Author Topic: Help flying the P39  (Read 3061 times)

Offline TOMCAT21

  • Silver Member
  • ****
  • Posts: 1648
Help flying the P39
« on: April 18, 2013, 03:33:07 PM »
Are there any tricks to flying the P39 ?
RETIRED US Army/ Flying and dying since Tour 80/"We're paratroopers, Lieutenant, we're supposed to be surrounded." - Capt. Richard Winters.  FSO 412th FNVG/MA- REGULATORS

Offline Oldman731

  • Plutonium Member
  • *******
  • Posts: 9504
Re: Help flying the P39
« Reply #1 on: April 18, 2013, 03:50:15 PM »
Are there any tricks to flying the P39 ?


Left turns only.

- oldman

Offline Arlo

  • Radioactive Member
  • *******
  • Posts: 24760
Re: Help flying the P39
« Reply #2 on: April 18, 2013, 03:51:49 PM »

Left turns only.

- oldman

Typical. Oldman drives all over town with his left blinker on.  ;)

Offline BaDkaRmA158Th

  • Gold Member
  • *****
  • Posts: 2542
Re: Help flying the P39
« Reply #3 on: April 18, 2013, 04:28:01 PM »
After about 110mph and slowing you loose much of your control to the right "full right stick mostly" untill 90mph then your wing will dip and youll start to flat spin.


Mostly fly her like a under powered 1950's jet fighter, the center of gravity is much further behind then in other fighters with a nose mounted engine configuration. Try to move the nose where you want it,and let the plane pull itself to that location without forcing it around much, at low speeds this is a must. Around 210mph-330mph the plane is in its prime location for sustained turns, just try to "go with it" if you start pulling hard your E will bleed because the center mass wants to try and pull the entire airframe out of the circle the slower you get "less lift, more main body weight" Youll notice this if you get her upto 350-400+ mph and pull hard on the stick, she will stay tight in your turn but the E will bleed like crazy.

You can also do a move i call the "cherry bomb" and thats to point your nose almost streight down, roll yourself till your wings are almost in the full vertical line / <-- like that. and just let the stick go,only allowing small changes to keep your nose going in th direction you want,and to keep from nosing up after 350mph has been reached. Doing this "move" will allow you to gain speed very quickly, then just roll till your wings match the horizon, open fire..nose up and climb away as much as possible untill your around 200-230mph then nose down and level out. keep your eyes open and consider ANY aircraft closer then 4k out as a major threat when your just pulling up and out at your now slower air speed.


Hope this helps some, also if your flying the 39Q, just leave the gondolas off, and if your trying to stay light and sleek, leave the drop tank off, as even after it is gone it still has the shackle weight and drag. But at that point managing your engine by powering down to 65-70% and hitting your - key on the numpad like 3 times, is a must for managing your fuel. Dont forget to hit + again to regain full power. And always keep a eye on your E6b as all 39's have short wings when flight time is concerned.
« Last Edit: April 18, 2013, 04:30:09 PM by BaDkaRmA158Th »
~383Rd RTC/CH BW/AG~
BaDfaRmA

My signature says "Our commitment to diplomacy will never inhibit our willingness to kick a$s."

Offline Squire

  • Aces High CM Staff (Retired)
  • Platinum Member
  • ******
  • Posts: 7683
Re: Help flying the P39
« Reply #4 on: April 18, 2013, 08:18:59 PM »
Fly the P-39Q as it has WEP and as above stated leave the gondolas off of it. Fly it with 50 fuel and a DT. Lose the DT when you engage. You will find its not a bad little fighter.
Warloc
Friday Squad Ops CM Team
1841 Squadron Fleet Air Arm
Aces High since Tour 24

Offline Randy1

  • Platinum Member
  • ******
  • Posts: 4317
Re: Help flying the P39
« Reply #5 on: April 19, 2013, 05:14:05 AM »
A friend and my eye doctor flew the P39 in WWII.  When he talked about it, there was always a note of embarrassment that he was in a P39 squadron.  He said they ended up running mail toward the end of the war.

Offline caldera

  • Platinum Member
  • ******
  • Posts: 6480
Re: Help flying the P39
« Reply #6 on: April 19, 2013, 10:30:41 AM »
Are there any tricks to flying the P39 ?

