Hawk81A-2

[Former_Older]

Late in replying!

Plane-Eater has done his homework for sure. In my own research I have found the same things he did.

I can add a couple details though, which don't really trasnlate into in-game performance

Curtiss cheated on a lot of the original RAF order according to what I found. They used some- maybe a few, maybe more- self-sealing fuel tanks, but they were externally sealing instead of internally sealing.

Curtiss used 'close enough' paint colors instead of the RAF dictated shades. This gives rise to some confusion regarding actual AVG camo colors, especially on the belly

When painting, Curtiss used rubber mats as stencils, so the paint schemes were very very similar, plane to plane. They used 'A and B' stencils on most, resulting in the asymetrical camoflage like on Hammerd's default skin. However, some few were symetrical "A+A" schemes that had the same camo on both sides of the plane.

To touch on Plane-Eater's comments on the engines, AVG Hawks had certain, common failures on 'stock' components that suggest strongly that the AVG powerplants produced more power than a 'standard' H81 engine

Something I've never seen on a skin yet- the AVG H81s in Burma, particularly in the Rangoon area, developed a green mold in the cockpits quickly. I was tempted in my skins to show this, but then I'd have to make dupes that didn't have the green crud, and you wouldn't see it in the in-cockpit view anyway, so I nixed it