Ahh, yes the "air brakes." Lovely little thing for the lightning. Ironically it wasn't fully intended to help slow the plane, but rather prevent mach tuck in dives. The lightnings design as a heavy interceptor to reach high altitude as quickly as possible to hit bombers meant they went for exceptional power and great lift on the wings. It performed its designated task superbly but with some unintended side effects. If the plane goes into a dive and hits a certain speed, which is ridiculously easy to do. -The airflow going over the wings goes supersonic, causing the lift factor on the wings to reverse.- The center of pressure that gives lift moves to the rear of the plane, effectively applying lift to the tail. What this entailed was that in a dive, your planes nose would have a very strong pull down and you wouldn't be able to pull out of the dive until you slowed down enough (hence mach tuck today). *Essentially, the plane went faster then its lift vectoring.* The only way to slow down enough was to basically idle your engine while pulling as hard as you can on the stick to try to maintain only that angle and wait till you got to a low enough altitude that air pressure put enough drag on your 38 to slow you down sufficiently. Much testing was done to figure this problem out, and more to find a solution to fix/prevent it. The solution ended up being the dive flaps aka air brakes, they were simply some folding slats on the wings in key locations that disrupted the airflow in such a way at to return the center of pressure back to the wings. Doing so allowed a smoother airflow and control at high speeds. This little change allowed for 38 pilots to do dives without fear of pancaking into the ground from a lock up. Beyond that, they didn't do much to actually slow the plane. But the increased control in dives meant it's CAS support went up greatly as it didn't have to do level bombings as much for newer pilots. Little history note, the 38 gained speed so well that many test pilots and designers were trying to slow down the aircraft without overly impacting combat capability. Things like desmoothing certain areas of the plane, bigger intakes for the superchargers and more. Most were deemed impractical or ineffective. It's one of those weird little quirks of the lightning, it loved to go fast, but their wasn't much you could do to slow her down. *Edit note* Thanks to Oliver Tindall for correcting one of my misconceptions in the mechanics behind the airflow issue. I have since corrected to the best of my knowledge. For those seeing this, Have a great rest of your day/night!
Mach tuck does not occur from the "lift factor reversing" If that was true planes would have to fly inverted supersonic.... At the critical mach number shock waves formed on the wings move rear ward which moves the centre of pressure rearward. Causing a pitch down moment, thisbis usually overcome by an all flying stabiliser giving enough nose up authority.
@@olivertindall7872 i can't help but point out that most modern jets don't keep the same lift factors that ww2 aircraft had in the wings. The primary lift factor for modern supersonic jets is speed working with a larger wing area. Need lift? Point the nose slightly up and increase throttle. Also why delta wings were and still are so heavily looked into. But i digress, most of my info regarding the p38 comes from one of many documentaries i watched on the plane when i had a curiosity binge hit. So some of my info may be off or mis-remembered. And modern design is a conversation all its own that can take days to type out everything. Like the design theory of the stabilator and why it was made. It is an interesting story for those who like aviation history.
I had the privilege when I was in the USAF back in the early '90s to help restore the static P-38 we had sitting at the main entrance to the base. We figured with a little work she could be ready to fly in about 3 months worth of work. I was also able to get into the cockpit and man the guys that flew this girl back in the war are short little guys and I'm 5'11". But like you Magz she rates up there as one of my favorite warbirds. I do wonder though does IL-2 simulate mach lock? Some the 38 pilots said would happen in a steep dive, loving all airflow over the controls
Yeah, the Lightning has been my favorite airplane for as long as I can remember too. Most other people love Mustangs or Corsairs over everything else - but for me, it's always been the P-38.
@Greg Walker it takes 1 year to shoot down an il-2 in this game, while in warthunder You need a few second burst. Inertia: a fully loaded p47 in warthunder can exit any dive st almost any altitude. It can out turn a 109 without load at 1000 meters.
Magz, you talking about the P-38 as a ground attack bird reminds me of the old Aces High 2 guys that used to fly 38s and pretty much only 38s. They would use them for fighters, for leveling cities. Everything. It's an absolutely brutal aircraft.
P38, is as if someone saw the total horsepower of a bomber, and thought: like make a fighter out of one of these! And that tail, such a simple solution - big lever - big turning! Wonderful "little" beast!
The first plane I took up after the new patch. P-38 and 109 are my favorite aircraft to fly. (They have something in common beleive it or not!) It felt good and looks Outstanding!
Next to the A6M2-21 Zero (which might some glorious day be in IL-2), the P-38 is my favorite! I'm with you all the way with the enthusiasm for this plane, thank you for a wonderful video. :-)
Awesome flying and review! You got me to buy the plane! :) I have been a long time IL-2 Sturmovik 1946 flyer (since the release in 2001) with some breaks here and there over the years and just got into IL-2 Sturmovik Stalingrad. I must say the graphics and the avionics are pretty impressive now! :)
Patrick Brennan That makes zero sense. The P-38 was for sale on the surplus market for about $1,500 at the end of the war. Even though the Lightning was a pre-war design, it was highly advanced, especially with its turbosuperchargers - in the wrong hands, the P-38, or it’s advanced tech, could be a real threat against a high alt bomber, like a B-29.
