Tailslide's Article - Fighter Ace Turn Rates
Why is Turn Rate Important ?
Turn rate is how fast a plane turns at a given speed. Knowing turn rates allows
you to find a plane's corner speed for different altitudes and flap configurations.
What is corner speed? The speed at which you maximise your turn rate. The
closer you stick to your corner speed, the faster you will be able to turn without losing
speed. This does not mean that you should always fly at the corner speed.
Sometimes it is better to trade off speed for angle in order to get a quick kill or to get
your loop in sync with your opponent's. (see RAF71_Mike's excellent
article on loop fighting).
These statistics are for sustained turns (IE no speed
increase or decrease).
I performed these turns with the plane at a full 90 degree bank with full up rudder to
minimise descent.
Spitfire
XIV - Fighter Ace (arcade) |
| Turn Rate (Deg / Sec) |
Speed (Kts) |
Starting Altitude (feet) |
Descent (feet) |
| 17 |
230 |
7117 |
536 |
| 17 |
220 |
6048 |
326 |
| 21 |
200 |
5062 |
292 |
| 24 |
200 |
6621 |
514 |
| 20 |
200 |
12322 |
317 |
| 26 (using flaps) |
180 |
11565 |
424 |
P51D
Mustang - Fighter Ace (arcade) |
| Turn Rate (Deg / Sec) |
Speed (Kts) |
Starting Altitude (feet) |
Descent (feet) |
| 24 |
240 |
12213 |
222 |
| 24 |
240 |
11991 |
780 |
| 20 |
224 |
20430 |
304 |
| 20 |
222 |
20427 |
371 |
| 20 (using flaps) |
215 |
20155 |
484 |
Conclusions
As you can see, I could maintain a faster sustained turning rate with flaps extended. You
often hear people say it will only give you a temporary increase in turn rate, but this is
not true (at least using the Spit 14 and P51 in Fighter Ace). But wait! What
about the P51 .. your turn rate is the same with and without flaps! See my article on P51 strategies to see why using flaps is better.
Tailslide
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