posted 07-12- 05:12 PM
Top speed on the 5.3 mossie was calibrated to 375mph at 13,200 feet. The real mossie did 378mph.. its only off by 3 mph? I didn't test the p38 after Zur updated it last, but here are some speeds and climb rates to check against..
--snip--
I have six books that list several different speeds and rates of climb for the P-38 keep in mind that all the rates of climb that I have seen are while maintaining an indicated airspeed of 180 mph up to 15K, 175 mph up to 25K, and 165 mph up to 35K
the lockheed p-38 lightning by warren m. bodie lists the rate of climb at 4,000 fpm at sea level tapering off to 2,900 fpm at 23,400
time to climb to 23,400 ft was 6.19 min for the P-38J
I have seen the rate of climb for a P-38J and L as high as 4,200 fpm at sea level
max speed at sea level was 345 mph
max speed at 23K was 421.5 mph for the P-38J
Fork-Tailed Devil: The P-38 by Martin Caidin lists the speed and rate of climb as so P-38J
rate of climb
3,900 fpm at 5,000 ft
3,600 fpm at 15,000 ft
3,100 fpm at 25,000 ft
max speed
360 mph at 5,000 ft
390 mph at 15,000 ft
406 mph at 20,000 ft
421 mph at 25,000 ft
426 mph at 30,000 ft
time to climb from a standing start
1.4 minutes to 5,000 ft
4.3 minutes to 15,000 ft
7.8 minutes to 25,000 ft
americas hundred thousand lists rates of climb and speed as so
rate of climb at altitude
3,800 fpm at sea level
3,700 fpm at 5,000 ft
3,500 fpm at 10,000 ft
3,300 fpm at 15,000 ft
2,950 fpm at 20,000 ft
2,400 fpm at 25,000 ft
1,750 fpm at 30,000 ft
1,100 fpm at 35,000 ft
these are the lowest figures that I have ever seen for this airplane. My pilots manual lists better rates of climb under military power than americas hundred thousand lists under wep power
speed at altitude americas hundred thousand
345 mph at sea level
365 mph at 5,000 ft
380 mph at 10,000 ft
390 mph at 15,000 ft
405 mph at 20,000 ft
420 mph at 25,000 ft
405 mph at 30,000 ft
the speed drop above 25K does not make alot of sense to me because the 38J and L could make wep power up to 28,700 ft acording to my pilots manual and could still pull 57" at 30K but, in americas hundred thousand they list the max hp figures a few thousand feet lower than the pilots manual for some reason
pilots manual lists rates of climb under miltary power 54" 1,425 hp time to altitude from a standing start at sea level
3,200 fpm at 180 mph ias at 5,000 ft in 2min
3,100 fpm at 178 mph ias at 10,000 ft in 4min
2,900 fpm at 175 mph ias at 15,000 ft in 5min
2,400 fpm at 170 mph ias at 25,000 ft in 9min
1,000 fpm at 165 mph ias at 35,000 ft in 15m
weight of all J and L's is listed as 17,400lbs. There is no real difference in a J or an L. late J's and L's were identical and the only difference between early J's and late J and L's are dive recovery flaps, power boosted ailerons and a few other minor changes that did not affect top speed nor rates of climb.
speed at altitude under max cont. power 44" or 1,100 hp in true air speed
388 mph tas at 30,000 ft 252 mph ias
374 mph tas at 25,000 ft 264 mph ias
361 mph tas at 20,000 ft 277 mph ias
348 mph tas at 15,000 ft 290 mph ias
340 mph tas at 12,000 ft 297 mph ias
331 mph tas at 9,000 ft 302 mph ias
321 mph tas at 6,000 ft 307 mph ias
311 mph tas at 3,000 ft 311 mph ias
302 mph tas at sea level 314 mph ias
rate of roll all P-38's with out power boosted ailerons in degrees per second in indicated air speed
25 degrees at 100 mph ias
37 degrees at 150 mph ias
50 degrees at 200 mph ias
63 degrees at 250 mph ias
77 degrees at 300 mph ias peak
50 degrees at 350 mph ias
45 degrees at 400 mph ias
with the boosted ailerons it is the same rate of roll up to 300 mph ias
25 degrees at 100 mph ias
37 degrees at 150 mph ias
50 degrees at 200 mph ias
63 degrees at 250 mph ias
77 degrees at 300 mph ias
95 degrees at 350 mph ias
110 degrees at 400 mph ias
dive speed all P-38s
mach .65 was the safe placarded limit on all
mach .67 buffet began
mach .72 nose began to tuck under
mach .74 dive tendency began
max speed a 38 could reach in a dive was 570 mph tas or mach .78, the above limits could be exceeded if the plane had dive recovery flaps
stalls spins
P-38 stall characteristics were rated by pilots as very good. Near stall speed the wing center section stalled first, and waring was given by noticeable shaking of the aircraft. The ailerons remained effective. In the clean configuration the one g stall, whether in power on or off condition, resulted in the 38 mushing straight forward. with a dirty plane one g stall there was a slight tendency for one wing to drop, but no tendency to spin, The nose then dropped slightly and the speed increased the wing would come up. In a high speed stall the result was the same, and as noted earlier, the plane could be urged around, shuddering all the way, in a tight "in and out of stall " turn.
stalling on one engine was different. The dead engine wing would drop viciously past the vertical, and the only way to recover was to back off power on the good engine and wait until speed built up so control could be regained. At least 2,000 feet of altitude would be lost in such a stall.