I have the privilege to work on a f model and they are outstanding aircraft way way WAY over engineered and hard to get to certain parts but an absolute beaut to see fly.
Never knew P-38 could carry that much. Its one of my all time favorite aircraft's to. Wish Gaijin would add more bomb/ordinance to many of the Aircraft's in WT. There are so many historically bomb loads missing.
@@Angel24Marin I somewhat doubt the effects of adding external ordanence on the Br's and repaircosts. Most pilots won't be making a lot of extra profit.
If ever there was a plane that was vastly underappreciated, it would be the P-38. An absolute monster of a fighter. Tremendous range, towering ceiling, great speed, deadly firepower. All with user-friendly landing gear, nearly no torque effect, a high-visibility cockpit, and a hardy frame. The top American aces used the P-38 to make a name for themselves. It was a true fighting machine.
I love flying this airplane. Yes it's a great close air support aircraft. Thank you to the skunk works. Their first project set a standard. I have been waiting for this since Nov 2017 so I'm not going to watch the rest of the vid. Andiamo Volare!
Fun fact: The P-38 established air superiority in the entire world thanks to its versatility in both ground Attack as well as air to air. P.S. It was used in operation "Vengeance" in which a flight of P-38 aircraft destroyed 2 Japanese "Betty" bombers, one of which held admiral Yamamoto, the man who masterminded the pearl harbor attack.
When I was a kid, I had a neighbor who had flown both P-38's and P-51's in the war over Europe. Unfortunately, I was too stupid to ask and then listen when I had the chance. I do remember him saying he wished he had a crack at the 109's while he was in the Mustang. Ah, foolish youth...
I was talking with a P38 ace during lunch with friends. The conversation turned to turbulence and he said "You don't know turbulence until you've flown 'tail end charlie' on a 1,000 plane bomber mission."
Funny, just a couple of hours ago I was on the site of the old Lockheed factory, where the real version of this plane would likely have been built. Sadly it's just a shopping center now.
Logan Taylor - Early in the war Lockheed ran a study and calculated that a Merlin Lightning would only better than the Allison at a couple of altitudes. The Merlin Lightning was actually heavier and had a lower climb rate, and shorter range. The biggest fixes that helped the Lightning were dive flaps, paddle props (K model which was not approved for mass production), and boosted ailerons.
Fitting merlins isn't automatically gonna fix an aircraft. The Allison v1710's were fine and later versions of the p38 were very fast, faster than some British fighters.
I fell in love with this thing while playing the original IL-2, and why not? - tricycle landing gear = no more godforsaken "S turns" during taxi - two VERY powerful engines instead of one - counter rotating props means no little to no propeller torque - boosted controls - dive brakes - good visibility from the driver's seat - a 20mm cannon in the nose to augment the 4 .50s - JESUS, it was fast - rate of climb was jaw dropping - carried bombs OR rockets for ground targets - two ferry tanks instead of one The Lightning always has been, and ever shall be, my first love when you're talking WWII fighter aircraft. It did absolutely everything I asked it to do and did it well. Are you paying attention, ED?
I'm Sold, I truly appreciate your excitement and demonstration. I was pleasantly surprised as you turned inside the 109. I have a thrustmaster joystick set up, will I have problems with configuring startups procedures? I'm happy, and I'm looking forward to your campaign video and tutorials, Great Job!!!!
You'll have no trouble with a Thrustmaster. That was my original stick. I enjoy IL2 so much I've invested in the latest gear and have a sim pit for my VR (HP Reverb) flying.
What Thrustmuster model do you use? I had a T.16000M and after 3 months of use malfunctioned and started to turn the rudder all the time by itself.... selling company wouldn't replace it even it was on 2 years warranty. Now I have to get a new one and I am asking people which one is better.
@@ronaldwatson1951 I was satisfied with it until the malfunction. I used it with IL-2 1946, Star Citizen and Rise of Flight. I don't know if I was unlucky or every Thrustmuster product is bad. After that I'm in the dark too.
Hah yeah. Whether it's accurate who cares, bigger boom=more satisfaction. I don't think the DCS bombs are bad, but just a bit wet. I haven't got the money or time to try both and DCS satisfies my nerd side with its much more in-depth systems, atmospheric and flight characteristic modelling.
An oleo leg is a combination of a spring and a damper, usually hydraulic but sometimes just a friction surface as on many vintage cars - his description as "just a giant spring" is a little disingenuous as it's no different in design to any other. It's just a symptom of the light loading of the front leg and the limited damping capabilities of the wartime suspension.
Any wisdom on how to run the throttle+RPM on this thing? People have told me not to bind the two controls to the same axis but fail to explain why. What would the point be in ever reducing the RPM to less than 100%? Whenever I fly this thing it feels gutless as hell and cant even outrun a single engine 109 in a straight line.
Didn't the P38 have turbo chargers? Isn't that's why it failed in Europe? My boss had a wrecked one in his yard and I wanted the turbo but never got up the gumbtion to remove one.
