P38 Trials

[SgtPappy]

[texasmom]

38s are my absolute favorite planes to shoot down.  They seem to fall into so many different parts, but not really catch on fire. It's a beaut to see them falling after I ping them.

[crims]

This is How it Starts ....... Flys 38 for 1 tour ...... Then Stops .......Tour or to later the voice in the back in the Head starts.......If I had a 38 maybe I would have done better >) Then he flys the 38 for the Next tour......Watches the K/D goes up ......... Hook Line and Sinker. Next thing ya know your part of the group that controls AH < Maybe I shoundn't say that in the open Forum>




Crims

479th Raiders FG

[Murdr]

Originally posted by Ack-Ack
P-38 sucks.  by far the worst plane in AH.



ack-ack

Absolutely!

[hubsonfire]

Originally posted by The Fugitive
making sure the 38 is going to be prominently displayed in CT (thats the reason its delayed you know, having HTC redoing everything to revolve around the 38)

I was under the impression that bombers were already going to be a prominent plane in CT.

[Spiked]

Originally posted by EagleEyes
lol....know the feeling Lynx.  When i fly my Hellcat, the first thing that ALWAYS gets damaged is my guns.  Doesnt matter if its ACK, or another plane.  Guns always go first.  Had a fight the other day where i lost 5 of my 6 .50 cals.  Just aint right!!

Holy crap Joe ... I thought I was going insane that whenever I flew the Hellcat I lost my damn .50's.   Glad to hear its not just me.  Only other plane I seem to have that problem in is the bloody C-hog.

[Tac]

One thing that I notice people when they fly the 38 is that they turn in a manner that shows the entire planform of the plane to the incoming hostile.


To illustrate, put your hand pointing straight ahead with your palm facing down. That's your plane. Twist arm 90 degrees so you're palm now faces left or right.

Then do a 90 degree turn with your wrist. You are looking now at your knuckles and fingernails.

That is what people do a lot when they fly the 38.

An enemy coming in from behind them or they see tracers and POOF! they do that. Well... no wonder they getting pilot wounds. Unlike all other planes, the p38's 'fuselage' is the cockpit itself.. most people aim for the middle of the aircraft when leading.. and in a 38 that means you're going to get wounded. You can say this applies to all planes, however the 38's wingspan and engines seem to 'focus' people into leading lead into the center.

The best defensive manouver in the 38 is a barrel roll followed by a split-s .. or a jink with a split-s. That way your plane's 'small and flat' rear end is the only thing the attacker can aim for.

[Ack-Ack]

coordinated turns expose the smallest profile...



ack-ack

[Pawz]

p38s are so last year

[Brooke]

There are two things about the P-38 that give me trouble after every lengthy gap of not flying it:  it's handling at speed, and the concentrated gunfire.

Until I get used to the P-38 again, I can end up going too far into compressibility and smashing into the ground, or just doing some dive or split s, getting a lot of speed, and not being able to pull out at the bottom due to reduced elevator response, in situations where I'm timing a pull out that would work in a plane such as a P-47 or F4U.  I have to be aware of my speed a lot more in the P-38.

The concentrated gunfire is good for lethality, but my aim is not that great until I get used to it, and get used to aiming more carefully than I do in a plane with wing-mounted guns.

I especially like the P-38 because it saw service pretty early on (for US planes, that is).

I wish the P-38G didn't have the darkened glass on the gunsight -- it was actually optional and meant only during times of bright sunlight (like sunglasses).  I would then fly the P-38G a lot.

[clerick]

Originally posted by Ack-Ack
P-38 sucks.  by far the worst plane in AH.



ack-ack

No kidding!  I hear the La-7 is awesome a everything.