Aces High Bulletin Board
General Forums => Wishlist => Topic started by: AVG on June 04, 2008, 05:26:17 PM
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Howdy.
I am new to Aces High and was very happy to able to obtain the call sign “AVG.” My uncle was a member of the “American Volunteer Group” (AVG) known as the “Flying Tigers” in China. He later became one of the members who was instrumental in setting up the Flying Tigers Museum in San Diego, Ca.
I have been flying all available fighters and bombers off line and was truly amazed at many of the life like 3D cockpits in AH. The P-40B and P-40E, however, are not of the same quality and it my sincere “wish” that the P-40B and P-40E cockpits be upgraded to the same level as the BF109F-4, Spitfire, etc.
Thanks,
AVG
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The P-40B and P-40E, however, are not of the same quality and it my sincere “wish” that the P-40B and P-40E cockpits be upgraded to the same level as the BF109F-4, Spitfire, etc.
HTC is in the process of upgrading all of the 3d plane models. I don't believe the P40's have been upgraded yet.
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Not to mention it costs money to upgrade this sorta things, and people don't use the P-40E or P-40B much, im guessing they will leave those last for upgrade and do to the other planes being much better liked and used, HTC has no other option but to upgrade the most used and leave the others in the waiting list. :devil
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The P40 would be used much more if the P40N model was introduced. ;)
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P-40 cockpits are the earliest ones we have in the game. As mentioned, they will be redone (eventually).
Just my luck, I spend months on-and-off working to re-skin the P-40E cockpit and watch, as soon as I get done they'll change it!
P.S. The P-40N wouldn't be TOO much better than what we have now. Apparently our P-40E is modeled as a P-40K. Our P-40E and P-40B in-game have funky curve chart and engine setting relationships, and really don't match up to historical aircraft. Many of these first-generation craft have mixed data, compromises between versions, and so forth. Our typhoon is also a bastardization of different historical versions, if I recall (from past forum discussions)
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Great first post man! :aok Welcome to AH!
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The P40 would be used much more if the P40N model was introduced. ;)
Yes it would
From wikipedia:
P-40N (manufactured 1943-44), the final production model. The P-40N featured a stretched rear fuselage to counter the torque of the larger, late-war Allison engine, and the rear deck of the cockpit behind the pilot was cut down at a moderate slant to improve rearward visibility. A great deal of work was also done to try and eliminate excess weight to improve the Warhawk's climb rate. Early N production blocks dropped a .50 cal (12.7 mm) gun from each wing, bringing the total back to four; later production blocks reintroduced it after complaints from units in the field. Supplied to Commonwealth air forces as the Kittyhawk Mk IV. A total of 553 P-40Ns were acquired by the Royal Australian Air Force, making it the variant most commonly used by the RAAF. Subvariants of the P-40N ranged widely in specialization from stripped down four-gun "hot rods" which could reach the highest top speeds of any production variant of the P-40 (up to 380 mph), to overweight types with all the extras intended for fighter-bombing or even training missions.
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P-40 cockpits are the earliest ones we have in the game.
No they are not. There are earlier produced cockpits than the ones in the P-40s in the game.
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Okay, just for the sake of clarification, they are not chronologically the FIRST cockpit in the game (although I thought they were in the first iteration of AH), but they are in that first-level of detail and quality, (meaning "low" on both accounts)
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P-40s were actually added relatively late in AH1. Non-updated aircraft, as I recall it:
AH1 v1.00:
B-26B
C.205
C-47A
N1K2-J
AH1 v1.01:
C.202
AH1 v1.02:
Typhoon Mk Ib
AH1 v1.03:
Panzer IV H?
AH1 v1.04:
Ju88A-4
Lancaster Mk III
AH1 v1.05:
A6M5b
Elco 80' PT-Boat
F6F-5
TBM-5
LVTs
AH1 v1.06:
Yak-9T?
Yak-9U?
AH1 v1.07:
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AH1 v1.08:
M-8
Me262A
Mosquito Mk VI
AH1 v1.09:
Ki-67
Tiger I?
AH1: v1.10:
A-20G
A6M2
Boston Mk III
D3A1
F4F-4
FM-2
P-40B
P-40E
SBD-5
AH1 v1.11:
B6N2?
Ju87D-3
Me163
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That can't be right. I've got 1.04 somewhere archived. I believe it has P-40s in it.
Dangit, now I've gotta install it to see!
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I actually found an archived copy of the patch notes for v1.10 and it listed those aircraft as being added.
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That can't be right. I've got 1.04 somewhere archived. I believe it has P-40s in it.
Dangit, now I've gotta install it to see!
Karnak is correct about the P-40. However, there are errors on that list, for example...A6M5b came in 1.03 (with 190A-5 and Yak-9U), Panzer came in 1.02. 1.06 was again one huge update including, for example La-7, Ta-152, 190D-9, P-51B. 1.07 brought the LVTs, IL-2 and KI-61. I also think Tiger came in 1.11. All from my memory, I have to check from AH1 readmes to be sure and I don't have them on this computer...
