i have a few ww1 era books, ace of aces and echoes of eagles if my memory serves. i cant quote exact pages but i remember what i read pretty well and the overall impression i got from reading those books is that the dr1 COULD hold more g's in a turn and turn tighter than other ww1 airplanes (nieuports and spads were the comparison).
i would assume that more g could be sustained because the weight of the dr1 is 'held up' so to speak by 3 wings, not just two. no i dont have wing loading data or structural data but 3 stubby wings would be better in a turn than 2 longer ones, just as a 12ft piece of plywood is not going to hold as much weight in the middle as a 4ft piece would (and would bend much more besides)
in short, the dr1's turn and climb ability are inherent of its wing design which handles g better than say an eindecker with only one wing.
now with that should come a lower top speed due to more drag i would think, compounded by a smaller/less powerful engine.
of the planes we currently have in ww1, the dr1 is better in many respects. its pretty beastly to be frank. overmoddled? maybe maybe not. the best 'fix' is to introduce different airplanes that have different flight envelopes that can counter the dr1 because right now the style of fighting in the ww1 arena plays directly to the dr1's strengths.
i fly the f2b and have gotten it to work for me quite well without being one of those rear-gunner tards, 200 or 300 ft separation is about as far as i would dare push it, and i over-rev the engine and stress the airframe to the brink of failure on a regular basis. dr1s are fun for me to fight because i have a more powerful engine and better stall characteristics than they do so i just try to store as much energy as i can in the fight and convert that for a shot when the opportunity is right.
there are ways to combat the dr1 you just have to keep yourself from playing its game. more planes that can exploit different advantages are the answer to the dr1 menace, and making all planes have the same failure point even though they have different structural qualities would be.. bad? lol
