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How about the big bombers? Anyone got the limits for the B-24, B-17?
Great thread on fighter plane dive limits. How about the big bombers?
Anyone got the limits for the B-24, B-17?
There's a lot of confusion: Some of the dive figures indicate around 0.60-0.62 mach, however 415 mph indicated at 25,000 feet indicate almost mach 0.84Dive limits for the P-61.
So far, from analyzing everything I got the following except the Fw-190 because my table only works in increments of 2,500 feet and that doesn't perfectly work out for metric
Chance Vought F4U
I'd almost swear I remember hearing that it started to run into problems at 0.73...
- 275 KIAS @ 30,000 ft: Mach 0.706*
- 307 KIAS @ 25,000 ft: Mach 0.711*
- 340 KIAS @ 20,000 ft: Mach 0.715*
- 375 KIAS @ 15,000 ft: Mach 0.721*
- 390 KIAS @ 10,000 ft: Mach 0.689*
- 410 KIAS @ Sea-Level: Mach 0.6198*
De Havilland Mosquito
FB.VI Airspeed Limits
Overall Mach Limits
- No external ordinance or tanks: 450 mph / 390 kts
- External tanks: 400 mph / 388 kts
- External ordinance/External fuel tanks half empty/Bomb-Door limit: 350 mph / 304 knots
Hawker Tempest Mk.V
- Mach 0.75: Placard Limit
- Mach 0.77: Maximum attempted
The plane's aerodynamic limit in wind-tunnel tests was 0.83, so it came pretty close to the potential
- 370 mph indicated @ 30,000 ft: Mach 0.823*
- 410 mph indicated @ 25,000 ft: Mach 0.823*
- 450 mph indicated @ 20,000 ft: Mach 0.823*
- 490 mph indicated @ 15,000 ft: Mach 0.819*
- 540 mph indicated @ 10,000 ft: Mach 0.829*
Bell P-63A
De Havilland Sea Hornet
- 525 mph indicated @ Sea-Level: Mach 0.69*
- 500 mph indicated @ Sea-Level - 10,000 ft: Mach 0.657 - 0.768*
- 450 mph indicated @ 10,000 - 15,000 ft: Mach 0.691 - 0.752*
- 400 mph indicated @ 15,000 - 20,000 ft: Mach 0.669 - 0.732*
- 350 mph indicated @ 20,000 - 25,000 ft: Mach 0.64 - 0.705*
- 300 mph indicated @ 25,000 - 30,000 ft: Mach 0.604 - 0.669*
- 250 mph indicated @ 30,000 - 35,000 ft: Mach 0.558 - 0.621*
- 350 KIAS @ 5,000 - 10,000 ft: Mach 0.571 - 0.618*
- 340 KIAS @ 10,000 - 20,000 ft: Mach 0.600 - 0.715*
- 260 KIAS @ 20,000 - 30,000 ft: Mach 0.547 - 0.667*
- 260 KIAS @ 30,000 - 41,500 ft: Mach 0.667 - 0.832*, **
Footnotes
*: Mach number is based on a table I have and rounded to the third digit
**: The aircraft only goes up to 41,500 feet if I recall and I have 40000 and 45,000 feet.
That's right, even the prototype couldThe F-86??
I think you might be mixing up several eventsA Spit once hit 0.92 but lost it's prop doing it and the pilot only recovered control after loosing thousands of feet of altitude. And then climbing thousands of feet due to being tail heavy
It's honestly a good question who did break the sound-barrier first: Honestly I wouldn't be shocked if an Me-262 pilot did it in April 1945
Most us would be shocked, Much like the bent and battered Spitfire any 262 that got that close to the sound barrier would have gone into lawn dart mode.It's honestly a good question who did break the sound-barrier first: Honestly I wouldn't be shocked if an Me-262 pilot did it in April 1945
Chuck Jaeger did. A Grand slam bomb which was basically an aerofoil weighing 10 tons didn't go supersonic dropped from 18,000 feet. The sound barrier is like an exponent, the closer you get to it the harder it is to get even closer and still harder to pass it. At my fittest I could run 100m in 12 seconds, some fast soccer players can do it in 10.5 seconds, the best sprinters go under ten seconds, how close are they to Usain Bolt at his best? In practice, not close at all, that last half second means they don't make the photo finish. Mach 0.9 or 0.94 in a dive measured by a pitot tube, is actually not even close.It's honestly a good question who did break the sound-barrier first: Honestly I wouldn't be shocked if an Me-262 pilot did it in April 1945
Okay, to be clear -- we're talking manned vehicles: Bullets have been going supersonic since the start of the 20th century if not earlier...Most us would be shocked
I'm just basing it on a claim that a pilot made back in 1945 involving a mach-jump effect he noted (well he noted the speed gauge hovered for awhile then increased), when it was discussed in the subject of supersonic flight, he mentioned the matter and with everything said he speculated he might have went through.any 262 that got that close to the sound barrier would have gone into lawn dart mode. The plane would have been uncontrollable by the pilot and either crashed or broken up in flight before actually making a sonic boom.
And in level flight, which is still a bonus point.Chuck Jaeger did.
The idea was to drop it from 40,000 or 45,000 feet initiallyA Grand slam bomb which was basically an aerofoil weighing 10 tons didn't go supersonic dropped from 18,000 feet.
Actually the 0.94 figure was done with elaborate atmospheric testing equipment (remember how I said it was being used?), though this was in 1952.Mach 0.9 or 0.94 in a dive measured by a pitot tube, is actually not even close.
My point was that it had no appendages at all apart from 4 comparatively minute tail fins. If it was an aircraft with wings, a tail and pilot dropped from 40,000ft by the time it reached 20,000 ft it would have to be pulling out because it weighs ten tons.The idea was to drop it from 40,000 or 45,000 feet initially
Actually the 0.94 figure was done with elaborate atmospheric testing equipment (remember how I said it was being used?), though this was in 1952.
Actually the 0.94 figure was done with elaborate atmospheric testing equipment (remember how I said it was being used?), though this was in 1952.