AOEFMD.TXT
~~~~~~~~~~
INSTALLATION - COPY THE UNZIPPED *.FMD FILES INTO YOUR AOE DIRECTORY. THE 
AOE PROGRAN WILL AUTOMATICALLY USE THE THESE FILES INSTEAD USING THE DATA 
IN THE SIM1.DYN AND SIM2.DYN FILES.  NO CHANGES ARE MADE TO ANY ORIGINAL AOE 
FILES, SO IF YOU DON'T WANT TO USE THE MODIFIED *.FMD FILES SIMPLY DELETE 
THEM.  THESE MODIFICATIONS WERE MADE WITH THE TIME "SLIDER" AT 50%.

THE *.FMD (FLIGHT MODEL DATA) FILES HAVE BEEN MODIFIED TO PRODUCE MORE 
REALISTIC ROLL, TURN, AND PITCH RATES.  MAXIMUM SPEEDS AND THE ALTITUDE AT 
WHICH THEY ARE ACHIEVED HAVE ALSO BEEN CORRECTED.  CEILINGS HAVE BEEN 
CORRECTED WHERE NECESSARY.  COMPRESSION SPEEDS HAVE BEEN LOWERED SO THAT
THE AIRCRAFTS' CONTROLS WILL BECOME EXTREMELY HEAVY BEFORE THE PLANE BEGINS
TO SHUDDER IN POWER DIVES.  SOME ADJUSTMENTS HAVE BEEN MADE TO THE STRUCTURAL
INTEGRITY OF A FEW PLANES, AND LANDING GEAR/FLAP DAMAGE NOW OCCUR AT A MORE
REALISTIC (LOWER) SPEEDS.  RUDDER EFFECTIVENESS HAS BEEN REDUCED, AND AILERON
"LOCK" HAS BEEN INTRODUCED IN A FEW PLANES.

MAXIMUM SPEEDS ARE ACHIEVED USING 100% POWER.  DYNAMIX'S MODELING OF ENGINE
BURN OUT IS TOO EXTREME.  GERMAN AIRCRAFT AT THIS STAGE OF THE WAR WERE
EQUIPPED WITH A MW-50 (METHANOL-WATER) BOOST SYSTEM. (ME-109'S WERE EQUIPPED
WITH EITHER MW-50 OR GM-1 NITROUS OXIDE)  ENOUGH WAS CARRIED FOR
FORTY MINUTES USE, AND IT COULD BE USED FOR 10 MINUTES AT A TIME, WITH 5 
MINUTES BETWEEN EACH USE. (THIS EXCLUDES THE ME-262 AND AR-234, OF COURSE)
THE P-47 ALSO HAD A SIMILAR WATER-INJECTION SYSTEM TO BOOST HORSEPOWER.
ALLIED IN-LINE ENGINES WERE NOT EQUIPPED WITH SPECIAL ADDITIVE-TYPE BOOSTERS, 
BUT COULD BE RUN IN "EMERGENCY" POWER FOR SOME TIME BEFORE "BURNING OUT."
ALTHOUGH I HAVE NOW DEFINITIVE FIGURES ON HOW LONG THIS WAS, COMBAT ACCOUNTS
TALK IN TERMS OF 5-10 MINUTES INSTEAD OF THE 1-2 MINUTES IN AOE.  THE BOTTOM
LINE IS THAT I TURN OFF THE "ENGINE BURNOUT" OPTION, AND USE 100% POWER WITH
SELF-IMPOSED RESTRAINT <G>.

HERE ARE SOME OF THE PROBLEMS I HAVE ATTEMPTED TO SOLVE WITH THESE MODIFICA-
TIONS:

-THE P-51, P-38, P-47, SPITFIRE 14, ME-109G, FW-190D COULD NOT REACH THEIR TOP 
SPEED AT THE CORRECT ALTITUDE. THEY'LL PERFORM BETTER NOW AT HIGH ALTITUDE.

-THE FW-190A COULDN'T REACH TOP SPEED.

-THE ME-262 COULD NOT MAKE RATED SPEEDS AT HIGH ALTITUDE.

-THE FW-190F WAS TOO MUCH OF A DOG. IT'S ACTUAL PERFORMANCE WAS NOT ALL THAT
DIFFERENT THE FW-190A. WHAT SLOWED IT DOWN AND MADE IT UNMANUEVERABLE WERE
ALL THE GUNS, ROCKETS, AND BOMBS SLUNG UNDERNEATH.

-THE ME-190K HAD THE HIGHEST PITCH RATE IN THE SIM: 2250 vs 1384 FOR BOTH
SPITFIRES AND THE P-51.  WHILE THE ME-109K HAD A HIGH RATE OF CLIMB AND WAS
EXTREMELY FAST, IT COULDN'T TURN WITH A SPIT OR MUSTANG.

-THE TYPHOON WAS TOO MANUVERABLE.

-THE TEMPEST MODELED IN THE SIM APPEARS TO BE THE THE MARK II, WHICH WAS NOT
USED IN WW2. ONLY THE MARK V WAS USED, AND IT HAD A TOP SPEED OF 429 MPH, NOT
CLOSE TO 450 MPH AS PORTRAYED IN AOE.

-BOTH MOSQUITOS COULD REACH 410+ MPH CLEAN IN THE SIM.  MAX SPEED FOR THESE
TYPES WAS 380 MPH.

IN GENERAL I WOULD SAY THESE MODIFICATIONS MAKE THE USE OF VERTICAL MANUEVERS
MUCH MORE IMPORTANT. TURNING BATTLES ARE LESS DECISIVE AND THE USE OF THE
VERTICLE MAY BE NECESSARY TO BREAK THE DEADLOCK.  MAKE USE OF THE PERFORMANCE EDGE
OF THE ME-109G AND K, P-47, AND SPITFIRE 14 AT HIGH ALTITUDES (26-30,000')
AND ATTEMPT TO DRAG OPPONENTS UP TO YOUR BEST ALTITUDE.  WHILE YOUR MAXIMUM
SPEED MAY BE AT A LOWER ALTITUDE, YOUR SPEED ADVANTAGE AT A HIGHER ALTITUDE
MAY BE MUCH GREATER.  DIFFERENCES ARE NOT AS GREAT AT LOWER ALTITUDES, BUT
IT IS WORTHWHILE TO STAY LOW IN A TYPHOON, AND THE MOSQUITOS ARE BEST AROUND
13-15,000 FEET.

THE ABILITY TO MODIFY THE AOE AIRCRAFT *.FMD FILES IS THE RESULT OF HARD
WORK DONE ON AOTP BY TARGERT, LARRY GRILL, AND BRIAN SANFORD. MY THANKS TO
THEM, AND A SPECIAL THANKS TO BRIAN FOR SHARING THE LOCATION AND FUNCTION OF
THE NEW DATA IN THE AOE FMD FILE.

PLEASE FORWARD ANY COMMENTS, GRIPES, OR SUGGESTIONS ON THESE MODIFICATIONS
TO ME.

NICHOLAS BELL
72162,1667

  