One of the funniest things about the Lightning Real-World was for such a LARGE High-Speed fighter it could TURN with basically Everything on either side for AT LEAST half to three-quarters of a rotation, & the J/L's were even better. From what I've read, if the Britain didn't have such crappy AvGas & Lockheed had sorted out the heater quicker(& 8th AF hadn't screwed around with the whole "No Drop Tanks On Combat Pursuit Planes fiasco" the 8th/9th AF would have had the Escort Fighter that they needed from the start. The J/L's would have been BETTER, what with the extra internal fuel with the relocated radiators, but the P-38 was an Exceptional Long Range Fighter Escort & Air Superiority Plane.
The #1 WWII air combat myth is as follows: Dogfighting died in WWII... It was actually the reverse...: It was assumed dead since the monoplane era, in the 1930s, with lots of early WWII twin engine designs jumping into the opening, only to have the jaws of dogfighting close on them, for the rest of the war... Only the P-38 succeeded in the day fighter role, and even then, only barely... Second myth was that heavy radial engine type meant high speed boom and zoom... In reality, radials simply turned better (FW-190As and P-47s out-turned routinely Spitfires and Me-109Gs at the lowest speeds) turning and downthrottling easily creating bisection to a dive attacks, which, with a 1% hit rate, forced all but the best gunnery pilots to follow and turn... See more amazing front-line WWII pilot reality quoted here (as opposed to the period test pilot nonsense): th-cam.com/video/lCBOxbaxXBE/w-d-xo.html
Yep! You're right. I knew there were a few P-38 pilots at the top of the American list, so I double-checked. #1 : Richard Bong #2 : Thomas McGuire #6: Charles MacDonald
I think someone should model a P 38 with the engines in front of and behind the cockpit, it should be even faster, like the German Arrow, and you could put guns in both nacelles.
In all my time flying I never would have thought the P-38 could out turn the 109, that explains a lot of my deaths to it, i underestimated the bastard..... so basically us German's are fucked now, that thing out turns, out rolls, out guns, out climbs and out speeds the 109. Looks like I'm flying for the allies now.
Your feeling on this plane are the same on the tempest for me. Soon as I got the plane I wanted to cry IL2 have not done the plane justice. :( no rockets only 400 rounds for 4 cannons. ;( ;( Love ya vids keep them coming.
She's a dream to fly... tried it out yesterday and went to fly over my home place just to figure out a 130-140k people city that had a remarkable weapons industry back then isn't modelled (yet).
@@Jbroker404 Probably the sharpest in the world and the only one that got it's name trademarked, Solingen. Has the highest railroad bridge in Germany as well and I was looking forward to flying loops around it :D
@@Jbroker404 It exists, but isn't populated, neither is the name on the map. Sourrounding cities are, however. Well, it's similar if you take a close look to the Ruhrgebiet north of that. Literally every second city is missing and the whole area should look like a huge city.
Always. A little flat or dead zone in a curve is useful when aiming. Also I find in side to side L/R pitch, a flat line of 10 deg real=45 deg virtual best to keep you centred on the sight
It does seem that way but in each case it has been true, this thing is like driving a car and because there is little to no torque to deal with it goes exactly where you point it with no deviations. I highly doubt the either the P-51 or the Tempest will be easier, I can't actually see any way for any aircraft to get easier. I mean let's put this another way, the P-38 taxies like the F/A-18C Hornet in DCS, that's how easy it is.
TheBaronVSP It’s one the Collector planes included with Bodenplatte DLC, along with the FW190 D-9. I believe they will be purchasable separately once it’s fully released like all the other editions collector planes.
Magz, I’m an enormous P-38 aficionado and I’ve never heard of nor read about the P-38 lacking rudder authority (yaw). It is not mentioned in Warren Bodie’s book, nor the flight manual, the pilot handbook, nor Hal Hibbard’s technical writeup. Perhaps this lack of yaw should be reported as a bug?
Ok your taking something that was said while flying a bit to heavily here, I wasn't saying that it didn't have yaw, what IO was saying is the yaw was heavy, you can feel the fact that the yaw is trying to pivot two 1600hp Allison engines that are both trying to push forward against one and other. It gives the P-38 an odd feeling in the yaw in comparison to a single engine fighter and it takes some getting used to.
Magz - would you mind checking to see how the modeled the gun harmonization? All guns should be firing parallel and gun convergence range should only affect vertical convergence. This is something Gaijin never got right on WT despite numerous bug reports. The easiest way to check is to set your convergence to the shortest distance it’ll allow and then test fire in the runway. If you’re getting a broad cone, you know they modeled it incorrectly
Since I downloaded that mighty update I was so hyped for.... the game crashes as soon as I launch it! It doesnt even go to the menu, black screen and desktop.... :'(
@@Mach-2-Fishbed so you mean it's the opposite of me: It start working after the update when for me it stopped working after I downloaded it? and you didnt look for a solution? Cant find anybody online who had the same problem so far. I made a file checking via steam, it found the update files to be corrupted and starte downloading it all over again, , hope it will work this time because if does the same, I have no idea how to fix that! Wish me luck!
@@matydrum Yes, it's the opposite of you and I have no idea why. I tried to find out why my game had stopped working with no luck. I checked the files, did a fresh reinstall, and made sure my drivers were up to date, but nothing had worked. I saw that the update had released, decided to give it a try (honestly just expected it to crash like before), but it decided to work. I am still baffled as to any of it, but I wish you the best of luck man.