Deliberate spinning of the 38 was prohibited because the spin tended to flatten out after two or three turns. When that occorred the control column was forced back, and the engine power had to be used to get it forward. Before the spin flattened out recovery could be made with out using engine power by applying full opposite rudder and easing the control column forward.
stall speed at weight all P-38s pilots manual with engine power off
94 mph tas at 15,000 lbs gear and flaps up
100 mph tas at 17,000 lbs gear and flaps up
105 mph tas at 19,000 lbs gear and flaps up
69 mph tas at 15,000 lbs gear and flaps down
74 mph tas at 17,000 lbs gear and flaps down
78 mph tas at 19,000 lbs gear and flaps down
this is for a one g stall with the power off. sorry, but I do not have one g stall speeds for power on, but they would have to be just a tad slower with the power on.
I will list my data for the P-38F,G, and H later, but this is all I am going to post now cause it takes alot of time and there is alot of junk to post when you deal with an aircrafts performance from sea level to 40K Just remember that a J and L are identical in weight and performance
bolillo_loco posted 03-22-100 09:52 PM CT (US)
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
forgot to say how far the dive speeds could be exceeded when using dive recovery flaps. my pilots manual as well as many other books says that you can exceed all the dive figures safely by 20 mph with the dive recovery flaps
in warren bodie's book the lockheed p-38 lightning it lists the performance
of the plane as so for a p-38j
maximum sl speed..........345 mph
maximum crit. alt. speed..421.5 mph wep 25,800ft
rate of climb sl..........4,000 fpm
rate of climb crit alt....2,900 fpm
time to crit. alt.........6.19 mins. to 23,400ft
martin caidin forktailed devil the p-38 lists the p-38j's performance as so
360 mph@5,000 ft
390 mph@15,000 ft
421 mph@25,000 ft
426 mph@30,000 ft
rate of climb
5K 3,900 fpm
15K 3,600 fpm
25K 3,100 fpm
time to climb from standing start
5k 1.4 min
15K 4.3 min
25K 7.8 min
he listed the top speed varied from 420-430 mph I have also seen a figure of
4,200 fpm climb for the J model at sl. all the other climb rates are not a
max all out climb but a sustained climb while maintaining an indicated air
speed of 180mph
I also have a pilots manual IBMN No. 0-87994-019-0 this manual does not list
speeds nor rates of climb under anything more than military power for rates
of climb and max. cont. for speeds
these are the rates of climb for a 38J from a standing start with an
airplane weight of 17,400 or combat weight under 54" military power or
1425hp. the figures above are for the same combat weight but using wep power
climb at 5K 3,200fpm@180mph ias reaching 5k in 2 min
climb at 10K 3,100fpm@178mph ias reaching 10K in 4 min
climb at 15K 2,900fpm@175mph ias reaching 15K in 5 min
climb at 25K 2,400fpm@170mph ias reaching 25K in 9 min
climb at 35K 1,000fpm@165mph ias reaching 35K in 15 min
the pilots manual lists these speeds for max cont power 44" or 1,100hp at a
combat weight of 17,400lbs
mph ias mph tas alt. ft.
252 or 388 30,000
264 or 374 25,000
277 or 361 20,000
290 or 348 15,000
297 or 340 12,000
302 or 331 9,000
307 or 321 6,000
311 or 311 3,000
314 or 302 S.L.
the 38J could make wep power or 1,600hp up to 28,700ft and this is the
altitude that it sould be the fastest not the 24 or 25k figure many list.
38J could make military power or 1,425 hp up to 29,000ft
wep power is listed as 57" at 30K
the dive is another source of controversy all the manuals or books I have
listed above give the 38 a max safe dive of mach .65 now we all know the
military always lists something very low. lockheed and naca list the 38J's
max speed as so
.67 mach buffeting begins
.72 mach nose tuck under begins
max speed no matter how far you dropped a lightining was mach .78 or 568mph
tas
the above dive speeds are for a 38 with out dive recovery flaps with the
flaps all the figures could be exceeded by 20 mph most 38 j's were either
built with these flaps or had them installed at a shop that did these mods
after the factory or at the front by mechanics. all L's were built with
these dive recovery flaps.
if you ever get a chance pick up americas hundred thousand by francis dean
it lists almost everything you ever wanted to know about any plane. I was
suprised to find that a 38 could out turn a 51b or d at very low speeds and
that a 38 never spun when stalled. the book lists that after about 2
constant max performance turns at low altitude and low speed that a 38 could
get onto a 51's tail. the 38 out turned a 47 all the time with or with out
flaps.
rates of roll. a 38 below 250 mph ias was no steller roller. it was average
at best, but above 250 mph ias it began to out roll both a 47 and a 51 until
at 350 mph ias it was rolling at 110 degrees per second easily out rolling
both a 47 and a 51
hp at altitude of all the american fighter planes the 38 had the best hp per
lb figure of all 12 or 13 american fighters built from altitudes of 10,000
ft on up to its ceiling of 44K
it was our fastest accelerating fighter bar none and above 34,000ft it
became our fastest beating a 47 or a 51 because they could not make as much
hp as a lightining could at those extreme altitudes.
[This message has been edited by Tailslide (edited 07-12-2000).]
FSIC Messageboard
UBBFriend: Email This Page to Someone! 
posted 07-11- 03:24 PM
posted 07-11- 05:42 PM
It figures I would want to pick up one one of the toughest ones...sound of Snickers rubbing his hands together...)
posted 07-14- 11:43 AM
