Hs 129 barely flyable

[Lagarto]

Recently I've been trying to fly some Hs 129 missions and what a disappointment it was. This thing is so underpowered it barely wallows through the air. A sitting duck for AA. On some maps the AI have problem with clearing the surrounding mountains on takeoff. I just can't believe it was that bad in real life. Maybe some tweak is in order?

[omi89]

Problems pilot faced IRL due to low quality engine (to avoid interference with production of standardized engines). Rudel also felt much safer in JU-87. Avoid version with 75mm, and try to come in low ,drop bombs, make several gun passes (fire early, unless targeting tanks) and leave.

[Lagarto]

I didn't even try the one with 75 mm cannon One would expect a ground-attack machine with two engines, one cannon and no rear gunner to perform at least on a par with Il-2 (one engine, two underwing cannons and a rear gunner, not to mention all the armour) but no such thing. I never survived more than two sorties in a row. Suicidal.

[IceFire]

I love the Hs129 but it is a quirky and underpowered aircraft... problems it suffered in real life.

From Wikipedia:

Hs129B-2
Max. takeoff weight: 5,250 kg (11,574 lb)
Powerplant: 2 × Gnome-Rhône 14M 4/5 14-cylinder radial engines, 522 kW (700 hp) each

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Henschel_Hs_129

Compared to say an IL-2M3

Loaded weight: 6,160 kg (13,580 lb)
Powerplant: 1 × Mikulin AM-38F liquid-cooled V-12, 1,285 kW (1,720 hp)

The IL-2 is a later model cetainly and it does weigh a bit more but it has a 320hp advantage from one engine compared to two. The Gnome-Rhone's are very poor from a power standpoint.

My suggestion is to fly the Hs129 very gingerly. It's a solid attack aircraft and can really kill tanks but it's slow in everything it does. The upside is it's very stable for gunnery as it has a good counter rotating propeller arrangement.

[JtD]

The performance of the Hs 129 and the Il-2 are pretty similar, at least down low. As IceFire has already pointed out, the Il-2 is in fact the bigger, more powerful aircraft of the two. It's also got superior low speed performance, due to a lower wing loading, and at sea level it's slightly faster. But the Hs 129 is as tough and well armoured.

If you fly the Hs 129 with a gunpod, you spoil the performance of the aircraft quite a bit. The gondola adds considerable drag and weight, if you go against tanks, it's well worth it, but you're indeed an easy target for any fighter around. As a flying machine, I'd rate the Hs 129 superior to contemporary Il-2's without gunpods, but inferior with gunpods.

[Lagarto]

OK then, perhaps the poor impression is exacerbated by the fact that its engines cut out under negative G, which is the last thing you want when you're down low dodging Flak. S! to the brave guys who had to fly that thing in real combat.

[The_WOZ]

I find the Hs-129 so much more enjoyable to fly than the IL-2 and a lot more stable at low speeds too.
Gunnery is a lot easier with the counter rotating propellers and rudder trim (not found on the IL2).
And it has fire extinguishers which is usefull given the tendency of the gnome-rhones to catch fire at the slight bullet impact.
And is so much more tough than the IL-2, it will get you home as long as you have 1 good engine.

I fly it a lot online and get very good results even in dogfights (with the B-2 and as long as it's one on one). The trick is to climb to 700 or 1000m before the attack run and attack in slashing passes, getting alt after every pass. You can do 4 or 5 continous passes like this before running out of energy.

With the 7.5cm cannon on the B-3 is best to shoot from afar, if you shoot at 200m or less the shells won't explode.

[IceFire]

Definitely once you get the trick with the B-3 it's a blast (literally ) and VERY effective as I haven't found a tank I couldn't crack with it. There may be one or two very heavy tanks that take a couple of hits but it's basically a one hit kill weapon on armor.

Love it! Great fun with this aircraft!

[Treetop64]

Originally Posted by Lagarto

Recently I've been trying to fly some Hs 129 missions and what a disappointment it was. This thing is so underpowered it barely wallows through the air. A sitting duck for AA. On some maps the AI have problem with clearing the surrounding mountains on takeoff. I just can't believe it was that bad in real life. Maybe some tweak is in order?

The Hs129 certainly requires a delicate touch. You can successfully fly missions in it, however. It's not impossible, though it is slow and vulnerable.

No different than it was in real life. Read any reliable source and you'll learn that it was just as unpopular then as you're finding out now, for virtually the same reasons you're expressing.

We need to be careful about suggesting the "tweaking" of aircraft if they don't behave to our liking, before we've given ourselves sufficient time to learn it's nuances...

[Lagarto]

Since everybody says it flies as it's supposed to, then OK, I'll give it a second chance Thanks to Asura's new DGen it's possible now to generate campaigns for it, and I still hope to have some fun flying it.