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Yes, there are errors as it was, mostly, just pulled from memory. I am pretty sure the A6M5b came in v1.05 or v.106 when we got ships. I also forgot the Ki-61.
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Just my luck, I spend months on-and-off working to re-skin the P-40E cockpit and watch, as soon as I get done they'll change it!
Krusty, would you post a reply to this thread when you complete the P-40E cockpit? That would be great.
Thanks,
AVG
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Yes, there are errors as it was, mostly, just pulled from memory. I am pretty sure the A6M5b came in v1.05 or v.106 when we got ships. I also forgot the Ki-61.
Had to search it as I was so sure about the 1.03. :)
"1.03 README.TXT
Added Yak-9U, A6M5b, Fw 190A-5, and M-3 Halftrack."
http://bbs.hitechcreations.com/smf/index.php/topic,14629.0.html (http://bbs.hitechcreations.com/smf/index.php/topic,14629.0.html)
<sigh> I have a tendency to remember all kinds of unimportant things and forget the important ones... :(
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Interesting comment there:
"Added Roger Wilco integration. If you have Roger Wilco version 0.54
or newer installed on your system, you can use radio 5, channels 100-299 as
voice channels for Roger Wilco. AH will also start RW for you. You do not
need to minimize and start RW to use this feature."
Is this vox? We're using built-in RW as vox? Or is this separate? I never used it back then so I don't remember.
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Howdy.
I am new to Aces High and was very happy to able to obtain the call sign “AVG.” My uncle was a member of the “American Volunteer Group” (AVG) known as the “Flying Tigers” in China. He later became one of the members who was instrumental in setting up the Flying Tigers Museum in San Diego, Ca.
I have been flying all available fighters and bombers off line and was truly amazed at many of the life like 3D cockpits in AH. The P-40B and P-40E, however, are not of the same quality and it my sincere “wish” that the P-40B and P-40E cockpits be upgraded to the same level as the BF109F-4, Spitfire, etc.
Thanks,
AVG
AVG, who is your uncle? I was/am friendly with several of the AVG (Shilling, Rossi, RT Smith, Baisden and several others). Unfortunately, most of them are gone now.
A few things to understand about the Aces High P-40s:
The P-40B is modeled to P-40C performance data. In reality, the AVG didn't fly P-40Bs or P-40Cs. They were equipped with a unique variation of the Tomahawk. Britain agreed to exchange 100 contracted Tomahawk IIB fighters for new P-40Ds (Kittyhawk Mk.I) so that the former aircraft could be sold to China. Britain's lot of Tomahawks were in production, but those for China hadn't began construction yet. There were some formidable obstacles to be overcome to build the Chinese fighters. All Allison engine production was already earmarked for American and British aircraft. Allison agreed to build the required 100 engines and spares for a premium as they would would have to be assembled and tested using a specially set up production line. Moreover, there were no engine parts to spare. Thus, Allison would have to custom fit or rework previously rejected components to construct these engines. The downside was that these were extremely expensive engines. The upside was that they were literally "blueprinted" engines, that produced nearly 20% more horsepower than the standard V-1710-33. This would provide the AVG Tomahawks with outstanding speed, but at the price of suffering a much higher rate of reduction gear failures in the field. The reduction gear on early Allisons installed in H81 type fighters was rated for a maximum 1,200 hp, and every engine built for the Chinese exceeded that on the factory dynamometer.
Other unique features of the AVG aircraft were that Curtiss built them with left-over P-40B fuel system components. Unlike the Tomahawk IIBs sold to the Brits and US P-40Cs, the AVG fighters used tanks with external self-sealing membranes. Thus, they had greater internal fuel capacity than the IIB/P-40C types. Also unlike the IIB/P-40C, the AVG fighters were not fitted with fuel and shackle provisions for an external belly tank or ordnance. Although some authors and a few historians refer to the AVG Tomahawks as Curtiss H81-2 types, the fact is that Curtiss gave these aircraft a special designation to reflect their unique construction: H81-3.
In addition, the AVG fighters were not fitted with the typical government owned equipment, such as guns, gun sights or radios. The Chinese were responsible for acquiring this hardware. Therefore, most of the AVG fighters were fitted with commercial radios and a mix of guns. All were fitted with twin .50 cal MGs above the engine. Wing guns (rifle caliber) varied from plane to plane, with some being fitted with Brownings in 7.92 mm (the standard round of the Chinese Army), some with Brownings in .30 cal US and even a few with Brownings in .303 Brit caliber. Over the course of the AVG's 7 months of operations (under the Chinese flag), efforts were made to standardize the gun installation as aircraft were written off and salvaged due to operational accidents. Gun sights were purchased on the open market, but replacement light bulbs for the reflector were very hard to come by.
Our P-40B offers performance based upon the heavier Tomahawk IIB/P-40C, not the P-40B and especially not the AVG Tomahawk, which was actually faster than the P-40Es the AVG received in the Spring of 1942.