For metric users: that's around 450-460 kmh while carrying 4000 pounds of bombs... Uhm... pounds is not a metric unit of measurement, should be around 1.800 kg :)
@@sonicapollo next question.... which vr to get?lol I was looking at rift s, but now that they announced the PC link for the quest I'm not sure. Seems like the quest may be the one I need.
@@TheVikingSailor VR is in a state of flux right now. Truth be told, racing/flight sims require a higher resolution than what is commonly used at the moment. I started with a vive and now the O+. I tried the index. If you want to play IL2 in single player, the current generation will do. I play multiplayer on mine, but it is a handicap for IDing. I think DCS really needs 2160 lines or more coupled with a clear area of focus. The reverb has the resolution, but is too narrow and I hate HP in general. The PIMAX 8kx seems to be the ticket, if it delivers, but it is a Chinese company that will treat you like a beta tester.
Ahh, yes the "air brakes." Lovely little thing for the lightning. Ironically it wasn't fully intended to help slow the plane, but rather prevent mach tuck in dives. The lightnings design as a heavy interceptor to reach high altitude as quickly as possible to hit bombers meant they went for exceptional power and great lift on the wings. It performed its designated task superbly but with some unintended side effects. If the plane goes into a dive and hits a certain speed, which is ridiculously easy to do. -The airflow going over the wings goes supersonic, causing the lift factor on the wings to reverse.- The center of pressure that gives lift moves to the rear of the plane, effectively applying lift to the tail. What this entailed was that in a dive, your planes nose would have a very strong pull down and you wouldn't be able to pull out of the dive until you slowed down enough (hence mach tuck today). *Essentially, the plane went faster then its lift vectoring.* The only way to slow down enough was to basically idle your engine while pulling as hard as you can on the stick to try to maintain only that angle and wait till you got to a low enough altitude that air pressure put enough drag on your 38 to slow you down sufficiently. Much testing was done to figure this problem out, and more to find a solution to fix/prevent it. The solution ended up being the dive flaps aka air brakes, they were simply some folding slats on the wings in key locations that disrupted the airflow in such a way at to return the center of pressure back to the wings. Doing so allowed a smoother airflow and control at high speeds. This little change allowed for 38 pilots to do dives without fear of pancaking into the ground from a lock up. Beyond that, they didn't do much to actually slow the plane. But the increased control in dives meant it's CAS support went up greatly as it didn't have to do level bombings as much for newer pilots.
Little history note, the 38 gained speed so well that many test pilots and designers were trying to slow down the aircraft without overly impacting combat capability. Things like desmoothing certain areas of the plane, bigger intakes for the superchargers and more. Most were deemed impractical or ineffective. It's one of those weird little quirks of the lightning, it loved to go fast, but their wasn't much you could do to slow her down.
*Edit note* Thanks to Oliver Tindall for correcting one of my misconceptions in the mechanics behind the airflow issue. I have since corrected to the best of my knowledge. For those seeing this, Have a great rest of your day/night!
Sounds like the Me 262. Gets to speed, hates slowing down.
Duuuude that’s amazing, thank you
We Americans do love our speed =D
Momma I'm going fast!
Mach tuck does not occur from the "lift factor reversing"
If that was true planes would have to fly inverted supersonic....
At the critical mach number shock waves formed on the wings move rear ward which moves the centre of pressure rearward. Causing a pitch down moment, thisbis usually overcome by an all flying stabiliser giving enough nose up authority.
@@olivertindall7872 i can't help but point out that most modern jets don't keep the same lift factors that ww2 aircraft had in the wings. The primary lift factor for modern supersonic jets is speed working with a larger wing area. Need lift? Point the nose slightly up and increase throttle. Also why delta wings were and still are so heavily looked into.
But i digress, most of my info regarding the p38 comes from one of many documentaries i watched on the plane when i had a curiosity binge hit. So some of my info may be off or mis-remembered. And modern design is a conversation all its own that can take days to type out everything. Like the design theory of the stabilator and why it was made. It is an interesting story for those who like aviation history.
I had the privilege when I was in the USAF back in the early '90s to help restore the static P-38 we had sitting at the main entrance to the base. We figured with a little work she could be ready to fly in about 3 months worth of work. I was also able to get into the cockpit and man the guys that flew this girl back in the war are short little guys and I'm 5'11". But like you Magz she rates up there as one of my favorite warbirds. I do wonder though does IL-2 simulate mach lock? Some the 38 pilots said would happen in a steep dive, loving all airflow over the controls
this is the J series that has dive brakes meant to avoid that.
Yes, IL-2 Sturmovik does simulate mach tuck.
Just curious, was this up in Alaska by chance, the one you helped on?
Yeah, the Lightning has been my favorite airplane for as long as I can remember too. Most other people love Mustangs or Corsairs over everything else - but for me, it's always been the P-38.
I'm so used to war thunder's damage models i was surprised when the he-111s survived that long lol
They take a lot of punishment. That one that belly landed will probably take off and sneak back to base when no-ones looking!
bro, wait till you shoot il-2s
also, if it is anything i hate on warthunder is the way they calculate inertia.
@Greg Walker it takes 1 year to shoot down an il-2 in this game, while in warthunder You need a few second burst.
