La-5FN Roll rate [Document and track.file attached]

[Roland_HUNter]

Greetings!

According to the source I found - Luftwaffe Test Pilot: Flying Captured Allied Aircraft of World War II by Hans-Werner Lerche (1980) - the official evaluation report is available in both English and German.

The report states that the La-5FN was capable of performing a full 360-degree roll in approximately 4 seconds. In-game, however, the aircraft is currently able to complete the same maneuver in around 2.3-2.5 seconds, which is significantly beyond the documented historical performance.

In the attached track file, the aircraft completes a full 360-degree roll in approximately 2.7 seconds to the right and 2.4 seconds to the left, which is far beyond the values described in the historical Luftwaffe evaluation.

As this discrepancy has a major impact on flight behavior and combat balance, I kindly ask you to review and correct the aircraft's roll rate based on the historical test documentation and official Luftwaffe evaluation data.

What makes this especially important is that other performance characteristics of the aircraft already match the report very closely. On page 154, the report lists a top speed of 648 km/h at 6000 meters, while the in-game aircraft reaches approximately 646 km/h - an extremely accurate match to the documented data.

This shows that the report itself is already being used as a reliable historical source for the aircraft's flight model. Therefore, it would be reasonable for the roll rate data from the same report to be reflected accurately as well.

Additionally, one page of the original German evaluation document itself can be found reproduced on page 174 of the book, further supporting the authenticity and traceability of the source material.

It is also worth noting that other Soviet aircraft, such as the Yak-3, reportedly perform beyond their documented test values in-game in several areas, making historically accurate corrections even more important for overall consistency and balance.

Thank you for your time and for considering historically sourced feedback.

Kind regards,
Roland_HUNter

La5FN Roll Rate.rar

[MDzmitry]

I tried measuring it as well, got the following numbers at 1000m and 500 km/h indicated air speed:

• 4,8s for Bf 109 G-2
• 3,28s for Fw 190 
• 2,93s for La-5FN

Keep in mind that my rolling was a bit sloppy, without rudder assistance and only to the right.

In my opinion La-5 could use a bit of roll decrease, at least to the level of ~100 degrees/sec, which would put it nicely in between the 109 and 190 (as it was described to be) while being close enough to the stated "4 seconds" without getting dangerously close to the 109 territory (which would just make La-5 obsolete if you ask me). A fine enough compromise.

Have track files if they're needed, used recording + video editing software to measure the times.

Edited Friday at 04:54 PM by MDzmitry

[MDzmitry]

12 часов назад, MDzmitry сказал:

I tried measuring it as well, got the following numbers at 1000m and 500 km/h indicated air speed:

• 4,8s for Bf 109 G-2
• 3,28s for Fw 190 
• 2,93s for La-5FN

Keep in mind that my rolling was a bit sloppy, without rudder assistance and only to the right.

In my opinion La-5 could use a bit of roll decrease, at least to the level of ~100 degrees/sec, which would put it nicely in between the 109 and 190 (as it was described to be) while being close enough to the stated "4 seconds" without getting dangerously close to the 109 territory (which would just make La-5 obsolete if you ask me). A fine enough compromise.

Have track files if they're needed, used recording + video editing software to measure the times.

After a bit of discussion, I personally think the problem could lie not with the ailerons effectiveness, but a possible miscalculation of the Lavochkins' inertia in a roll, meaning they accelerate to their maximum velocity noticeably quicker than fighters like Fw 190, which they shouldn't really be capable of. 

So it could be that, just a point to consider.

With the inertia increased, La-5s could easily go below the 190's time, while keeping the plane's performance believable and making it feel more authentic ("feel the weight better").

 

Edited yesterday at 05:37 AM by MDzmitry
Slight phrasing corrections, added 3rd paragraph.