Shifting to the AH2 P-40E, we find yet another issue. P-40Es were fitted with the Allison V-1710-39 engine. This Allison did not have a War Emergency rating. Our P-40E does. This was not unusual for early Aces High fighters, that were sometimes an amalgam of models (a prime example being the old Spitfire Mk.IX). Within that context, the performance and configuration of the AH2 P-40E more closely resembles that of the P-40K.
So, our P-40B offers less performance than the actual fighter, and the P-40E presents slightly better performance than the actual model it represents.
As others have pointed out, the P-40s use older graphic models that have not yet been brought up to the current standard. Eventually, they will be updated and I would not be surprised to see a variant of the P-40N being added when that occurs.
My regards,
Widewing
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AVG, who is your uncle? I was/am friendly with several of the AVG (Shilling, Rossi, RT Smith, Baisden and several others). Unfortunately, most of them are gone now.
A few things to understand about the Aces High P-40s:
The P-40B is modeled to P-40C performance data. In reality, the AVG didn't fly P-40Bs or P-40Cs. They were equipped with a unique variation of the Tomahawk. Britain agreed to exchange 100 contracted Tomahawk IIB fighters for new P-40Ds (Kittyhawk Mk.I) so that the former aircraft could be sold to China. Britain's lot of Tomahawks were in production, but those for China hadn't began construction yet. There were some formidable obstacles to be overcome to build the Chinese fighters. All Allison engine production was already earmarked for American and British aircraft. Allison agreed to build the required 100 engines and spares for a premium as they would would have to be assembled and tested using a specially set up production line. Moreover, there were no engine parts to spare. Thus, Allison would have to custom fit or rework previously rejected components to construct these engines. The downside was that these were extremely expensive engines. The upside was that they were literally "blueprinted" engines, that produced nearly 20% more horsepower than the standard V-1710-33. This would provide the AVG Tomahawks with outstanding speed, but at the price of suffering a much higher rate of reduction gear failures in the field. The reduction gear on early Allisons installed in H81 type fighters was rated for a maximum 1,200 hp, and every engine built for the Chinese exceeded that on the factory dynamometer.
Other unique features of the AVG aircraft were that Curtiss built them with left-over P-40B fuel system components. Unlike the Tomahawk IIBs sold to the Brits and US P-40Cs, the AVG fighters used tanks with external self-sealing membranes. Thus, they had greater internal fuel capacity than the IIB/P-40C types. Also unlike the IIB/P-40C, the AVG fighters were not fitted with fuel and shackle provisions for an external belly tank or ordnance. Although some authors and a few historians refer to the AVG Tomahawks as Curtiss H81-2 types, the fact is that Curtiss gave these aircraft a special designation to reflect their unique construction: H81-3.
In addition, the AVG fighters were not fitted with the typical government owned equipment, such as guns, gun sights or radios. The Chinese were responsible for acquiring this hardware. Therefore, most of the AVG fighters were fitted with commercial radios and a mix of guns. All were fitted with twin .50 cal MGs above the engine. Wing guns (rifle caliber) varied from plane to plane, with some being fitted with Brownings in 7.92 mm (the standard round of the Chinese Army), some with Brownings in .30 cal US and even a few with Brownings in .303 Brit caliber. Over the course of the AVG's 7 months of operations (under the Chinese flag), efforts were made to standardize the gun installation as aircraft were written off and salvaged due to operational accidents. Gun sights were purchased on the open market, but replacement light bulbs for the reflector were very hard to come by.
Our P-40B offers performance based upon the heavier Tomahawk IIB/P-40C, not the P-40B and especially not the AVG Tomahawk, which was actually faster than the P-40Es the AVG received in the Spring of 1942.
Shifting to the AH2 P-40E, we find yet another issue. P-40Es were fitted with the Allison V-1710-39 engine. This Allison did not have a War Emergency rating. Our P-40E does. This was not unusual for early Aces High fighters, that were sometimes an amalgam of models (a prime example being the old Spitfire Mk.IX). Within that context, the performance and configuration of the AH2 P-40E more closely resembles that of the P-40K.
So, our P-40B offers less performance than the actual fighter, and the P-40E presents slightly better performance than the actual model it represents.
As others have pointed out, the P-40s use older graphic models that have not yet been brought up to the current standard. Eventually, they will be updated and I would not be surprised to see a variant of the P-40N being added when that occurs.
My regards,
Widewing
Great post! ou wouldnt happen to have any inside info u can share about what is or what isnt coming our way for an upgrade or additions, can you? ;)
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Great post! ou wouldnt happen to have any inside info u can share about what is or what isnt coming our way for an upgrade or additions, can you? ;)
HTC never leaks such info...
Trainers and CMs are not privy to future HTC plans outside the very limited scope of their "need to know". Only those involved in skinning new aircraft have any clue what is in the works, and they are sworn to secrecy.
My regards,
Widewing
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Hello Widewing. This is cut and pasted from the "AVG" web site:
Williams, John M. Communications Officer
AVG
PS - It appears that the "Wishlist" forum is quite a bit more friendly that some others. Thanks for you comment in re: Flying Tiger Tactics.
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woot 4 p40 models
AVG H81-2 P40
p-40B
p-40E
p-40N
I would cream myself. :)