p51b vs p51d

[bkbandit]

of course like 90% of the guys in the game i went straight to 51d witout giveing the b model a chance. BIg mistake. SHe has alot to offer and i find myself flyin her most of the time now. She feels more agile she accels alittle better, the lack of a bubble cockpit doesnt hurt nothin, she feels faster in the climb, and of course she has abnormal range. If b model had 6 50s i wouldnt bother wit anythin else(unless its the f6f). 51d is faster at different alts but over all she is slower and the alt were i fly most of the time b model got almost 30mph on her, she got the bubble canopy, and the range is prob alittle further then the b but then again whos useing all that fuel.

What do u guys think. I watched alot of docs and read alot of things and it preety much says that the b model cant hold a candle to the d model, but then i fly it and its great. Shes like the hot girl that wheres the big sweats and big shirts and doesnt do her hair, under all that mess shes a fox.

[Debonair]

my impression is that with a number of planes, the latter addition of the bubble canopy just makes it possible for you to watch the con behind you catching up & with the early hood, you dont need to look back...

[Wolf14]

Originally posted by bkbandit
Shes like the hot girl that wears the big sweats and big shirts and doesnt do her hair, under all that mess shes a fox.

I like the "B". Its got more spunk than the "D" will ever have in my opinion as a fighter. As an attack plane I do feel it falls short compared to the "D". The "B" is the plane I have the most fun in, but I just wish I could fly it better than I do.

[Krusty]

Not exactly true, as the later planes that had the bubble canopies often had higher top speeds.

The B used to be harder to fly, before it got a VERY generous boost with the views in the upgrade. It doesn't fly as well as the D does. It's got less guns but almost as much ammo. Between 12k and 25k it's faster than the D, but that doesn't always mean "better".

The one benefit is the slightly (very slightly) increased stability due to the raised dorsal structure. It helps keep you from spinning out in stall fights. Like I said very minor increase, but it's there.

[MiloMorai]

The B had a stability problem just like the D only not as bad. Late production Bs got the fin fillet the Ds got.

[Widewing]

Originally posted by Krusty

It doesn't fly as well as the D does.

In what way? The P-51B is lighter, turns smaller circles and is generally swifter on the controls. Aside from lacking two MGs, it gives up little to the P-51D in performance and offers superior handling.

Many WWII pilots found themselves dissatisfied with the P-51D, preferring their old P-51Bs and Cs. Note also, that 2/3rds of the P-51C run were fitted with the same engine as the P-51D... Meaning that they had slightly better performance than the later model because they were lighter and a bit cleaner in terms of drag.

My regards,

Widewing

[bkbandit]

i just came from flyin them both, the b feels way lighter but u feel both the absence of those 2 50s when ur shooting at heavyer armour targets, like bombers and such(funny thing is a snuck up behind a p47, and killed him in a short burst, nothin fell off he just poped, arrent jugs stronger then that). Any performance data would be nice, things like turn radius and accel and speed. If i had to pick right now it would be mighty hard, i guess it depends wat im doin, both of these planes i use as fighters, i feel all that speed shouldnt be wasted on a panzer, i guess it depends on whether im seeing bombers or fighters or on the mood of the moment.

It sucks that ever time i leave it and fly somethin else i always come back to it. Ill fly f4u for a month then hellcat, but that dam 51 pulls me back in.

[Krusty]

Widewing, I'm taking into consideration the weaker engine which results in less Gs before bleeding your speed down, less climb, less zoom, less turn (in such cases where the engine pulls you through the turn). It's a small difference but it's there. Just an opinion. YMMV

[ALF]

For most engagements in the MA, the B is a fine plane, but it does suffer a bit from the lack of guns.   I do prefer the feel of the B over the D, Im not sure exactly what it is, it does feel a bit more nimble to me....for whatever thats worth LOL.

[bkbandit]

yea the lack of 2 guns can be a real pain, some times u feel it but then some times u have to put extra rounds into the con. Didnt the raf fit them wit a different gun package? I was skiming through and also read somethin at a p51 that was equip specificly tp do ground attack. Check it out.http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/A-36_Apache

[OOZ662]

Comparison of the B and D models in terms of raw performance.

[Bruv119]

B is a very good plane I should fly it more.

The other week i was in a D with a B 1.5 k off my six closing and I thought I'd see what the guy got ended up with a nice scissor fight and me getting round on him following him through the flap motions and blasting him from 200.

maybe this guy didnt expect it or wasnt that great a pilot but the B is still a very good ride had a good fight with coach's typh one time and ended up roping him but coming down to early if it can rope coach's typh its a good plane E wise.....


Bruv
~S~

[bkbandit]

i just got off from fightin the same fight, this one started p51b was a hint higher but i wasnt carryin my full cruze so i had little e, at around 15k we fought, he tryed a couple of passes but i give him nothin to work wit, then i started buildin e and went to dive and took him down wit me, got 400mph+ and went nose up cuting the throttle, started some barrel rolls and there he goes, slips in front of me and i drew a line from nose to tail, he was still flyin and dove and i followed, he went hard left and i guess he had a pilot wound cause he flipped and hit the deck. These are the fights that u need to record but ur film is never runing, then when i try it on i get a dry run where cons run hit trees i get hit wit flack get damage by a bomber are mess up and end up punchin out.

planes r very even but u can see that the b model is r lighter,  if i was carryin full cruze i would hav opened up very different, from the start of the fight i was on the defensive, but that bubble top really helped this fight, easly keepin sa up 100%, i think this made a huge difference in the fight.

[Yeager]

Give the P51B the same FM as the Spit5 and your moving in the right direction.  The P51D should use the P51B FM (once it get the Spit5 FM) then AH will be golden  

[Krusty]

Yeager, go fly a spitV

For those that say the P51B is undergunned, there was a semi-famous qoute "You won't hit with six guns if you can't hit with four!"

FM2 is still very lethal. P51B more so. 4x50cal is a decent punch. I just wish some other planes had it too (droool... C202 with 4x50cal... *dream*)

I was flying it last night, and thought "dang, not much ammo" but as it turns out it lasts a long time because there's less guns shooting it, so I ended up with 4 kills or so before landing