Aces High Bulletin Board
General Forums => Aircraft and Vehicles => Topic started by: Slade on August 26, 2011, 01:18:02 PM
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Hello,
I'd like to put together a list of fighters for those that have an advantage in draining fuel from fuel tanks other than the default. For instance, in the Ki-61 it is recommended to drain the wing fuel tanks first for better performance.
Please jump in and add what you have found as far as the plane and fuel tank(s) order to drain for best performance.
Thanks,
Slade :salute
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Patiently wainting for a SAPP guy to talk the 38.....
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Patiently wainting for a SAPP guy to talk the 38.....
Just leave the 38's on auto. :)
The only thing to be aware of when it comes to the internal fuel capacity on the 38's is that the G carries less than the J/L models.
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IIRC, the Fw190D is better when draining the forward fuel tank first then the aft last.
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99.999% of all the "drain this first" suggestions are placebo. Only in a very FEW cases does it make a different.
Draining the wing tanks on the Ki61? Makes little difference vs draining the exact same amount from the fuselage tanks first. The only thing it does is affect roll rate slightly, but the Ki is on the verge of that area where a plane stops being manuverable but can't quite regenerate lost E, so it's halfway between a turn fighter and a E fighter, like a P-40E IMO. Increasing the roll rate slightly won't change that for the same weight.
Planes that do benefit are FW190s, but the auto burn already takes this into account (which you will find in almost all cases, as well).
In short, nice effort, but this is unneeded in just about every case you can come up with.
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IIRC, the Fw190D is better when draining the forward fuel tank first then the aft last.
Absolutely wrong. Aft first, and this is how it drains already on auto.
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Ah well, it was from pure memory, then again, I don't fly 190s much. :o
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you always wanna drain the wing fuel first in the p47m/n. next should be the fwd then main. keep at least one tank to get home. (aux)
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Skorp... dude.. the P-47M doesn't have wing tanks.
Seriously?
Also, they aren't even loaded on the P-47N until the others are full. You take 25% or 50% and you get no wing tanks. I think you have to load 75% or maybe the full 100% to have any gas in the wings on a P-47N.
It's not an issue unless you're going across the map and back, and in that case you are heavy no matter what. There's little benefit to draining wings first vs fuselage other than weight reduction. The roll rate doesn't suffer much (it's one of the best rolling wings in the game), so the overall difference of losing 60 gals from the wings vs 60 gals from the main tank is nil.
No benefit, if you see what I mean.
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Skorp... dude.. the P-47M doesn't have wing tanks.
Seriously?
Also, they aren't even loaded on the P-47N until the others are full. You take 25% or 50% and you get no wing tanks. I think you have to load 75% or maybe the full 100% to have any gas in the wings on a P-47N.
It's not an issue unless you're going across the map and back, and in that case you are heavy no matter what. There's little benefit to draining wings first vs fuselage other than weight reduction. The roll rate doesn't suffer much (it's one of the best rolling wings in the game), so the overall difference of losing 60 gals from the wings vs 60 gals from the main tank is nil.
No benefit, if you see what I mean.
what moron doesnt take 100/75% fuel? if you want to return home after you get your fuel tank shot then id suggest doing that.
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You must be one of those "run and gun" types of guys. It is very rare I take more than 50% in any plane. Drops, always.
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what moron doesnt take 100/75% fuel?
Me.
I take 50% or less sometimes. I cut WAY back on throttle (saving fuel) and end up over my target lighter and more nimble. Results vary per plane. Not just a placebo effect BTW.
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Me.
I take 50% or less sometimes. I cut WAY back on throttle (saving fuel) and end up over my target lighter and more nimble. Results vary per plane. Not just a placebo effect BTW.
so, you play with the throttle so you get where your going. ok, that seems good at first, but then you get over your target, go full throttle then get your fuel shot. you start tinkering with the throttle but your still leaking fuel at a decent rate. your half way home and realize you ran out of gas. just because you have less fuel doesnt mean your going to do better.
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99.999% of all the "drain this first" suggestions are placebo.
Agreed.
Historically it was supposed to make a significant difference on the P51. Otherwise I don't believe I've ever come across fuel tank selection as an issue.
I know that for years I've read people saying that the 202 receives a huge benefit from draining wing tanks first. I've never noticed any difference, and I've flown it quite a bit.
