best plane

[guiltyspark]

Originally Posted by haitch40

the GO229 was a good plane but no rudder meant it would get owned by enemy aces

you dont need a rudder when you are nearly twice as fast as the other guy

[haitch40]

Originally Posted by guiltyspark

you dont need a rudder when you are nearly twice as fast as the other guy

true but there were experimental missiles being tested too

[mondo]

Originally Posted by guiltyspark

you dont need a rudder when you are nearly twice as fast as the other guy

It has a pair of airbrakes for a rudder.

[Joeferrito]

I just love the P-47 because, A, it looks cool and B it can take a ton of fire. Not very maneuverable but other than that it's good.

[David603]

The P47 is certainly an interesting plane to fly. It dives very fast but once you have lost altitude it is hard to get back above your enemy, and even the Bf109 and Fw190, notorious for their poor turning circles, can turn inside it. The plus points are a huge capability to both receive and deal out punishment, but a good pilot in a 109 or 190 will smoke you. This is one of the few planes where I would recommend you take every head on pass opportunity available.

[Raw Kryptonite]

Keep in mind that there's a lot more to flight in WWII than just dogfighting. The most productive stuff happened vs. ground targets and bombers. "Best plane" would hardly be limited to just fighters. "Favorite" maybe, but that's not the topic.

[Almighty Blighty]

And that is the exact reason why i think that the mossie was the best plane of WWII. It was fast, cheap, VERY versatile, easy to make because of the wood (that meant that furnature manufacturers could be sub-contracted, not disrupting the aircraft industry,) strong and looks cool. The large engines just besides the cockpit make it look really beefy. And because of the weight, or rather lack of weight, it did not have the manouverability issues the P-47 did. Plus, get the right variant (or the hornet) then you can pack one hell of a punch.

[juz1]

Originally Posted by Almighty Blighty

And that is the exact reason why i think that the mossie was the best plane of WWII. It was fast, cheap, VERY versatile, easy to make because of the wood (that meant that furnature manufacturers could be sub-contracted, not disrupting the aircraft industry,) strong and looks cool. The large engines just besides the cockpit make it look really beefy. And because of the weight, or rather lack of weight, it did not have the manouverability issues the P-47 did. Plus, get the right variant (or the hornet) then you can pack one hell of a punch.

in the total absence of any counter-argument I do declare the mosquito the winner on planet blighty. If anyone disagrees they are obviously a shandy drinking la-la...

now bring on the wooden wonder in DLC or in true British tradition I will stand around looking cross whilst tutting and shaking my head. You've been warned
________
BUY SILVER SURFER VAPORIZER

[mondo]

Originally Posted by David603

The P47 is certainly an interesting plane to fly. It dives very fast but once you have lost altitude it is hard to get back above your enemy, and even the Bf109 and Fw190, notorious for their poor turning circles, can turn inside it. The plus points are a huge capability to both receive and deal out punishment, but a good pilot in a 109 or 190 will smoke you. This is one of the few planes where I would recommend you take every head on pass opportunity available.

Have to disagree 100%. Any P47 (with the exception of the 'N') at low altitude is a poor performer compared with most 190's but at 25,000ft a P47D completely out performs all the 190's, even the Dora 9. 190's have quite poor high altitude turbo chargers and extremely high wing loading so they stall allot in the thin air.

Some 109's have excellent low speed turning circles due to the wing slats, low wing loading and high power to weight ratio. I would never try to out turn a 109, probably with the exception of the K4. 190's also at high speed can have quite a good instantaneous turn for about 90 degrees. At 400mph a Dora can out turn quite a few good low speed turners.

[David603]

Originally Posted by mondo

Have to disagree 100%. Any P47 (with the exception of the 'N') at low altitude is a poor performer compared with most 190's but at 25,000ft a P47D completely out performs all the 190's, even the Dora 9. 190's have quite poor high altitude turbo chargers and extremely high wing loading so they stall allot in the thin air.

Some 109's have excellent low speed turning circles due to the wing slats, low wing loading and high power to weight ratio. I would never try to out turn a 109, probably with the exception of the K4. 190's also at high speed can have quite a good instantaneous turn for about 90 degrees. At 400mph a Dora can out turn quite a few good low speed turners.

Perhaps that is because I tend to fly lower down, in the 5-15,000ft range, and my experience is based on that. This is where the 190s perform best, especially the BMW 801 engined variants.

Some 109's do indeed have quite good turning circles, especially the F and early G models, but I have never heard anyone say the 109 had a low wing loading. The E has a high wing loading for its period, the F, my favourite 109, has a fairly typical wing loading compared to its contemporaries and from the G onwards the wing loading is average to high. The 109 can turn well at low speed but is a poor high speed turner and has a poor instantaneous turn, while the 190 is good because it loses less of its turning ability as speed increases than most other fighters.