Physics or FM question

[1701E]

Not sure what it would really fall under but: If a rear gunner were to fire while a plane is falling at about a 45 degree angle what, if anything, would the plane do?

I was messing around in the TA and ripped the gear, V-stab, H-stabs, Ailerons off and broke the Engine in an F2.B and was in a ~45 degree angle dive and jumped in the gunner position. Whenever I fired the gun the plane would tilt extremely to the side; I could understand it tilting the opposite way the gun was firing (fire left, tilt right due to recoil right?), but it would veer off to the side the gun was pointing.  It did seem to make a difference somewhat if I had the gun pointed up or down at the time.  I was curious what would really happen in this situation?

[JOACH1M]

Not sure what it would really fall under but: If a rear gunner were to fire while a plane is falling at about a 45 degree angle what, if anything, would the plane do?

I was messing around in the TA and ripped the gear, V-stab, H-stabs, Ailerons off and broke the Engine in an F2.B and was in a ~45 degree angle dive and jumped in the gunner position. Whenever I fired the gun the plane would tilt extremely to the side; I could understand it tilting the opposite way the gun was firing (fire left, tilt right due to recoil right?), but it would veer off to the side the gun was pointing.  It did seem to make a difference somewhat if I had the gun pointed up or down at the time.  I was curious what would really happen in this situation?

if u jump to a gunner auto pilot kicks in and it messes up when there is damage, the gun wouldnt do anything to the plane

[Melvin]

Not sure what it would really fall under but: If a rear gunner were to fire while a plane is falling at about a 45 degree angle what, if anything, would the plane do?

I was messing around in the TA and ripped the gear, V-stab, H-stabs, Ailerons off and broke the Engine in an F2.B and was in a ~45 degree angle dive and jumped in the gunner position. Whenever I fired the gun the plane would tilt extremely to the side; I could understand it tilting the opposite way the gun was firing (fire left, tilt right due to recoil right?), but it would veer off to the side the gun was pointing.  It did seem to make a difference somewhat if I had the gun pointed up or down at the time.  I was curious what would really happen in this situation?

Sounds like the aircraft was in ruins before you moved to the gunner's position.

Missing those kinds of parts will make them behave strangely.

$.02  Melvin

[1701E]

I know AP kicks in, but if that's what was causing it then we have an AP bug.  There should be no way even in a game that AP could turn my plane when I had no control surfaces at all.
Still didn't answer my question of what would really happen in this situation, last I checked an F2.B didn't have AP.  Just wondering if a gun firing in this case would really be able to kick enough to turn the plane.

[hitech]

If all the control surfaces are gone then the AP can not effect the plane.

What the plane would do when the gun was fired would depend on exactly where and what direct the gun was fired.


You could also have been pressing the fire all button which would again change things.


Hitech

 

[1701E]

Thanks for the info HiTech.

So, the plane veering the same way I was firing is correct?  I'm not exactly good at figuring that kinda stuff out so I wasn't sure if it was right (figured plane would kick opposite direction).  I was firing the single rear gun to the right while in the F2.B and the plane veered right.

[hitech]

Thanks for the info HiTech.

So, the plane veering the same way I was firing is correct?  I'm not exactly good at figuring that kinda stuff out so I wasn't sure if it was right (figured plane would kick opposite direction).  I was firing the single rear gun to the right while in the F2.B and the plane veered right.

I have no idea which way the plane would go, once pieces of the plane are missing many things can move the plane. But the plane has a force applied to it oposit the bullet direction.

HiTech

[grizz441]

If the tailgun was aligned directly with the center of gravity of the aircraft and fired, it would add small forces in the direction the plane is traveling. Theoretically i would think the aircraft would actually accelerate negligibly faster if these conditions were met (assuming the gun is on vertical c.g. also which it probably is not).  If the gun wasn't fired on the C.G. line it would add a yawing eccentric force to the aircraft.  In a nutshell, in each axis, if the center of gravities are not aligned, there will be small eccentric forces acting on the aircraft.

Whether these forces can be neglected depends on the mass and velocity of the bullet, the distance from the center of gravities, and the mass of the aircraft.

[bozon]

considering that this is a 0.3 machinegun and people skinner than Arnold Schwarzenegger  and Sylvester Stallone can shoot it while holding it in two hands standing up, I'd say the recoil force is negligible in regards to the issue of where the wrecked plane will go.

[plink]

Another possible explanation (one that I've had).

IF you have a twisty stick, then you might cause the plane to turn (by using the rudder/twist), while trying to turn the gun.

PLINK
 

[1701E]

Another possible explanation (one that I've had).

IF you have a twisty stick, then you might cause the plane to turn (by using the rudder/twist), while trying to turn the gun.

PLINK
 

Nah, my twisty is all dead (broke it in about 3 spots when I took it apart), luckily I use pedals.

If the gun is small enough to not really make an effect it still seems odd that the plane would tilt in any direction, let alone the direction it was firing.  I'm just all confused anyways so it may just be me and my tired brain.