- oldman
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100% In a P-47N? What, are you flying across the entire map?!? That is something like 3,500lbs of fuel.
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100% In a P-47N? What, are you flying across the entire map?!? That is something like 3,500lbs of fuel.
i always take 100% fuel because thats always the first thing that gets shot :uhoh
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i always take 100% fuel because thats always the first thing that gets shot :uhoh
It gets shot because it is a flying gas can. How many fuel tanks does it have? The Mosquito, which carries the same amount of fuel, has five fuel tanks.
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It gets shot because it is a flying gas can. How many fuel tanks does it have? The Mosquito, which carries the same amount of fuel, has five fuel tanks.
from what i remember it only has 4. left/right wing aux and main i think.
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from what i remember it only has 4. left/right wing aux and main i think.
Ah. And no wing tanks if you take 50%. Mossie gets five tanks, each with 50% fuel, when it takes 50%. Makes fuel hits not that worrying.
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Ah. And no wing tanks if you take 50%. Mossie gets five tanks, each with 50% fuel, when it takes 50%. Makes fuel hits not that worrying.
i know theres the wings, aux and main fuel, but whats the other one? ive never really noticed the 5th one.
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Me.
I take 50% or less sometimes. I cut WAY back on throttle (saving fuel) and end up over my target lighter and more nimble. Results vary per plane. Not just a placebo effect BTW.
Honestly good dog fighters can handle 100% or 25% - if you want to make it to the target with less then 25% then so be it, however I haven't carried less then 75 in *most* planes and more then often carrying drop tanks. Yes I turn fight, I take account my extra weight in how much I am willing to fight.
Fine difference between a P47N carrying 100% and a Bf109G or Ki84 - most cases I take enough for 30 minutes flight time.
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F4U-1 and -1A................
Left wing tank to zero. Right wing tank to 25%. Then the main. 75% fuel load will last a looooooooonnnnnnggggg time.
F4U-4.............
Take at least one drop tank and hold on to it as long as you can. BnZ with the drop but you'll have to jett it for serious maneuvering. It's a gas thirsty beast.
F4U-1D and C. Your choice of 75 and a drop or 100 internal. Jett the drop as soon as you start seeing multiple cons.
FWIW,
-dtrip
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a P47N carrying 100% fuel is VERY manuverable in my hands.
Honestly good dog fighters can handle 100% or 25% - if you want to make it to the target with less then 25% then so be it, however I haven't carried less then 75 in *most* planes and more then often carrying drop tanks. Yes I turn fight, I take account my extra weight in how much I am willing to fight.
Fine difference between a P47N carrying 100% and a Bf109G or Ki84 - most cases I take enough for 30 minutes flight time.
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so, you play with the throttle so you get where your going. ok, that seems good at first, but then you get over your target, go full throttle then get your fuel shot. you start tinkering with the throttle but your still leaking fuel at a decent rate. your half way home and realize you ran out of gas. just because you have less fuel doesnt mean your going to do better.
I rarely ever touch 75%. The only time I would take 75% would be for the Spits. Other than that all my planes take 50%. I've been playing for almost four years, and have been shot a lot of times. Not once have I failed to make it back because of fuel shortage.
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i know theres the wings, aux and main fuel, but whats the other one? ive never really noticed the 5th one.
For Mossie:
Left wing outer, left wing inner, aux, right wing inner, right wing outer.
EDIT:
This is not the drain order for the Mossie's tanks. Just use the automatic system. It really doesn't affect handling much.
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For Mossie:
Left wing outer, left wing inner, aux, right wing inner, right wing outer.
EDIT:
This is not the drain order for the Mossie's tanks. Just use the automatic system. It really doesn't affect handling much.
hmm...last time i checked (VERY long time ago) i thought it only had 4. guess i was wrong then.
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i always take 100% fuel because thats always the first thing that gets shot :uhoh
Don't get shot
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The automatic system works fine for me (usually).
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Don't get shot
well if only i had thought of that!
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go full throttle then get your fuel shot.
90% of the time that my fuel tanks get hit is because I am playing in ACK. If that is my intent I'll bring a P-47 (or 190f) and more fuel.
You guys have some great input on this topic. Each perspective helps me see through your experiences with the game.
