Detailed BOP test data for 20 BOP aircraft available here!

[Widar]

The Zipfile in this thread contains a PDF with detailed BOP aircraft test data concerning turns, rolls, climbs, dives and the maximum speed of 20 BOP aircraft and additionally also some comparative historical data on these 20 aircraft as well as remarks and conclusions. This BOP test data sheds some light on the in-game strengths and weaknesses of the 20 BOP aircraft tested which is especially useful for online BOP play.

I have conducted detailed tests with 20 aircraft in IL-2 BOP XBOX 360 single player training and also in mock combat tests in XBOX LIVE BOP online with various virtual pilots on my friends list in order to create the aircraft test data PDF list. Personally I believe that the real life aircraft that are on this test data list were all GREAT combat aircraft in their own right with little to choose between them. The real life aircraft of course were not used in this test and are not the issue, instead the performance of their virtual counterparts in BOP was tested which is something quite different.

I have to say that IL-2 BOP is unique in that it is the only console WWII air combat simulator which in itself is a feat. Next to that it is no overstatement to state that it is overall a good game and basically a good simulator with good graphics at that. Both the online multiplayer and the single player BOP experience are also decent and the main single player extras that one might find wanting for are a single player mission/campaign creator and a single player German/axis campaign.

The BOP aircraft tests have yielded some remarkable results. As with all tests there is room for varied test interpretation and for error in testing as well, therefore all remarks and general conclusions will remain open for personal interpretation. Of course there are also many more altitudes and speeds which have not been included in the tests, this notwithstanding the list supplies interesting data on BOP virtual aircraft performance which is useful when playing BOP online.

The results of the tests concluded so far however SEEM to indicate at best a combination of some unhistorical and/or incorrect aircraft data/performance at work in BOP resulting in selective historically incorrect/unbalanced online BOP aircraft performance, or at worst an unethical selective aircraft performance unbalance by design. However, what SEEMS to be the case based on testing might not be how it actually is, so it is impossible to be certain of the true causes of the selective aircraft performance unbalances either way.

In any event: enjoy the test data!

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EDIT: 08.10.2009 LATEST UPDATE <------------------------------------ !!!

NEW DATA AVAILABLE !!!

I downloaded the BOP DLC and was interested to find out how the P47D and Ta 152 H-1 were modeled in BOP, so I performed some tests on them and included them on the list of 20 BOP aircraft that I had already tested. Next to that I have noticed some discussions/questions on BOP aircraft characteristics by new forum members and also the on-going discussions on BOP aileron and elevator sensitivity issues. Some flight performance data in the – now 22 aircraft – table list may be easier for some to interpret when viewed as CHARTS/GRAPHS instead of numbers, so I therefore included a GRAPHS PDF that also has sensitivity and firepower data not included in the tables.

So therefore I now have included three PDF (zip)files:

1. Version 1.1 of the – now 22 aircraft - BOP aircraft test data list PDF (now incl. P47D and Ta 152 H-1).

2. A CHARTS/GRAPHS PDF with graphs on the 22 tested BOP aircraft turn, roll, speed, climb, dive, nominal FIREPOWER data and also SUGGESTED aileron/elevator SENSITIVITY settings.

3. A sensitivity setting (Ta 152 H-1) test report PDF which supplies data on the effects of lower and higher aileron/elevator sensitivity settings on turn, roll, climb, dive etc. in combination with speed and flap settings.

[MorgothNL]

wow, you took some effort in it . I'll have a look at it . Just a question: what did you do with the sensitivity? This is an important factor, since it will limit the turning etc.
For instance with the spit IX, 5 notches down, will give you a very nice turn without stall when pulling the stick full back. But with 3 or 4 notches, and some rudder and skill, you can make a much quicker turn.

anyways, good job, im gonna take a look now

[Benrizz]

Yeeaaa That's just so great,

Thanks a lot, (even It will brings down some mythology that was starting to appears on that forum about some planes)

But Morghot is right, can you udapte that file to say what sensitivity you used for each plane, or was it the same for each one. ???
Because it changes a lot your results. For example if you use 3 notches down for each one, you lost a lot for the LA5-fn or for BF109s.

EDIT: sorry for the Edit but I just found the info about sensitivity on your file. You say 10 of 20 clicks. With that configuration for all planes,

Even if I agree with yourcomments, the sensitivity that you chose is biasing your datas.
- it brings an over estimation of performance for Spitifires, P51, FWs
over LA5fn and BF109s

Indeed with 8 notches down (with means 10of18 notches) you only lost 3 notches from a full turn without rudder on the Spit while you lost 8 notches for the LA5fn and 7 notches for BF109-F4

[trk29]

Thanks for taking the time to do this.

How do you know you were at a exactly 50 degree climb?

[MorgothNL]

Originally Posted by trk29

How do you know you were at a exactly 50 degree climb?

you can see this in the virtual cockpit. Pretty good skill if you could keep it at 50 degree the whole time though. In real life this is easy with trimming, but in the game it is impossible to keep the plane exactly were you want

[ChankyChank]

Very interesting widar thanks a lot for publishing the results. It's always interesting flying with you and panzergranate-you guys are incredibly knowledgable.

[Widar]

Originally Posted by MorgothNL

you can see this in the virtual cockpit. Pretty good skill if you could keep it at 50 degree the whole time though. In real life this is easy with trimming, but in the game it is impossible to keep the plane exactly were you want

Thanks for the feedback.

