m10bob
Posts: 8622
Joined: 11/3/2002
From: Dismal Seepage Indiana
Status: offline
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Back around 1964, I read a Brit magazine on a monthly basis called FLYING REVIEW INTERNATIONAL. I was an aviation nut and learning to fly soon after this.
I became intrigued by accounts of this plane which (at the time) I had never heard of. The pics of the Buffalo looked like a flying barrel, and the exploits of Finn ace Eino Luukannen were very intrigueing!
I fell in love with the plane and began a study of it.
Different models of all American planes which were sold to other nations were equipped as those other nations requested.(In game, this explains different ranges and arms for the different mods of the same plane).
The Brit pilots fighting in Malaysia stated the plane was like trying to turn a rhinoceros on a slippery mud bank.The plane had a tendency to skid in a turn, which could be very fatal to a pilot being chased.
A fellow forum member has a Brit pilots statement in his posts which sez something like:"Bombers out-running fighters, you've got to f***ing well laugh". This was a moment of angst concerning the slow speed of the Buffalo compared to the sometimes faster Japanese bombers, already at altitude.
As for Curtiss planes, they all had a superior rate of roll, (the ability to initiate a turn and change direction of momentum), but the wing to power ratio and the planes' actual stall speed are what determine *how long* the plane can continue a turn.
Once a plane, in a turn, reaches its' stall speed, the pilot must choose to end his turning, or put the nose down to increase speed.
If he fails to do either, the plane stalls on its' own. If he ends his turning, the following enemy plane with a better turning ability is still there,turning, and firing at an "easy target".
Non pilots have a difficult time understanding the concept of these physical forces which determine a planes ability to turn. Not so much the speed of the plane, nor power of the engine, but how long it can turn before it stalls.
ALL planes lose speed in turns or climbs..
ALL planes approach stall speed in turns and sustained climbs,(the latter dependent on angle of climb.)
When a plane stalls, it actually can reach a speed of "ZERO" momentarily, (especially if stick pulled back for an intentional hammerhead stall), which with a sideslip is a great way to lose altitude quickly, and allow a following enemy to zip past and over you.
I personally believe the Buffalos in-game are pretty well represented..
IRL the Nates, Claudes, Zekes and Oscars could all "out-turn" a Buffalo.
The Americans had the worst of the bunch, because they had armor, which increased the weight to power ratio, bringing stall at a higher speed than the "stripped" export models.
The trade off in a combat plane is armor or performance or tactics to avoid dogfighting entirely.
Generally, the lower the stall speed, the better it can turn.
The plane with a low stall speed, and still possess a good top speed, will nearly always be the best "dogfighter".
IIRC the Oscar and the A6m2 could hold flight at somewhere around 45-50 MPH, which is pretty damned slow...
< Message edited by m10bob -- 5/3/2007 2:40:19 PM >
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Bloody shambles ! - 
) I d like to see my brit buffaloes stand a chance and not fall like flies to the IJA and IJN without taking their toll on the latters. These fighters did have some armour removed and their 50.cal replaced by 303. MG, but according to documents, not all of them and not right from the beginning of the campaign. I won't discuss MNVR and speed and such things I have a hard time to understand how matrix and modders calculate this. Anyway ain't these a bit underated too? just asking ! 
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