Aircraft altitude speed info request

[RichardAckermann]

I intent to revert from using manueverability in favor of speed the AC reached at the 5 altitude levels.
Is there any online site where to find the pacific aircraft speed performance at the various altitudes?

[adarbrauner]

And how do you plan to enforce different speed levels into the game's mechanic, if at all?

[RichardAckermann]

I am running my own game engine. I am using the WITP AE altitude values to scale the speed, but the results do not please me. The percentual power of some of the craft seem to be too high, like the A6M3 over the A6M2. Rather big boost. The Oscar high alt performance seems to be overpowered as well, compared to the Frank.

So I would like to rework the values but so far I have to "guess" the speed.

[decourcy2]

For the Allied aircraft the numbers are easy to come by, but for Japanese aircraft often impossible.

[RichardAckermann]

Then I will start with the allies. Where can I find those?

[decourcy2]

http://www.wwiiaircraftperformance.org/
Try this for a start, but b prepared to read!

[RichardAckermann]

Thanks for the link. I'll dig into it.

[m10bob]

I learned to fly a Piper J-3 "Cub" when I was still in high school in the sixties.
Beyond that, my actual flying time is likely much less than the average private pilot, and certainly nothing compared to some "stove jockeys" on this forum, (Elf immediately comes to mind)..

That said, I have also tried my hand at designing wargames, aviation related from the cardboard days.
You can find a formula of your own for the speed of aircraft if you can calculate the square footage of wing surface and divide it by the power of the engine.
(Wight to power ratio is also calculated to your formula but it has been over 30 years since I developed my numbers.
Too, you must calculate the environment of the location your planes are flying in, the air itself may be
more 'rarified" in different locales.
The less molecules of air to sustain lift will favor a higher wing surface.

As you can see, when dealing with the thousands of planes in the game, you can see your research would be calculated in years, not days, if done to the "nth" degree of accuracy.

Too, the type of carburation in rarified oxygen environment comes into play as well, as in the case of the P-39 which had no supercharger on their Allisons, limiting their practical use to 10k or less.

I know for a fact if you look in the forum notes of the original WITP, you will see a thread I started for researchers, and one of the internet threads within that forum topic will take you directly to the formulas to calculate what you seek.

BTW, I use Firefox for my browser, and it offers a really nice app called "Ghostery" which will even locate internet sites which have been inactive for years!..(Nothing is completely deleted from the internet), perhaps something our governments should learn, lol)

[RichardAckermann]

Thanks for your input. I will try to find the old topic.
I actually have some problems developing a combat mechanism that produces "desireable" results based on actual data.

Really very difficult to express reality in a game. The more I work on it, the more I am astonished how well WITP AE does this.

[m10bob]

ORIGINAL: RichardAckermann

Thanks for your input. I will try to find the old topic.
I actually have some problems developing a combat mechanism that produces "desireable" results based on actual data.

Really very difficult to express reality in a game. The more I work on it, the more I am astonished how well WITP AE does this.

The people who designed the game were not amateurs.

The folks behind the AE version have been considered the 'cream of the cream".
"The Elf", (fellow forum member) was a full time Navy fighter Jockey at the time he shared his info on everything related to aviation.
At this scale, a lot of stuff had to be "abbreviated" somewhat for playabilities sake, and aside from the range, I have been able to verify at least 85% of the factors to be cohesive with one another.

(I did not pursue aviation once in the military, except the occasional "ride to work" in "slicks" ).[:)]
Most old timers in the forums are eager to drop everything to help folks with serious questions, (like yourself).
Take notes, and remember to notate your sources, lest you be called out on things, lol...These folks are grognards.