I'll contribute this: Lighter planes to me perform slightly better. With that, once I realized that cutting back on the throttle hugely extended my flight time I incorporated it into my "fighter" based missions. Which is what I normally fly.
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almost all automatic burns burn in the correct order. some like to use preference in high torque burns to stabilize the plane. others burn more exposed tanks (in the La-5FN La-7 whenever i get a fuel leak its the wings first to go that lil midget of a center tank is mere "get home gas" so i burn wings down to 25% each and then hit auto). Most if not all auxiliary tanks should burn first due to the fact that many auxies mess with the stability and balance of the aircraft. In radials i try to burn any wing tanks the A/C has to either decrease the torque rolling or increase it.
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For the F4U-1A I take 100% other than for rare situations where I take 75%. I like to begin fighting when my fuel is around 75%.
I always burn the left wing down to just under 1/8, and the right down to just under 1/4. I burn it in stages by flip-flopping between the two tanks to keep my side-to-side balance fairly even though.
In the F4U I see a definite advantage to managing fuel this way. I get the range/flight-time I want, with the balance I like.
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Some here rarely fly higher than 10k or a distance longer than 1 sector.
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For the F4U-1A I take 100% other than for rare situations where I take 75%. I like to begin fighting when my fuel is around 75%.
I always burn the left wing down to just under 1/8, and the right down to just under 1/4. I burn it in stages by flip-flopping between the two tanks to keep my side-to-side balance fairly even though.
In the F4U I see a definite advantage to managing fuel this way. I get the range/flight-time I want, with the balance I like.
I know in the F4U-1A if you burn the left wing down to about 1/4 and the right wing down to about 1/2, it helps with roll rate, and provides enough reserve fuel if you main tank is hit or runs dry.
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I know in the F4U-1A if you burn the left wing down to about 1/4 and the right wing down to about 1/2, it helps with roll rate, and provides enough reserve fuel if you main tank is hit or runs dry.
Yup, that's true.
That's why burning off the wing tanks helps. Weight out in the wings never helps roll rate.
It's mass that takes more effort to get in motion, and more effort to stop that motion... To me, that means less-refined control. I prefer the plane and controls be as sensitive as possible, which is why I burn more fuel out of my wings than that.
Leaving some fuel does give me a reserve which I find to be adequate for my type of flights, and leaving a littler extra in the right wing feels like it helps keep the left wing from dropping so quickly when I teeter on the edge of a stall.
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F4u stalls are already too docile, torque effects are really dulled down. The fuel balance can help in the -1 models with wing tanks. However this is already easily managed with how AH has them modeled. They are hardly widow makers and don't display half the historic handling issues they did in real life due to their engine power and torque.
That said, a few things:
75% on a -1 hog is a lot of fuel. 100% is almost too much. Great for BNZ when you want to climb up and aren't going to turn more than 40 degrees in any engagement, but really weighs down the plane's ability to break-turn.
However, 100% on a F4u4 is mandatory all times, if not 100%/2x DTs. Which brings me to my next point...
It depends on the plane.
100% in a P-47D isn't so bad. 100% in a P-47N is terrible. Anybody that's flying a P-47N with 100% and is dogfighting is just plain and simply doing it wrong. Yes, that means you skorpion. Have you considered the reason you're getting shot so much is because you cannot evade? It's like flying with a full load of bombs on your wings even when you're clean. That will significantly cut into your manuverability, making you a flying brick. THAT is probably why you're getting shot and losing gas. You're causing it it by taking so much gas (it's a catch 22). Even at full throttle I think P-47N 100% gas load lasts over an hour. Unless you're climbing to 35K and/or escorting B-29s on a mega-strat raid, you have no reason to take that much gas. It isn't meant for dogfighting.
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100% in a P-47D isn't so bad. 100% in a P-47N is terrible. Anybody that's flying a P-47N with 100% and is dogfighting is just plain and simply doing it wrong. Yes, that means you skorpion. Have you considered the reason you're getting shot so much is because you cannot evade? It's like flying with a full load of bombs on your wings even when you're clean. That will significantly cut into your manuverability, making you a flying brick. THAT is probably why you're getting shot and losing gas. You're causing it it by taking so much gas (it's a catch 22). Even at full throttle I think P-47N 100% gas load lasts over an hour. Unless you're climbing to 35K and/or escorting B-29s on a mega-strat raid, you have no reason to take that much gas. It isn't meant for dogfighting.
im not saying that i cant evade just like your saying. im simply saying i always take 100% because i expect fuel to be shot. if you dont expect it you cant be prepared for it. also, if you have even seen me fly with 100% you would be suprised how well i can keep it all cool in a fight.
