Aces High Bulletin Board

Help and Support Forums => Help and Training => Topic started by: ML52 on February 27, 2018, 02:45:08 AM

Title: F6F
Post by: ML52 on February 27, 2018, 02:45:08 AM
In the Hellcat should the wing tanks be used up before the aux or the other way around?
Title: Re: F6F
Post by: Greebo on February 27, 2018, 04:11:24 AM
In theory using the wing tanks first should slightly increase the roll rate, but as they are so close to the fuselage it doesn't make a great deal of difference really. On the early Corsairs the wing tanks are nearer the wing tips than the wing roots and so it is more important to use them up first.
Title: Re: F6F
Post by: Puma44 on February 27, 2018, 11:15:56 AM
Also, burning out the externals and jettisoning them will reduce drag and improve performance.
Title: Re: F6F
Post by: JOACH1M on February 27, 2018, 02:11:11 PM
On the corsairs I always leave the wing tanks full as they always seem to never take damage like the main tank does.
Title: Re: F6F
Post by: ML52 on February 27, 2018, 03:40:26 PM
On the corsairs I always leave the wing tanks full as they always seem to never take damage like the main tank does.

Doesn't that hurt the roll?

Thanks gentlemen for your answers.
Title: Re: F6F
Post by: FLS on February 27, 2018, 04:39:19 PM
Doesn't that hurt the roll?

Thanks gentlemen for your answers.

The fuel weight just adds inertia so it's a little slower to start and stop rolling. For a more precise answer try rolling one with and without fuel in the wing tanks.
Title: Re: F6F
Post by: bozon on March 01, 2018, 10:34:37 AM
In the hellcat the Aux tank is drained very fast. Most aux tanks in planes are placed in less than optimal locations when it comes to balance of the plane. The hellcat handles very bad for me when there is fuel in the Aux - but I just leave auto fuel selection and that means that when I have aux fuel the plane is just heavy with fuel. So, I can't tell if that is unbalancing effect of aux or just a heavy plane.
Title: Re: F6F
Post by: Greebo on March 01, 2018, 10:53:04 AM
The central tank had 60 US gallons and was sited below the pilot pretty much on the C of G. The wing tanks had 87.5 US gallons each and were also close to the C of G. Handling-wise it shouldn't really matter which you drain first unless you drain one wing tank only. I just use the game's automated tank switching but usually with 75% fuel and a drop tank.
Title: Re: F6F
Post by: icepac on March 04, 2018, 09:42:01 PM
For an equal fuel load, I would think you could pull harder before the wings snapped off if the majority of your fuel load was in them rather than the fuselage.
Title: Re: F6F
Post by: colmbo on March 04, 2018, 11:19:48 PM
For an equal fuel load, I would think you could pull harder before the wings snapped off if the majority of your fuel load was in them rather than the fuselage.

Which is one of the reasons that some aircraft have a restriction for a minimum amount of fuel in the wing.
Title: Re: F6F
Post by: Greebo on March 05, 2018, 04:44:32 AM
For an equal fuel load, I would think you could pull harder before the wings snapped off if the majority of your fuel load was in them rather than the fuselage.

As far as I can remember I have never pulled the wings off an F6F in God knows how many sorties and on a few of those I even forgot to lose the drop tank before pulling high Gs. Usually the first thing to let go is the horizontal tail, which was the same in RL.
Title: Re: F6F
Post by: bozon on March 05, 2018, 12:43:04 PM
As far as I can remember I have never pulled the wings off an F6F in God knows how many sorties and on a few of those I even forgot to lose the drop tank before pulling high Gs. Usually the first thing to let go is the horizontal tail, which was the same in RL.
Really? never? I snap my F6F wings all the time when pulling out of dives.  :mad:
I dont think that this is because they are weak as much as the high speeds the F6F can reach in a dive, while the elevator is still very responsive and the nose has a tendency to pull up.
Title: Re: F6F
Post by: icepac on March 05, 2018, 05:54:40 PM
Pulling out of  a high speed dive at 20k from 30k is different than pulling out at 8k.

The super high altitude dynamic is pretty different than what you find below 10k feet.
Title: Re: F6F
Post by: Greebo on March 06, 2018, 01:36:25 AM
Well that may be the reason as I rarely fly above 12K or so. Trying to get higher, faster cons to overshoot is my game.
Title: Re: F6F
Post by: Devil 505 on March 07, 2018, 12:23:52 PM
When I was a noob and flying in mid-war, I took up a Hellcat to attack a base from a carrier. I snapped off both wings pulling out of the dive and then flew the closest airfield, over a sector away. Landed successfully too. Hell of an airplane.
Title: Re: F6F
Post by: Max on March 07, 2018, 06:01:37 PM
Wings off down to the fuselage?
Title: Re: F6F
Post by: FLS on March 07, 2018, 06:12:25 PM
Just the ends and ailerons Max. You have flaps on the inner wings but you still need to go fast to get enough lift. Use the rudder to roll.
Title: Re: F6F
Post by: bozon on March 08, 2018, 11:51:52 AM
When I was a noob and flying in mid-war, I took up a Hellcat to attack a base from a carrier. I snapped off both wings pulling out of the dive and then flew the closest airfield, over a sector away. Landed successfully too. Hell of an airplane.
Somehow the Hellcat dominates my highest kill sorties. This is in spite of me having at least as many hours in P47s and several times over as many hours in the mosquito. I pulled off 8 kill sorties in the latters only a handful of times and 10 kill sorties only once in each. I did 10+ kills in F6F multiple times and not the vulc... err.. field suppression kind.
There is nothing remarkable about the F6F except that somehow the whole package just works (except when I break my wings or snap spin it into the ground).
Title: Re: F6F
Post by: Bruv119 on March 13, 2018, 02:49:22 PM
any blue planes with that many 50cals can land alot of kills  (if your a good shot)    :)
Title: Re: F6F
Post by: caldera on March 23, 2018, 04:08:05 PM
Well that may be the reason as I rarely fly above 12K or so. Trying to get higher, faster cons to overshoot is my game.

Yeah, but how do you know they're behind you?   :D
Title: Re: F6F
Post by: Greebo on March 23, 2018, 06:08:43 PM
The F6F's rudder is very powerful and I occasionally give it a boot full in order to clear the blind spot. As I like to say: "Fly the F6F, you'll never look back!"

For the overshoot maneuver unless I screw the timing up the enemy shouldn't be out of sight for more than a second or so anyway.


Title: Re: F6F
Post by: Oldman731 on March 23, 2018, 06:11:23 PM
As I like to say: "Fly the F6F, you'll never look back!"


Heh.  So true.

I used to be able to adjust the rear views so that I had pretty good visibility.  Not in AH3.  Same with all Corsairs except the F4U-1.

- oldman
Title: Re: F6F
Post by: caldera on March 23, 2018, 06:26:45 PM

Heh.  So true.

I used to be able to adjust the rear views so that I had pretty good visibility.  Not in AH3.  Same with all Corsairs except the F4U-1.

- oldman

I very rarely take out a Corsair but have the views all set up.  No problem at all seeing anything behind the plane.  The Hellcat is like Ray Charles by comparison.


(https://s19.postimg.org/buqb01uub/f6_vs_f4.jpg) (https://postimg.org/image/fec8puxjz/)

A sample view of F4U-1A on the left and F6F-5 on the right.  Notice also the intrusive canopy rails that further limit the Hellcat's view.


I can post additional views if desired, but can say the views are nearly identical in up/back view and the F6 has a marginal advantage in straight up view.  This is despite the F4 having a metal plate covering the pilot's head.