P-38 turnfight

[Karnak]

About everyone saying the P38 isnt such a great plane in Aces high, well you are wrong. Only reason why pilots on aces high are having probs with the plane is because its so big and its a very complicated aircraft to control. I personally love the p38 and knows how to make it operate well. But again its a very pretty plane so i dont think much experience pilots will tell u the tricks. BTW its Rud3boi.

Almost every one of the guys saying it is bad is a P-38 fan who is deadly in it.  They are saying those things very, very tongue in cheek.

[Rino]

About everyone saying the P38 isnt such a great plane in Aces high, well you are wrong. Only reason why pilots on aces high are having probs with the plane is because its so big and its a very complicated aircraft to control. I personally love the p38 and knows how to make it operate well. But again its a very pretty plane so i dont think much experience pilots will tell u the tricks. BTW its Rud3boi.

     I don't suppose you could do me a solid and teach Guppy your tricks?  I'm getting tired of having to interview
new crewchiefs after the old ones burn out trying to put his 38s back together.

[Guppy35]

     I don't suppose you could do me a solid and teach Guppy your tricks?  I'm getting tired of having to interview
new crewchiefs after the old ones burn out trying to put his 38s back together.

Rud is responsible for a couple of those crew chief meltdowns

[SmokinLoon]

there are only two planes i fear when i fly my hurricane MkIa . that's a niki and P38 (especially when pawz is flying it)  . P38 can turn very well , go vert and dump E fast to force the over shoot.   It's what P38 pilots in ETO found and in the PTO they were a menace to  Zero's . P38's had a great kill ratio  against the zero compared to USN fighters .  I try to hit P38's before anything else  in a furball . 

If i see a spit XVI (IX) and a P38 heading for me i'll hit the 38 first.

The P38 is amongst the worst turning aircraft in the game. You can find the charts at the AH Trainers website. 

Vs the Zeke's the best attribute the P38 has was speed and a matching or slightly better climb.

The USN's F6F's had more kills that the USAAF's P38's.

The P38 needs speed and alt to be in its prime.  Get it below 250mph and below 2000ft it is quite handicapped.   

[Ack-Ack]

On "paper" the P-38 is a real crap plane. Not fast, not a great climber, does not turn exceptionally well, even the roll rate is pedestrian at most speeds...IF it were single engine it would really suck. IF. Understanding the torquelessness that makes it a unique fighter is the key of every dangerous P-38 pilot.

Boy, are you sure wrong.  On "paper" the P-38 is not a "real crap plane", nor is what you listed accurate at all. 

ack-ack

[Ack-Ack]

The P38 is amongst the worst turning aircraft in the game. You can find the charts at the AH Trainers website. 

Without flaps it is, but with the aid of flaps it was quite maneuverable in both real life and in game.
 

Vs the Zeke's the best attribute the P38 has was speed and a matching or slightly better climb.

The P-38 outclassed the Zeke in every aspect but turn.  A P-38 was able to turn with a Zeke for 1-2 turns, if the Lightning didn't get a kill in that time all the pilot would need to do is enter into a shallow climb, extend out of gun range and the enter into a shallow spiral climb to regain the advantage and reset the fight.  By the way, this was a tactic used by USAAF and USN, regardless of the plane was flown, whether it be a P-38 or a Hellcat.

The USN's F6F's had more kills that the USAAF's P38's.

The P-38 had more kills of any of the USAAF planes and also out of the USAAF planes, fielded the most aces in the PTO.  The P-38, along other planes like the P-40, P-39 and Wildcat broke the IJAF and IJNAF's back between 1942-1943 in the Southwest and Central Pacific area. The Hellcat appeared at the time both the IJAAF and IJNAF started to decline in both pilot and ground crew quality, which culminated in the Great Marianas Turkey Shoot during the Battle of the Philippine Sea.  The Hellcat was like the P-51D in the ETO, a little too late to party for the fighting but early enough to grab the glory.

The P38 needs speed and alt to be in its prime. 

All planes need speed to be in its prime, the P-38 isn't special in this area.

