P-38 Help request

[darxe]

My absolute fav WWII aircraft has to be the P-38.  I know it’s big but it is beautiful.  I am going to start focusing on it this month and try to get a real understanding of its characteristics and become a solid pilot in the beast.  I realize this aircraft has been talked about in the forums for a while so I will not ask to rehash all of that but if you have any links to some great tips or especially film links I would really appreciate it.

Of course I am not opposed to any tips that anyone may have to offer as well. 

-thanks

[Lepape2]

Here is the chat feed from the P38 clinic that Delirium gave us not so long ago. It should tell most most of what you need to know.

http://www.fw190.org/P38Clinic.htm   (The flight portion is found at the top of the page)


See also: http://members.shaw.ca/soda_p/P38L.htm

 

[Soulyss]

In my experience the 38 is a bit of an interesting beast, I came to it after already having several years in AH under my belt and it still took me several weeks to start to get a grasp of what it could do.

For the sake of discussion I'll focus on the J & L models, a lot of it applies to the G but in some ways the G takes a slightly different approach since it doesn't have WEP or the engine power that the later models to.

The single most unique feature of the 38 is the complete lack of torque due to the counter rotating engines, this lets the 38 driver do a lot of things nose high and remain in complete control even at low speeds.  You often hear people talking about the 38 being made for fighting "uphill" as a result of this.  The basic approach to many engagements is going to be working yourself into a position where you are +E then taking the fight up and forcing the opponent to try and either follow (preferably in a direction that makes them fight the torque of their own engine) or surrender the high ground.  

Another good survival tip that is critical to flying the 38 is knowing how and when to "get skinny" looking up or down at the 38 it makes for a very large target, however if you look at it sideways down the wing it's actually a smaller profile than the other planes in the U.S. stable.  If you see someone coming in from the side work on timing and roll the wing to present the smallest target possible.  

As I mentioned in my PM I think I have a few social engagements this weekend and I'm not entirely sure what my schedule will look like yet but we'll try and meet up sometime in the not too distant future and try to go over a few things.

[humble]

Luke...........















LUKE......................... .....





















USE THE BLENDER LUKE

[humble]

In all seriousness the 38 is a tremendous plane and has many die hard advocates who gladly will share what they know with anyone who demonstrates a significant interest.

The 38 has a pretty steep learning curve and I'm far from qualified to comment beyond a few basics...

1) When in doubt take the fight up. The 38 does very well in the verticals and zooms and spiral climbs are your friend
2) Do the Jenny Craig, the 38 is all about getting "skinny" when you need to. Once you learn to control the profile you present your halfway home
3) flap like a bird, sting like a bee. The 38 requires prudent and frequent flap use and the center mounted grouping lets you reach out and tag folks.
4) Throttle and Rudder are important in all planes but the 38 excels in the "sweet spot" like few others. Managing speed and using your rudder makes the bird dance

This is a recent clip I already posted since its a "no icon" fight from AvA but it gives you some idea about the 38...
http://beachheadcrm.info/snaphook/lifeintheAvA.ahf

Once you get comfortable with the T-38 you can step up in grade to a more advanced plane like the F-20

[TWC_Jaxx]

In my experience the 38 is a bit of an interesting beast, I came to it after already having several years in AH under my belt and it still took me several weeks to start to get a grasp of what it could do.

Soulyss gave me a free lesson or two on the 38 the other night.... I was that P51 you kept schooling...  very nice barrel roll attack.  I couldnt get guns on and eventually ran outta E even starting with an Alt advantage. 

Been studying those films.. 

[darxe]

There is some awesome material here.  Thanks for the tips and the films.  Nice flying humble.  Watching the film no one kept you in their sights for too long before you were already rolling out.

[humble]

Thanks, everything there is pretty much BFM strung into ACM. Once you get a feel and a few of the sapp guys get to you the possibilities are well beyond that clip. You can stall a wingtip and catch it almost like rotating a turret....