Quote:
Originally Posted by Furio
Originally posted by PE_thi
In my opinion, your calculation of drag should be revised a little, at least taking in account the drag produced by engine cooling, which is significant for piston engines. If really an I16 required 530 hp to just overcome its own parasite drag at 200 km/h, it would have been an airbrake, not an airplane, and I think it would have been incapable to reach 463 km/h top speed with the remaining 400 hp.
Anyway, I think we have bored enough everyone with math, so I stop here and left you the last word.
We agree, I think, on the most important thing: all planes are more or less over modelled in game. But I see the solution in a general downgrading of speed and climb rates, not in the contrary. All this said, IL2 remains by far the best sim around, and I’m sure SOW will be the best for years to come. And people will continue to complain asking for more performance for their favourite plane.
As for the Airacobra, in my opinion the real problem was not in performances at altitude. For what I know, air combat in the Pacific took place at altitudes generally comparable to Eastern Front: low to medium. American pilots were certainly as good as Russian ones, and Germans as good as Japanese. So, where it was the difference? In tactics, I think. Russians found the best tactics for a basically good machine. Accordingly to my sources, the P39 was at least 46 km/h slower than an FW190.
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Well you really want precision
We would then really be very boring, I suspect
Okay, taking the propeller efficiency of about 0.8, our I16 has about 750 HP left, minus 400; 350 are lost on the airframe, rest on the propeller
)) Is it OK now
?
The climb power calculation is quite correct; it s elementary physics. And I said parasite + induced drag
Air-sea battles in the Pacific, like everywhere else, did take part at low altitudes. Being no naval plane, Aircobra has mostly been used early in the Pacific war on the New Guinea theatre. With it's Owen Stanley range reaching over 4000m this was no low flying business.
The range had to be overflown by both sides in order to attack. The engine power started falling, from 2800 to 3500 m height, depending on the variant, but quite fast. The plane has been used with some success strafing ground targets on Guadalcanal. It was so hated by it's pilots that the cases of the deliberate plane destruction have been mentioned. USAAF pilots at the war begining often lacked experience, that is true. Soviets lighened their Cobras for about 300 kg, throwing out the wing armament and parts of armor. That certainly improved the overweight and undermotorised plane.