Finally, after years (8? 10?) of OFF/WOFF I am finally going to give the Fokker DVII career a spin.
Perhaps hard to believe but I have never flown this plane.
With that said I can give “combat advice” on most planes but not this one of course.
I find combat flying a combination of what your good at vs what your opponent is not. So...in looking at my probable opponents:
Sopwith Camel: Take advantage of my speed to kind of “boom and zoom?” No turn fighting?
Se5a/Spad XIII: Not sure. Don’t think the DVII is faster and probably not a better diver. A climb and turn style of fighting? Guessing I am more maneuverable and not toooooo much slower?

Hey, Duke, here's a challenge where half of us flew the DVII (not me, unfortunately) and the other half flew the Se5a. I know that there are some good videos in there and I think some tips as well...might be worth a look...

Thanks!
I do remember the event (but usually don’t participate as my stick time is so sketchy) but didn’t realize we have videos.
I will check it out. Hopefully the ones of the victors!

Duke

Jump to page 14 in above link. That's where voids start to show up.

D.VII combat tips? It's the best plane in WW1, I hate to say it but...

GIT GUD

“GIT GUD?”
Well that sounds “GUD” but what am I getting good at?
“...best plane?” We will see. Many factors that make something the “best” in real life at a certain time don’t transfer to a video game and vice versa. The Sopwith Triplane comes to mind if my reading is correct. Great in the game but in real life with maintenance issues that prevented it from being used and produced more.

Oh. And thanks Robert.

Where are you struggling? Be specific.

Hehe. I have yet to fly it sir as per my first post!
Guess I was looking for something BEFORE I struggled at 10,000 feet.
I’ll figure it out once I see (and feel) performance stats for me (DVII) vs my erstwhile opponents - the Camel, Spad, and Se5a. Thanks though.

Just fly real close to the other guy and make the bang bang with the guns.

The D.VII Is good at everything. Roll, climb, turn. She's a pilto's dream.

S!

Good job you got an expert to explain everything in detail Duke!

Hehe.
With that tutelage I am locked and cocked!
Pour Le Merite here I come.

And if not, I can find a place for your pilot in the Roucourt mod cemetery!

Don’t jinx me!

Haha, Robert can probably arrange to have your own custom gravestone added to one of his superb airfield mods. Just let him know what you'd like.

I suspect after 8 years of WOFF’ing I already have plenty of gravesites scattered about thank you very much!

It's too bad the Sopwith Triplane didn't get a chance to mix with the Fokker D-VII because the 'Tripehound' would have had them for breakfast, lunch and supper! That's my opinion and I'm sticking with it!

Well you have a point in turn fighting, but the tripe would suffer from lack of air speed. The D-VII could run away or stay at his own choice, and boom and zoom would make things dicey.

Ah, but the Tripehound would have been upengined, if the Camel hadn't come along. Nevertheless, it still would have been at a speed disadvantage, though likely not climb, something like the DrI
Cheers,
shredward

Nah! The two craft have very similar speeds according to some of the books I have at hand. The Fokker might have a better Vne for diving (your 'boom and zoom') and maybe the ones with higher compression engines will be a little faster but I'd wager the Tripe would 'put a hurt' on it if it tried to get away! The Fokker better hope it gets some good shots in initially! Whenever I fly the Fokker Triplane against SPADs the SPAD can get away but not without getting a tail full of lead! It's all fun!

When I fly the Dr.1 I find my best escape is a corkscrew climb.

And, if we are offering up opinions, I suspect the DVII would have ate the Sop/Tri for breakfast.
I think the (apparent) respect the Germans had for the Sopwith, while flying their early Albs, gives a bit of a distorted notion as to the Sopwiths overall combat performance.

I flew 'Quick Combat' with the Tripehound vs. the D-VII. The craft are fairly evenly matched. In the Tripehound I can stay above the D-VII but it is difficult to go in after the D-VII because it is a little faster. If I reverse roles the Tripehound AI won't use the benefit of it's ability to climb and I eventually bag the Tripehound! It would be interesting to have two 'human' players go against each other! So... if 'mano-a-mano' the the D-VII pilot needs to get a head on burst into the Tripehound ASAP and the Triplane needs to get a height advantage ASAP and try to wear the D-VII pilot down. I'll fly 'Quick Combat' a few more times to get the feel for it each way. Personally, I don't like the way the D-VII handles. I think the D-VIII 'Flying Razor' really sucks. The Fokker Drl is the best turn fighter of all and I think the SEs are the best all around fighters. I like flying the DH-5s and Pfalz birds the most because, as 'dogs' besting an enemy is an achievement worthy of note! The Hannover CL jobs are fun because they can be flown like fighters. Except for the Brisfit all the two seaters are prey!

