Quote:
Originally Posted by majorfailure
The P-39s I fly ingame are rather demanding on the trim.
Thats how it should be. P40E had a full throttle height of ~3500m and the P40M roughly double - so 3k alt is very nice for the E and the M is still in the proces of warming up.
The 270-350 and the 350/370 interval is the same spacing as the other ones that are only ten kph apart in the graph, may be misleading. And to be nitpicking: These are not a(cceleration) graphs, these are v vs. t diagrams.
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The P-39 series is not as demanding as the Mustang, Corsair, Hellcat or P-47 depictions in this sim; all of these aircraft demand multiple clicks of trim adjustment for rudder and elevator for EVERY 5 to 15 kph of speed increase and any change in power or prop pitch greater than 5%, or you find yourself fighting your stick's springs. In addition, all of these aircraft have speed ranges where after constantly adding nose down trim and stabilizing in level flight, you suddenly need to switch to nose up trim and then a few seconds later you are back to clicking nose down (and a bit of opposite rudder as well).
Please note that all of these aircraft were considered very well behaved and easily trimmed for high performance fighters of the day; the Mustang was not merely a speed and range fighter, the Corsair was considered 'touchy' mainly in the carrier landing regime (and because it was invariably compared to the much more benign Grumman 'cats in that respect), and the Hellcat was, like Mary Poppins, practically perfect in every way for a carrier fighter in the Pacific (it just wasn't <quite> as fast as the Corsair). All of them were considered to be easily transitioned into (the Mustang particularly--the 8th AF transitioned all but one of its P-47 and P-38 equipped groups into it in the middle of high combat operations during early to late 1944); easily taught and
mastered.
By contrast, the Il-2 '46 P-39 needs
somewhatmore trim than most aircraft of its era, but it is consistent and therefore much more easily anticipated. The real thing had a reputation for being touchy and for the CG changing critically when the cannon ammo was expended; it was NOT consistent and as easily anticipated as it is depicted in this game. And what's with the instruments being so much more readable and accurate on earlier generation fighters?
Now, about the P-40 comparisons. The E model is (as its reputation suggested) neck and neck with the P-39 in the early acceleration phase from 270 to 370 kph both of them taking 23 seconds to add 100 kph of indicated speed, and then the Warhawk gradually dropping back; by contrast, the M model Warhawk is 7 seconds behind the E, then 10 seconds at 380, 11 seconds at 390, 13 seconds at 400, 20 seconds behind at 410, 33 seconds at 420, and then it poops out at 430, 31 seconds behind the E model, which at that point is midway between 440 and 450 kph.
At a constant speed of 370 kph, a 7 second lead is well over
700m, which we can safely assume to be out of range. It becomes much greater if you are accelerating away, and the E is right at 400 the same time that the M is wheezing and puffing up to 380.
My impression was that the later P-40 models got more powerful engines to match the extra weight of armor, new radios and so on, and that high alt performance improved marginally in the Allison powered models. My (limited) sources on the P-40 say that the M model was a full minute faster to 15,000 ft than the E models, which should result in obtaining level speed more quickly if all other things remain the same (and they mostly do). Those same sources state flatly that performance at lower altitudes remained largely the same, which isn't what is reflected here.
US Naval aviators were an eyelash away from mutiny when the slower, heavier, shorter ranged and lesser firing time F4F-4 Wildcat was introduced just before the battle of Midway. Army Air Force officers would have raised hell if they were handed a pig like the P-40M depicted here, and their objections would be a part of the historical record, but I find no such reports. I'm inclined to call the M model in Il-2 '46 bogus at best.
cheers
horseback