FC get-together: flippin' awesome!

[J5_Hotlead]

I won’t be able to make it this time. Also, Cuban + other Vintage Mission regulars expressed a desire that we not overlap the Vintage Missions as much. If we do a fly in today, perhaps bumping it to an hour later might be a good compromise?

[Vonrd]

No surprise to anybody; the thing was used in WWII by the "Night Witches" for night bombing and other roles.

 

But it's a biplane, it's a 2-seater, it's in FC, and it's all we got   

Even though it's a later plane it's in no way any better than the 2 seaters in ROF... it can just barely climb with a full bomb and 1/2 fuel load.

[=VS=emely]

 

But it's a biplane, it's a 2-seater, it's in FC, and it's all we got   

We will fight with the weapon that fate and circumstances have put in our hands :-)

[US103_Baer]

I missed the big FC flyin but have run up against Dudley, Butzzell and others on your excellent server recently.

 

Am finding the Spads run out of speed quite quickly, so the kind of close bnz/energy fighting you can get away with in RoF doesn't work so well. They feel nice, but it's a trap

 

A zoom up and over the top of an opponent has to have a ton of energy and be perfectly executed, otherwise you're stalling out before getting back in position and become prophang fodder. In RoF against the PD3 I'd be fairly confident doing it PvP, not so in FC.

 

Hit and runs with long extensions work fine but need special attention on opponent while still in gun range, as increased accuracy means they can fire longer range while you extend. Same issue when attempting to climb turn back at a distance.

 

Am liking the damage model in general. Good hits to vital areas do significant damage but you can put a lot of rounds into other areas without having much effect. That seems logical.

 

On the whole I see we will have to relearn (or unlearn) a number things to be effective, but that's fine.

 

Naturally I do hope Spad speeds and climb rates are modelled well as it's the only claws they have. I won't mention how nice it would be to have a 235hp engine version too

[IRFC Hawkeye]

Concerning the U-2VS, I think it's a great stand-in for 2-seaters in FC at this time.  It's amazing a WWII era plane with this level of performance even exists; it's too bad only one side has such a plane available.  For those who haven't tried it, it is very WWI-like in it's performance; actually early WWI.  I think it has some great qualities, such as very good maneuverability if not overloaded, and good weapons options.  I did start some limited testing just to get an idea of how it lines up with other WWI 2-seaters.  Some intangible qualities that it has are good durability of the engine and airframe, and nice, modern instrumentation, along with the very good low-speed maneuverability.

 

One thing that is surprisingly bad on it is the very limited range of movement of the rear gun.  Unfortunately it can't shoot anywhere near 90 degrees out to each side, and it only elevates enough to fire just a little higher than the top of the rudder.  When piloting this plane, you are really going to have to be skillful in order to give your rear gunner a viable shot.

 

The available front gun (free firing, lower right wing mounted with 400 rounds) could be very effective since it has an outstanding rate of fire.  However being only a single gun it is not that useful against hardened ground targets.

 

The 5-cylinder radial engine is only ("not less than") 125 HP at ground level.  However it has none of the rotational effects of a rotary which enhances it's maneuverability.  Basically that's F.E.2b level power and a little more, but in a plane that most likely weighs more.

 

The following figures are for the U-2VS configured with no bombs, front and rear guns installed, and 12% (20+ minutes) fuel load.

 

Fuel required for 20 minutes:  ~12%

Optimum mixture at ground level:  100% (Full rich)

Optimum mixture at 1,000 m:  100% (Full rich)

Best climb speed:  90-95 Kph indicated

Climb time to 1,000 m:  7 minutes, 30 seconds

Speed at 1,000 m:  132 Kph indicated

 

Of course the game gives a lot of info too, but the range of performance is quite varied due to it's low power and many load variations.  One needs to configure the plane with only what it needs to accomplish it's mission, and nothing more, in order to get the best out of it.

 

S!