Aces High Bulletin Board
General Forums => Aces High General Discussion => Topic started by: Eaglecz on December 07, 2001, 02:19:00 AM
-
i hope that i didnt make mistake in that ugly word ;)
Take LA7 and make 300 MPH .. then turn off engine and watch how long you will FLY
Take Yak9U make 300 MPH ... then turn off engine and watch how long you will FLY
Can any explain that HUGE difference ?
[ 12-07-2001: Message edited by: EagleC ]
-
Im always surprised how well AH heavy wing loading planes glide so well anyway. It seems counterintuative, but its very useful when the engine gets shot up or fuel runs out.
-
Heavy wingloading isn't bad for gliding... it's bad for powerless landins tho due to high speed required...
Mater of fact, gliders use water blast to get a higher wingloadig and thus the same glide ratio at higher speeds.
Cheers
DW6
-
Then why dont all powerless gliders just get FW190 size wings? :)
-
hehe try glide in Yak.... its glideing as stone ... but LA7 is supperior glider ... why ? LA7 have short wings...
-
Grun, i didn't say short stubby wings with black crosses were good for gliding ;)
-
Not every airplane glides on the same slope. Every airplane has a particular speed at which it glides the furthest. We don't have the original pilot manuals for the Russian aircraft you have singled out, so you will have to test them further.
A particular airplane will always have to glide at a faster speed, in order to cover the same distance, as wing loading increases (in heavier states). Likewise, as an aircraft decreases in weight, it also must glide at a slower rate, in order to cover the same distance. What you are actually doing is adjusting the aircrafts lift component in order to maintain a given L/D ratio.
Example:Your La7 weighs (say) 7300 lbs. If it's ideal L/D ratio is 10:1 (I don't know the optimum L/D), then you have to adjust the angle-of-attack until the drag component equals 730 lbs., in order to attain that 10:1 ratio (you're lifting 7300 lbs.). Since we don't have drag meters, we adjust airspeed.
You can also adjust for a particular rate of descent. You do that by adjusting the VSI and setting auto-angle (shift-x I think is the default). Bear in mind that the VSI is not as accurate as the ASI. Auto-angle seems to trim more quickly then auto-speed, though.
-
Orel try it in a A6M, you will be at 100 mph in a matter of seconds it seems. Its like someone installed a chute brake on the bellybutton end.. Im not complaining though, makes landing under any circumstances a breeze :)
-
Yep, EVERY single FM I've ever seen on a computer has little drag "quirks". Some are all through the FM, some are just in one little area or two and not necessarily present in every plane in a particular game.
Drag has GOT to be one of the very hardest things to program correctly throughout the entire universe of variable speeds, AOA and aircraft configurations.
In short, I'm amazed it comes out as close as it does in AH.
:)
-
A side point:
You guys *are* remembering to feather the prop on a dead engine, right? It does have an effect...
-
ummm feather the prop?
(cough) uh how does one do that? :D
-
just reducing the RPM on a windmilling prop reduces drag a lot. Why? A windmilling prop is sort of like reverse thrust. If you increase the RPM, you have the same engine drag, and hence the same torque, but a higher RPM. Power varies with the square of the RPM, so cutting the RPM in half quarters the power absorbed and also the propeller drag.
CJ
-
that's how fester flies so fast.. he's half rpm? heehee. just kiddin. (but it does make you wonder!)