turn fight without significant difference in weight the Pony turns just as well with one notch of flaps(if not better) than the Tiff.
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I think you'd be surprised just how well the Typhoon really CAN turn. Its instantaneous turnrate is especially nice... it reminds me of the 38 from AW in this respect. It'll go a couple of turns with the Spit IX before having to bug out.
Now what I might add here is that it could very well OUTMANEUVER the stang since it does seem to roll a bit better at low speeds than the stang does. The biggest problem I have run into in the Stang is a low-speed scissor engagement. Pony's roll at low speed is nothing to marvel at.
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And the Typhoon's turnrate at slow speed is nothing to marvel about.

It'll really wallow under 200mph, and if you get under 160mph, forget about it. This is a plane that's truly happiest above 220-240mph. A slow speed 51 to Typhoon engagement must be a really sad thing to watch.

I'd love to hook up for some 51 to Typhoon fights sometime just for practice... nothing about bragging rights here or showing whose plane is better. More like some friendly duels to explicitly learn the strengths and weaknesses of both planes.

-- Todd/DMF