I love this game.. but the planes we have are so messed up as far as what tier they're in and the flight characteristics that they exhibit that it's horrendous!

For example.. of the allied planes we have to choose from the 2 fastest should be the Spad S.XIII & SE5a
Both had a top speed of 222 kph / 138 mph although the SE5a was a much better platform for carrying bombs as it was far more stable. The Nieuport XVII was only able to achieve a top speed of 177 kph / 110 mph and as such should be rated well below the Spad in our hangars.

On the german side of the equation the famed Fokker Dr.I was by no means the top german fighter! It was perhaps the most famous because of the 'Red Baron' using it (even though he only made a small percentage of his total kills by using it) & it was undeniably one of the fastest turning and climbing planes in WWI but it was sloooooow with a top speed of only 165 kph / 103 mph Which is the exact same speed of the new plane we have had added to our hangers the Pfalz D.III
If any plane should be the 'freebie' plane in our hangers it should be the Eindecker E.III mono-winged fighter.. the first plane in WWI to be fitted with a dependable interrupter gear that allowed the machine gun to fire thru the propeller.. but used 'wing-warping'

The 2nd fastest german fighter and overwhelmingly regarded as the best german fighter of the war & the ONLY plane to be spoken about specifically in the Armistice - Treaty of Versailles was the Fokker D.VII
That is the plane that should occupy the top tier of the game.. (or the favorite of wig, the Siemens-Schuckert D.IV) but barring that, since zuperman is giving us the Fokker D.VIII it should be the top german fighter in the game as its speed was 188 kph / 117 mph (although it was said it could be tuned to reach 127 mph) and it handled great and was very tough.

I wish zuperman could make the characteristics of our fighters conform to their actual historic individual strengths & weaknesses.. i.e. the famed Sopwith Camel F.1 which had shot down more enemy planes in WWI than any other plane, was known to have lightning quick right-hand turns but turned left at about 1/4th that speed.. the Spad was known to out dive & outrun almost anything.. the Fokker triplane could turn on a dime and give you 7 cents change and was one of the fastest climbing german planes until the latter stages of the war.

I will post more links to sites that have more in-depth information about WWI planes.. I have found a few that included service ceilings and flight times/range but I have to relocate them now.

For more info on each plane as well as seeing them ranked by top speed click the link below.
(you can click a link on each plane to see a more in-depth review of them)

www.militaryfactory.com/aircraft/ww1-air...-ranked-by-speed.asp

and here's another list.. doesn't compare exactly to the one above but still it gives you some idea as to plane performance.


Airplane - Country - Speed (mph)

Eindecker III Germany 87

DH2 Britain 93

Nieuport Bebe X.I France 97

Albatros III Germany 109

Sopwith Pup Britain 111

Sopwith Camel Britain 115

Fokker DR I Germany 115

Sopwith Triplane Britain 116

Fokker D VII Germany 117

Spad VII France 132

SE5a Britain 138

Spad S.XIII France 138

I'm not the only one who doesn't care in the slightest bit, am I?

lol I had to share this..

MrBecken wrote: lol I had to share this..

That's funny Becken! ESPECIALLY the Albatros 'Heavy Bomber' because that's what our planes look like when carrying a bomb lol!

The Dr1 only flew at 98 mph actually. Not sure on the others though. But I think the sopwith camel flew at 130 mph

Is there a similar list for maneuverability?

zuperman wrote: Is there a similar list for maneuverability?

In the game what I would do is when you add the sopwith camel and the Dr. I in the game as the top planes make them one speed slower than the se5a and Albatross D.V.A and then give them another star in maneuverability. I have read things that albatross D.V.As and Dr.1 would fly together because with the albatrosses speed it made it hard for a enemy to jut speed away and with the Dr.1s agility it made it difficult for the enemy to win the dogfight once it got going.

The same thing could be done with the camel and the se5a.

That I think would work well at the present until you can find how maneuverable they were. If you look on wikipedia it should tell you how much lift to weight ratio L/w these planes had. You could then use that to figure how agile it was. More lift your wings generate the easier it is to pull a tight turn or maneuver. Same reason why aircraft with to much lift will do a loop right off the runway.

zuperman wrote: Is there a similar list for maneuverability?

I am putting together such a list based on many factors including (but not limited to) rate of roll & climb rate & wing loading & turning radius & historical references to each aircraft, as well as faithful reproduction testing & matchups.

I am currently researching various sources for real specifications on both our current aircraft and those that perhaps zuperman may add at a later date.