Inertia: a fully loaded p47 in warthunder can exit any dive st almost any altitude.
It can out turn a 109 without load at 1000 meters.
Magz, you talking about the P-38 as a ground attack bird reminds me of the old Aces High 2 guys that used to fly 38s and pretty much only 38s. They would use them for fighters, for leveling cities. Everything. It's an absolutely brutal aircraft.
Aces High 2. God what I wouldn't give to have that game popular again. Best air combat game ever made.
P38, is as if someone saw the total horsepower of a bomber, and thought: like make a fighter out of one of these!
And that tail, such a simple solution - big lever - big turning!
Wonderful "little" beast!
The first plane I took up after the new patch. P-38 and 109 are my favorite aircraft to fly. (They have something in common beleive it or not!) It felt good and looks Outstanding!
Such a lovely plane, If Il-2 goes back to the Pacific I hope it gets in there as well.
"It's like being a god!" LOL, love it. One of my favorite birds, as well. :)
Glorious in just about every conceivable way, ITS A FIGHER WITH A YOKE
Next to the A6M2-21 Zero (which might some glorious day be in IL-2), the P-38 is my favorite! I'm with you all the way with the enthusiasm for this plane, thank you for a wonderful video. :-)
War Thunder ruined my impression of the P-38.
IL-2 Sturmovik brought back my love for it.
War Thunder tries too hard to balance the game itself, which sometimes results in good planes getting nerfed in comparison to real life performance.
I am glad Magz shares a love for the fork tailed devil as well. Favorite looking plane of WWII and probably favorite history behind it as well.
Thanks for the work you put in on your channel.
My dad designed the tooling for the hydraulics in the tail of the P-38. My mom was a QC engineer. They met on the assembly line.
Awesome flying and review! You got me to buy the plane! :) I have been a long time IL-2 Sturmovik 1946 flyer (since the release in 2001) with some breaks here and there over the years and just got into IL-2 Sturmovik Stalingrad. I must say the graphics and the avionics are pretty impressive now! :)
The joy in your voice at getting to fly the P-38 is fucking spectacular.
Go MAGZ!
My god what a beautiful aircraft. They have done a bloody good job!
It is sad that it wasn't used longer. It has to be one of my two favourite US prop fighters.
Patrick Brennan That makes zero sense. The P-38 was for sale on the surplus market for about $1,500 at the end of the war.
Even though the Lightning was a pre-war design, it was highly advanced, especially with its turbosuperchargers - in the wrong hands, the P-38, or it’s advanced tech, could be a real threat against a high alt bomber, like a B-29.
I have the privilege to work on a f model and they are outstanding aircraft way way WAY over engineered and hard to get to certain parts but an absolute beaut to see fly.
Did you get to work on Glacier Girl?!
Never knew P-38 could carry that much. Its one of my all time favorite aircraft's to.
Wish Gaijin would add more bomb/ordinance to many of the Aircraft's in WT.
There are so many historically bomb loads missing.
Ordinance is way to balance planes. If they add more expect a BR or repair cost change.
@@Angel24Marin I somewhat doubt the effects of adding external ordanence on the Br's and repaircosts. Most pilots won't be making a lot of extra profit.
@@martijn9568 I think it's mostly limiting American CAS in Ground RB games.... In a way but I do see your point.
Think about it this way: how big is the P-47 when a twin-engined heavy fighter is only that much heavier?
Very big.
At max takeoff weight, a P-47 weighed more than an empty DC-3 (7,938kg vs. 7,650).
I realized how big the P-47 was when I heard that a Bf110 weighs about the same.
Seeing a P-47 in a museum really put things in perspective. IT IS MASSIVE bigger than most small dedicated naval bombers, or at least close.
The P-47 is a gigantic fighter.
The P-38 must be one of the most unique designs to be widely produced and successful in aviation history.
i remember this from IL2- Pacific Fighters . a greate plane.
If ever there was a plane that was vastly underappreciated, it would be the P-38.
An absolute monster of a fighter. Tremendous range, towering ceiling, great speed, deadly firepower.
All with user-friendly landing gear, nearly no torque effect, a high-visibility cockpit, and a hardy frame.
The top American aces used the P-38 to make a name for themselves. It was a true fighting machine.
I love flying this airplane. Yes it's a great close air support aircraft.
Thank you to the skunk works.
Their first project set a standard.
I have been waiting for this since Nov 2017 so I'm not going to watch the rest of the vid.
Andiamo Volare!
Fun fact: The P-38 established air superiority in the entire world thanks to its versatility in both ground Attack as well as air to air.
P.S. It was used in operation "Vengeance" in which a flight of P-38 aircraft destroyed 2 Japanese "Betty" bombers, one of which held admiral Yamamoto, the man who masterminded the pearl harbor attack.
Your love for the P-38 is mine of the P-51, so we are both happy...lol Good job
When I was a kid, I had a neighbor who had flown both P-38's and P-51's in the war over Europe. Unfortunately, I was too stupid to ask and then listen when I had the chance. I do remember him saying he wished he had a crack at the 109's while he was in the Mustang. Ah, foolish youth...