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What you might consider "cool" others would scoff at.
Have you ever flown the P-47N with 6 guns light and at 25%?
Give it a whirl. Just for a comparison test. Take your DTs, get to the fight, might only last for 1-2 kills before you RTB but give it a try for a learning comparison. You can hang on the prop, turn with planes that would eat you alive at 100% and (I'm assuming) unhistorical overload ammo and 8 guns. I've surprised many a virtual pilot that thought I'd be easy pickings. I'm no batfink, but flying with so many jug enthusiasts in 71 Sqn you learn to work the plane as best you can. I can tell you for a fact (not open for debate) you are hurting yourself more than helping by taking 100%.
I'm all for RTBing safely. I'm all for a safety margin in my fuel loadout. But that's just ridiculous man.
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What you might consider "cool" others would scoff at.
Have you ever flown the P-47N with 6 guns light and at 25%?
Give it a whirl. Just for a comparison test. Take your DTs, get to the fight, might only last for 1-2 kills before you RTB but give it a try for a learning comparison. You can hang on the prop, turn with planes that would eat you alive at 100% and (I'm assuming) unhistorical overload ammo and 8 guns. I've surprised many a virtual pilot that thought I'd be easy pickings. I'm no batfink, but flying with so many jug enthusiasts in 71 Sqn you learn to work the plane as best you can. I can tell you for a fact (not open for debate) you are hurting yourself more than helping by taking 100%.
I'm all for RTBing safely. I'm all for a safety margin in my fuel loadout. But that's just ridiculous man.
ok. so now your trying to force your way of flying down my throat now? honestly. i took training for all of this and i know what im doing. 6 months of training in the P47M/D25/D40. i trained with 8 guns (425 RPG) and 100% in all. like i said, I KNOW WHAT IM DOING.
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what moron doesnt take 100/75% fuel? if you want to return home after you get your fuel tank shot then id suggest doing that.
That would be most of the player base :aok.
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ok. so now your trying to force your way of flying down my throat now? honestly. i took training for all of this and i know what im doing. 6 months of training in the P47M/D25/D40. i trained with 8 guns (425 RPG) and 100% in all. like i said, I KNOW WHAT IM DOING.
I'm not forcing my way of flying on you. You can fly however you want. If you want to stick a broken pencil in your joystick's throttle so that it only gives you 60% max movement, you can do that too.
Please note we're talking P-47N which has nearly TWICE the amount of internal fuel that all the models you listed have. The P-47M/D25/D40 are all quite capable of flying with 100%, but this was about the N... You know? The one that flew to Japan and back? Squared wingtips.
Subjectively you can fly however you want in whatever fashion, but it's not open for debate you are hamstringing yourself by taking 100% in this ride (specifically P-47N, not D and not M). Kind of like jamming a broken pencil into your throttle. You can dogfight with bombs under the wings too. Totally up to you, but even if you CHOOSE to (subjectively) you're still doing it wrong (objectively).
So you have your own freedom to fly it wrong if you like. I'm just saying it's wrong. If you're too stubborn to note the issue brought up, I can't help ya. I tried, though. If I saw a Ki-61 pilot claiming he only flew with 100%, or a Mossie pilot saying he only dogfought with 100%, I'd have tried the same to them.
List of planes that are "wrong" to fly/fight at 100%:
Ta152
Mossie
P-47N
Ki-61
P-51D (debatable)
110G
Most notably these are the longest-ranged planes with the most additional weight added to the airframe by taking full internal gas. P-51D is there because of instability issues with the aft tank, rather than simply weight issues. These ar aircraft that perform well with 75%, good with 50%, and even better with 25% gas, have so much gas that you can often get away with 25% internal, but where flying with 100% makes them hollow shells of their full potential. There are more to add to the list but that's the stuff off the top of my head.
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Don't forget the 190F and maybe A8. Both can wallow at higher weights.
