I Predict the Next Plane HTC Brings Forth Will Be...

[LCADolby]

109E upgrade would make my year(s);

109E3/B
109E4/B
109E7/B
109E7/Z

[Butcher]

Ditto.  Wmaker will no doubt call you a dumba** whiner.


In not so many words but yes, there it is.  Knew the wait wouldn't be long.  No one dare cast blasphemous dispersions upon the sacred B-239!
The lack of self sealing fuel tanks is no reason for them to catch fire. 

Not really, I am unbiased with the B-239. Frankly I dont see this plane as uber as everyone wants to make it to be, I had a few sorties against it in the Rangoon campaign and made short work of them with a6m2s.
However the reason I wonder about the fuel tanks, I don't ever recall one burning.

As bad as I chewed it up in the Rangoon/Finland campaign, i say its simply outclassed until you are dumb enough to turn against it. Give it some alt and it will be a problem, however most simply don't realize to either run away or take it vertical.

[Charge]

Meteor. It is quite obvious.

-C+

[Wmaker]

I didn't mean that oboe whined at all. He asked a good question.

[nrshida]

Where are the fuel tanks, inner wings? Is there a fuselage tank too? Somebody could easily make a test off-line.

[Wmaker]

Where are the fuel tanks, inner wings? Is there a fuselage tank too? Somebody could easily make a test off-line.

There's a collector tank in the fuse but the actual fuel tanks are integrated into the wings spars. The wing spars themselves are torsion box like structure with individual longerons running inside. No tests will really reveal anything definitive anyway. There are many occasions when holes were shot into the wing tanks and they didn't ignite. I really don't know why that is, not a faintest clue. OTOH in the films about the Pacific war Zeros seem to light up from just couple of .50 rounds. Maybe it is the difference in ammo between the .50 and the ammo used by the Soviets.

[Debrody]

Butcher,

as i can see, the Brewster is the most maneuverable aircraft in game. Not by the raw turn rate, the zekes are a bit better in that, but by the turn radius, flap effectiveness, low speed roll rate, very low speed handling. In a rolling scissors situation, i would rather be in a brew than in an a6m2. Plus the brewster can dive too, even tho its slower than the most EW fighters, at medium altitudes.

So if you had success in zeek against them, that was rather the pilot, the squad, or the situation, not really the plane itself.

[Butcher]

Butcher,

as i can see, the Brewster is the most maneuverable aircraft in game. Not by the raw turn rate, the zekes are a bit better in that, but by the turn radius, flap effectiveness, low speed roll rate, very low speed handling. In a rolling scissors situation, i would rather be in a brew than in an a6m2. Plus the brewster can dive too, even tho its slower than the most EW fighters, at medium altitudes.

So if you had success in zeek against them, that was rather the pilot, the squad, or the situation, not really the plane itself.

It was entirely the Pilot,

Butcher
14:57:55 Departed from Field #11 in a A6M2
15:46:25 Shot down a Brewster B-239 flown by Bravo51.
15:54:10 Shot down a P-40B flown by front.
15:58:17 Shot down a Hurricane Mk I flown by Sharky.
16:20:46 Arrived Safely at Field #11
16:20:52 Departed from Field #11 in a A6M2
17:29:47 Shot down a Brewster B-239 flown by BearKats.
17:30:08 Shot down a Brewster B-239 flown by Vasco.
17:32:39 Helps Buzzard shoot down c4159.
17:32:54 Was shot down by .

I ended up flying with the wrong group, who had no coordination or experience, I should of survived just fine except the whole puffy ack got me in the end, that and lack of wingman the entire time. I flew with what I knew, Zeros outclimb and out turn, I maintained my alt and had little trouble with the top speed of the Zero, only trouble I had was a P-40 with I remember took most my Ammo up.

Most pilots just flat turn and dive to deck when in trouble, not everyone knows the inner and outs of aircrafts which puts some to an advantage just based on experience.

[nrshida]

There's a collector tank in the fuse but the actual fuel tanks are integrated into the wings spars. The wing spars themselves are torsion box like structure with individual longerons running inside. No tests will really reveal anything definitive anyway. There are many occasions when holes were shot into the wing tanks and they didn't ignite. I really don't know why that is, not a faintest clue. OTOH in the films about the Pacific war Zeros seem to light up from just couple of .50 rounds. Maybe it is the difference in ammo between the .50 and the ammo used by the Soviets.

Couldn't find any useful cutaways on t'internet. Might be a reason though, in the structure you are describing.

[FTJR]

Correct me if im wrong, but is it not the fumes that start the fire. i.e the bullet sparks the fumes, which lead to the fire, if this is so, could it be that the brewster has a better fuel vent system?

[nrshida]

Some rounds are incendiaries and are actually burning as they travel through the structure. I'm really interested in Wmaker's comment about the wing spars with individual longerons. Might form tiny compartments which might flash out without igniting neighbours, but without a picture that's just wild conjecture.

[Melvin]

Correct me if im wrong, but is it not the fumes that start the fire. i.e the bullet sparks the fumes, which lead to the fire, if this is so, could it be that the brewster has a better fuel vent system?

You're kidding me right?

You think that HTC actually models fuel vent systems?


Occam's Razor says that they screwed the Zippo qualities of the Brew.


 

[FTJR]

You're kidding me right?

You think that HTC actually models fuel vent systems?


Occam's Razor says that they screwed the Zippo qualities of the Brew.


 

I was actually refering to real life, ;0   I have read about a lot of problems with the Brew and its genre, but nothing about them burning easliy

[leitwolf]

A non-cloth aileron Spit I would be fun.

[oboe]

You're kidding me right?

You think that HTC actually models fuel vent systems?


Occam's Razor says that they screwed the Zippo qualities of the Brew.


 

That is what I am wondering about, and why I originally asked the question.  Granted, its all in-game personal observation, but I have seen the P-47N catch fire many times (also a wet wing design) but I can't recall ever seeing a Brewster burning.   Of course I'm sure I have many more 47N kills than kills of the Brewster - I find the Brewster a very tough fight against the planes I usually fly.   I won't draw any conclusions from my experience alone, but if everyone has noticed the same thing, it may indicate a problem somewhere.

I do love having the little Sky Pearl in the game.   It's my understanding that Dayton Brown incorporated some advanced features for the day into the Brewster's design, and the biggest problems were lack of efficient maufacturing production space and incompetent business management of the company, along with a design that reached its upgrade limits early.   I read somewhere the Brewster produced more aces-per-airframe than the P-51 Mustang.