Could a P38 theoretically fly at max continuous power during climb, cruise and combat maneuvering with the reserve for wep usage and have no oil/coolant overheating problems? I have no idea how it was and how performance is modeled in the game. I am asking because it doesn't`t seem logical to me. If those high performance fighters could fly full throttle all the time without overheating they would have reliable reserve to push the engine even further for a short time without the wep.
I don't know of any "real" aircraft which are operated at full throttle all the time! Personally, in any twin or four engine aircraft which I ever flew, I wanted to get 20 knots above VMC speed as quickly as possible! What you are concerned about more than anything else is taking care of those engines where they will get you home again! I would think the guys flying 38's in the SWPAT, "baby" those engines for all their skill. I would imagine that if an airbase was getting a air raid warning, then everyone would climb out at full power to get as much altitude as quickly as possible. But other than that, I can see no reason to abuse engines climbing to altitude because you are not running a race. I would guess also that in aerial combat, yes, they were probably full power at least most of the time, another reason to take care of your engines so that you could have full power available to you when you needed it. There are two instances that you must consider when climbing out: Best rate of climb, most altitude gained in shortest amount of time, or standard cruise climb, which is developed by the test pilots at the factory, which take into account, engine heating, fuel consumption, pilot work load, and mission profile.
