Originally posted by Schutt
while it might be a little low power for the late p38Ls it has some other advantages in game.
You call approximately 75% of true maximum power "a little low"? I see you have little love for the P-38. It is a phenomenon we P-38 people are well aquainted with, to our grief. Tell me, how would you describe your favorite airplane if it was simulated with only three fourths of its actually utilized power? Ah, no matter; I am not here to argue for the improvement of the P-38 in this fine simulator. No, I am content with the reasonably accurate representation we have. My days of using reason and evidence to urge the improvement of P-38 flight models are over, I think.
However, I must point out that you are wrong in your information. The P-38 did not normally have tendencies for the engines to be running at different power settings, as a pilot uses the manifold pressure guages and not the throttles as a reference. Manifold pressure guages do not lie. The only times at which maintaining equal output was a problem were on the takeoff run (and there the problem was the propellers, not the throttles) and when the turbochargers switched stages at a certain altitude. They did not both switch at the same time, which was a problem when flying in close formation. It caused considerable yaw which the pilot would have to correct with rudder each time one of them switched. Being two stage superchargers, this yaw would only occur twice when passing between ten thousand and fifteen thousand feet.
In addition, the Allison V-1710F-30 did not posess, as far as I know, more efficient fuel consumption than the V-1710F-17. However, the later P-38s did carry more fuel with the addition of the wing tanks, beginning with one of the middle J production blocks (I think P-38J-10-LO). The P-38L ended up with a total of approximately four hundred and twenty gallons internal (420 gal.).
Saskid, you asked about power settings. My answer to you is to never throttle back in combat unless you are going over four hundred miles per hour and cannot pull out of your dive before hitting the ground. If you need to bleed speed, simply pull back on the yoke. This is a much more efficient way of ridding yourself of excess speed. I never, ever throttle down in combat unless I am fully compressing. Even in my stall fights - especially in my stall fights - I have as much power as I can muster, and to my ears the sound of my war emergency power failing is the knell of doom. If you want some training from me, look me up in early war or the duelling room. I go by "Aerial" in game; it's short for "Aerial Target," my name from Pacific Fighters. I warn you, however, that my trial period expires in a few days, after which I shall be forced to haunt the eight player servers. I cannot and never will be able to afford a subscription.