Nice.
Will be anxious to hear the results of your further testing.

Fokker DVII vs Tripe...ummm, shouldn´t we add this difference to the equation?









+1

In the hands of even an adequate pilot the D.VII and its variants could eat anything and everything for breakfast. It was, by nearly all accounts, the best fighter/scout that saw combat service in the War.

Regarding the D.VII... an excerpt taken from an article on History.net about Ernst Udet.

"Despite the remarkable early successes of Operation Michael, which had seen German storm troopers advance up to 40 miles against the British and French, the war was still far from won. When Udet returned to his unit, the conflict was entering its last, dreadful months, which would see some of the most intense fighting of the entire war. His unit was now equipped with the formidable Fokker D.VII, the plane generally considered the finest fighter of WWI."

I remembering reading years ago that he described the D.VII as an aircraft that could make an average pilot into a high scoring ace in a matter of weeks.

OvS

And this, IMHO, is the most important part of the quote.
Besides the obvious ability of the DVII it not only was a very capable aircraft but it had no bad habits or vices that made it difficult to fly...or to get the best out of the aircraft. Ergo almost anyone who had a scarf and goggles could make the DVII a formidable foe - or so history reports. An important footnote in late war Germany where a multitude of factors prevented pilot training from being where the air service wished it would be.

And, of course, if you had the ability and a decent aircraft I think it is safe to say the Germans had a “target rich” enviorment over the front for the “average pilot to an ace” part. In fact if you read deeply into all the German pilots who had more then 5 victories (aces) it appears to my eye that the bulk came in mid-late 1918.

The later engined variants were what made the D-VII such a superior all around airplane. The D-VII didn't have any superior performance aspect other than its combined averages were better than most... rate of climb, Vne, Vmax, Vstall, etc. A SPAD may be faster but can't turn or climb as well, etc. Remember... pilots felt cheated if they didn't get the BMW powered version! There weren't very many of those to go around. A Mercedes D-VII climbs 10K feet in about 13'49" and the BMW one does this in 7' which is astounding! The Tripehound does this in just under 12' and this is an airplane designed almost 2 years earlier. This data is from some Datafiles on hand. This is only one variable under consideration. There are many others. Don't get me wrong... I think the D-VII is a good airplane but my impression is 'the media' have over-hyped its abilities. It makes for interesting research when you consider geo-political as well as psychological and economic factors. Plus... anything might be better than the tired Albi and Pfalz! I'm going to do some more 'Quick Combat' with the various craft. It's a great way to discover the strengths and weaknesses of these birds!!!

Quick and interesting read on the variations of the D.VII... I never knew the 'F' in D.VII(F) stood for the BMW designer's last name that designed the engine. I just thought it was a variation serial letter.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fokker_D.VII

Immelmann had a three gun Eindekker and we all know how that turned out!

So what you are trying to prove is that having more firepower shouldn´t be a factor to be taken into account in a dogfight?

I'm not trying to prove anything. One well placed bullet is all it takes! Fire power is great but weapons are heavy and increase complexity. Weight changes performance. Complexity in things increases chances of problems. Finding the elusive happy medium is key. Guynemer had a special SPAD that used Bleriot controls for a singular reason. On paper it was great but in actuality not so great! The Italians had a machine gun with an outrageous rate of fire but the calibre was ineffective. There isn't any right or wrong answer but sometimes people reach conclusions that might go against 'traditional' thought. Historiography is very exciting and I like to keep an open mind about historical events, places and the people who lived it and how they recorded it! That's why I'm not so enamored of the D-VII. It's a great airplane but its 'greatness' isn't on such a lofty plane in my mind as it is in others'. The Treaty of Versailles doesn't just single out the D-VII but the D-VII is the only one you hear about. It's all about historiography!