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I'm not forcing my way of flying on you. You can fly however you want. If you want to stick a broken pencil in your joystick's throttle so that it only gives you 60% max movement, you can do that too.
Please note we're talking P-47N which has nearly TWICE the amount of internal fuel that all the models you listed have. The P-47M/D25/D40 are all quite capable of flying with 100%, but this was about the N... You know? The one that flew to Japan and back? Squared wingtips.
Subjectively you can fly however you want in whatever fashion, but it's not open for debate you are hamstringing yourself by taking 100% in this ride (specifically P-47N, not D and not M). Kind of like jamming a broken pencil into your throttle. You can dogfight with bombs under the wings too. Totally up to you, but even if you CHOOSE to (subjectively) you're still doing it wrong (objectively).
So you have your own freedom to fly it wrong if you like. I'm just saying it's wrong. If you're too stubborn to note the issue brought up, I can't help ya. I tried, though. If I saw a Ki-61 pilot claiming he only flew with 100%, or a Mossie pilot saying he only dogfought with 100%, I'd have tried the same to them.
List of planes that are "wrong" to fly/fight at 100%:
Ta152
Mossie
P-47N
Ki-61
P-51D (debatable)
110G
Most notably these are the longest-ranged planes with the most additional weight added to the airframe by taking full internal gas. P-51D is there because of instability issues with the aft tank, rather than simply weight issues. These ar aircraft that perform well with 75%, good with 50%, and even better with 25% gas, have so much gas that you can often get away with 25% internal, but where flying with 100% makes them hollow shells of their full potential. There are more to add to the list but that's the stuff off the top of my head.
i never was going on about the 47n. and you just said that you werent trying to force me to fly your way? whats this "flying wrong" crap? i can get max movement with 100% because im trained to do it like i only have a drop of gas in my tank. if you had noticed that before then we still wouldnt be going on about this. i fly every plane with 100% because i always expect the unexpected. some planes require 100 and some only need a few gallons to get going.
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Better back off Krusty, He's been trained :O
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Better back off Krusty, He's been trained :O
but, am i house trained?
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Skorpion, what planes beside maybe the sptifires and La's actually NEED 100% fuel? Most can get away with 50% or even 25% for your average furballing needs.
Wanna know my extended JABO strike package? 110G2 50% fuel, DT's, 500kg bombs, and 50kg bombs. I have quite good range, and I've never run out of fuel with that loadout. Ever.
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i never was going on about the 47n.
Um... really? You sure about that? Because this entire THREAD has been about the P-47N.
So here you weren't talking about the P-47N?
you always wanna drain the wing fuel first in the p47m/n. next should be the fwd then main. keep at least one tank to get home. (aux)
It's the ONLY P-47 with wing tanks FYI. NO other P-47 has any tanks other than main fuse and aux fuse.
a P47N carrying 100% fuel is VERY manuverable in my hands.
^-- Here again you continue to talk about the wingtank-laden P-47N.
i always take 100% fuel because thats always the first thing that gets shot :uhoh
^-- Here we see the continuation combining both previous notes.
If you don't know what you're talking about, fine. Let's move on. If you are STILL talking about P-47N (since page 1 we have been, as this is the ONLY jug that fits the conversation with regards to fuel burn order and burning wing tanks first, etc) then I think you're not understanding the point.
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Don't forget the 190F and maybe A8. Both can wallow at higher weights.
Meh.. Not so much a weight issue. Their fuel is actually limited. I think 38 minutes off-WEP. It's a balance issue. I was more listing planes with massive gobs of fuel that weigh them down. I only included the P-51D because it does have a lot of gas, but put the asterisk next to it because part of the issue is balance rather than weight. I didn't want to get into the balance as much as pure weight savings.
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Alright, I can why you would do that. Just I don't think that they should be seperated as the one often leads to the other.
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Skorpion, what planes beside maybe the sptifires and La's actually NEED 100% fuel? Most can get away with 50% or even 25% for your average furballing needs.
Wanna know my extended JABO strike package? 110G2 50% fuel, DT's, 500kg bombs, and 50kg bombs. I have quite good range, and I've never run out of fuel with that loadout. Ever.
109k4, hurricanes, p40's, i16, p39d, p40's, brews, f4f, fm2, 47d11, ect. have i answered your question?
