Welcome to The Great Big P-40 Thread dedicated to the awesomeness that is the Curtiss P-40 Tomahawk/Warhawk!
We now have 3 great examples of the P-40 from Big Radials, iniBuilds, and Flight Replicas. This thread is for discussion of all three variants. Open discussion and screenshots not to bash the devs of either variant or MS/Asobo.
LETS #FTDPš
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I donāt yet have Flight Replicasā model. I quite like the other two for different reasons.
Without getting into a spear chucking sessionā¦which, in your opinion, gives you the best experience?
I have been twiddling my thumbs about buying one, but after A2Aās rendition, for P3d V5, I am concerned that my expectations may not be met.
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Neither I have lives up to the trademark over abundance A2A features although I havenāt flown their P3D model. But both are good planes, and great bargains on a sale!
The BR has torque and weight. Quite the dance on the runway to takeoff.
Ini is easier to fly. Less torque (almost absent), but it has quite a neat suite of features like constant save state and maintenance. And their model is stunning.
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Moved to #gd-interests:aircraft
Great idea with this thread to talk about all things P-40.
It is one of my absolute real-life favourite warbirds. There are a lot of warbirds I like for some reason or another. But the P-40 has always had a special place for me. Hard to say what the reason was - maybe having been impressed by the P-40 in Tora! Tora! Tora! Or simply by its aesthetically pleasing lines. Speaking of which, I find the lines of the earlier models with the smaller radiator and the slightly downwards sloping nose to be much prettier than the later models. Together with my tendency to root for the underdog itās clearly the P-40B which is the one that does it all for me in the sim.
If I remember correctly the Big Radials P-40B was published extremely early on. It also was only my second or third payware aircraft and Iāve flown her off and on ever since. Sadly I cannot compare her to the other P-40ās available for MSFS since Iāve not flown either of those. But the BR P-40B certainly looks the part, feels great, is a challenge to fly, and is just overall charming. Really warmly recommended! Sheās also one of only two planes that Iām scared to land in, the other being the Corsair. I feel like thereās a distinct chance of me crashing the plane rather than planting it on the runway. Runway excursions are par for the course for me. Actual crashes are less frequent, but not unheard of by any means.
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I have all 3 and I would say Flight Replicas is similar to the Big Radials BUT does not have the same āfeelā as the B. Now that being said comparing the actual flight data from the testing of the real planes this would be expected due to the longer fuselage, and the changes to the empennage.
I do agree with you on the lines of the B. They all have their own beauty though.
I am also one of those that is in love with this plane. Saw one fly at an air show here when I was small and was hooked. We have one here in Seattle and I drool every time I see it
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For me itās the B then the N
Having not flown the model you speak of I will say that the Big Radials āBā feels more complete in terms of cockpit modeling and interaction, sound and exterior. Which I hear is getting an update.
The Flight Replicas āNā has a lot of liveries that are awesome the model is great. The cockpit is really nice the lighting is nice as you can dim the light so it doesnāt wash out the gauges. When you open the canopy the engine sound stays quiet which kind of takes away from the experience. But overall itās awesome
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I flew Big Radialsās B and Inibuildsās F back-to-back the other day to compare them properly.
There is no question BRās flight model is by far the best. Itās interesting on the ground (possibly a little too interesting), and in the air it has a weight and a presence that makes it simply feel real.
But the sounds are bad. The engine is flat and has a distinct looping at certain power settings, and the cockpit sounds are for the most part just very basic.
The Inibuilds one sounds great. It spits smoke on startup and roars to life in the most satisfying way. It has a tablet and candy features, basic wear and tear, and state saving. It has default Asobo pilots in the cockpit.
But it flies meh. Itās twitchy and weird in pitch, and otherwise itās just sort of there. I never feel like Iām flying an actual fuel-guzzling, all-metal WW2 fighter.
I really hope Big Radials will give the B an update to bring it in line with other planes now available. And I reallty hope Inibuilds will continue to refine the F. Because whichever one Iām flying, I keep wishing it was more like the other one.
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Interesting to hear about your observation regarding the sounds. I find the BR P-40 to have quite pleasant engine sounds. Iāve not had a comparison with the Inibuilds one, but even if that one is better I personally feel the BR one isnāt half bad.
I can confirm though that the sound modelling could be improved and has a few odd features. E.g. when closing the canopy the noise level drops long before the canopy is closed. Fully agreed that it would be a huge thing if we could get some improvements.
A huge improvement would be if we could get a key binding for the hydraulics button for flaps and gears. Hunting for that button with a mouse in VR (especially for a right eye dominant person like myself - the cursor is aligned for the left eye) is frustrating, so I sadly have to keep the RTDM switches turned off.
One tiny thing that irks me is that the navigation lights reflect off the throttle knob, despite there being a, well, cockpit wall between the knob and the lights.
There are of course always some details that one doesnāt like about a module and there absolutely is room for some improvement. But given the awesome flight model and just the general feel of the beast, I would still very much recommend the P-40B to anyone who has even the slightest interest in warbirds.
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One of the things I find awesome about the Big Radials āBā is that there are switches to turn on and off the checklists and when activated itās a hand written checklist on old looking paper like itās from the 30s.
I do belong that they are revisiting the B for an update. Remember this is an older creation compared to the other two. They do continue to support the aircraft with flight dynamic updates as MSFS updates roll out. And they do listen to the community feedback so thatās cool
Iām very much into the looks of the models, and there I prefer the N, completely accurate as far as I can see. The F is very close for me. The B has quite a few errors in the model (where is that armored glass plate in the cockpit for instance?) and the fact that is is nearly impossible to do any paints for it does not help either, so it has left my hangar unfortunatelyā¦
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The B did not have armor
Hereās the B from NAS Pensacola round windscreen I can assure you the cockpit is accurate minus the weapon deployment equipment.
Armor was added in the -C variant it had the same fuselage with an added drop tank and self sealing wing tanks. They also added .50 caliber guns adding to the weight hence moving to the E and D models with more power and torque leading to the redesigned upper cowl and intake under the engine. I will do more digging in my spec sheets but they left the factory without any, maybe added in deployment with the volunteer group
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The Volunteer Group aka Flying Tigers flew the B-E variant I donāt think the F made it to them before they were folded into the USAAC
This is my understanding anyway if Iām wrong Iām wrong and will admit it. Anyway letās get back on track to the sim planes
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I think only the very early B-models didnāt have the bulletproof glass plate fitted. Later ones, like the P-40Bs based at Pearl Harbor seemed to have it fitted, as well as the AVG P-40s.
P-40Bs with bulletproof glass (at least I think they are Bs, they donāt have the drop tank attachments fitted)
P-40B at Pearl Harbor
The ex TFC P-40B, a Pearl Harbor Survivor
AVG Hawk-81s
I would love to see it fitted or made optional on the Big Radial one. To me itās quite a prominent feature on early P-40 models.
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I stand corrected then. From my information it was added to the aircraft. From my reading this was a large complaint about the plane was a complete lack of armor for the pilot and as such, āArmor, bulletproof windshields, and leakproof fuel tanks were added in service.ā
This would possibly be why there is not one on the Big Radials as theirs is the Tomahawk which was if Iām not mistaken were early B models sent to Britain and France. Later Bs were sent to American Volunteer Group and Pearl.
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