Brewster Perfomance

[ZE]

I have passed a brew going in the opposite direction, both of us in a slight climb, in my 38J. Me flying straight and the brew turns 180 and then imediately stays with me in the climb. Seems odd but that has happened a few times.

I did with other planes, but until certain moment... maintain the climb more based on lift than speed. In my lower experience, I can turn, climb, but losing my speed and distance from the enemy plane...

[waystin2]

You turn with Brewster, you die. If Brewster comes in at a bazillion feet above your plane, you die.  Best thing to do is BNZ that Brew until it's dead. 

[RotBaron]

No access to film atm… was it me??    🤣

You’ve killed me so many times it might have been, but not recently… that I recall 🤔

Concur with the general sentiment here, if u engage a Brew you’d better squash it fast, a pilot like u will get the angles eventually and/or accurate enough to get 1k hits.  Ur dead if fight goes past 3 merges in a LW plane, unless you’re just a BnZ clown, CoE/alt merges = ☠️ vs Brew.

[RotBaron]

You and Scott are impossible in them. My desk and wall next to can attest to that… As bad or worse than Moth on the deck in N1k.

 

 

[LilMak]

Brew has always seemed a little sus to me. I think it accelerates too fast and holds E too well. The Finish Brew has a worse power to weight ratio than the FM-2 yet can it fly circles around the navy bird.

It’s only real weakness is flat out speed. Climbs poorly too but only if it starts slow. If it’s got a good head of steam it’ll hang on the prop quite some time.

Last two fighters added in the game are the Brew and the Yak-3 if memory serves. Think HT forgot to carry the one when he did math on the drag model for those two aircraft. Both seem to hold onto speed and accelerate faster than they should.

[Devil 505]

Brew has always seemed a little sus to me. I think it accelerates too fast and holds E too well. The Finish Brew has a worse power to weight ratio than the FM-2 yet can it fly circles around the navy bird.

It’s only real weakness is flat out speed. Climbs poorly too but only if it starts slow. If it’s got a good head of steam it’ll hang on the prop quite some time.

Last two fighters added in the game are the Brew and the Yak-3 if memory serves. Think HT forgot to carry the one when he did math on the drag model for those two aircraft. Both seem to hold onto speed and accelerate faster than they should.

Yak-7B was added the same time as the Yak-3. Also. we got the A6M3 before the new Yaks. Neither of those are accused of holding their E exceptionally well.

[Oldman731]

Yak-7B was added the same time as the Yak-3. Also. we got the A6M3 before the new Yaks. Neither of those are accused of holding their E exceptionally well.

A6M3 has other fine qualities.  Must try that again, it's been years.

- oldman

[ZE]

I understand planes in the game can't have all the exact specirfication and attributes of the real planes, but we all know what to expect from them and take advantage of minor differences.
In reality is a great game...

[RELIC]

I always thought it seemed a bit overmodeled, BUT I have no data to back that up and it's not like I can't choose to fly it.

[Badboy]

I used to have films of brewsters passing HO turn 180 degrees level and seeing the data in the film showing nearly zero loss in speed.

Of course every aircraft can turn with zero loss in airspeed, by reducing the load factor during the turn.

The Brewster's performance in AH compared to two other aircraft can be seen in the Doghouse plot below. Along with sea level values for Corner velocity, climb rate and top speed, those values along with the Ps=0 curves shows that it compares very closely with these other fighters, yet they don't receive the same negative attention.



The Ps=0 zero curves show that the while the Brewster sustains energy in a turn better than the I16 it is significantly worse at sustained turning than the A6M2. In a sustained turn, the A6M2 can sustain almost four degrees per second more than the Brewster for what would be considered a decisive advantage.

One thing I think helps the Brewster a lot, is that while the Zeke, and many other aircraft lose control authority at high speed, the Brewster appears to retain full control authority at speed well above its top speed which means it is easy to maneuver when diving from altitude and also at very low speeds, so it can be more deadly in dives and zooms than aircraft that lose some control authority in those situations. That of course explains why the experienced Brewster drivers fly it that way.

However I think it can be seen that the Brewster doesn't stand out in this comparison in terms of its sustained turning ability.

During my flight tests of this aircraft back in 2009, nothing else seemed to stand out as noteworthy. In the years since then, when ever I've been surprised at the speed or energy retention of the Brewster, it has always been as a result of some hidden/retained energy after a dive and that's just a testimony to the fact that it is being flown to its strengths.

The simple fact is that to do well in any aircraft, you need to know it well and fly it to its strengths, in that regard the Brewster is no different to any other aircraft in the game.

Hope that helps

Badboy

[icepac]

Yak-7B was added the same time as the Yak-3. Also. we got the A6M3 before the new Yaks. Neither of those are accused of holding their E exceptionally well.

Actually..........

[ZE]

Hope that helps
Badboy

Thanks for those facts, Bad, as always very detailed analysis.

The only thing missing here, is what I said : fly the plane you like and you enjoy it the most and have fun... Try your best to survive all encounters, but don't worry if you die, since this is a game and we're here to have fun...
ZE

[DmonSlyr]

I think a lot of people certainly underestimate the E a Brewster carries. Its a very good turning plane and a good pilot in it is very scary, like ZE. If he jumps on your 6 with more speed than you, it's just about GG.

You have to be a little more patient fighting Brewsters, cannot just try to turn n burn with them, you have to extend out a little further before doing a emmilman. Once their speed dies down a bit, then you can gain the E advantage, but they are very good defensive planes so you have to be very careful in the overshoot along with not getting picked by other planes. I always make sure not to get too slow around Brewsters.

[nrshida]

Actually..........

There was an altitude-related bug with the A6M3 when initially released. It was Debrody who evidenced it and it was fixed.

[icepac]

I sent the film in but I remember him complaining after I only flew one mission in it to hunt 163s.   

I found this one as well as other high altitude bugs.

Take a AR234 and watch your fuel burn above 32,000 feet.    The fuel burn and thrust will power you to overspeed at some altitudes and other altitudes allow you to back off the throttle and maximize range.   
But…. Climb another 500 feet and full throttle barely keeps you in flight.
Climb another 1000 feet and it streaks across the sky.   
Harness it properly and you, to, can troll 163s.