Diffrerence between the F6F-5 and the F6F-3?

[BaDkaRmA158Th]

 

Thank you.

[MiloMorai]

With the m3 coming into play, after the 45 we did not need cannon.
Shame too, because i think we had around 1+ million 20mm rounds just waiting to be fired.

The Sabre could have put the 20mm to good use in Korea.

[SgtPappy]

Concerning the Hellcat, I remember WW posting something about it being 20 mph too slow.. or something of the sort.
Whenever I do happen to read something about the Hellcat, I consistently read that Grumman's airspeed indicators are not of the best quality - that they give low readings?

So does that mean that our Hellcat actually hits 400 mph in level flight since most of the stated data for the Hellcat's top speed is usually listed in various sources as 380 - 386 mph?

[Shuckins]

SgtPappy,

There was nothing wrong with the Hellcat's airspeed indicator, but the location of the static and dynamic orifices on the fuselage consistently yielded an indicated airspeed about 20 knots slower than that of the Corsair's.

Grumman had gotten a lot of flak from the Navy about the "lower performance" of the Hellcat compared to the Corsair, and were told to rectify the problem.  Grumman copied the position of the Corsair's static and dynamic orifices exactly.  Problem solved.

By the way, Chance Vought was given access to several Hellcat aircraft in order to study it's cockpit layout, as well as its low-speed handling and stall characteristics. Their tests consistently showed that the Hellcat had a top speed in excess of 400 mph.

Regards, Shuckins

[SgtPappy]

Wow, so does that mean our new Hellcat's going to fly faster than 400 mph? I'm assuming the movement of these 'orifices' did not change the position of the pitot tube? The Hellcats I see have their pitot tubes only under the starboard wing.
That would give it a much heavier following.

[Widewing]

Concerning the Hellcat, I remember WW posting something about it being 20 mph too slow.. or something of the sort.
Whenever I do happen to read something about the Hellcat, I consistently read that Grumman's airspeed indicators are not of the best quality - that they give low readings?

So does that mean that our Hellcat actually hits 400 mph in level flight since most of the stated data for the Hellcat's top speed is usually listed in various sources as 380 - 386 mph?

Read this: http://www.wwiiaircraftperformance.org/japan/ptr-1111.pdf 409 mph using Combat power (WEP), 12,285 lb.

And, this: http://www.wwiiaircraftperformance.org/f6f/f6f-5-58310.pdf 391 mph in MIL power, aircraft in overload condition, 12,420 lb.

This also: http://www.wwiiaircraftperformance.org/f6f/f6f-5-72731.pdf 391 mph in MIL power, overload with single pylon. 12,420 lb.

Our Hellcat currently maxs out at 384 mph to 386 mph in WEP depending upon weight. Sea level speed is just about right. Speed at critical altitude is where we see the largest discrepancy. I'm hoping the FM gets updated with the graphics. I did notice that the flap indicator on the new model has what appears to be just two positions, up and down. That may indicate an FM change.

My regards,

Widewing

[SgtPappy]

Wow, that's some good data WW. The latter I saw as well but I didn't even realize that was on MIL power. With that speed on MIL, the plane's gotta go beyond 400 TAS at critical alt with WEP.

On a side note, concerning the flaps, does this dual stage arrangement mean that we can only drop flaps at 150 mph now? Not that I would mind if we had a 400 mph Hellcat. Just another amazing plane to fly off a CV.

[mg1942]

woah... F6F-5 at 400+ mph???

If that's true, then it will be on my favorite list... next to Fw 190s


Btw, are we gonna get mid war F6F-3 variant?

[moot]

409mph at 20kft.

[ian5440]

woah... F6F-5 at 400+ mph???

wow, i love the F6F but the only way i have gotten it to 400mph is at 20+ K or in a steep dive, which the F6 does amazingly

[Widewing]

409mph at 20kft.

That's important to note as performance will be not be significantly different at normal Aces High altitudes.....

Thus, do not expect that the F6F-5 will suddenly become super uber, because it won't. If the FM is updated, all it will be is closer to the actual fighter. Improvement in speed won't be seen until above 10k.

Here's Mike Williams compilation of various F6F speed curves. US Navy tests employed a special test pitot system, which was considerably more accurate at high speed than that installed in the aircraft at the factory.



My regards,

Widewing

[SgtPappy]

I'm not sure if a lot of us care about some super-uber Hellcat anyway.
For me anyway, it's simply about hitting my minimum requirements. The Hellcat has all of them (currently) but one.
-Climb faster than 3000 fpm (with WEP) for at least 6000' from SL
-Accelerate from 150 - 200 IAS in 10s or less
-Carry at least 2x 500 lb bombs
-Turn tighter than 680 ft diameter with no flaps
-Fly faster than 400 mph at best altitude

The P-38 hits these requirements as well, though it tends to get roll too slowly in the slow combat I must use against the likes of Spitfires and Corsairs.

[Krusty]

Answer my question pleeezee!! One of you said the P-40 could hold 20mms! Now it's bugging me like a fat smelly guy on an airplane! 

No. To clarify, this was built into the wing up until the P-40E. The P-40E no longer supported the internal frames or whatever had been done to fit a 20mm. It was deemed mixed ammo wasn't good for logistics or some such reason. They made the 50cal the standard P-40 armament after that.