Um... really? You sure about that? Because this entire THREAD has been about the P-47N.
So here you weren't talking about the P-47N?
ok, i mention the 47n twice that means im talking about it the entire time? im mostly on the M/D models. also, this thread isnt about any plane in particular. its really just about what fuel cell you should burn off first.
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Fw190A8: 30 gals aux on the 190 is only 180 lbs.
P-47N: 200 (googled test flight report to get that) gals wing tanks on the 47N is 1200 lbs (per a rate of 6lbs per gallon, from Pyro's previous comments).
So a lot more weight. Quite a difference.
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109K, hurricane, P-40, P-39, brewster, FM2, D11 can all furball with 50-75% fuel. Unless you're looking for 30+ minutes of flight time (more than you need for most furballs or even base attacks, given the short distances we have to fly), you're really taking more than you need.
Heres what I use:
109K: 75% and DT
Hurricane: 50-75% depending on if I'm defending or attacking
P-40: 50-75% and bomb or DT
Brewster: 50%
FM2: 75%
D11: 50-75% and bomb or DT
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Tank, some planes really need 100%. All 109s G and up need 100% internal. That gives 25 minutes on the K-4, 20 when you hit WEP (of which 10 minutes can be eaten in WEP, remember). The F4F/fm2 only has a 30 minute full tank. F6F seems equally short legged. I never up a P-39 with less than 100%, often 100%/DT. Very short duration on that one. P-40E I like 50%/DT or 75% clean, depending on situation. 100% is 40 minutes and just a tad too heavy to fight well.
I agree on the Brew though, too much gas to fight with more than 50% effectively. Most non-N jugs I fly I take 100% to get the aux tank. It means I burn more gas on purpose to lighten up a bit (maybe take off a field away from the fight, etc) but I manually keep half or 1/3 the AUX so I can make it home if/when my main gets a leak. It used to be a given your first hit would be a main gas leak. Seems to have stopped in recent years, though. I still do it from habit.
Planes I almost always up full fuel (usually shorter ranged planes)
109g14/g6/k4
spit9/8/16/14
c205
all jugs except N
Corsair f4u-1c/1d/-4
f4f4/fm2
Either P-39
typhie/temp
190a5
I-16
La5/La7
Yak-9T/U
It's a matter of duration. These all have flight times around 30 minutes or less with full internal fuel. I plan to be able to get into more than just 1 fight in a sortie, so I want to be able to burn wep a few times, dive, climb, egress, ingress, and then rtb. I usually want 20 mins bare minimum, if not 25-30.
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Tank, some planes really need 100%. All 109s G and up need 100% internal. That gives 25 minutes on the K-4, 20 when you hit WEP (of which 10 minutes can be eaten in WEP, remember). The F4F/fm2 only has a 30 minute full tank. F6F seems equally short legged. I never up a P-39 with less than 100%, often 100%/DT. Very short duration on that one. P-40E I like 50%/DT or 75% clean, depending on situation. 100% is 40 minutes and just a tad too heavy to fight well.
I agree on the Brew though, too much gas to fight with more than 50% effectively. Most non-N jugs I fly I take 100% to get the aux tank. It means I burn more gas on purpose to lighten up a bit (maybe take off a field away from the fight, etc) but I manually keep half or 1/3 the AUX so I can make it home if/when my main gets a leak. It used to be a given your first hit would be a main gas leak. Seems to have stopped in recent years, though. I still do it from habit.
Planes I almost always up full fuel (usually shorter ranged planes)
109g14/g6/k4
spit9/8/16/14
c205
all jugs except N
Corsair f4u-1c/1d/-4
f4f4/fm2
Either P-39
typhie/temp
190a5
I-16
La5/La7
Yak-9T/U
It's a matter of duration. These all have flight times around 30 minutes or less with full internal fuel. I plan to be able to get into more than just 1 fight in a sortie, so I want to be able to burn wep a few times, dive, climb, egress, ingress, and then rtb. I usually want 20 mins bare minimum, if not 25-30.
you forgot the f4u1a. that thing needs a refueling every 25 mins on a full tank depending on how aggresivly you use it.
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Krusty, I never take a 100% 109, I always take 75% and DT or 75% clean. Provids more fuel overall, and the ability to drop some when you need it.
