Realistic alt ceiling!!!

[ccvi]

The difference between a 2G turn at 250 IAS at sea level and a 2G turn at 250 IAS at FL300 should be the radius of the circle.

Haven't tried this IRL though, haven't been higher than 9600 ft and didn't pull any Gs there


On the psychological side i meant that at least IHMO a shaking plane is much harder to fly. Just by trying not to break it. Especially if you're using a force feedback stick...

[Reschke]

Originally posted by Swoop
How would HT model a crappy oxygen system?


I've never experienced oxygen starvation, what happens?  

Not sure how HTC would model an O2 system but Fighter Ace has a pretty good way to do it. Once you get above a certain altitude you have to manually turn it on or the world around you fades to black. I remember having contests to see who could get to 20k faster than his pilot blacking out in FA2. Not sure how its handled in FA3.xx but I assume the same altitude is the set one for O2 turn on. Any length of time over that and your pilot degrades to black out unless he goes back below the O2 alt.

[Miska]

Recon pilots in WWI routinely flew above 25k, in open cockpits with no oxygen.  They trained themselves over a couple of months by flying a bit higher and for a bit longer every day.  They also sometimes (invented) added primitive compressors to their engines.

[ccvi]

25kft is about the altitude of the highest mountain on earth. Few have been up there without bringing their O2, and they also lived quite high up there for month (not just a few flights) to prepare. I strongly doubt that anyone flies 25k without O2.

[Midnight]

Originally posted by Miska
Recon pilots in WWI routinely flew above 25k, in open cockpits with no oxygen.  They trained themselves over a couple of months by flying a bit higher and for a bit longer every day.  They also sometimes (invented) added primitive compressors to their engines.

Show me a documented case of this please. There was no reason for WWI pilots to fly above 25K, and what could they be trying to observe from such high altitudes anyway?

Aside from that however, they were only flying level and observing, not yanking and banking, pulling 5+ Gs and physically exterting themselves. It's one thing to be able to breath in light air while at rest, but entirely different when performing the above actions. Unless you were in SUPURB phyical shape, you would quickly loose your breath for lack of O2.

[Miska]

Midnight, I absolutely agree.  References on the way.

[Miska]

One easily verifiable example is that a whole class of Zeppelins generally flew above 20k.  Their crews suffered casualties (ranging from frostbite to death).  So of course, it isn't desirable and certainly isn't easy.  But men did it because they thought they had to.

Finding the examples of Recon pilots at above 20k will take a bit longer.  But you can start with this guy: http://www.wpafb.af.mil/museum/history/postwwi/saf.htm
He started using oxygen around 22k.  He used it in "gulps" from a flask until about 25k.  Then he started getting serious about breathing assitance.

But I found something interesting as I was starting to hunt down references.  It seems that some sort of oxygen assistance was available to balloonists as early as the 1890s. Now I am starting to wonder if some of those French recon pilots, famed for flying above 25k did not use some early oxygen flasks like the ones Schroeder used.  The records are very fragmentary.

Interesting topic

[OIO]

"the model of the atmosphere or the plane, but something seems awry, Especially with the 163."

No, its called thin air.

At high alts you cannot manouver like you do at lower altitudes, but if you have noticed, planes do travel at much faster speeds and accelerate rather slower than down below.  

That is why planes like the 152 and p47 , who'se accel and top speed are fearsome above 25k are the premiere bozosphere fighters... while at the same time it makes the P-38 an excellent plane because it not only accels good but it suddenly becomes the best turner 'up there' thanks to its fowlers and its stability do to counter-rotating props...while still retaining its excellent climb rate, acceleration and having damn close top speed to the jug and enough to make a 152 have to extend for a good bit.