Cutting Engines Mid Flight

[Karnak]

The Mossie also lacks the ability to slow down rapidly just by throttling back.  You have to slam the rudder hard over to get as much fuselage into the wind as possible.

De Haviland was initially going to include a frill airbrake on the Mossie due to concerns from Fighter Command that it would not slow down fast enough to get good firing solutions.  The frill airbrake was abandoned when it was found that lowering the landing gear had the same effect.  This doesn't work in AH because the landing gear cannot be lowered at high speeds without ripping them off.

[BaldEagl]

On a few occasions the last little while, I've been tooling along and spied somebody all by his lonesome on climbout.  Having alt on them, I came in for the bounce, getting low six as I approached.  I don't like to fire outside 600 on such an attack, I usually wait for the icon to go to 400 and then open up.  What I've noticed in a lot of cases lately is right around the time the icon goes to 600, a guy that most likely can't see me from his canopy suddenly does a panic break.  Again, we're the only two in icon range.

After considering it a bit, it occurred to me that we can hear other peoples' engine noise between 800 and 600 over your internal engine sounds.

It might be they are those who turn off their own internal engine sounds to be able to hear someone on their six.  I think internal and external engine sounds should be tied together to negate that bit of gaminess.

[Wiley]

It might be they are those who turn off their own internal engine sounds to be able to hear someone on their six.  I think internal and external engine sounds should be tied together to negate that bit of gaminess.

That I can remember, I've never touched my sound levels beyond vox, and I can hear a guy coming up behind me at about icon 800.  A jet at 1000.

Wiley.

[icepac]

It's performance in an air race does not support your argument that the Lightning was not aerodynamically clean aircraft and wasn't able to retain energy very well.  The top speed of the P-38L was 443mph and the only thing that really limited the Lightning from able to achieve greater power were limited by the wing leading edge intercoolers until the J model arrived.

This is pretty good article on the evolution of the speed and climb of the P-38 and goes into considerable detail about it's aerodynamic and energy retention properties over at the WWII Aircraft Performance site.

The P-38 Lightning - Evolution of Speed and Climb Performance

ack-ack

I think you're wrong and invite you to come over to the AAFO forums and discuss the p38 aerodynamics with the guys who actually race planes at Reno.

A few of them actually raced P38s so you can get the opinions of someone with real life experience.

Just throw up a post and we'll see how well your unproven theory works out there.

I'll bring the popcorn.

http://www.aafo.com/hangartalk/forumdisplay.php?f=2

I wish I could go to reno this year but I'll be at NASA's kennedy space center doing high speed aerodynamic testing that weekend.

[kvuo75]

It might be they are those who turn off their own internal engine sounds to be able to hear someone on their six.  I think internal and external engine sounds should be tied together to negate that bit of gaminess.

It was already tried, IIRC. remember when the new sound system first came out and there were only like 4 sliders and no advanced tab, people cried and cried about not being able to turn down their own engine sound to 0 anymore so they could hear external engines.    htc added back the advanced tab and they were again able to tweak it. 

[Raptor05121]

I think you're wrong and invite you to come over to the AAFO forums and discuss the p38 aerodynamics with the guys who actually race planes at Reno.

A few of them actually raced P38s so you can get the opinions of someone with real life experience.

Just throw up a post and we'll see how well your unproven theory works out there.

I'll bring the popcorn.

http://www.aafo.com/hangartalk/forumdisplay.php?f=2

I wish I could go to reno this year but I'll be at NASA's kennedy space center doing high speed aerodynamic testing that weekend.

  Everyone get into the bunker!

[drgondog]

Yes, it is realistic. Happened many times in the war... a pilot forgot to switch tanks and the engine dies. He switches tanks, turns it back on. One P-38 pilot was the first recorded to score a kill with engines off because this happened while he was just about to fire. He calmly coasted in for the shot then started up afterwards.

Even Hitech himself flies, and has mentioned on the forums how he's had his sputter out on him before, switched tanks and started up again.

Robin Olds had that happen when he was whacking a 109, claimed to be the only glider kill for the war.