"monkey" wrote in message
om...
"Dudley Henriques" wrote in message
hlink.net...
"Hobo" wrote in message
...


How indicative of maneaverability are the max G numbers of fighter
aircraft?

You can pull max g all the way out to the structural limits of the
airframe.....but at what turn rate?.....radius? And where does that put
you
in relation to the adversary? (Delta Ps)
In order to determine maneuverability, the g ability to pull g has to be
married into an overall performance graph; then this graph must be
compared
to other aircraft. You can't just use one specific to determine a
fighter's
performance, or ability to maneuver. It takes the integration of many
different factors, all interfaced into the flight envelope to determine
maneuverability. The ability to pull g is inherent in every
fighter......what you do with that g, and WHERE in the envelope you pull
that g are much more pertinent to maneuverability than the fact that you
CAN
pull g.
Then, after you determine all this, there's roll rate, stability, axis
coupling limits, and a whole slew of other good stuff to feed into the
equation.
It's a complicated process. G, and the ability to pull g, are simply
factors
in this HUGE overall process of determining maneuverability.
Hope this helps a bit.
Dudley Henriques
International Fighter Pilots Fellowship
Commercial Pilot/ CFI Retired
For personal email, please replace
the z's with e's.
dhenriquesATzarthlinkDOTnzt

G is not really important from a tactical perspective, what is
important in a turning engagement is turn rate or turn radius; which
of these should be maximized depends on the situation (eg defensive,
offensive, 2 vs 1 circle fight). I won't get into the specifics except
to state that g is not a very significant measure of fighter
performance.

monkey
canadian fighter pilot

I can't tell if you are trying to add to what I said, or trying to correct
what I've said in some way? From what I'm reading, I believe what you are
saying is EXACTLY what I just said....which is correct!
:-)
Dudley Henriques
International Fighter Pilots Fellowship
Commercial Pilot/ CFI Retired
For personal email, please replace
the z's with e's.
dhenriquesATzarthlinkDOTnzt