The Zero's Maneuverability (4 Viewers)

[Ivan1GFP]

Hi Pat. I didn't call YOU arrogant. I said not flying their aircraft was militarily arrogant.

Again, flying their airplane to see what challenges it may present does not mean you want an Air Force of enemy-built airplanes and it has NOTHING whatsoever to do with the "design philosophy" or philosophy at all. It means you are looking to find out how their equipment flies so you can tell if your guys are in some trouble, are evenly-matched, or are over matched. The ONLY way to find out in WWII was to fly the enemy aircraft with pilots who had some test-flying experience and see.

Despite the sophistication of computer simulation today, the only way today to REALLY find out is still to fly it. You can get close with a sim, but you need the flight data points to program the sim. Gotta' fly it to get the data points, and you have to get points all over the flight envelope to do it justice. Just try flying the MS Flight Simulator P-51 to verify that part. It doesn't fly much like real P-51, which is strange. The C-172 is decently close except for the ability to fly inverted.

You might find this interesting but for some of the MS sims, a P-51 is just a highly modified 172.
Many of the data points are near impossible to find experimentally and one has to make assumptions based on pilot reports and analogies. It is hard to get reliable data on roll stability and pitch moments at AoA = 135 degrees for example. No one is about to fly a P-39 in high-G maneuvers with an intentional aft CG loading or try to make it tumble. Descriptions can be found in old pilot reports if you due your diligence.

 

[SaparotRob]

Wasn't there a test done, involving different ammo load-outs, trying to do just that? I'm sure that it is somewhere in the Groundhog thread.

 

[GrauGeist]

You really should read the thread. There is plenty of disagreement and explanations and optimal technique seems to vary with type.
Are you actually flying a P-51 or P-40, Corsair, Wildcat or 109?

I was taught by pilots who did fly P-40s, F4Us, Bf109s, P-51s and F4Fs in combat.

Their experience and advice gained from their days flying those types was directly passed on to me.

I don't need to read a discussion board or people's opinions regarding a subject about flying.