P-40B

[BaldEagl]

I'e been flying this plane a lot just lately and really love it.  Any good tips from those more familiar with it?

So far I've mostly been starting high, diving on opponents and zoom climbing back up to maintain E.  I chased a Ki-84 back to his base this way last night then killed a Spit.

I've had a chance to get it slow against a Typhoon.  Ultimately I chased him back to his base too but before I did I found the P-40 could hang on the prop at about 0 mph then fall off under complete control.  I'll find a way to use that sometime.

I haven't tried deploying flaps yet as, as I said, I've been trying to hold E for the most part.

I really thought I'd be a con magnet but instead I've found enemies either leave me alone, leave or try to HO me.  Maybe people are just wary when they see a P-40?

Anyway, tips are welcome.

[JOACH1M]

Really only need about 10-12k of alt to do mac damage. The planes flaps can go out at a pretty fast speed. I noticed that La7's were quite easy to beat I a rolling and flat scissors wit the flaps fully extended

[TwinBoom]

i converged all guns tom 300 they seen to hit a little harder

i also fly her from 10 to 15k

[Karnak]

Any decent Ki-84, Typhoon or La-7 driver should eat a P-40B for lunch.  The E building potential of those fighters is just so far beyond what the P-40B can do that even starting from a large deficit they should quickly equalize and them exceed the E of the P-40B.

[JOACH1M]

Any decent Ki-84, Typhoon or La-7 driver should eat a P-40B for lunch.  The E building potential of those fighters is just so far beyond what the P-40B can do that even starting from a large deficit they should quickly equalize and them exceed the E of the P-40B.

Yes but take the less then average ma stick and it sees a p40 and the p40 knows what he is doing and those planes u described will be easy, they will blow all there E to get a "easy" p40 kill

[Shuffler]

P-40s are fun birds to fly.

My only suggestion... don't fly in front of bullits.

[SmokinLoon]

The P40's are one of those birds that NEED to be flown inside their invelope.  Meaning, they need room and a bit of speed. 

There is no fighter more difficult to succeed in than the P40B.  Some of the "name in lights" guys would get my respect if they landed kills in a P40B.  The old saing "fear the plyer not the plane" saying goes right out the window when the best of the best hop into a P40B.   

[SmokinLoon]

double post, sorry

[BnZs]

Any decent Ki-84, Typhoon or La-7 driver should eat a P-40B for lunch.  The E building potential of those fighters is just so far beyond what the P-40B can do that even starting from a large deficit they should quickly equalize and them exceed the E of the P-40B.

Agree about the Lala or the Ki, but the Typhoon is so unmaneuverable I can easily see a decent stick in  P40 forcing it to run, HO, or die.

[Oldman731]

Agree about the Lala or the Ki, but the Typhoon is so unmaneuverable I can easily see a decent stick in  P40 forcing it to run, HO, or die.

Remember, he's talking P-40B.  There's a world of difference between the -B and the -E.

- oldman

[Krusty]

P-40B in the LWA is an exercise. It's not really fun... It's totally outclassed by all (remember the P-40 doesn't exactly have a tight turn radius, you can't fly it like you might a 109e or a hurr1 and sucker folks into a turn fight!).

The hardest part isn't getting a kill -- that's up to your skills I suppose -- the hardest part is EGRESSING with your kills. You're so slow that folks can and will reup and chase you down ad nauseum. Had that happen to me in FT once. Killed a couple folks, and before I could get OUT of FT, he kept chasing me down. Ran into him 2 more times before a friendly knocked him down and I could land safely.


Definitely need a friendly around here or there. Flying this plane is about minimizing your detriments, rather than flying to your attributes.

[Raptor]

Love the P40B. It turns relatively well, despite what Krusty says. What I find works the best is how easy it is making other planes overshoot. I fly it slow and otd, so everything trying to get you has too much speed and expects an easy kill. Then they reup and you get more easy kills

Agreed though, landing is tough because it doesn't have the speed to get away from re uppers

[Krusty]

If you have E it will turn as it bleeds that E off. Once gone you're wallowing.

It's turn radius is rather poor, and generally anything other than US planes will out turn it, except for that initial E-bleeding-turn.

That's the trick, IMO... Keeping enough E in store to finish the fight before you wallow and slow down. You may say "same for every fight!" but in the case of the P-40B I'd argue "Yeah, only this one doesn't recharge -- just diminishes as the fight goes on" 

[BnZs]

Remember, he's talking P-40B.  There's a world of difference between the -B and the -E.

- oldman

And the average player in the MA has almost 0 chance of killing *anything* that turns decidedly better, except by pick or HO. Getting a kill shot from behind the wing-line with pure E tactics is a difficult and requires refinement.

[BaldEagl]

Well I landed a 4 kill sortie in it last night or the night before although three of them were B-24's.  The other was a Jug.

This plane is soooo fun to drop in on the six of a con in.  I particularily like doing that to Jugs and Ponies.  They overreact almost every time and blow their E.  I've been in fights with a lot of different planes now including Spits, Ki's, Jugs, Ponies, P-38's, N1K's, 109's and more and this plane does much much better than I envisioned that it would.  It actually turns pretty well but you really need to use barrel rolls and vertical oblique turns to maintain E while reducing overall turn radius.  Still waiting for another chance to use that hang on the prop thing.  About the only thing I don't like is that it's painfully slow to climb or to get anywhere.

My biggest problem so far has been avoiding my own mistakes; collisions, trees, poor SA, etc.  I think I'll eventually get it.

Any more tips I'm all ears.