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You climb out to 15K with WEP and you're down to 75% before you get to the fight. Awfully short legs for a plane that thrives on WEP. It's gone way too fast. Also for intercepts and rapid climbs 100% clean is better than 75%/DT or 50%/DT. The DT has a lot of drag and kills rate of climb. So if you go after high bombers or some such, leave it behind.
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The F4U-1A can fly for a good 40 minutes on a full tank, 75% is all you really need in the MA although I take 100% most of the time.
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The La7 is modelled incorrectly re its fuel tanks.
There were three tanks. A centre tank of 170 litres and two wing tanks of 148 litres each. Each of the Wing tanks had filling tanks of 2.5 litres each. (brim full capacity 471 litres)
Both wing tanks drained thru the centre tank via no return valves.
The pilot could choose which one drained to the centre tank via the fuel selector switch on the floor and observe the level of fuel in each tank on a three ring fuel guage.
So
1.If the centre tank was holed such that the self sealing could not close it then all tanks eventually drained thru this hole.
2.Whilst left and right tanks could be selected the centre tank was always the last to drain.
3.At 25% fuel load the centre tank will be 69.4% full with the other tanks empty.
4.At 50% fuel load the centre tank will be full (at 36% of total fuel load) and the wing tanks will each have 22% of their capacity.
5.At 75% fuel load the centre tank will be full (at 36% of total fuel load) and the wing tanks will each have 61% of their capacity.
Previously Pyro (albeit in AH1 days) has said that it is not practical to model each aircrafts fuel system independantly. However AH presently models such to mask a significant La7 (La5FN) weakness IMO and that is the effect of puncturing the centre tank beyond a point that it can self seal.
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http://forum.12oclockhigh.net/showthread.php?t=26395
Interesting discussion on the 'A' in the F4U-1A. Seems the 'A' was unofficial.
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I fly almost all planes with 100% internal, no drops with a few exceptions. I fly Spits, Hurris and Typhoons with external tanks and drop fuel in the Ki-61 and a handful of others to 75%. I try to target about 30-45 minutes of flight time. It's all is what you get used to and I always leave the auto fuel management on unless I've taken a hit to one tank, then I switch to that one to get everything I can out of it before it runs dry.
When flying a Spit I never drop the slipper tank in a fight unless it's dry and even then I sometimes forget. I fly the F6F for attack duties and have had friendlies ask me after a dogfight, "were you heavy"? Yes, I'll hang onto my ord even in a fight until the absolute last second and even if I have to drop my 1K's I'll usually not release my rockets. I even took on a 262 one day in a Stuka lugging a 4K bomb and never dropped it. It took him four tries before he finally clipped my wing and it was one of the games top rated fighter pilots.
So to summerize, I agree with whomever said it ealier that a little extra fuel isn't that big a deal. It's no different than taking out a lesser performing plane and making due with what you have.
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F4u stalls are already too docile, torque effects are really dulled down. The fuel balance can help in the -1 models with wing tanks. However this is already easily managed with how AH has them modeled. They are hardly widow makers and don't display half the historic handling issues they did in real life due to their engine power and torque.
Are there any planes in the ah model that you feel are not more docile than they were iin real life? Are there any where the torque effects aren't dulled down (in your opinion)?
I mean, in all honesty, my son could fly them fine at a ridiculously young age with no training or even the ability to read. No concept of aerodynamics at all. Maybe they're all too easy?
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The F4U-1A can fly for a good 40 minutes on a full tank, 75% is all you really need in the MA although I take 100% most of the time.
40 minutes is sedom long enough to keep me happy in the MA, but I can stretch it by managing throttle and RPM.
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I usually fly my Yak with full fuel, but sometimes use 75% or even 50% if the fight is near a friendly field. There is a difference when the aircraft is light vs. heavy. I haven't experimented with draining one tank before the other though (by default it drains the two tanks, left and right wing, evenly).
As for the P-47s other than the N, I don't use the default drain order, assuming I have a choice (75% or 100% internal fuel). The P-47s take main fuel tank hits very easily. So I always drain the main first and leave the aux tank for last. At 75% fuel you only get a splash in the aux tank, but its still worth saving. That aux tank is often the only chance to get home.