Landing Gear

[bmwgs]

This has probably been going on for a long time, but today was the first time I really noticed it.  Does dropping your landing gear in a stall fight really help?  I saw this today with a P 47 and a Spit. 16.  The 47 was not truly in a stall fight, but is was low and slow.  The Spit. was in a total stall fight.

I can not believe that this could be of any benefit.  It is on the same level as cutting the engine on a single engine fighter rather than just chop throttle?

Just wondering?

Fred

[BaldEagl]

This has probably been going on for a long time, but today was the first time I really noticed it.  Does dropping your landing gear in a stall fight really help? 

No

[Steel]

I usually see the same people shutting their engine(s)......right before they die.

     It CAN help if you do it in the right situation with the right plane. F4u's have very strong gears that work well when deployed very selectively. I dont believe any other plane would benifit from this tactic tho. If anything it would increase your turn radius by pulling the nose down.

Steel

[Delirium]

Cutting an engine won't help you with anything except torque (unless you're in a P38, then you create torque). This has been debunked several times...

Dropping gear will cause drag, even in a P47, and will slow you down. I'm not enthusiastic about F4Us doing it and I'm even less enthusiastic about aircraft that didn't have high speed rated gear using this method.

That said, a certain well known P47 from AH in the 56th dropped gears in a fight when he was close to augering in a stall fight. Instead of crashing, he bounced off the ground and got a reversal on the attacker. Gamey yes, but funny as hell.

[Guppy35]

Cutting an engine won't help you with anything except torque (unless you're in a P38, then you create torque). This has been debunked several times...

Dropping gear will cause drag, even in a P47, and will slow you down. I'm not enthusiastic about F4Us doing it and I'm even less enthusiastic about aircraft that didn't have high speed rated gear using this method.

That said, a certain well known P47 from AH in the 56th dropped gears in a fight when he was close to augering in a stall fight. Instead of crashing, he bounced off the ground and got a reversal on the attacker. Gamey yes, but funny as hell.

I bounced the old 38G off a moutain side with the gear down that way after seeing that film.  It was hilarious.

[absolain]

In regards to shutting the engine down, does the game have programmed in the difference between power-on and power-off stall speeds? Power-on stall speed should be lower since the props create airflow that prevents stall even through the indicated airspeed is lower.

[Saxman]

I bounced the old 38G off a moutain side with the gear down that way after seeing that film.  It was hilarious.

How many pieces of the old 38G did you leave ON the mountain side in the process?

There's only one time I advocate use of gear in the F4Us, and that's when making an initial dive into a furball if you have a lot of altitude, or for dive-bombing fixed targets.

[Nightshift82]

I sometimes drop my gear to assist in bringing my nose down in a stall to regain control.  Has helped me out of some spins from time to time as well.