Engine Management

[cegull]

Howdy:  I have not played in a long time.  Is it possible to over-heat aircraft engines in AH?  Can't fine any cooling shutter controls but I noticed that the pilot can reduce prop RPM.  Secondly_Is it possible to control the speed on CV battle group of ships?

-cegull-

[Mace2004]

You'll only overheat the engine if you have an engine coolant leak; however, your time in WEP is limited.  For airplanes that have WEP (most of them do) you're typically limited to about 5 minutes although some (German) are longer.  Check out the coolant guage and you'll see your normal operating range is in the yellow.  Once it reaches the red you loose WEP but the engine will operate normally at full power and after some time you regain some WEP time as the engine cools below the red zone. 

You can adjust your prop RPM for best range and to reduce drag when the engine is windmilling but makes no difference for engine temps. 

No, you can't control the speed of the ships.

[Saxman]

The use of engine overheat in sims is largely an artificial limitation imposed by game designers. Several of the engines modeled in AH, including radials, (I think one of the specific ones I've seen mentioned on the board was a P&W R-2800) were test run on the ground at full power for hours beyond the manufacturer's safety recommendations with no ill effects. This is an especially big deal when looking at such static tests done on radials, which relied on airflow entering the engine for cooling.

It's one reason I can't stand the modeling in Il-2. The Corsair's engine overheats within five minutes of operating above ~70% power, even with cooling flaps full open.

[Bodhi]

The use of engine overheat in sims is largely an artificial limitation imposed by game designers. Several of the engines modeled in AH, including radials, (I think one of the specific ones I've seen mentioned on the board was a P&W R-2800) were test run on the ground at full power for hours beyond the manufacturer's safety recommendations with no ill effects. This is an especially big deal when looking at such static tests done on radials, which relied on airflow entering the engine for cooling.

It's one reason I can't stand the modeling in Il-2. The Corsair's engine overheats within five minutes of operating above ~70% power, even with cooling flaps full open.

The cooling flaps would not stay open on the Corsair if it were operated at max power in a chase.  I can not off the top of my head remember the speed, but the cowl flaps will close on their own as they are held open by spring tensions, and held closed by a cable that is drawn tight by a hydraulically actuated cylinder.

Either way, I agree with you that the heat limitations are generally BS in sims.