Crumpp

Your confusion stems from not understanding the term "fixed". It does not mean it is not allowed to move. It means the control surface is not floating as it would be rudder or stick free. Rudder or stick fixed means the pilot is holding the control surface in the position he desires and the control surface is not allowed to float. Here is a test of the P-51D-5 comparing the rudder fixed and rudder free stability with a horn balance vs tall tail design. http://www.dtic.mil/dtic/tr/fulltext/u2/a801234.pdf

Dave Southwood was correct. Just do not misunderstand it.

Guess what holding the rudder in its trim position means??? Think of where the ball is at if the rudder is in trim. A fixed rudder roll is a coordinated rudder!! :music_whistling:

It was a large part of ETO medium bomber force in 1944.

I had a big screen freeze online that went from cockpit at 2 KM to burning funeral pyre at the dirt barrier. Screen locked up for 10 seconds!!

Which is why we need bombers!! Give it a chance. I am really looking forward to the P-47, too. I don't think it will be "outlcassed" in every way by the Bf-109 anymore so than it was in 1944. It is going to be a fun and challenging aircraft to master and the best ground pounder in the game, IMHO. Have faith that Yo-Yo will continue to deliver high fidelity, accurate, FM's. :thumbup:

Thanks for the feed back Yo-Yo! :thumbup:

Dave Southwood was an experienced and trained test pilot. It seems highly unlikely he would make that mistake. It seems far more likely his statement is misinterpreted by us.

His anecdote does match pretty closely measured performance of the Bf-109E series. As for the "without rudder".... That statement is puzzling because that would make the test invalid for comparison with measured roll rates. It would be meaningless data and it is impossible that it would be better than measure coordinated roll rate. Are you sure "without rudder" does not mean without excess rudder....in other-words a correctly done coordinated roll. I have seen others on different forums confuse the term "rudder fixed" thinking it meant "without rudder" when it in fact means coordinated rudder usage.

Rudder usage is extremely important to roll performance. Try it with coordinated rudder usage.

I want a flare gun in the Dora!! :mad:

Nice flying! Reminds me of the "old pilots and bold pilots"... :)

It was a known issue as gavagai points out.

Ok, In testing the Dora's climb rate, there were issues with the F2 values in the game.

He may not have fixed it yet then. It is strange that the Indicated airspeed read in the cockpit exactly matches the real aircraft when the Position Error Correction is applied. Even playing with CEC and PEC I can't get it outside the 3% tolerance.

His airspeed indicator was reading 350 mph IAS...watch the track.

348 mph IAS + 12 mph PEC = 360mph TAS 4/364 = 1.1% error That is excellent agreement with known data.

The turtledeck has a lower drag signature than the bubble canopy of the D model. The P-51D is not quite as fast.

Escort Mission vs Bombing (wing racks), strafing (maybe wing racks), and rodeo (probably wing racks)...

What do you think I am opposing?

Most....most.....of us know what he meant and did not take the interpretation so literally. To imply the P51D using 100/150 Octane normally flew around in clean configuration is just not true. As an outlier you might find a clean configuration P-51D using 100/150 octane. About 10%-20% of the mission of the 8th USAAF fighter group were other than long range escort. Of those 10% a significant number still required long range drop tanks to be mounted or wing ordinance. It is tough to have a ground attack mission without mounting the hard-points. So, I really fail to your point.

Here is the Flugzuegmuster for the Me-410 and Schußwaffen anlage! I would love to see one modeled to DCS standards. Not before a B-26 though!! :music_whistling:

No, he was correct. He did not imply they could not be removed. He simply stated a fact that the racks were required for a vast majority of the missions the aircraft were asked to perform.

Yes, they were changed based on mission profile. How complicated that was depends on the specifics of the aircraft equipment and type of drop tank to be used. Removing the racks and fairing is possible and not a relatively big job. The maintenance manual has detailed instructions for the different types of sway bars and pads required for the various types of drop tanks. At it's simplest, It involves ~20 bolts (rack and fairings) and unplugging the electrical harness. That is just if you are going to take them off. Changing ordinance or fuel tanks is more involved.

I can't wait.....ohh the strafing runs with 8 .50 calibers spitting hot lead!!