The P-38 Lightning
Here is a masterful lecture by “Sensei” Vortex on flying and fighting Air Warrior’s P-38 Lighting. This piece was actually an extended e-mail sent by Vortex to the rest of the squad as part of an ongoing discussion on piloting tips for the P-38. Thus, it’s presented here without little editing, to preserve its original intent. Note that despite its original devotion to the Air Warrior environment, in this piece, as with most of our training articles, the basic concepts and techniques should be easily adaptable to any air combat game that realistically models flight dynamics and physics, such as Aces High II (AHII) or World War II Online (WWIIOL). This piece should be required reading for ALL aspiring online air combat enthusiasts. This is advanced material that presumes the readers familiarity with basic air combat maneuvering and jargon.The P-38 Lightning
OK, let me see what I can put together for you guys. Here goes (takes deep breath)..
Flap Usage: Probably the single most important aspect of flying this plane effectively. Since the 38’s flaps generate lift (this is unique in Air Warrior, or at least the degree of lift they generate is) they’re a huge asset in any fight. Quite frankly I’m all over the flaps when fighting in this plane, rarely leaving them at one setting for anything more than a few seconds.
The first notch of flaps is a great asset when you’re in the 150-200 kts. range. Much above that and I find that you start to suffer the effects of mild compression with a notch extended. Besides, at the higher speeds strategic use of the airbrake will do far more good than any flap setting. More on that later though. One notch will tighten your turn radius quite substantially while in the proper a/s envelope. Whenever I come over the top of a loop in a slow, nose high fight, I make sure to retract the flaps back to this setting ASAP. This allows me to regain a/s whilst still maintaining that maneuvering edge.
The middle two settings are ranges that I rarely stay at for very long. They’re helpful in getting you over the top of a loop while still conserving a bit more E than full flap. Quite frankly though, I find that once I get consistently below that 150 kts. range you’re better going full flap. This really tightens the turn radius.
Also worth noting, any time my nose goes low I work the flaps back a notch or two to help regain some airspeed. This might only be for an instant before I extend them again to the previous setting, but every little bit helps. Accordingly, about all I hear when fly’n the 38 is the flaps in motion…they don’t sit in one position for long.
Full flaps are crucial if you’re working the vertical. They can significantly extend your ability to stay in a nose high position. Again, this gets back to the issue of lift, and this is where you’ll really gain the angles on your quarry. There isn’t a plane in the game that can keep up with a well flown 38, at mid alts, that’s working the vertical well and getting the most out of the flaps.
Stability: This seems to be one of the most frequent complaints about the 38; when it gets slow, it’s quite unstable. This is true, and you really need to be gentle with it. Unlike an F6 or 109 you can’t force this plane around at all once you get close to stall speed. When you get down around 75 ias and your trying to get the nose over the top, try to just gently coax the planes nose down. Avoid any side-to-side or extreme rudder input.
Instead, you basically need to let the plane’s nose fall back over with a limited amount of input on your part. Especially avoid any aileron deflection here, that’ll throw you into a spin quite quickly I find.
If, alternatively, you’re in a flat horizontal turn fight, primarily down low, it’s always a good idea to get the fight oscillating. What I mean here is that if you were to draw a line of your flight path as you make that circle, it would look more like a wave pattern of peaks and valleys rather than simply a flat oval. These slight climbs and descents really work the fight back into where the 38 is best.
This takes a bit of practice though, because those nose high turns take a delicate touch, but once you can keep it in the flight envelope you’ll find that it performs them extremely well due to the extra lift generated by the fully extended flaps. More importantly, as you point the nose down and retract the flaps to the first or second notch (depending on the speed you regain), you’ll really find yourself getting inside the enemas turn circle. The 38 turns extremely well nose low with a notch or two of flaps. In a simple flat turn you will be at a disadvantage at the lower alts. Quite a few planes can get inside you in this situation.
