Drop tanks

[Nemeth]

I was talking to some people last week in H2H bout drop tanks.
First of all, why dont they do any damage in AH?  Should they not atleast damage plane or ground vehicle (excluding tanks) or make them explode?

Second, why does a full drop tank fall as slow was a empty one?
Physics says that objects the same size but different mass should fall at different speeds in the same medium.

This would be a good change to see in the future, or atlest i think.

(i was just to lazy to see if there were any other threads in the fourm of the same topic)

[BlueJ1]

I have a question thats related to this topic. Ive heard it from many many people for years now that they wish for DTs to explode on impact. Now my question is that when a DT is dropped with fuel in it, what would make it explode? Blunt force?

[Krusty]

"Second, why does a full drop tank fall as slow was a empty one?
Physics says that objects the same size but different mass should fall at different speeds in the same medium."

Gee, that kinda contradicts everything I've heard about gravity. It IS a constant, you know. What might change is the terminal velocity for an empty tank, but the initial drop would be the same.

[Nemeth]

objects the same size but different mass should fall at different speeds in the same medium.
How does it contradict anything bout gravity?
(and i was talking bout in AH)


Thats pretty much what i was saying, DT's should have a damage factor, they dont nessarily explode, the gas catches fire and keeps going in the same direction, unlike a bomb that when it explodes it pushes everything away from it in all directions.

[Simaril]

Originally posted by Nemeth


Second, why does a full drop tank fall as slow was a empty one?
Physics says that objects the same size but different mass should fall at different speeds in the same medium.

Kinda NOT what physics has taught since, oh, since Galileo published his thought experiments in the 1500's!!

You're making the same mistake Aristotle did in ancient times....so here's a little current events stuff to help you catch up    




This site explains the physics concept you missed

This site uses Flash animation to explain the experiments


J/K

[Nemeth]

A falling body accelerates uniformly: it picks up equal amounts of speed in equal time intervals, so that, if it falls from rest, it is moving twice as fast after two seconds as it was moving after one second, and moving three times as fast after three seconds as it was after one second.

In other words, a heavier object accelerates faster than a lighter object.

[Debonair]

"in a medium" is a key phrase.
acceleration due to gravity in a medium is a function of shape & density

[Nemeth]

thats why in my original post i put in the same medium because if they were in two different mediums the gravity can act differently and the density of the medium will be different

[Shifty]

I've seen full drop tanks punched off F4s twice while in the Air Force. Both times they failed to explode or catch fire. Just because they have fuel does not mean they are going to explode or catch fire , even with a rupture.

Besides they were put in the sim to be fuel not weapons.

[Murdr]

Two stories.  One, a flight of P-38s find a Japaneese cargo ship.  They have no bombs, so they buzz the ship and release their drop tanks on the deck.  One 38 incidently buzzed to close and caught his wing on an antenni or something, was damaged but flyable.  The 38's extended reversed, and ignited the fuel with a straffing run.  The ship burned into the night, and was confirmed sunk early that AM by Navy observers.

Next Yeager, and his wingman were short timers, and opted to do a patrol flight rather than go on an escort mission with their unit.  The flight was uneventfull.  Out of boredom they released thier drop tanks on the side of a mountain, and tried to ignite them with tracers to no avail.  Meanwhile they missed out on like the single highest scoring day for their unit.

My question is how exactly do you model that, and how is that usefull to the game?

[Nemeth]

Humm, good question bout the modeling...  im not the artist... so im useless on that, but i can answer how it is usefull thou...

you can go longer distances, drop the DT bout 1/2 - 1/4 full and damage somthin in the process.  That usefull enough four you??  i know it is for me

[Simaril]

Originally posted by Nemeth
A falling body accelerates uniformly: it picks up equal amounts of speed in equal time intervals, so that, if it falls from rest, it is moving twice as fast after two seconds as it was moving after one second, and moving three times as fast after three seconds as it was after one second.

In other words, a heavier object accelerates faster than a lighter object.

Thats just not true....since a heavier object has more inertia as well.

Acceleration is a CONSTANT....and

The acceleration due to gravity denoted g (also gee, g-force or g-load) is a non-SI unit of acceleration defined as exactly 9.80665 m/sē, which is approximately equal to the acceleration due to gravity on the Earth's surface at sea level.

Note that this formula has no modification value for mass or density...the acceleration is the same. Period.

Now, wind resistance does vary based on surface area (and thus density) -- so feathers and balloons fall slower than bricks, with the acceleration due to gravity being constant but with the subtraction for wind resistance being greater.



EDIT
Did you mean a denser object accelerates faster in a medium?

Although your second post is a bit off, the question in the first one has a pretty simple answer I'd bet....

There's no way I'd want to waste CPU cycles on something as trivial to gameplay as speed of a drop tank. The guys who talk about "popup trees" are already suffering gameplay quality impact from the progrm's demands; sure wouldnt want to hurt things more. Doubt that advertising  "more accurate drop tanks physics" would attract customers....

[Nemeth]

wow, u really want to prove me wrong, fine i wont bother w/ the physics anymore, i was just wondering why a full DT decent at the same speed as empty DT's of the same size.

[Simaril]

Sorry... the old obsessive personality trait thing.


Promise, i wont make you endure another episode of "man behaving badly"....I promise to be good.

[MadBull]

Well how about they at least add a collision model for the drop tank. So when I'm vulching and run out of ammo I can drop my drop tank on a upping plane and knock his wing off or something.

Anything to get just one more kill.