Optimal cruise speeds

[Tenkom]

Will there be a submenu of sorts that gives information on stuff like opt. mach, altitude for max endurande/max range etc. like the viper and hornet has? 

And in the meantime. are there any rules of thumb about this? 

[SloppyDog]

37 minutes ago, Tenkom said:

Will there be a submenu of sorts that gives information on stuff like opt. mach, altitude for max endurande/max range etc. like the viper and hornet has? 

And in the meantime. are there any rules of thumb about this? 

About a sub menu that calculates this things, well, I don't know abou these in real life. Maybe someone with more knowledge can help you out. 

From what I've seen in interviews and podcasts, the 'E' is a transition from the analog world to the digital world, and many calculations like fuel consumption and optimal cruise speeds were made manually, unless such menus were added later on.

Anyway, from my experience, at high altitude, inbound or outbound the target area, I usually cruise about 400 kts. I saw a former pilot saying that is where the Mudhen likes to be. So, I use it, and it gives me a fairly decent fuel consumption: not many endurance, but a good range, since the E goes fast, even loaded to bear. For CAS at high altitude, then I usually goes at 350 kts in order to maintain the pod unmasked up to the last moment.

And ingress, attack, and egress, at low altitude, using TFR, I go usually at 550 knots. This gives me about one hour over enemy territory, more than enough to get in, make the run, and get out. Of course, you better be prepared to find a tanker or divert after that.

If you need to be a long time over enemy territory flying low, then I go 450 knots. It gives me much more time, and at Pre-IP, I speed up to 550 kts for the attack run. And by long time I mean 90 minutes. Again, after that, you better find a tanker.

Well, that sums it up: and that's why I love the Mudhen. You can be one hour over enemy territory, carrying a full complement of Mk-82's and two fuel tanks, flying very low and very fast, with the engines at 85-90% all the time. The only thing I miss is a auto-throttle of some sorts to help out. 

TL; DR:

High altitude: 400 kts

High altitude CAS; 350 kts

Low time over enemy territory: 550 kts

High time over enemy territory: 450 kts

 

 

 

 

[Ignition]

I don't know exactly how it is displayed but in the Engine page there will be some info.

Depends on the loadout but around 5000-5400 FF per engine is good for cruise.

[Swift.]

Fly the AOA:

Max range:
14.0 AOA <25,000ft
14.5 AOA >25,000ft

Max Endurance:
18.0 AOA <25,000ft
18.5 AOA >25,000ft

[Tenkom]

Ok. since there were so many different answers I did some testing:

30000ft heavy weight(2 bags 4 120s 9 gbu12s tpod)

TAS  kg/km AoA
552 9,106 14,8
536 7,967 15,0
501 7,724 15,6
452 7,775 16,9

light weight(jettisoned all the stuff, tpod remaining

TAS  kg/km AoA
588 9,002 13,5
506 5,626 14,5
457 5,548 15,5
421 5,494 16,5

25000ft heavy(same as 30000ft heavy)

TAS  kg/km AoA
571 11,607 13,7
515 8,551 14,4
465 8,514 15,4
425 8,478 16,5
390 9,011 17,7

Because I'm a dummy I forgot that there are two engines. so all the values under kg/km needs to be doubled for true consumption.

But the conclusion seems to be AoA 16,5 is a good place to be. And also fly as high as you can while maintaining that AoA.

Edited February 1 by Tenkom

[BigBorner]

vor 12 Minuten schrieb Tenkom:

But the conclusion seems to be AoA 16,5 is a good place to be

That is also in my "I steal everything Notso says" Kneeboard. 

[Swiso]

Maybe this doc is helpful:

https://www.digitalcombatsimulator.com/en/files/3332543/

[Q3ark]

On 2/1/2024 at 12:01 PM, BigBorner said:

That is also in my "I steal everything Notso says" Kneeboard. 

I hope he puts more videos out soon, his stuff is great.