Get it below 250mph and below 2000ft it is quite handicapped.   

Maybe for someone like yourself that isn't very good in a P-38 and doesn't quite know how to fly one, being under 250mph IAS or below 2,000ft would be handicapped but those that know how to fly the P-38 properly, being low and slow in a Lightning isn't handicapping to us at all.

ack-ack

[BnZs]

Boy, are you sure wrong.  On "paper" the P-38 is not a "real crap plane", nor is what you listed accurate at all. 

ack-ack

It it neither fast nor an exceptional climber/accelerator by LW standards. It is the best low alt climber in the USAAF arsenal, but that field is not brilliant compared to the plane set as a whole.  A P-51D actually has a smaller turn radius...

The 109K4 has has  climb rate almost 1000fpm greater, and a minimum turn radius almost 1/3rd smaller than the 38. Yet a fight between a 38 and a Kurt is an even matchup. The difference is that the P-38 is perfectly controllable while utilizing full power at ridiculously slow air speeds where a single engine job would be dropping a wing and unable to roll effectively in both directions.

[BnZs]

The P38 needs speed and alt to be in its prime.  Get it below 250mph and below 2000ft it is quite handicapped.   

The deadliest 38 is the one still smoothly tracking you for guns at less than a 100mph IAS, while your own plane is unable to raise its nose at those speeds.

[B3YT]

sorry for the delay . The P38 in the early part of the pacific war was very much feared .  yes the F6 and F4u  had better K/d ratio at the end of the war but the P38 lead the war in the opening years.   

[TwinBoom]

The P38 needs speed and alt to be in its prime. Get it below 250mph and below 2000ft it is quite handicapped.   

The deadliest 38 is the one still smoothly tracking you for guns at less than a 100mph IAS, while your own plane is unable to raise its nose at those speeds.

He has seen this first hand wink wink    heya`s bnz

[branch37]

From what Ive heard and read on here, the 38L has the "boosted" controls such as ailerons and dive brakes, and the 38G/J do not.

[Plazus]

  A P-51D actually has a smaller turn radius...

Actually it does not. I have flown against good P51 sticks and have easily out turned them in my P38G/J/L below 300 mph. At slow speeds, a P38 can practically dance circles around a P51's head. I have seen it all too often.

I like how you insist that the P38 wasn't all that great. I would love to see the faces of the P38 aces that flew them in WW2 when you try to tell them that their aircraft wasn't all that great.

[Drano]

Boosted ailerons only on the L. The "dive brake" isn't really that at all. It's a special flap designed to alter the airflow going around the plane at higher speeds that had a tendency to slam onto the elevator making maneuver in pitch difficult to impossible as speed increased. It only helps a little bit. Go fast enough and you'll still lock up. Try using that thing as an actual dive brake in a steep dive and you'll see what I mean. It hardly has any effect in level flight much unlike the dive brakes on our actual dive bombers.

[BnZs]

Actually it does not. I have flown against good P51 sticks and have easily out turned them in my P38G/J/L below 300 mph. At slow speeds, a P38 can practically dance circles around a P51's head. I have seen it all too often.

The P-51D has a smaller turn radius than the J/L. Check the pertinent sources, such as Mosc's comparisons, before you opine. What the P-38 DOES do well is sustain a higher rate of turn and handle slow flight so well that relative turn radius hardly matters. If a P-51/P-47 gets all flaps out and forces the beginning of a flat scissors where turn radius would be advantageous, the 38 easily counters by being able to introduce a vertical element at virtually any airspeed.

I like how you insist that the P38 wasn't all that great. I would love to see the faces of the P38 aces that flew them in WW2 when you try to tell them that their aircraft wasn't all that great.

I like how your reading comprehension is so poor that you THINK I am saying the P-38 isn't all that great.

[Shuffler]

All these numbers are confusing. That is why I am a dedicated GV'er. I'll put my Jeep up against anyone in here. I can turn it with the best.



All 38 buff drivers are dweebs.

Ban F3 in all planes that Ghi flies.

Get your pets vaccinated.

Hug your Mom.

Now that this is known we can close this thread.