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Yep guns in the ventral tank for the F.6 and agree that yhe 60s-70s was the best era for jets that would become iconic. Hummingbird I'll try to post that info tonight.

Could only match an eagle if you ran very light.... No ventral tank, no weapons and very little fuel etc... F2a had lower powered engines too which helped with range. Mach 2.2 was above VNE for the F.6 though may have been possible in some atmospheric conditions it couldn't be done in ICAO conditions according to the graphs in my manual.

Those rates of climb seem very suspect. Possibly attainable briefly by going at max speed at sea level then pulling up hard.... Also what weights are you using for TWR and wing loading? A quick google yielded a lower TWR for the mig.... I think I can now figure out sustained turn rates for the lightning. Give me until tomorrow evening ;) We need to look a bit more at weapons... I know redtop was designed as a bomber killer so maybe not the most agile missile but if the target was supersonic it could detect and home on the hot skin of the target. Its seeker could be slaved to the radar iirc too leading to faster aquisition and finally the lightning had computer commanded intercept. The computer would display a marker you centre on the radar screen to bring you into a firing solution While also setting fusing of the redtop for the closing speeds (head on would be a short delay, tail chase would be a longer delay) What sidewinder variants could the crusader use? Any all aspect capability? Likewise what would the migs missiles be able to do in head on engagements?

Id be interested to see sustained turn performance for the crusader and mig ... Thrust is important for a sustained turn and the lightning wins there.... The view up and rearwards in the lightning isn't great... I've only sat in one with the canopy open but the canopy frame would certainly limit your view

Few quick bits on the Lightnings performance.... All figures for F.6 with Avon 301's Full reheat Time to altitude ICAO at 38 500 starting weight with ventral tank and red tops... 20 000ft about 55seconds 30 000ft 90 seconds 40 000ft 156 seconds Max cruise range configuration as above 36 000ft 0.87 mach 805NM Max Speeds and acceleration from 0.87cruise Red tops, ventral tank and starting at 36 000lbs. Max speeds may be off... I'm just going from where the acceleration graph lines stop. Given more time higher speeds may be attainable. Again ICAO 5000ft : 1.12 Mach in 108s 15000ft: 1.42 Mach in 192s 25000ft : 1.72 Mach in 246s 35000ft :1.98 Mach in 372s Note: It will accelerate past mach 1 without reheat from about 5000ft..... Don't think the F8 or Mig21 can do that! Note2: With avon 302's above 20k ft knock 10% off the acceleration times! Just reading up on turn performance and trying to figure out the graphs!

I'll dig out what data I can though average height and speeds are a little tricky as that kinda depends on what you are doing... Combat record for the lightning is easy... was never used in anger. Service life for the F.6 was 1964 or 65 off the top of my head until 1987 or 88 though I don't think you can really claim that length of service = pilot skill....

Thanks for posting! My grandad was an engine fitter on blenheims so it has special significance to me. I've a collection of photos from duxford over the weekend featuring the Blenheim. Will post when I get time!

Dead easy to find the data for the lightning. Gimme a list of what you want and I'll try to find it. The lightning was surprisingly agile for such a big beast... Way more wing area than a mig21 but whether that translated to better turn performance i'm not so sure. And of course the Lightning just wins by default. Better than 100% efficiency at converting fuel to awesome.

I think it'll be fun for some what-if scenarios. No other piston engined fighter that has been announced is as close to an ME262 in performance....

I always find the Mk108 to work very well if I land hits anywhere in the fuselage. Usually not instant confetti but usually a hit or 3 ends the fight. I also think deflection shots are far more effective. 90% of my kills seem to come from managing to hit someone turning hard.

Which aircraft DON'T have it out of interest?

A Mirage III is definately on my wishlist! Very clean, very elegant, very fast! I have developed a love for 2nd generation jets over the last few years and the more we get in DCS the better!

Interesting read! Pilum do you publish your simulation results anywhere?

Yep beatiful aircraft! Easily my favourite US fighter of WW2

Can't wait to give it a spin on sunday!

You mean what the papers say isnt always true? :music_whistling:

Found a video on youtube of a P51 having its gear tested at duxford [YOUTUBE]jtVQRCA0[/YOUTUBE] Obviously there's no slipstream loads on the gear so it's probably slower when in the air but still it's a start! Need to find some of the gear coming down in flight now! But the problem there is you won't be able to tell when the process is started by the pilot. Just how long it takes for the actual gear to deply.

Will discuss that on friday when I see a couple of the guys I mentioned. Suspect it's because the Flugwerk 190's aren't claiming to be a focke wulf. Would be good if i'm wrong as that could open up the possibility of seeing one of those Mosquito replicas in the air in the UK some time!

To be honest I don't know the reasoning but having spoken to various people who restore warbirds for a living in the UK they all state you can't build a "new" spitfire for example. You have to supply the ID plate at the very least. Seems crazy to me!

I very much doubt the engine is a replica.... The cost would be prohibitive. As to whether the plane itself is a replica that depends on your definition. AFAIK you aren't allowed to build new replicas of warbirds in the EU. They must be built up from an existing airframe though 99% could be made in new metal.

Beautiful... But why do we never get to see them in the UK? :(:(

I think HUD's will become a standard feature on cars un the next few years. I'm unlikely to own anything truly modern any time soon I'll be stuck with analogue gauges for a while yet! Oldest car I own was built in 69. Newest in 92 and I consider that to be a computer with wheels! Strongharm i'm very surprised you enthuse more about your new camaro than the old one! Saw a camaro of that vintage in London last friday. Real presence and an air of brute force.

It allows 6 directions of freedom. You can turn, nod and tilt your head plus move in/out up/down and left/right. So you can lean foreward to get a clearer view of instruments etc. It takes a little getting used to as you need to kerp looking at the screen with your eyes as you rotate your head around and the movement is scaled so you only need to move your head say 20 degrees to look behibd you in game. The scaling/response curves can be tuned in software so you can get it to your own tastes. As to immersion YES it improves it massively.

Will be there on the 22nd for a blenheim related event plus the 24th For the airshow!

Now you know how I feel!