Here are just a couple actual scientific graphs I have gotten from NASA while researching:
(I have found many more, but this is a representation of just 2 of the sources I am utilizing in my research)









When I am done with my research and deliberations from reading historical data available about actual dogfights and matchups I will post lists of planes in order of both superiority AND maneuverability.
2 such lists will be needed as the most maneuverable plane in WWI combat was NOT always the superior plane.

Hear is the performance stats for each aircraft in the game of dogfight.

Allied air craft -

Airco DH2
Maximum speed: 93 mph (150 km/h) at sea level
Range: 250 mi (400 km)
Service ceiling: 14,000 ft (4,265 m)
Rate of climb: 545 ft/min (166 m/min)
Wing loading: 5.79 lb/ft² (28.3 kg/m²)

Nieport XI
Maximum speed: 156 km/h (97 mph)
Range: 330 km (205 miles)
Service ceiling: 4,600 m (15,090 ft)
Rate of climb: 15 mins to 3,000 m (9,840 ft)

Spad S.XIII
Maximum speed: 218 km/h (117 knots, 135 mph) at 2,000 m (6,560 ft)
Range: 171 mi (276 km) ()
Service ceiling: 6,650 m (21,815 ft)
Rate of climb: 2 m/s (384 ft/min)

Nieport XVII
Maximum speed: 177 km/h [4] (96 kn, 110 mph) at 2000m
Endurance: 1.75 hours
Service ceiling: 5,300 m (17,390 ft)
Wing loading: 37.9 kg/m² (7.77 lb/ft²)
Power/mass: 0.15 kW/kg (0.09 hp/lb)
Climb to 3,000 m (9,840 ft): 11.5 min

Se5a
Maximum speed: 138 mph (222 km/h)
Range: 300 miles (483 km)
Service ceiling: 17,000 ft (5,185 m)
Wing loading: 7.93 lb/ft² (38.82 kg/m²)

Sopwith Camel
Maximum speed: 115 mph (185 km/h)
Stall speed: 48 mph (77 km/h)
Range: 300 mi ferry (485 km)
Service ceiling: 21,000 ft (6,400 m)
Rate of climb: 1,085 ft/min (5.5 m/s)
Wing loading: 6.3 lb/ft² (30.8 kg/m²)
Power/mass: 0.09 hp/lb (150 W/kg)
Lift-to-drag ratio: 7.7

German aircraft -

Fokker Dr 1
Maximum speed: 185 km/h at sea level (115 mph at sea level)
Stall speed: 72 km/h (45 mph)
Range: 300 km (185 mi)
Service ceiling: 6,095 m (20,000 ft)
Rate of climb: 5.7 m/s (1,130 ft/min)
Lift-to-drag ratio: 8.0

Fokker E.III
Maximum speed: 140 km/h (87 mph; 76 kn)
Endurance: 1.5 hours
Service ceiling: 3,600 m (11,810 ft)
Rate of climb: 3.333 m/s (656.1 ft/min)
Time to altitude:
1,000 m (3,281 ft) in 5 minutes
3,000 m (9,843 ft) in 30 minutes

Albatros D.III
Maximum speed: 175 km/h (94 kn, 109 mph) at sea level
Range: 480 km (261 nmi, 300 mi)
Service ceiling: 5,500 m (18,044 ft)
Rate of climb: 4.5 m/s (886ft/min)
Wing loading: 37.5 kg/m² (7.67 lb/ft²)
Power/mass: 0.13 kW/kg (0.081 hp/lb)

Albatros D.V
Maximum speed: 186 km/h (116 mph; 100 kn)
Endurance: 350 km
Service ceiling: 5,700 m (18,701 ft)
Rate of climb: 4.17 m/s (821 ft/min)
Time to altitude: 1,000 m (3,281 ft) in 4 minutes

Pflaz D.III
Maximum speed: 165 km/h; 89 kn (102.5 mph) at 3,048 m (10,000 ft)
147.3 km/h (92 mph) at 4,572 m (15,000 ft)
Endurance: ca. 2½ hours
Service ceiling: 5,182 m (17,001 ft)
Rate of climb: 3.67 m/s (722 ft/min)
Time to altitude:
1,524 m (5,000 ft) in 6 minutes 55 seconds
3,048 m (10,000 ft) in 17 minutes 30 seconds

Fokker D8
Maximum speed: 204 km/h (127 mph; 110 kn)
Endurance: 1.5 hours
Service ceiling: 6,000 m (19,685 ft)
Rate of climb: 8.333 m/s (1,640.4 ft/min)
Time to altitude:
1,000 m (3,281 ft) in 2 minutes
4,000 m (13,123 ft) in 10 minutes 45 seconds