Author Topic: light fuel or light ammo (Read 1073 times)

fabkebab · « **on:** October 19, 2003, 07:26:56 PM »

Everyone knows that when you are light on fuel your plane maneuvres better - The effect of taking 50% fuel vs, 100% is significant -

But what about ammo? if you used up half your ammo before taking off, how much better would your plane perform? Are all planes equal in how much they improve with a light ammo load?

Could light ammo load be why the Yak-9U climbs and accellerates so well?

Ghosth · « **Reply #1 on:** October 19, 2003, 10:16:14 PM »

Partly

Try taking up the p51d with 25% & only 4 guns instead of 6.

Can make a big difference.

Soda · « **Reply #2 on:** October 19, 2003, 10:16:30 PM »

It depends on the aircraft and sometimes the positions of the guns. Some aircraft seem to handle a bit better with lighter ammo loads, same goes for aircraft that have multiple guns options (190A8 for example). Going light (on ammo and guns) can make a noticable difference. I find a couple of aircraft also seem a bit better "balanced" with lighter ammo, though I think that's pretty marginal a difference (P-38 seems just a bit more responsive without the overloaded .50 cal upfront). Fuel is a much larger issue.

That's just my feeling though, I think the difference in ammo loads is marginal, fuel is much more important, especially in aircraft that carry a lot of gas.

hogenbor · « **Reply #3 on:** October 20, 2003, 08:00:24 AM »

Ammo can make a difference, in the P-47 and F4U's it is very noticable. May be valid for other planes too but the two mentioned here I've at least flown quite a bit.

A light D-11 or U-1 with most of it's ammo gone can give you a rude surprise.

humble · « **Reply #4 on:** October 20, 2003, 12:43:20 PM »

Alot depends on how you fly...as a general rule every plane performs better as it gets lighter...but you don't see nikki drivers dumping 400 rds of 20mm. The biggest difference is in the Jug (IMO) try taking up a jug with 25% internal fuel 2xDT's and the light ammo load. Fly it offensively with the DT's but pickle em if you begin to get sucked in...somewhere I have a clip with 7-8 kills on the deck in a -30...think 4 of em were la-7's. A light jug is a tough nut to crack even in a T&B fight....long as you can hit em when they mess up:)...I'm not sure how strong the 4 gun pony (D) is...but I have a tough time gunnery wise in the pony. I do great in the FM-2 and hogs but cant seem to hit in the Pony's.

One key is also learning the correct fuel burn...examble the 205 is a MUCH better handling plane if the wing tanks are burned 1st.

fabkebab · « **Reply #5 on:** October 20, 2003, 01:30:19 PM »

I would be interested in an energy diagram for a plane with 100% fuel vs a plane with only 25% fuel - same for 100% and 25% ammo -

Does anyone have this? I am guessing not :-(

Innominate · « **Reply #6 on:** October 20, 2003, 03:06:24 PM »

Ammo makes a huge difference, especially in the p38. The 200round normal option weighs a LOT less than the 500round overload, the performance difference is huge.

BigMax · « **Reply #7 on:** October 20, 2003, 04:47:14 PM »

I feel it is crucial and load my plane accordingly.
My standard load-out for any frame is 25-50% fuel and a DT. I usually take the heavy ammo loads, but go with the fewer guns packages...

And from experience in the DA & KOTH, there is a huge performance difference in fuel and a marked difference for ammo loads. As the others mentioned above, it differs according to airframe.

Also,
Tank burn order is crucial in some rides.... (F4U, 190s, and 205)...

Ack-Ack · « **Reply #8 on:** October 21, 2003, 12:10:31 AM »

Been flying the P-38 exclusively since starting AH and I haven't noticed any major performance difference between taking a full or light ammo load. If there is a performance difference, it's pretty negligible.

ack-ack

Hap · « **Reply #9 on:** October 21, 2003, 07:24:33 AM »

another eye opening test to see how much weight affects rate of climb for instance. go offline with a ride you know well. take 25% fuel and b4 take off empty all ammo. wep and take off. your roc will surprise you if you've not tried this before.

airguard · « **Reply #10 on:** October 21, 2003, 07:45:33 AM »

try the fw-a5 and empty the machine guns you will see a diffrence, but it kills youre hit % ratio score

the f4u-1 i always empty the wing tanks first, same with the ta-152. they dont break that easy then

bozon · « **Reply #11 on:** October 21, 2003, 10:09:30 AM »

both p-47 and p-38 are flying tankers. with 100% fuel they fly like ones.
The F4u-D for example, have the same engine as the p-47 but carries 133 gallons less! (370 total) so taking 100% fuel in the hog is like 65% in the jug.
The P38's internal fuel is 410 gallons! 40 more then the jug, but it feeds 2 engines.

for reference, the 109G10 takes 106 gallons and the La7 122...

also, in the P-47 you can take 8x425=3400 rounds of ammunition - that's a lot of weight but not as much as the fuel. I usually take it all and go trigger happy till I'm down to 2000 rounds, then I start to aim as well.

Bozon

jodgi · « **Reply #12 on:** October 22, 2003, 06:17:44 AM »

Quote

try the fw-a5 and empty the machine guns you will see a diffrence

This also goes for the 109f4 and g2, the small mg's barely make any difference anyway so rid yourelf of most or all ammo and rely on cannon.

fabkebab · « **Reply #13 on:** October 22, 2003, 11:17:04 AM »

great replies everyone -

I guess ammo is not very significant weightwise compared to fuel , but if you offload all the useless ammo (low calibre stuff) then you can see an improvement.

But does anyone have any data to back this up (energy diagrams or performance stats?)...

jodgi · « **Reply #14 on:** October 22, 2003, 02:10:25 PM »

doubt it.

But AH simulates weight, so I'm pretty sure our guesstimations are fair.