P-40 "Tomahawk/Kitthawk/Warhawk"
P-40C
AEC:
The P-40C is a straight upgrade over the P-36 series, boasting a more powerful engine and streamlined fuselage. The P-40C maintains the decent energy retention from the previous aircraft however its overall lack in engine output means that it can hardly hold 260 mph throughout the lap. At least the AEC algorithm is good, it's the only thing really going for this aircraft.
MEC:
Because the AEC is already so good there's little I could do to improve upon it. Combinations of 90% and 10% are fine but not any faster. Pushing rads% any harder can cause serious overheat later in the race, requiring a cowling dump and that’ll ruin any minor improvement made during the race.
P-40E-1
AEC:
The 400 horsepower boost in performance is appreciated. However the cooling situation wasn't addressed. So the increase in horse power also increased how quickly the engine overheated. First overheat occurs in H4 and its downhill from there, similar overheating cycle as the previous hawks. At least now the P-40 has the power to bulldoze through corners. It feels fine to race, if perhaps just a little bit "mid".
MEC:
90%/100% is the ideal set up for the P-40E. While it may be aerodynamically inefficient to have the cowl flaps fully open the entire race it does allow the P-40E to WEP the entire race, only overheating once.
P-40F-10
AEC:
The difference between the F and the previous models is the introduction of the Merlin engine. In fact its the exact same engine on the P-51C’s however due to the P-40’s size and weight the unboosted merlin is unable to provide the needed horse power to overcome the Kitty hawks massive size. Maybe if this race was at 5000 feet or greater there would be a noticeable improvement in performance, but alas I am at sea level. Overall the F flies a little slower, compresses a little harder and retains the same overheating problems from the previous P-36 hawks.
MEC:
No amount of MEC will prevent this aircraft from overheating. 90% - 50% to start out with but throughout the race the engine temps keep creeping and by the chicane you are stuck in an over heating cycle even on 90% - 100%.
P-40F-5
AEC:
The F-5 retains the same overheating problems as the F-10 however it overheats in different parts of the race. For example, by the time I get to the final bridge if my temp numbers are at 255 F to 257 F or higher and are blinking red I know I have flown the race properly. However if I'm at 253 F then there were sections of the lap I could have raced slightly faster. The difference between these two numbers can be as much as a second of saved time. So in other words, the F-5’s overall flight performance is no different from the rest of the P-40’s in general.
MEC:
With 90% - 50% I did not fully overheat until after the second hairpin. After that I was on 100% radiator percent until the end. This seems to have fixed the overheating problem a little bit. Interestingly the F-10 and the F-5 have the exact same performance on paper however because they over heat in different places the F-5 is ever so slightly faster.
Fun Facts:
The P-40 served with 18 nations across 60 subvariants. The names of the different P-40 variants diverged around the introduction of the P-40D where the RAF was expecting delivery of the new P-46 fighters, but that program fell apart and instead they got P-40D’s with the same name as the now defunct P-46’s. All variants before the D were called Tomahawks; in British service at least D-E were referred to as Kittyhawks; Merlin powered P-40’s got the nickname Warhawk and all other ensuing variants followed suit. There is a single photo out there of the only example of a “twin P-40.” A P-40 airframe with two merlin engines mounted over the gear, there are no photos of the aircraft nor are there any stories. In the future gaijian could finish out the Curtiss collection with aircraft like the P-46, XP-53, or P-60 which were all futher evolutions on the P-36 and P-40 idea; each furth x-plane either possessing more firepower or more engine/propellers than its successor.