Slow turning in a low P38

[Ack-Ack]

The question is, has anyone in AH been able to maintain a continuous turn in a P-38 at 72mph and full throttle to match Byers statement?

While being able to maintain the turn with the wings at a 90 degree angle at stall speed?  Not in AH, especially with full flaps deployed. 

[DaveBB]

P-38 barely flies in ground effect at 72mph, let alone turn at that speed.

[Zimme83]

http://www.wwiiaircraftperformance.org/p-38/p-38-67869.html
Some interesting reading, stall speed w flaps down and power on is 53mph..

[FLOOB]

That's the same link I already posted in this thread

[Zimme83]

Aah. Missed that.

[FLS]

According to the P-38 pilot handbook a 15,000 lb P-38 stalls at 69 mph with full power, gear and flaps down. The AH P-38J weighs about 15,500 lbs with 25% fuel. That means there is no way to maintain level flight at 53 mph or level turn it at 72 mph.

[Randy1]

The L during the war had the advantage of higher octane fuel with higher boost set in the field making it have "More Powerful" engines. Things that were not included in the AH model.

Mr. Byers may have been saying the 72 mph turn was based on an L we don't have in AH.  I don't think we can discount his statement since we can not test the plane AH model he and all of the L pilots had.

That is why we need to edit out "More Powerful" engines from the AH wiki

[Drano]

The stall speed wouldn't be affected by a more powerful engine. The wings will only generate so much lift at a given speed. If the plane weighs A and the wings won't generate A amount of lift below a certain speed, the plane is gonna stall. The horsepower doesn't hold the plane in the air, the wings do.

Sent from my XT1080 using Tapatalk

[earl1937]

The L during the war had the advantage of higher octane fuel with higher boost set in the field making it have "More Powerful" engines. Things that were not included in the AH model.

Mr. Byers may have been saying the 72 mph turn was based on an L we don't have in AH.  I don't think we can discount his statement since we can not test the plane AH model he and all of the L pilots had.

That is why we need to edit out "More Powerful" engines from the AH wiki

the only way this maneuver would work, is to get the a/c "behind" the power curve, but even at that, which is not capable in AH due to programing problems I would think. A 90 degree bank is in effect, "knife edge" flight and there is no way you could maintain altitude and 72MPH IAS in the "L".
Why anyone would want to fly at that speed and at that attitude is beyond me.

[Ack-Ack]

That is why we need to edit out "More Powerful" engines from the AH wiki

No we don't, it's not an inaccurate statement.

[hgtonyvi]

Don't just flat turn the plane. As the plane gets down to stall speeds try and do low yo yo's. It will great due to the rudder response 38 has at slow speeds. Again I am a f4u flyer but I do have experience in the p38's also.

[Ack-Ack]

Don't just flat turn the plane. As the plane gets down to stall speeds try and do low yo yo's. It will great due to the rudder response 38 has at slow speeds.

Yep, good advice, even from someone that flies a plane with kinked wings.

[Randy1]

No we don't, it's not an inaccurate statement.

Then the L has more powerful engines than the J?

[FLS]

Then the L has more powerful engines than the J?

Running the more powerful engine at the same max MP increased the reliability.

[DaveBB]

When AH2 was in Beta, I could get a P-38 stuck in a nose high attitude right after takeoff, and it would only fly in ground effect.  Stall horn would be blaring the whole time, while the engines were in WEP.  There wasn't enough airspeed for the elevator to pitch those nose down.  I don't remember what the E6B said exactly, but it had to be in the 50mph range.