[Crumpp]

Actually, fuel state is not that important with regard to maximum speed.

Hi Everyone,

Weight very much affects our aircrafts envelope. It has a direct relationship with velocity.

V2/V1 = SQRT(W2/W1)

There is no real mystery to the variation in pilot accounts. If you examine the aerodynamic properties, all of these designers very much knew what they were doing. Aircraft must be viewed as a system and not one or two isolated characteristics. Aircraft performance is always a percentage variation over a mean average as well. Fit, finish, and conditions of flight make all the differences. Pilot skill is another factor.

In the FW-190 vs P51 it very much depends on the particular aircraft set up and conditions. You can make no blanket statement at low altitudes without knowing this information.

Here is the 8th USAAF assessment made during the war. Credit goes the Smithsonian NASM archives:









Here is a comparison chart of a variety of flight tested data that overlays the altitude range of the bomber stream. It closely matches the 8th USAAF conclusions.




What does this information tell us about specific aircraft performance? Nothing. What it does say is that given a 3% normal variation there is very little to choose between any of these aircraft with a few notable ranges. Generally speaking at low altitudes, the FW190 was the fastest aircraft in the theater. At high altitudes, the P47 reigned supreme. All of these aircraft were continually upgraded by their perspective design teams.

The most important factor in aircraft performance is going to be the pilot. It is not a cliché. The ability of the pilot to properly trim, smoothness of the control input, and operation of the aircraft make a huge difference in performance. Pilot inputs can vary measured stall speeds as much as 30 mph IAS in "level flight".

The Allies had an overwhelming superiority in both numbers and quality of pilots. A USAAF pilot received ~8 times the flight experience in operational type aircraft before being posted an operational unit. The majority of Luftwaffe pilots were poorly trained for the job they were asked to do. The ebb and flow of the entire air war exactly matches the amount of training given to the pilots comprising the force. Type of aircraft is simply irrelevant.

The importance of pilot experience can be easily verified by picking up the phone and calling any aviation insurance company.

All the best,

Crumpp