I was talking with a P38 ace during lunch with friends. The conversation turned to turbulence and he said "You don't know turbulence until you've flown 'tail end charlie' on a 1,000 plane bomber mission."
I literally thought this was a video of a real aircraft until about a minute in.
I too have always loved the look of the "Fork Tailed Devil"
Funny, just a couple of hours ago I was on the site of the old Lockheed factory, where the real version of this plane would likely have been built. Sadly it's just a shopping center now.
Imagine how fast that thing would be with a couple merlins in those nacelles.
Logan Taylor - Early in the war Lockheed ran a study and calculated that a Merlin Lightning would only better than the Allison at a couple of altitudes. The Merlin Lightning was actually heavier and had a lower climb rate, and shorter range. The biggest fixes that helped the Lightning were dive flaps, paddle props (K model which was not approved for mass production), and boosted ailerons.
Fitting merlins isn't automatically gonna fix an aircraft. The Allison v1710's were fine and later versions of the p38 were very fast, faster than some British fighters.
Emerson C Faster then most British fighters, If I remember the only thing faster was the mosquito
Parker Fields - The Mossie was fast, but not faster than the P-38
Allison actually gave better HP/W ratio
Oranges to Oranges both with superchargers the Allison was the superior engine.
Always loved this plane. Just hate that the yoke blocks the airspeed indicator.
Great vid Mags, many thanks
I fell in love with this thing while playing the original IL-2, and why not?
- tricycle landing gear = no more godforsaken "S turns" during taxi
- two VERY powerful engines instead of one
- counter rotating props means no little to no propeller torque
- boosted controls
- dive brakes
- good visibility from the driver's seat
- a 20mm cannon in the nose to augment the 4 .50s
- JESUS, it was fast
- rate of climb was jaw dropping
- carried bombs OR rockets for ground targets
- two ferry tanks instead of one
The Lightning always has been, and ever shall be, my first love when you're talking WWII fighter aircraft. It did absolutely everything I asked it to do and did it well.
Are you paying attention, ED?
I'm Sold, I truly appreciate your excitement and demonstration. I was pleasantly surprised as you turned inside the 109. I have a thrustmaster joystick set up, will I have problems with configuring startups procedures? I'm happy, and I'm looking forward to your campaign video and tutorials, Great Job!!!!
You'll have no trouble with a Thrustmaster. That was my original stick.
I enjoy IL2 so much I've invested in the latest gear and have a sim pit for my VR (HP Reverb) flying.
@@agordon20024 thanks for your response, however what's a sim pit?, excuse me for my ignorance.
What Thrustmuster model do you use? I had a T.16000M and after 3 months of use malfunctioned and started to turn the rudder all the time by itself.... selling company wouldn't replace it even it was on 2 years warranty.
Now I have to get a new one and I am asking people which one is better.
@@hariszark7396 I have the same, what would be your recommendation, your is appreciated.
@@ronaldwatson1951 I was satisfied with it until the malfunction. I used it with IL-2 1946, Star Citizen and Rise of Flight. I don't know if I was unlucky or every Thrustmuster product is bad.
After that I'm in the dark too.
Damn. Coming from DCS, it's awesome how good the explosions look in this.
The 2000lb explosion looks huge
Hah yeah. Whether it's accurate who cares, bigger boom=more satisfaction. I don't think the DCS bombs are bad, but just a bit wet. I haven't got the money or time to try both and DCS satisfies my nerd side with its much more in-depth systems, atmospheric and flight characteristic modelling.
@Magz - Help me understand about the nose wheel compressing you were talking about. Why exactly was it designed used a spring instead of hydraulic?
An oleo leg is a combination of a spring and a damper, usually hydraulic but sometimes just a friction surface as on many vintage cars - his description as "just a giant spring" is a little disingenuous as it's no different in design to any other. It's just a symptom of the light loading of the front leg and the limited damping capabilities of the wartime suspension.
This aircraft needs to be in DCS, she is a beautiful thing ...wow love it.
Any wisdom on how to run the throttle+RPM on this thing? People have told me not to bind the two controls to the same axis but fail to explain why. What would the point be in ever reducing the RPM to less than 100%? Whenever I fly this thing it feels gutless as hell and cant even outrun a single engine 109 in a straight line.
Didn't the P38 have turbo chargers? Isn't that's why it failed in Europe? My boss had a wrecked one in his yard and I wanted the turbo but never got up the gumbtion to remove one.
I have a thrustmaster 16000 fcs can I operate both engines? I seen whereas you started engines independently. Thanks
9:35 Ouch! "The ground is rising." :))
i cant say its my favorite aircraft because its not a hulking big bomber, but it is a sexy thing.
Cool plane Magz. I cannot wait until the Mosquito arrives in DCS. I may just abandon all other planes to just fly that. Twin engine fighters rock! :-)
Man I hope they add the N model to DCS, this was also Chuck Yeager's favorite aircraft of WW2.
if this channel became P-38 TV for a while, ...I would be more than okay with that
P38 the genius of Kelly Johnson!
Congratuilations!
I’d love to see what you think of the new IL-2 Normandy map.
The twin tailed devil. Also noticed the IJ flag in the Axis tab in the plane menu...