Don't know any tricks.  Almost everyone will overshoot you and if you drill them as they pop out in front, it may seem like a trick.  :devil

Don't hang out in the trees, unless you're in a 1v1.  The 39 is a surprisingly maneuverable and small target.  Acceleration sucks and climb is mediocre (both are worse in the D model) but zoom climb is not bad.  If you have even 1k of altitude and 100mph airspeed, that's better than being 300 on the deck (more options).  I take 75% fuel and a drop tank in the D.  Fighting at light weight, it performs well but conserve gas when you can.
Snuggie - voted "Sexiest Man Alive" for the entire Greater East Asia Co-Prosperity Sphere!

Offline earl1937

  • Gold Member
  • *****
  • Posts: 2290
Re: Help flying the P39
« Reply #7 on: April 19, 2013, 11:22:53 AM »
Are there any tricks to flying the P39 ?
:airplane: I fly the 39 very little! It is primarily a air to ground attack aircraft and was designed that way. If you will notice, the wings on the 39 have more dihedral than any other WW2 aircraft and it was designed that way to increase stability during diving attacks and maneuvering close to the ground. The dihedral in the wings decrease the ability to turn quickly, so there fore it is not a good ACM aircraft. Just for fun and education, some day when doing nothing but piddling around, pull the nose up, full power, with wep, bank right or left at least 45 degrees of bank angle, let the a/c stall, then without touching anything, let the 39 recover itself. Make sure you hold complete and full back pressure on elevator until it stalls. Then do the same thing in a "Ponie" and watch how quick you go into a flat spin!
The other extreme is the British Hurricane, which has 0 degrees of dihedral and that is why it is very maneuverable compared to the 39.
« Last Edit: April 19, 2013, 11:31:01 AM by earl1937 »
Blue Skies and wind at my back and wish that for all!!!

Offline TOMCAT21

  • Silver Member
  • ****
  • Posts: 1648
Re: Help flying the P39
« Reply #8 on: April 19, 2013, 03:00:19 PM »
thanks guys  :salute
RETIRED US Army/ Flying and dying since Tour 80/"We're paratroopers, Lieutenant, we're supposed to be surrounded." - Capt. Richard Winters.  FSO 412th FNVG/MA- REGULATORS

Offline Karnak

  • Radioactive Member
  • *******
  • Posts: 23048
Re: Help flying the P39
« Reply #9 on: April 19, 2013, 04:27:50 PM »
:airplane: I fly the 39 very little! It is primarily a air to ground attack aircraft and was designed that way. If you will notice, the wings on the 39 have more dihedral than any other WW2 aircraft and it was designed that way to increase stability during diving attacks and maneuvering close to the ground. The dihedral in the wings decrease the ability to turn quickly, so there fore it is not a good ACM aircraft. Just for fun and education, some day when doing nothing but piddling around, pull the nose up, full power, with wep, bank right or left at least 45 degrees of bank angle, let the a/c stall, then without touching anything, let the 39 recover itself. Make sure you hold complete and full back pressure on elevator until it stalls. Then do the same thing in a "Ponie" and watch how quick you go into a flat spin!
The other extreme is the British Hurricane, which has 0 degrees of dihedral and that is why it is very maneuverable compared to the 39.
Please, do some research before making these claims.  The P-39 was most certainly not designed as a ground attack aircraft.
Petals floating by,
      Drift through my woman's hand,
             As she remembers me-

Offline Guppy35

  • Radioactive Member
  • *******
  • Posts: 20387
Re: Help flying the P39
« Reply #10 on: April 20, 2013, 01:57:21 AM »
Go read "Nanette" by Edwards Park.  All you need to do to fall in love with the 39.  An old Airwarrior buddy of ours was a 39 pilot in the MTO.  He flew it in combat until August 44.  Down low is where it's at it's best. 
Dan/CorkyJr
8th FS "Headhunters

Offline Randy1

  • Platinum Member
  • ******
  • Posts: 4317
Re: Help flying the P39
« Reply #11 on: April 20, 2013, 06:01:12 AM »
The Russians made good use of the P39.  Do a google.

