Quote:
Originally Posted by shauncm
JtD>
i am happy that you disagree with me! it may be a personal question but what tactics do you use, how do you fly it? i would be nice to hear from someone that flies it regularly!
Pips>
in cliffs of dover i seem to remember the bf110 having seperate oil and coolant radiators. also i think that the tempest oil and coolent systems both run through the nose 'scoop'. if you are asking a general question about how to manage the oil temprature, then the answer would be to manage revs and power. if you are asking about a plane where the two systems are separate, i have no idea and someone else needs to answer!
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I can't speak for JtD but we do sometimes fly together and I think our styles are similar. I fly the Mustang like I fly the Tempest but I should say that my style is a bit different for the Mustang.
1) Altitude is really important for the Mustang. Maybe more than most late war fighters. The Mustang has less power and typically greater weight (unless you really drop back the fuel load) than some of its opponents so you need to start with some sort of energy advantage. Altitude is easiest but speed is good too. Against some of the real climb monsters you want to avoid getting low and enabling them to climb up above you.
2) Fly "smoothly". This is harder to describe but it's something I learned to do playing Air Racing servers. Minimal control inputs except when desired is the key to this style of flight. I don't make sudden movements...everything is very calm and controlled whereas before I used to fly much more harshly. The Mustang benefits from this because of it's sudden stall (laminar flow wings and the weight of the aircraft tend to exacerbate this) and because it's aerodynamics matter more than anything else.
3) In combat I will often fly the lag pursuit style of maneuvering. I won't match an enemy aircraft move for move like I might in a Yak or early 109. Instead I use overhead yo-yo and lag pursuit to position myself for a shot.
4) When managing the engine I tend to use the radiator controls manually. Some aircraft I'm very content with using the automatic method but in the Mustang I'm very proactive instead. If I go into a zoom climb I close it for smallest drag profile. In level flight I may open it to halfway.
If I'm cruising or fighting at speed I'll drop the RPM (prop pitch) but in a climb and in some dive situations I'll ramp up the RPM. I did this before the 4.11 patch came out but I find that my technique has changed very little as I focus on keeping a cool engine for as long as possible... when it does overheat it's because I intentionally put the throttle through the WEP gate and that I really want that extra burst of speed.
5) Effective gunnery is really important in the Mustang. I tend to make most of my kills in a single pass. Two passes if necessary. My convergence with a Mustang is a bit closer in (if I remember) at 250 meters. I go for a high speed and angled shot rather than a dead 6 shot if I can. This is easier with human pilots as they tend to turn in evasive while the AI will sometimes fly straight with a greater degree of discipline than many human pilots.
My best sorties in a Mustang will usually net a couple of kills depending on the server and settings. My absolute best was on Warclouds more than a few years ago where I fly a P-51D-20 and scored 4 (plus one damaged) during a furball. I spent no more than a few seconds on each target and then broke away.
The Mustang is sometimes a frustrating fighter to fly. If you get used to flying other types that are more agile and more of a turn fighter that you can chuck around like the earlier 109 types or maybe the Spitfire then the Mustang can be difficult. You can't chuck it around the sky in the same way. I tend to use the rudder much less as you can really cause some bad stall situations with hard rudder use while rolling. With the FM correction to the P-51D stability in 4.10 it's gotten a bit easier but it's basically the same deal as it was before with just a little more forgiveness.
In my head it all comes down to this. The Mustang has 1500ish horsepower. Similar to a Spitfire IX. Yet the top speed of a Mustang is similar to a Spitfire XIV with 2000 hp. It doesn't have the climb rate of the later Spitfire so... what the Mustang can't achieve through engine horsepower, it achieves with some of the best aerodynamic design around. Laminar flow designed wings, lowest drag coefficient of any USAAF fighter in WWII (and certainly up there with any from any nation). So whenever I fly it, my focus is always on maintaining that aerodynamic flow and using the aerodynamics for zoom climbs and staying fast.
Sorry for the essay. I hope it helps a bit?