Best plane for high alt buff killing

[Krusty]

Ammo load, durability, zoom ability and good drop tank options make this absolutely true. I read earlier about 1 pass kills, a jug has no problem with this. Killing buffs, for me, is about beginning to apply damage ASAP from as far away as you can. You can do this with .50s much easier than with cannons. My aim is a bit off, I usually start getting hits at 800-1000, but we'll get back there!

Here's the issue... "What if" you could only take the light ammo option (6 or 8 guns still up to you) on those jugs? Would you do it with ~300 rounds per gun only?

the 400+rpg option (which 90% of the game uses) were never available on Ns or Ms, and only one group of P-47Ds (D-30s or 40s, I can't recall) EVER used it for ground strafing duties. Given a historical correction of AH loadouts, would you still fly it? You couldn't open up so far out and spray away and expect to get more than 1 bomber, maybe 2.

[MutleyBR]

Hi all!

Truth is, give the absurd altitudes those buffs are flying nowadays(last encounter was 35000ft and climbing...) no matter what plane one uses to attack those buffs, it will take a loooong time to reach them. 

And if you reach them, attacking them alone is a tricky bussiness. Best way to attack buffs, is with at least 2 fighters, to divide gunner's attention. And few will lose their time doing it.

This excessive time, lost in climbing, can be used having fun elsewhere... 

From now I will not go after high bombers anymore. Let them spend their $14.95 having fun comutting from A to B, alone... 

Mutley

[Ardy123]

Hi all!

Truth is, give the absurd altitudes those buffs are flying nowadays(last encounter was 35000ft and climbing...) no matter what plane one uses to attack those buffs, it will take a loooong time to reach them. 

And if you reach them, attacking them alone is a tricky bussiness. Best way to attack buffs, is with at least 2 fighters, to divide gunner's attention. And few will lose their time doing it.

This excessive time, lost in climbing, can be used having fun elsewhere... 

From now I will not go after high bombers anymore. Let them spend their $14.95 having fun comutting from A to B, alone... 

Mutley

solution... up a 262 from a base 2 sectors away and spend 15min climbing to 35 k, then dive in on them from above.

[MutleyBR]

solution... up a 262 from a base 2 sectors away and spend 15min climbing to 35 k, then dive in on them from above.

By the time I reached the formation it was at 38k...

Am I going to risk losing 200+ perks to a ping??? 

Nahhhhh let them be....

Mutley 

[Krusty]

262 cannot fly 28k, let alone 30k+

[MutleyBR]

262 cannot fly 28k, let alone 30k+

    

Mutley

[Ardy123]

262 cannot fly 28k, let alone 30k+

I haven't tested in the game, but according to wikipeda its 37,565 ft max.


http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Messerschmitt_Me_262

[Krusty]

Wiki is wrong, heheh..
As-modeled in game, it cannot climb above 30K (I've tried getting to 32k lancs in the MA before, just criss-crossed under them for 15 minutes before quitting), and if you get to 30K, you can't bank your wings to turn very easily without loss. On top of that, your "turn" is really something almost a sector wide. A few times in the FSO I've done 262 scouting in late war setups. It's a total pig up there, barely able to fly. 109K4 way way better.

Then again, bombers in this game fly higher and faster than they did in the real war, so it's not as much a slam against the 262, as it is that the buffs are just that much better.

[Ardy123]

I think its the game that's wrong... according to many websites so far, the ceiling is 37k, maybe HiTech or Pyro can chime in here...

http://www.deutsches-museum.de/en/collections/transport/aeronautics/jets/messerschmitt-me-262/
http://www.fighter-planes.com/info/me262.htm
http://www.militaryfactory.com/aircraft/detail.asp?aircraft_id=108
http://www.aerospaceweb.org/aircraft/fighter/me262/
http://www.economicexpert.com/a/Messerschmitt:Me:262:AQ.htm
and
http://contrails.iit.edu/features/aircraft/ME-262/index.html

[Krusty]

What's the definition of "ceiling"?

There's a "ceiling" of over 40,000 feet on the Ta-152... But practically you're not going to be able to do much over 35K.

So maybe if you left it on autopilot for 2 hours it might get up to 35k or so, or if you spend 15 minutes gaining speed, do a burst zoom, then try leveling out again for 10 minutes, you might creep up to that 37k limit.

I think the limit on the 262 was more theoretical based off of the engines' performance.

[Ardy123]

What's the definition of "ceiling"?

Assuming that both planes use the same definition of ceiling, then the 262 should be able to get above most of the bombers in the game. The service ceiling for the normal bombers are..

B-17: Service ceiling: 35,600 ft (10,850 m)
sources:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/B-17_Flying_Fortress
http://www.aviation-history.com/boeing/b17.html
http://www.boeing.com/history/boeing/b17.html

B-24: 28,000 ft - 32,000 ft
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/B-24_Liberator
http://www.acepilots.com/planes/b24.html
http://www.warbirdalley.com/b24.htm

Lancaster: 23,500 ft
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Avro_Lancaster
http://www.aviation-history.com/avro/683.html
http://www.warbirdalley.com/lanc.htm

[BaldEagl]

What's the definition of "ceiling"?

Service ceiling
It is the density altitude at which flying in a clean configuration, at the best rate of climb airspeed for that altitude and with all engines operating and producing maximum continuous power, will produce a 100 feet per minute climb.

Absolute ceiling
The highest altitude an aeroplane can sustain level flight, which means the altitude at which the thrust of the engines at full power is equal to the total drag at minimum drag speed.

Combat ceiling
It is the highest altitude at which an aircraft is expected to have a 500 feet per minute climb

[MutleyBR]

In AH, as it is, bombers are flying well above the stated ceilings. 

Until they fix it, they will be just a part of the scenery for me. 

Mutley 

[Ardy123]

In AH, as it is, bombers are flying well above the stated ceilings. 

Until they fix it, they will be just a part of the scenery for me. 

Mutley 

Fair, did you file a bug report so it can be fixed?

[Krusty]

They don't care.

My comment "what's the definition of a ceiling" was NOT a serious question for "I dunno what that is" -- it was rhetorical folks.