[2.9.8.1214] BDU-33, CBU-52 and/or TER drag incorrect

[Stickler]

Observe the attached screenshots and tracks.

With the following loadout (1), the maximum KTAS at approximately sea level on a standard day in military power is 538.

Conversely, the following loadout (2) yields a maximum KTAS of 563, which implies it has significantly less drag than loadout (1) in the game.

This cannot be correct since loadout (1) IRL has a drag index of 61, while loadout (2) has a drag index of 94.6. Loadout (2) having more drag is also visually obvious.

Note that the loadouts are identical except that the BDU-33 in loadout (1) have been replaced with a smaller number of CBU-52 in loadout (2), and that loadout (2) has a TER attached to the SWA on stations 2 and 8.

This leads me to believe that the culprit must be the BDU-33, CBU-52 or TER, with each or a specific combination of them having incorrectly modelled drag indices.

I would tend to surmise that loadout (1) has too much drag in-game rather than loadout (2) having too little since the RL T.O. 1F-4C-34-1-1 features ballistic tables for 8-bomb CBU-52 ripple releases with 500, 550 and 600 KTAS run-in speeds, which indicates that reaching 563 KTAS with 8 CBU-52s in military power was probably possible.

cbu-52.trk bdu-33.trk

Edited October 27, 2024 by Stickler