Curtiss P-40N Warhawk / KittyHawk IV Early, Mid-Production and Training Versions
Ready to fly the fastest, lightest weight and most agile versions of one of the most historic and famous Allied fighters of WWII? Ready for some low-level dog fighting and ground attack missions? Care to take a stripped-down training model on a personal cross-country tour or to perform aerobatics or even racing? And ready to do this in a plane that you can take to any climate on Earth, in any season? Then these aircraft are for you.
Outstanding as a close ground support aircraft, the P-40 somehow gained a post-war reputation as a mediocre design as an air superiority fighter. Modern research has shown that the P-40 in reality performed surprisingly well in this regard, too, taking a very heavy toll of enemy aircraft, including when flown against the lightweight and maneuverable Japanese fighters like the Oscar and Zero.
Later versions, such as the N version of this package, were the most capable. Climb performance was still below average, and performance above 15,000 feet lagged behind many other fighters, but manouverability at mid to low level was truly excellent, dive acceleration was good and dive speed was excellent. The highest-scoring P-40 ace, Clive Caldwell (RAAF), who claimed 22 of his 28?kills in the type, said that the P-40 had "almost no vices.?
The P-40 tolerated harsh conditions in the widest possible variety of climates, from the heat and humidity of the Pacific to the dust and sand of the North African deserts to the Arctic conditions of Alaska and Russia. It was a semi-modular design and thus easy to overhaul and repair, including in the field. Although it lacked many of the aircraft innovations of the later War fighters, it made up for this with a strong structure including a five-spar wing, which enabled P-40s to even go so far as to survive several midair collisions (some intentional). Caldwell said P-40s "would take a tremendous amount of punishment, violent aerobatics as well as enemy action.?Operational range was good by early war standards, and was almost double that of the Supermarine Spitfire or Messerschmitt Bf 109, although this was quickly overtaken my newer aircraft types.
The P-40 offered the additional advantage of low cost, which kept it in production as a ground-attack aircraft and a trainer long after it was obsolete as a fighter.
More N were built than any other P-40 variant, some 5,215 in all. The last rolled off of the production line in Buffalo, NY, on November 30, 1944.
As of 2013, it was reported that some 72 P-40 were still in existence (25 of those being N models), with 31 of those (10 N) being airworthy.
This package contains 5 models, with 2 different VC's (early main panel and intermediate panel):
1. Early lightweight 4-gun, with classic early 'birdcage' canopy (as found on the E.F, and G models, etc.)
2. Later lightweight 4-gun, with standard N model canopy
3. Later lightweight 6-gun, with standard N model canopy
4. Mid-production bare metal aircraft
5. Unarmed but otherwise complete, training model
6. Stripped and unarmed, very lightweight training model
A few of the features:
Highly refined flight dynamics: can and must be flown 'by the book';
Airspeed effects flight control effectiveness;
Realistic inertial starter sequence on aircraft with on-board starter (late versions);
Working weapons system, including accurate rate of fire and number of rounds;
Accurate orange tracer rounds;
Working collimated gunsight;
Working recognition light system;
Six different models;
Six different researched paint schemes;
Accurate and challenging ground-handling characteristics;
Photo luminescent gauges;
Spotlight cockpit lighting;
Individual gauge lighting where applicable;
Droppable drop tank, that removes weight and fuel from the aircraft.cfg for realistic performance change;
Fully selectable fuel system;
Accurate engine performance;
Working oxygen breather gauge;
Canopy can be jettisoned;
Working emergency gear extension;
32 page Manual;
Paint kit and Manual included, in the main aircraft folder.