I noticed that too, *Crosses all fingers toes, hairs and everything else I can find*
Next scenario Pacific confirmed :)
One of the funniest things about the Lightning Real-World was for such a LARGE High-Speed fighter it could TURN with basically Everything on either side for AT LEAST half to three-quarters of a rotation, & the J/L's were even better. From what I've read, if the Britain didn't have such crappy AvGas & Lockheed had sorted out the heater quicker(& 8th AF hadn't screwed around with the whole "No Drop Tanks On Combat Pursuit Planes fiasco" the 8th/9th AF would have had the Escort Fighter that they needed from the start. The J/L's would have been BETTER, what with the extra internal fuel with the relocated radiators, but the P-38 was an Exceptional Long Range Fighter Escort & Air Superiority Plane.
Loved the P-38 ever since I played 1943.
The #1 WWII air combat myth is as follows: Dogfighting died in WWII... It was actually the reverse...: It was assumed dead since the monoplane era, in the 1930s, with lots of early WWII twin engine designs jumping into the opening, only to have the jaws of dogfighting close on them, for the rest of the war... Only the P-38 succeeded in the day fighter role, and even then, only barely... Second myth was that heavy radial engine type meant high speed boom and zoom... In reality, radials simply turned better (FW-190As and P-47s out-turned routinely Spitfires and Me-109Gs at the lowest speeds) turning and downthrottling easily creating bisection to a dive attacks, which, with a 1% hit rate, forced all but the best gunnery pilots to follow and turn... See more amazing front-line WWII pilot reality quoted here (as opposed to the period test pilot nonsense): th-cam.com/video/lCBOxbaxXBE/w-d-xo.html
If i remember correctly P38 had more air to air victories then any other American fighter and the top two american aces flew P38
Yep! You're right. I knew there were a few P-38 pilots at the top of the American list, so I double-checked.
#1 : Richard Bong
#2 : Thomas McGuire
#6: Charles MacDonald
I think someone should model a P 38 with the engines in front of and behind the cockpit, it should be even faster, like the German Arrow, and you could put guns in both nacelles.
In all my time flying I never would have thought the P-38 could out turn the 109, that explains a lot of my deaths to it, i underestimated the bastard..... so basically us German's are fucked now, that thing out turns, out rolls, out guns, out climbs and out speeds the 109. Looks like I'm flying for the allies now.
I'm curious if you're flying this with a joystick or a yoke for authenticity. Just seems so strange to have a fighter with a yoke.
I'm flying with a stick because I don't have a Yoke, I do however plan on getting one and the 38 is one of the reasons why.
@@MagzGTV I'm surprised that even with your other SIM flying you don't have any yoke yet.
Your feeling on this plane are the same on the tempest for me. Soon as I got the plane I wanted to cry IL2 have not done the plane justice. :( no rockets only 400 rounds for 4 cannons. ;( ;(
Love ya vids keep them coming.
Wym
The tempest didnt carry rockets in the war, the typhoon was the british ground attacker
And 400 rounds 4x20mm hispanos is ok
She's a dream to fly... tried it out yesterday and went to fly over my home place just to figure out a 130-140k people city that had a remarkable weapons industry back then isn't modelled (yet).
What city is that?
@@Jbroker404 Probably the sharpest in the world and the only one that got it's name trademarked, Solingen. Has the highest railroad bridge in Germany as well and I was looking forward to flying loops around it :D
@@CakePrincessCelestia does the map not cover where the city is? Or does the spot on the map exist but not the city?
@@Jbroker404 It exists, but isn't populated, neither is the name on the map. Sourrounding cities are, however. Well, it's similar if you take a close look to the Ruhrgebiet north of that. Literally every second city is missing and the whole area should look like a huge city.
I have only flown it a little bit, but its a very nice bird to fly.
Would tweeking the Joy-stick curves, So it is less sensitive close to Joy-stick neutral, Be worth a look?
Always. A little flat or dead zone in a curve is useful when aiming. Also I find in side to side L/R pitch, a flat line of 10 deg real=45 deg virtual best to keep you centred on the sight
My Favorite WWII USAF Fighter, It's was a Straight Shooter.
New aircraft in IL2*exists*
Magz "this is the easiest aircraft in the game to taxi"
I like to think that IL2 devs decided on the release order for the planes based on how easy they are to taxi.
It does seem that way but in each case it has been true, this thing is like driving a car and because there is little to no torque to deal with it goes exactly where you point it with no deviations. I highly doubt the either the P-51 or the Tempest will be easier, I can't actually see any way for any aircraft to get easier.
I mean let's put this another way, the P-38 taxies like the F/A-18C Hornet in DCS, that's how easy it is.
are you using track ir?
Wonder how it compares with the Mossie//
such a beautiful bird
I had Microsoft Combat Flight Simulator 2 flashbacks watching this one 👍
imagine that plane w/ swept, laminar flow wings
Magz, did you select the extra gun ammo in setup? Just curious as I thought the P-38 could pack quite a load.
Load out is 500 rounds per M2 50cal and 150 rounds of 20mm so about 20 seconds of firing continuous before going dry.
Chris S pretty sure it’s 150 of 20mm and 1200 or 2000 rounds of 50cal
@@567davefair Yes I was saying 500 per M2 so 2000 total rounds for all 4.
