Best P-38?

[Wes14]

ive kinda started to like the P-38:aok cant exactly fight in it yet but im slowly learning..

i also like to fly 2 feet off the ground dodging trees:noid

but which P-38 is the best?

[Krusty]

That depends.... P38G turns a little tighter than the others, but is slower and has no WEP.

P38L has more speed, but unboosted ailerons and rolls really slowly at higher speeds. Also has WEP.

P38J has almost identical speed to P38L (I've tested it), no boosted ailerons, and I think has dive brakes (either L or J has dive brakes).

I like the G but it's got a really crappy forward view. Try them all.

[Fianna]

G is the best turner. J and L are pretty much identical, but the J is a little lighter and the L rolls better.

[Wes14]

i also think they all have similar guns on the nose..ill have to check again
 right now i think its the J i like:D

[wstpt10]

Originally posted by Wes14
i also think they all have similar guns on the nose..ill have to check again
 right now i think its the J i like:D

4x .50s and 1 hispano

theyre freakin lasors too. buzzsaw lasors.

[Benny Moore]

Originally posted by Krusty
P38L has more speed, but unboosted ailerons and rolls really slowly at higher speeds. Also has WEP.

P38J has almost identical speed to P38L (I've tested it), no boosted ailerons, and I think has dive brakes (either L or J has dive brakes).

P-38L has dive flaps and power ailerons.  The P-38J does not.  Actually, the P-38J-25-LO did, but we have an earlier block in Aces High.

[Captain Virgil Hilts]

Originally posted by Krusty
That depends.... P38G turns a little tighter than the others, but is slower and has no WEP.

P38L has more speed, but unboosted ailerons and rolls really slowly at higher speeds. Also has WEP.

P38J has almost identical speed to P38L (I've tested it), no boosted ailerons, and I think has dive brakes (either L or J has dive brakes).

I like the G but it's got a really crappy forward view. Try them all.

Krusty, the J we have DOES NOT have dive flaps (it's a J-10-Lo, which had the flat armored glass, but no dive flaps), and the L DOES have boosted ailerons. They have equal power because AH II does not model the increased power of the -30 engines in the L, because the USAAF did not officially[/I] accept the increased RPM and boost settings.

The G model is lighter, but has less power, and no dive flaps. The G should have less range due to less fuel capacity, but I've never tested it. It is the G model that does not have boosted ailerons, the faster you go, the slower it rolls.

I can't really remember whether the J we have has boosted ailerons. I seem to remember it does, because they only left off the dive flaps since with dive flaps it would be otherwise identical to the L, because of the above mentioned engine ratings. But I have been busy with RL lately and my flying time is SEVERELY restricted.

[Fianna]

G does have a smaller fuel capacity, and J doesn't have boosted ailerons.

[38ruk]

I believe the only P-38 we have that has boosted controls is the L , the J and G are unboosted .

[Ack-Ack]

Originally posted by Krusty
That depends.... P38G turns a little tighter than the others, but is slower and has no WEP.

P38L has more speed, but unboosted ailerons and rolls really slowly at higher speeds. Also has WEP.

P38J has almost identical speed to P38L (I've tested it), no boosted ailerons, and I think has dive brakes (either L or J has dive brakes).

I like the G but it's got a really crappy forward view. Try them all.

P-38 has dive flaps, not dive brakes.  Two different things.

The performance difference between the J and the L is almost neglible and to most any difference will go unnoticed by all but the experienced P-38 drivers.


ack-ack


ack-ack

[Ack-Ack]

Originally posted by Wes14
ive kinda started to like the P-38:aok cant exactly fight in it yet but im slowly learning..

i also like to fly 2 feet off the ground dodging trees:noid

but which P-38 is the best?

The P-38L is the better of the three over all.


ack-ack

[Krusty]

Thanks for the clarification. I cognitively know the difference, but I verbally end up calling them the same thing, Ack-Ack

Hilts: thanks for the FYI; I know one of them has boosted ailerons, and the other has the dive brakes. I don't fly the later 38s enough to remember which has which! I don't know why but I gravitate toward the 38G when I fly it. A couple tours back it was my top-scoring ride, too (which surprised me). Ah well, I guess I need to fly more 38s!

[Hoarach]

If you fly the P38 as your main ride for every sortie for hell of a long time you will know the difference.  Personally I think the J is the better ride.  The J is lighter which allows for better maneuverability and in my opinion I think its faster.  Others will disagree that the speeds are the same or the L is faster but I think the J is faster.  The L has the booster ailerons which in my opinion does allow for better slow speed handling and when Im on the deck in a turn fight I would much rather have the L.

I think it depends on the situation you intend to be in.  The L is better for the down low turn fights and has the dive flaps which can help in the dive but its not that significant.  The J is probably the best all around P38 as it is light allowing for easy maneuverability and in my opinion climbs better.  

In my opinion its all about feel.  If you think you do better fly the J or if you think you do better in the L fly the L.  Its all about the pilot's preference not which 38 is better however the J and L are superior to the G because of the wep.

Me personally I alternate between the J and L however the L is sexier with those bare metal skins.  If someone made a "Putt Putt Maru" skin I would probably be exclusively flying the J but since "Putt Putt Maru" is my favorite skin I fly the J and the L.

[Wes14]

kinda been playing around with the P-38's some...their all cool to fly

and seem to be the easiest to land/take off

and one thing i really like about the P-38s(true for almost any multi engine plane) is that u loose one engine u still got a perfectly good one left:D

[detch01]

P-38G is the most dangerous of the three (and the most fun IMO) in low altitude angles or low to medium speed energy fights and easily out turns the J and the L. In high speed fights the G is the worst of the three as it suffers badly in roll rate as speed increases and is slower than both the J and the L.
The P-38J has the advantages of WEP, a little more Mil power and the best endurance of the three but it's heavier than the G and it's medium & high speed roll rates are much worse than the L.
The P-38L is the heaviest of the three but of the three it is the best all around aircraft (read fb/ftr) and can handle itself well enough in any sort of fighting you might want to do.

All three are extremely good in the zoom and can be easily controlled at much lower speeds and much higher deck angles than any other aircraft in AH is capable of. But, if I'm looking for a knife-fight in the weeds I'll take the G every time. If I've got a ways to go to the fight or I'm hunting bombers I'll take the J. If I'm on a strike run and want to do some fighting once I've dropped ordnance I'll take the L. FIW I find the J is the worst aircraft in the game for pilot wounds - someone, somewhere fires a weapon at anything and I wind up with red on the canopy - but all three seem to generate more pilot wounds from hits than anything else I've flown in AH so get used to taking a lot of short naps .

YMMV.

asw