WW1 assesment of the planes

[BaldEagl]

OK.  I went and tested them and I was wrong.  The F2B is the best climber but I've only flown it once.

At 50% fuel the times from spawning to 2K are as follows (from wheels up to 2K):

F2B: 2:05 (1:45)
Dr1: 2:10 (1:50)
F1: 2:20 (2:00)
DVII: 2:25 (2:05)

Each plane took about 20 seconds for the engine to fire and it's wheels to lift so deducting that makes the percentage differences that much higher.

F2B: 5% better than Dr1, 12% better than F1, 16% better than DVII
Dr1: 8% better than F1,  12% better than DVII
F1: 4% better than DVII

So, I think this proves my point in that the F2B pilots are generally trying to drag you onto their sixes and the Dr1 has about a 10% climb rate advantage over the other two fighters.

[68ZooM]

Threat the F2B like a Lanc, under 6 shots there guns cant shoot lower 6

[Ack-Ack]

I took a few more rides in the Dr1 and the DVII last night but still ended up going back to the Camel.

The DVII seems a lot less stable in a turn than the Camel and seems to be the worst turning of the four.  I really don't understand it's popularity.

I did have fun in the Dr1 which can out spiral climb any of the other planes.  Any time I had a con on my six all it took was a spiral climb to lose him.  It's a great tactic for setting up the rope.  I'd have 2-4 planes stalling out below me and have my choice of targets.  Now I've got to work on the timing and gunnery to take advantage of it.

The D.VII is the easiest of the four to fly, has the most forgiving flight characteristics of the four, good blend of speed, climb rate and maneuverability.  Engine is rugged, and dives well without breaking up easily like the Dr.I, rugged enough that it can take some punishment.  All in all, very nice traits for a fighter.

On a side note...The Allies felt that the D.VII was dangerous enough that it was the only aircraft specifically mentioned as part of the conditions of the Armistice that stated Germany was to surrender in good condition all D.VIIs.


ack-ack

[Motherland]

In terms of pure climb rate the Dr1 is clearly superior to each of the other 3 aircraft.  Go test it and then come tell me I'm wrong.

The thing is, I assume because of all of the drag, that the Dr 1 has no zoom climb to speak of whatsoever. It's even difficult to complete an immelman out of a steep dive in the thing.

[LesterBoffo]

In terms of pure climb rate the Dr1 is clearly superior to each of the other 3 aircraft.  Go test it and then come tell me I'm wrong.

 It's not just pure climb rate, but the ability to climb while sharply turning and not taking up a lot of sky doing it.  You'll never outrun anything in a DRI.   

 Someone mentioned they were repeatedly doing about 30 mph, get your stick forward and stop bleeding "E".  These planes fly better at about 50 to 80 mph.  I'm wondering why the Camel was released with the Clerget 130, it was also available with the Bentley and Gnome Monosuapape 160 HP and should have better rate of climb and speed.

 Waiting for you guys to get the Nieuport Vstrutter sesquiplanes and the SE5a.

[bj229r]

Yes.  They will start showing tomorrow after about 11:00am CST (GMT -6).

Argh, that will be the end of it all

[horble]

I absolutley love the Camel, it's as fun fighting it as the guy you're trying to shoot down.


Suckering D7's into a flat turn to the right is my favorite thing to do 

[Zoney]

I absolutley love the Camel, it's as fun fighting it as the guy you're trying to shoot down.


Suckering D7's into a flat turn to the right is my favorite thing to do 

I will be looking for you in my flat turn to the right in my D7 homey.  I will be going right but inverted so its actually left.

Homey <<<S>>>


Hoorrrrrrrrrrriiiiiibbbbbblll llllleeeeeeeeeeeeee

[LesterBoffo]

 You guys are aware that the favored WW-I trick to turn a sharp left with a Sop Camel was to do a snap/flick roll to the right and let the precession whip you through 270 degrees of turn.  It takes some practice because it could turn into a spin.

[HPriller]

certain aspects of the flight model seem suspicious.  The Dr1 for example climbs off the deck at ~1100 feet per minute.  However, inverted I was able to maintain over 900ft per minute climbrate.   Seems pretty odd for an undercamber wing to be so capable in inverted flight

[Bino]

The thing is, I assume because of all of the drag, that the Dr 1 has no zoom climb to speak of whatsoever. It's even difficult to complete an immelman out of a steep dive in the thing.

None of them has anything like a "zoom climb."  And they don't retain E, they retain D - drag!   

[bj229r]

Thus far, DR7 getting nearly as many kills as Dr1 and Camel combined


WW1 Tour 1 Statistics for all planes/vehicles/boats
Plane Name    Kills            Deaths    Kill/Death Ratio
D.VII               33468     29474        1.14
Dr.I                  23066    20061        1.15
F.1                  13799     18120        0.76
F.2B                  4897     7769         0.63
Gunner               201           7        25.12
Totals             75431      75431        1.00

[LesterBoffo]

certain aspects of the flight model seem suspicious.  The Dr1 for example climbs off the deck at ~1100 feet per minute.  However, inverted I was able to maintain over 900ft per minute climbrate.   Seems pretty odd for an undercamber wing to be so capable in inverted flight

 You might be right, as the Gottingen 286 airfoil used on the DRI is a close relative to the Clark Y, with a large radius entry and should have a soft stall, and be able to handle angles of attack that would have stalled out both the Sopwith's and Bristol's, Royal Air Factory based 'foils.   The main thing is that the rotaries engines should not be able to run inverted for long.  It might be able to maintain altitude inverted in the prototype, But I wouldn't expect much climb. 

[Kirin]

After a couple of hours in WW1 these are my personal observations. The D7 seems the easiest, most forgiving plane to fly. It has a good control response on all axes. Especially the roll rate puts it above the Dr1. The stall is very predictable and it never departed on my while manouvering. The dive capabilities are much better than in the Dr1 where you start losing parts with no or very little warning. The high views generally are better in the D7 than in the Dr1.

While the Dr1 might outturn you flat you can always go vertical or oblique to keep pace with it - and the 3 wings make for a big target to shoot at. I only know the Camel as an enemie and always felt I could keep it at bay with both the D7 and the Dr1. The biggest pitfall of the Dr1 for me is the dreaded flat spin. I lost more planes while sliding down sideways than to enemy fire. I can make some nifty aerobatic manouver when done right but chances are I cannot recover in time...

All in all the D7 seems to be the better rounded dogfighter. Not beeing the best in any category but combining all the need treats of a fighter airplane.

ATM I spend most of the time in the Dr1 just not to be in the D7 crowd...   and I always loved the Red Baron.

[BaldEagl]

I flew several sorties in the F2B yesterday.  It's a fun plane to fly... much more so than I expected.

It's faster and has a better climb rate than any of the other planes but still turns suprisingly well.  I actually flew one to 7K yesterday afternoon across no mans land as there wasn't anyone fighting our country so I had to go get into the furball between the other two countries.

Considering it's speed and climb rate I decided to see if it might be the BnZer of the group.  What I found out was that ripping the top wing off is really easy.  You have to keep a constant watch on your speed to avoid this but even then once on the deck it's got the speed to close on, or get away from anything and if the enemy is close you've always got the tail gun at your disposal until you get seperation.

I also tried using the climb advantage to see how it would do in a spiral climbing fight.  I got into one with a Camel and another with a DR1.  Neither plane could stay with the F2B although the Camel seemed to fare better than the DR1 over the long term.

All in all a very capable and fun plane.