Brakes: Use em, a lot! The 38’s air brakes are what really make it an excellent high speed killer. It doesn’t matter what you’re fighting, Zekes to P-51’s, they’re all vulnerable if the airspeed is up around 200 ias +. My personal preference is to try to limit my brake usage to when I’m coming around the bottom of the arc tracking a target. As my target just starts to work back towards the vertical is when I find brakes are best applied. The reasons for this is pretty straightforward actually.
This is the point where most other planes can do very little to slow down, they’re basically at the peak of their acceleration in the maneuver and as they start to bring the nose up to get back into the vertical the last thing they’ll be thinking of is bleeding a/s… they’ll want to carry all they’ve got. In dropping that 25 kts. or so you can quickly get your nose inside his and line up a nice six shot as he works back into the vertical and over the top. Bring in a notch or two of flaps at this point to add a bit more lift and you can likely follow him all the way over… poking holes in him all the way. This is an excellent way to get quick kills in a high speed fight.
Also nose low fights are ideal for brakes usage. Just the attitude of the planes indicates they’ll be building up a/s, and if you can shed a bit of yours quickly it can quite often bring you around for a quick kill shot. Note: Try not to use breaks if you’re really low. They’re a great tool if you’ve got some alt to use (just in case you screw up :-), but 500 ft is the last place you want to bleed any a/s. Stick solely to the flaps down low.
Typically I don’t ride the brakes for long. A second or two is usually all you need. This will vary of course depending upon airspeed, but as a general rule you don’t need to dump a lot of speed to get inside of someone.
Altitude: The 38, IMO, is the best fighter in the game between 5-15k. Nothing short of a Zeke will turn inside it, or stay with it in the vertical. Get above 20k though and it’s instability while slow seems to become amplified 10 fold. Down below 5k its certainly no slouch, but you’ll need to employ a few tricks (good flap usage, brakes, etc) to gain the advantage. So if you can it’s always better to look for the higher fights if at all possible.
The Vertical: Over the years I’ve heard folks comment that the 38 is a real dog in the vertical. Personally, I disagree. It’s one of it’s real strengths as I see it. Once you get a feel for its departure characteristics and don’t try to force it around when its slow, the vertical becomes a great tool. About the only plane I would suggest you not play vertical games with is a 109. Their stability in a nose high attitude combined with their ROC makes those sorts of moves pretty dangerous.
Hanging on your prop is an excellent tactic for the 38, preferable to rope-a-dopes for drawing a bandit in. The problem with ropes is that you’re flirting with that aileron deflection at slow speeds; i.e. you’re tempting a potential spin. Certainly they can be done, but they’re a bit tricky.
Hanging on your prop, however, only requires elevator deflection to bring the nose around and this is a far more stable control input for the plane. I use full flaps once the a/s drops below about 100-125 kts. when doing this, and just get the nose straight up.
Nose Low Turns: I’ve found the 38 to be the best in the biz for these, but only if you’re using the brakes and flaps to your advantage. A quick pump of the brakes combined with a notch of flaps can get you inside most planes if you’re in nose low turn.
The Quick Kill: In a nutshell, Be Aggressive! The 38 is at its best I find if you’re forcing the fight and really driving for the kill. This was always a cornerstone to the way DD flew the 38, and it was a good part of what made him so effective in it. A combination of smart brake usage and good flap control can quite often end a knife fight before the bad guy gets much beyond his opening move. Now I don’t mean do silly things like squander huge E-advantages or the like. Just don’t be afraid to use those brakes and flaps, and bleed some E to drive for that quick shot. You’ll find once you start setting them up properly you’ll end up with some sweet firing solutions right in tight on his 6. They’re usually dead before they’ve got a chance to react.
Optimum Indicated Air Speed (IAS): Quite honestly, if there is one, I haven’t found it yet. This plane is really good from about 250 kts. on down. With the use of the brake at the higher speeds and the flaps at the lower end of the curve, there isn’t much of the flight envelope where this thing can’t be effective. That’s a big part of the appeal I guess.
Well, that was certainly a mouthful. Hope it helps a bit. If there’s parts here that are unclear let me know. I threw this together without much of a proof read so I’m not sure how it all came together.
–)–Vortex—-