You are right about the view, all testing was done with the virtual cockpit since this gives the degree data I needed.

Of course some aircraft are more stable than others in BOP, so with some it was easier to keep the climb or dive at a 50 degree angle. I probably should have written that down also, but flying and timing was work enough as it is.

All in all it was a lot of work and not the most exiting at that, but the results in my opinion are exiting, or at least useful. I hope that players take advantage of the data, because it gives hints about what tactic works against what aircraft. I also hope that the developers fix the historically incorrect unbalances that the testing has revealed.

I also did a lot of gunnery testing but have not gotten around to putting that test data in an table format yet, since all this takes a lot of time. Some results of the gunnery testing, to an extent, have been incorporated in the remarks in the test data list.

[Widar]

Originally Posted by Benrizz

Yeeaaa That's just so great,

Thanks a lot, (even It will brings down some mythology that was starting to appears on that forum about some planes)

But Morghot is right, can you udapte that file to say what sensitivity you used for each plane, or was it the same for each one. ???
Because it changes a lot your results. For example if you use 3 notches down for each one, you lost a lot for the LA5-fn or for BF109s.

EDIT: sorry for the Edit but I just found the info about sensitivity on your file. You say 10 of 20 clicks. With that configuration for all planes,

Even if I agree with yourcomments, the sensitivity that you chose is biasing your datas.
- it brings an over estimation of performance for Spitifires, P51, FWs
over LA5fn and BF109s

Indeed with 8 notches down (with means 10of18 notches) you only lost 3 notches from a full turn without rudder on the Spit while you lost 8 notches for the LA5fn and 7 notches for BF109-F4

Thanks for your response.

Yes, the sensitivity setting used, along with most other test parameters is registered in the PDF file. The reason for the setting of 10/20 was influenced by two of the worst performers, the Fw 190 and the P51. A setting was needed that allowed for maximum flight stick pressure for rolls, turns, dives and climbs. If a BOP aircraft has a flight advantage, then the testing revealed that that advantage will still be proportionally just as great on 10/20 sensitivity as on 20/20 sensitivity compared to other BOP aircraft. One of the main advantages on 10/20 sensitivity setting is that it allows some aircraft to stay controllable better when applying maximum flight stick pressure, that is to say before a stall and spin sets in. The difference in seconds on 20/20 sensitivity when turning, rolling etc. is not that great based on testing, it is there though to be sure.

But in the end, for test results to be comparable, the same conditions need to be applied and the benchmark for the selected test sensitivity setting were the worst sensitivity performers in BOP, among others the Fw 190 and the P51.

Just to keep the sensitivity definitions comparable to avoid misunderstandings: there are 20 notches on each sensitivity option (aileron and elevator). Sensitivity setting 20/20 is all notches highlighted in white, meaning maximum setting to the right. If you turn the sensitivity setting 3 down from 20 your setting is 17 of 20 or 17/20. So in my (test) terms if you turn it 8 notches down from 20 it would be 12 of 20 or 12/20.

[Widar]

Originally Posted by Benrizz

Yeeaaa That's just so great,

Thanks a lot, (even It will brings down some mythology that was starting to appears on that forum about some planes)

But Morghot is right, can you udapte that file to say what sensitivity you used for each plane, or was it the same for each one. ???
Because it changes a lot your results. For example if you use 3 notches down for each one, you lost a lot for the LA5-fn or for BF109s.

EDIT: sorry for the Edit but I just found the info about sensitivity on your file. You say 10 of 20 clicks. With that configuration for all planes,

Even if I agree with yourcomments, the sensitivity that you chose is biasing your datas.
- it brings an over estimation of performance for Spitifires, P51, FWs
over LA5fn and BF109s

Indeed with 8 notches down (with means 10of18 notches) you only lost 3 notches from a full turn without rudder on the Spit while you lost 8 notches for the LA5fn and 7 notches for BF109-F4

To be sure: the testing was done with the average virtual pilot on simulator mode in mind. A great vitual pilot can get great results when flying a brick at 20/20 sensitivity settings, but these kind of pilots are the exception and not the benchmark for testing an aircraft in BOP. I wanted results that the average virtual pilot can get in BOP on simulator mode. When flying at 20/20 you have a flight model advantage, but it is generally slight and in return you have to have a good "pilot's" hand, meaning that you need to be able to just apply the right amount of flight stick pressure to avoid stalling and spinning in turns, rolls etc. That is fine for the great virtual pilot, but not for the average one.

Average virtual pilots flying at 20/20 is, in my opinion, one of the reasons why these players stay away from simulator mode, since they just can't control the plane at that setting and start stalling and spinning 20 seconds into an online match and then quit and run back to Arcade mode.

If BOP's default game sensitivity setting would have been 10/20 instead of the 20/20 it is at now, we would probably have more average virtual pilots staying in simulator mode online matches.

[Benrizz]

Yes you right default sensitivity should has been set by default on 10/20.

About the turning abilities do you have an idea on how many second you win when putting full sensitivity for exemple on LA5 ??

An finally thanks a lot for you're data, and the time you spent to do that. I ve already printed it out . That's a lot of valuable info.

We can see that even on BF109 you can't have an Boom and Zoom tactic,
Thanks