CFS3 and the Firepower add-on is some of the best gaming I've had in a long time.

The Americans have landed at Calais (like the Germans always suspected) and we're having better luck in the Low Countries than north central France. My P-47D squadron is pounding German positions, and they're pushing south to Paris and west into Spain.

I am loving this campaign stuff. I'm building up enough war material for another push south, I have about 1 day's worth right now. Trying to buy more time.

Too bad someone can't save a campaign as a file, email it to someone, let them play on it for a while, then send their saved results back to you, and so on.

It's fun stuff, ya'll. Get it while you still can.

pfunk

It's comments like this that degrade the credibility of SimHQ... It's up to you SimHQ!!!!

Mizzy

I agree this is always a fun one to come back to PFunk.


Oh and Mizzy ...you cant be serious...?

Mizzy maybe its people like YOU that degrade the credibility of SimHQ. I suspect you are just a troublemaker, possibly an IL2 fanboy using a different nick than the one you usually go by, just to take a swipe at someone that likes CFS

Relax, flak. We can take the slings and arrows from some miserable little doofus.

My favorite aircraft right now has to be the P-47D-25. I've got the Sybex manual and it says to stay away from the P-38 unless it's the J-model. Anything to that or is the writer just biased against it?

pfunk

The J & L are the pick of the litter. If the models are well done they will definatly outperform the earlier versions.

They're the updated versions, courtesy of the Firepower add-on. That mean anything?

pfunk

Not to me, never bothered much with the FP stuff.

FirePower doesn't touch the P-38s. It does not affect the FMs/DMs of the stock stuff (except the Ho-229 as I recall). The Sybex manual isn't written with the FirePower add-on in mind anyhow.

I don't know why Sybex recommends against the P-38L -- historically, wasn't it an improved version over the J model? I think it had flaps to prevent compression in dives. I can't remember for sure, but I think in the game they have different rocket loadouts. The stock game only has the J and L models, so basically the manual is telling you to never upgrade from the J model.

The L is for all intents & purposes a J with some additional horsepower.

All P-38Js retained the V-1719-89/91 engines of the P-38Hs, but their more efficient cooling installations enabled military rating at 27,000 feet to be increased from 1240 to 1425 hp, while at that altitude war emergency rating was 1600 hp.

The P-38L was powered by 1475 hp Allison V-1710-111/113 engines with a war emergency rating of 1600 hp at 28,700 feet and a military rating of 1475 hp at 30,000 feet.

If the book is recommending against an L its wrong. You will not see much if any difference in the way these two versions fly & fight.

BTW the L was the most produced version of the P-38

The funny thing is historically the P-38s were just a footnote to the ETO, the PTO is where they were really used a lot.
I use them for ground attack only pretty much. Use them against bombers in a pinch, but when facing fighters I find the Knights of the Roundtable to be in agreement with me: "Run away!"



The Jedi Master

Yeah, I went ahead and procured the P-38J early, using my prestige points (the campaign's going pretty well, we accomplished an invasion of France a full year earlier) and I've been playing around with it.

First thing I noticed, at full speed, the pitch rate is still awesome, but you can't roll her for love nor money. After the attack, I do some vertical evasive moves but mostly I'm trying to leave in a hurry. And she will leave in a hurry.

I also noticed she's a gas hog. Two engines will do that, I guess.

However, I've gotten into some aerial combat with fighters and the few lucky shots I've gotten, I've batted them out of the sky with a very quick burst. One thing about her, her speed will let me close up so near to them, I can read their squadron markings and the crew chief's name on the fuselage. A short squeeze of the trigger and he's toast. But God help me in a turning fight. I've gotten pummeled by Bf-109s. JM's right. Maybe a quick, slashing attack or two, but then get the hell out of Dodge.

pfunk

The P-38J-25-LO production block added power-boosted ailerons. This made the P-38 one of the fastest, if not the fastest, rolling US fighters.

The handling is much better at angels 10 or below, I've noticed. At high altitudes, one millimeter too much input on the stick and she's in a stall.

But she's a lot of fun to fly. I may have to try out the P-51B soon, just for fun.

pfunk

I think the main problem is I don't believe CFS3 models the turbochargers the P-38 had in reality. It shouldn't be much of a gas hog, though, as it was used in the ETO in the early days because of its large (at the time) range. Better than the P-47 or any of the British planes. It was the P-51B that really made the escorting inroads.



The Jedi Master

If you think CFS3 is a gem, then you better get this -

http://www.medairwar.com/

10th of June is going to be a big day.

Cool! It's about time someone did the MTO.

pfunk

You got Mudpond's stock flight model mod? Firepower doesn't improve the stock flight models.

"miserable little doofus" what?? Nooo no not miserable over a computer game, especially a poor computer game!!

funky lad, this forum ain't the most popular is it?

Btw I am not new to flight simulations whatsoever, I even remember "Crash" crenshaw being the big Cahoona at SimHQ,

hey I even remember how SimHQ got popular round about 2000 A.D.:)

Remember combatsim.com trying to make money out of their popularity? What a disaster period.

anyway, no I am not new to the scene as it were or even changed my name (you can fine me on Lock On, simviation, flightsim, etc...) on various forums and some with photos of me (aviation/simulation related).

Mizzy

sorry to burst your bubble, but SimHQ is not the only website dedicated to flight sims...
Anyway, thanks for contributing : I can see you have four posts, two of them in the cfs3 section. You're really interested in this sim, aren't you?