Can you adjust each engines rpm seperatly mags?
of course.
I think i remember the P38 also has a turbo
The whine he mentions is the turbo spooling up due to more air intake at speed. Seems the turbo is automatic in the 38 instead of manual like the 47.
@@NinjaGinga11 I think i remember he only was saying supercharger
How did you generate the mission? Did you did it yourself?
Looking forward to the tempest hope it’s good
Is this plane included in the patch, or do you need to spend $70(!) on the expansion?
TheBaronVSP It’s one the Collector planes included with Bodenplatte DLC, along with the FW190 D-9. I believe they will be purchasable separately once it’s fully released like all the other editions collector planes.
Magz, I’m an enormous P-38 aficionado and I’ve never heard of nor read about the P-38 lacking rudder authority (yaw). It is not mentioned in Warren Bodie’s book, nor the flight manual, the pilot handbook, nor Hal Hibbard’s technical writeup. Perhaps this lack of yaw should be reported as a bug?
Ok your taking something that was said while flying a bit to heavily here, I wasn't saying that it didn't have yaw, what IO was saying is the yaw was heavy, you can feel the fact that the yaw is trying to pivot two 1600hp Allison engines that are both trying to push forward against one and other. It gives the P-38 an odd feeling in the yaw in comparison to a single engine fighter and it takes some getting used to.
MagzTV - Got it. To be clear, I wasn’t questioning you as much as wondering about the sim modelling
Magz - would you mind checking to see how the modeled the gun harmonization? All guns should be firing parallel and gun convergence range should only affect vertical convergence. This is something Gaijin never got right on WT despite numerous bug reports. The easiest way to check is to set your convergence to the shortest distance it’ll allow and then test fire in the runway. If you’re getting a broad cone, you know they modeled it incorrectly
If there's anything we Americans can get right its building badass planes
A P38 with bombs? Gaijin please!
I thought the later variants carried bombs?
@@ArgieGrit They do, both the J and the L. Great birds! I think they drop the 500lb bombs separately too iirc
@@ArgieGrit Yeah, 500lb in game.
Since I downloaded that mighty update I was so hyped for.... the game crashes as soon as I launch it! It doesnt even go to the menu, black screen and desktop.... :'(
I was having that same problem pre-update, but after it released, it starts up no problem for me :/
@@Mach-2-Fishbed so you mean it's the opposite of me: It start working after the update when for me it stopped working after I downloaded it? and you didnt look for a solution? Cant find anybody online who had the same problem so far. I made a file checking via steam, it found the update files to be corrupted and starte downloading it all over again, , hope it will work this time because if does the same, I have no idea how to fix that! Wish me luck!
@@matydrum Yes, it's the opposite of you and I have no idea why. I tried to find out why my game had stopped working with no luck. I checked the files, did a fresh reinstall, and made sure my drivers were up to date, but nothing had worked.
I saw that the update had released, decided to give it a try (honestly just expected it to crash like before), but it decided to work. I am still baffled as to any of it, but I wish you the best of luck man.
@@Mach-2-Fishbed that's scary...sigh...Well have fun for me in the meantime! Enjoy!
@@Mach-2-Fishbed IT WORKED! XD
Now THATS some pure American power >=D
For metric users: that's around 450-460 kmh while carrying 4000 pounds of bombs...
Uhm... pounds is not a metric unit of measurement, should be around 1.800 kg :)
maybe one day they will add the Fokker G.1
I am going to be fellow P-38 enthusiast in a bit.
"Hey stuff"
am i stuff?
Air brakes...so it's a P-38J-25.
Nice. My grandfather shot one of those down.
You need to use the trim a lot more I can tell your buffeting in the tight turns. Crank that to -55 and watch her whip right around
TWO CRITICAL FUCKING ENGINE'S.
*I ♥ P-38s!* 👍👍
Geeeeeeeeeeeeday ladies and gents
My original Favorite plane ..then the P51...Mags is IL2 best than WT I just want to fly and have fun..WT is well you all ready know...cheers.
5 views in 60 seconds, that is amazing
157 views in 8 Minutes
We just need G4M Betty in the game now.
Does this sim support VR?
Yes
@@sonicapollo next question.... which vr to get?lol I was looking at rift s, but now that they announced the PC link for the quest I'm not sure. Seems like the quest may be the one I need.
@@TheVikingSailor VR is in a state of flux right now. Truth be told, racing/flight sims require a higher resolution than what is commonly used at the moment. I started with a vive and now the O+. I tried the index. If you want to play IL2 in single player, the current generation will do. I play multiplayer on mine, but it is a handicap for IDing. I think DCS really needs 2160 lines or more coupled with a clear area of focus. The reverb has the resolution, but is too narrow and I hate HP in general. The PIMAX 8kx seems to be the ticket, if it delivers, but it is a Chinese company that will treat you like a beta tester.
"Fork TAil Devil"
Would love a Lightning in DCS World
I swear to god I thought gaijjn bought il2 studios to make the war thunder game they look so similar to me
A good slogan for the P-38 should be "I'm a P-38, I don't give a shit" Potential T-shirt/Mug design yes?
Yussssss
I don't care if it's AI only we just need a B-17G