Offline earl1937

  • Gold Member
  • *****
  • Posts: 2290
Re: Help flying the P39
« Reply #12 on: April 20, 2013, 07:53:14 AM »
Please, do some research before making these claims.  The P-39 was most certainly not designed as a ground attack aircraft.
:airplane: I appreciate your comment but:

Bell P-39Q  Operational history
 
The Airacobra saw combat throughout the world, particularly in the Southwest Pacific, Mediterranean and Russian theaters. Because its engine was only equipped with a single-stage, single-speed supercharger, the P-39 performed best below 17,000 feet (5,200 m) altitude. In both western Europe and the Pacific, the Airacobra found itself outclassed as an interceptor, its earliest proposed role, and the type was gradually relegated to other duties. It often was used at lower altitudes for such missions as ground strafing.
Larry Bell did intend for the 39 to be an intercepter, but having insisted on a single stage blower, instead of the two stage, to save weight, the 39 was more or less restricted to altitudes of less than 10,000 feet.
It was used almost entirely thoughout the war as a ground attack aircraft,(check the Russian stats on the 39), and proved to be a very effective ground attack aircraft!
In 1940, the British Direct Purchase Commission in the U.S. was looking for combat aircraft; they ordered 675 of the export version Bell Model 14 as the "Caribou" on the strength of the company's representations on 13 April 1940. The British armament was two nose mounted 0.50 in (12.7 mm) machine guns, and four 0.303 in (7.7 mm) Browning machine guns in the wings; the 37 mm gun was replaced by a 20 mm (.79 in) Hispano-Suiza.
 
British expectations had been set by performance figures established by the unarmed and unarmored XP-39 prototype. The British production contract stated that a maximum speed of 394 mph (+/- 4%) was required at rated altitude. In acceptance testing, actual production aircraft were found to be capable of only 371 mph at 14,090 ft. To enable the aircraft to make the guarantee speed, a variety of drag reduction modifications were developed by Bell. The areas of the elevator and rudder were reduced by 14.2% and 25.2%, respectively. Modified fillets were installed in the tail area. The canopy glass was faired to its frame with putty. The gun access doors on the wing had been seen to bulge in flight, so they were replaced with thicker aluminum sheet. Similarly, the landing gear doors deflected open by as much as two inches at maximum speed, so a stronger linkage was installed to hold them flush. The cooling air exit from the oil and coolant radiators was reduced in area to match the exit velocity to the local flow. New engine exhaust stacks, deflected to match the local flow and with nozzles to increase thrust augmentation, were installed. The machine gun ports were faired over, the antenna mast was removed, a single piece engine cowling was installed and an exhaust stack fairing was added.
ell-P-39 from the United States requisitioned 200 aircraft of the order destined for the UK, adopting them as P-400s (named for advertised top speed of 400 mph (644 km/h)). After Pearl Harbor, the P-400 was deployed to training units, but some saw combat in the Southwest Pacific including with the Cactus Air Force in the Battle of Guadalcanal. Though outclassed by Japanese fighter aircraft, it performed well in strafing and bombing runs, often proving deadly in ground attacks on Japanese forces trying to retake Henderson Field. Guns salvaged from P-39s were sometimes fitted to Navy PT boats to increase firepower. Pacific pilots often complained about problems of performance and unreliable armament, but by the end of 1942, the P-39 units of the Fifth Air Force had claimed about 80 Japanese aircraft, with a similar number of P-39s lost. By any standard the Airacobra and its pilots held their ground against the Japanese. Fifth and Thirteenth Air Force P-39s did not score more aerial victories in the Solomons due to the aircraft's limited range and poor high altitude performance.
While I may have mis-spoke about it being "designed" as a ground attack aircraft, that is what it wound up being and was very, very effective.
« Last Edit: April 20, 2013, 07:54:54 AM by earl1937 »
Blue Skies and wind at my back and wish that for all!!!

Offline Karnak

  • Radioactive Member
  • *******
  • Posts: 23048
Re: Help flying the P39
« Reply #13 on: April 20, 2013, 08:17:42 AM »
The P-39 was designed to be a fighter.  The Army, for non-combat related reasons, changed its specification to have a single stage engine.  It was not designed as a ground attack aircraft.  If it had been designed as a ground attack aircraft its designers were incompetent.
Petals floating by,
      Drift through my woman's hand,
             As she remembers me-

Offline TOMCAT21

  • Silver Member
  • ****
  • Posts: 1648
Re: Help flying the P39
« Reply #14 on: April 20, 2013, 09:29:59 AM »
So I am to assume the P39 is a good low altitude fighter ?I know its good for ground attack. I just need go to TA and fly it around.
« Last Edit: April 20, 2013, 09:33:02 AM by TOMCAT21 »
RETIRED US Army/ Flying and dying since Tour 80/"We're paratroopers, Lieutenant, we're supposed to be surrounded." - Capt. Richard Winters.  FSO 412th FNVG/MA- REGULATORS