In FC, "on fire" should equal "dead"

[AeroCrab]

... or at least "dead-ish". As things stand, I can light up an enemy plane and then have it fly around for a few minutes (sometimes attacking things). Then one of my wingmen will show up and do a "last bullet" operation and steal my kill. I'm aware that the game itself seems to operate on a "you, as player, shot it once so we award you the kill" basis, but the log output tells a different story, and that's all PWCG has to operate on.

Not that I want to harp too much on "realism," but I'd expect everybody to "see" an aircraft on fire and recognize it as "combat ineffective" and move on to something else.

(Yes, I'm just salty that my kills are being "stolen" by non-existent computer people. The struggle is real )

[Nealg49]

Oh, I can feel your frustration.  Recently, I had lit up a FW 190, flying a Tempest MkV, and the engine burst gloriously into flames!  Then a member of my AI flight shot past me on my left, fired off a burst, and did I get credit for the ill?  No. 

I have a hard enough time even hitting anything, so, I'd like credit for my kills when I do accidentally get one!😂

Edited May 27 by Nealg49

[jokash]

The reverse is true also....someone butchers an plane,you swoop in - fire a burst and get a kill.

[catch]

8 hours ago, jokash said:

The reverse is true also....someone butchers an plane,you swoop in - fire a burst and get a kill.

Yes, but that is merely taking advantage of an opportunity. When the reverse occurs, it is damn bad form.

[Nealg49]

On 5/28/2026 at 7:54 AM, jokash said:

The reverse is true also....someone butchers an plane,you swoop in - fire a burst and get a kill.

I have actually tried that. Missed every darn time!🥸

[elephant]

AeroCrab is right, not only because of the stolen kills, but it is ridiculous to see a plane on fire acting as normal and fighing, for several minutes.

Upon fire the plane should be written off immediately and the pilot should try to make procedures in order to cease the fire if possible (stopping the engine and diving)

 

Edited May 30 by elephant

[AeroCrab]

Folks have noted that this is a thing for WWII as well, and that is certainly true. I posted about FC specifically because "an aircraft made of highly-flammable materials should not fly around fighting for minutes on end" seems like a particularly uncontroversial take. I would expect the AI pilot to have about seven seconds to curse a cruel fate and/or utilize a parachute should he be so fortunate as to have one. Certainly not line up a revenge attack, or shlep off towards home while (presumably) roasting marshmallows.

Since this does seem entirely uncontroversial to me, and since I know the game has the "on fire" information (based on the plaintive cries of my WWII wingmen), I have to assume there is something making handling this sort of thing difficult that I haven't thought of. Probably some "if you do this, it implies that" sort of deal, where "that" is really difficult to deal with. Not knowing the internals, I have no idea.

But if there's some way to have the on-fire SPAD not keep flying around shooting things for another three minutes, that would indeed be swell. 

[Aapje]

I would think that this is also fairly simply to implement, since it would just be:

if fire -> bail out right away. 

[elephant]

23 hours ago, AeroCrab said:

But if there's some way to have the on-fire SPAD not keep flying around shooting things for another three minutes, that would indeed be swell. 

Spads can stay "alive" under water too! 😁

 

[J18]

Rear gunners also keep on firing even though their plane is engulfed in flames. Another bit of suspect realism is how long planes can fly with a holed radiator or oil tank. Flying for around 20 minutes or more in FC before the engine seizes. Is that viable?

[Avimimus]

On 7/7/2026 at 2:12 AM, J18 said:

Rear gunners also keep on firing even though their plane is engulfed in flames. Another bit of suspect realism is how long planes can fly with a holed radiator or oil tank. Flying for around 20 minutes or more in FC before the engine seizes. Is that viable?

I'm not sure either of these things are inaccurate. I've read after action reports where gunners kept firing all the way down... especially if you don't have parachutes - what can you do? Hope the pilot crash lands quickly enough or the fire stays localised - and keep defending yourself.

As for the radiator holes - it might depend a lot on the radiator design and how much fluid is being pumped how quickly, as well as how much air cooling the engine is receiving anyway etc. So this takes some research I think. I'd want to look at actual after action reports involving battle damage or look at the design of the specific aircraft in question.

[J18]

On 7/23/2026 at 11:15 PM, Avimimus said:

I'm not sure either of these things are inaccurate. I've read after action reports where gunners kept firing all the way down... especially if you don't have parachutes - what can you do? Hope the pilot crash lands quickly enough or the fire stays localised - and keep defending yourself.

As for the radiator holes - it might depend a lot on the radiator design and how much fluid is being pumped how quickly, as well as how much air cooling the engine is receiving anyway etc. So this takes some research I think. I'd want to look at actual after action reports involving battle damage or look at the design of the specific aircraft in question.

Gunners firing from blazing planes, common sense would say that the gunner and pilot would be either dead or badly burned. However aircrew remain so mentally composed as to continue to operate as if nothing's happening. One instance I saw, the pilot of a DH-4 landed his fiercely burning crate in a field with an almost perfect touch down. There are exceptions to the rule, but these exceptions seem to be the norm, planes belching black smoke and steam flying back to base with no problems, Fe-2b gunners firing through the propeller arc and shooting into the engine a few inches from the pilot's head Nice!

[Avimimus]

9 hours ago, J18 said:

Gunners firing from blazing planes, common sense would say that the gunner and pilot would be either dead or badly burned. However aircrew remain so mentally composed as to continue to operate as if nothing's happening. One instance I saw, the pilot of a DH-4 landed his fiercely burning crate in a field with an almost perfect touch down. There are exceptions to the rule, but these exceptions seem to be the norm, planes belching black smoke and steam flying back to base with no problems, Fe-2b gunners firing through the propeller arc and shooting into the engine a few inches from the pilot's head Nice!

One should never trust common sense.

(1) What part(s) of the aircraft is burning?

(2) In what direction is the hot air from the fire (chemical reaction) blowing?

(3) What is the intensity of infra-red light being given off by the chemical reaction?

(4) What factors might be shielding (or cooling) the aircrew?

These aircraft are small... their gas tanks are only two to four times that of a small cars. Because gasses are being swept away from the fire by the wind, I suspect that total energy going into infrared light would be smaller (maybe 500 MJ to be generous for a 100 litre fuel tank), and less than a fifth of that would be experienced by the pilot... and that is assuming a full tank burning completely (which is unlikely, and would also be spread over time). The pilot will also be wearing a heavy leather coat with an internal fur lining, the pilot will also be cooled by at least 150 km/h of wind (more in a tractor aircraft, as the pilot will be in the prop stream).

So, if the fuel tank is in the cockpit with the pilot - or if it is in front of the pilot - being badly burned is a definite possibility. If the fuel tank is located elsewhere, the concern is more likely structural failure.

P.S. The wood on these aircraft is thin and quite vulnerable to burning if exposed to enough heat, the fabric was heavy duty, it was still thin enough that it was translucent on a lot of aircraft, and more importantly it was doped - which often made it a lot more flammable. I doubt these components have enough total fuel and are densely packed enough to burn the pilot alive (at least if the entire cockpit compartment doesn't go up simultaneously).

[Husar]

Engine fires are too easy to extinguish by mixture or throttle to minimum. Fuel tank fires are rarely seen, and even they can often be put out by diving steeply while applying opposite rudder.  So  - on fire death is not good idea especially in a multiplayer.

Edited July 25 by Husar