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| City: | Mahomet, Il.  | | Personal Data: | Male, born: August 15 1948 | | Membership | 21years 357days ago. | | Last Login | 6years 227days ago. | | Last Move | 11years 221days ago. | Phil Hall is currently  | Send a mail to Phil Hall |
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Hi Phil,
I once remeber that the ability of the aircraft is based on the following factor
1. statistic printed on books and reference. 2. quotes and experience from 'real' pilots
Did I miss something when you consider the ability of each individual plane. and also your comparision is based on a specific plane? or is it compared case by case. I means, did u take a standard plane, say se5a and then compare the speed and manuverability of every other plane with it. Or you a compare case by case and then do modification afterwards, (as in historical events, there is few data with a n17 fight with a Simen IV)
Regards
Parker
Yes, the Dr-I/Camel was the basic a/c The manuever schedule and stats were designed for them first, then the rest of the a/c were done adding or subtracting from the maneuver schedule according to the known abilities of the a/c under design. I actually came up with a formula that predicted the "nimbleness" of a/c based on several factors. It worked out quite well, except I can't find it anymore.
Anecdotal evidence was used when available. That was one other reason to use the more common a/c and those more written about. Von Richthofen tested both the Fokker D-VII and the Pfalz D-XII. His final word on them was that the D-VII was superior in the turns because the D-XII lost fifty feet of altitude in a 180 turn and would not turn as sharply as he D-VII. The odd left turn for the Pfalz D-III was mentioned by at least one German pilot who claimed he could snap turn left as sharply as a Triplane. The more common a/c such as the SPAD's and Camels had considerable stories describing their flight capabilities so were easier to do. There weren't many surprises except for the SE-5. It seemed to be a bit un-maneuverable for an a/c that did so much damage. Then you find that it wasn't the maneuverablity of it, but the squadron tactics used to make best use of the a/c. The British squadrons had only one shooter, the flight leader. Everyone else was there to keep the enemy off his back. Maneuver for a firing pass with everyone following the leader, leader makes the pass and everyone else keeps watch for the "Hun in the sun". These tactics were probably the reason there were "great aces" with many kills in a squadron and guys who look like they couldn't hit the side of a barn in months of flying. They may never have gotten the chance to mix it up with the enemy.
And all games are a compromises. BM's proof is it is still the most popular WWI air game in the world (pats self on back) and is still played when it's contemporaries are gathering dust on a shelf. Not many wargames of any kind from the 1980's are still around. To me that means the compromises worked for both the company and for the players. |
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