A case for stronger wings on the Tripe

[Schnitzel von Krumm 0]

As a big fan of the Sopwith Triplane, I spend a fair bit of time flying the three-winged wonder, both in career mode and quick combat. I love the plane and how the OFF devs have modelled it, with one significant exception - my wings keep falling off.

 

While I admit I'm not the greatest sim pilot in the world and I do tend to be a bit abusive, I think that the plane as modelled in OFF is a bit weak in the wing department.

 

There is/was a misconception that the Triplane was structurally weak. While a few Tripes did shed their wings at inopportune moments, it's probable that they suffered from a deficiency not present in most of the examples in service.

 

As such, I'd like to make a case for the strengthening of the wings on the Tripe in OFF.

 

As my first witness, I'd like to call the plane's number-one ace, Flt.-Lieut. Raymond Collishaw CB, DSO, DSC, DFC (34 of his 60 victories were in the Triplane). If there's an expert witness to be had to speak to the strengths and weaknesses of the Tripe, it's Collishaw.

 

Here's a passage from his memoirs, The Black Flight. The emphasis in bold was added by me to bring out what I thought were the most relevant parts.

 

"We had not been at Droglandt long when Squadron Commander Bell called the three Flight Commanders into his office and explained that he had a problem. During our time at Furnes, and even before I arrived on the Squadron, there had been several accidents resulting from structural failure of the Triplane in the air. The notion had taken form in the heads of some of the pilots that the Triplane, despite its virtues, could not be trusted and was likely to fold up without warning. As the Squadron Commander pointed out, it was quite impossible to re-equip Naval Ten with another type of machine, and it was essential that the pilots' faith in the Triplane be established. I had noticed no signs of weakness in the Triplanes that I had flown and obtained permission to take one up and fling it about over the aerodrome, to demonstrate what it would take. I took a machine up to around 4,000 feet and went through a series of dives, rolls looops and spins, finally coming down in a power dive and pulling up as violently as I dared. The Triplane stayed in one piece and I think that my little demonstration helped to re-establish its credit. In fact, there were no structural weaknesses in the Triplane but for some reason the sub-contractors who turned out machines under license from Sopwith substituted bracing wires that were thinner and weaker than those fitted by the Sopwith company. This, I believe, resulted in a theoretical built-in weakness in the machines thus produced, but even so there were very few failures from this cause."

 

So, how about some Sopwith-spec bracing wires for the Tripe in the next patch?

 

Pretty please?

Edited September 22, 2009 by Schnitzel von Krumm

[Hellshade 110]

Excellent argument for a plane I love too. But I don't know that there will be any other patches. The Devs are still working on a plane pack and Phase 4. Additionally, I seem to rarely if ever have wing failures and I like to whip her around pretty good up there. Dives followed by hard pull ups, barrel rolls to get into a kill position behind an EA and even the occassional loops, not to mention tight hard lefts and rights in the turn fights. I even posted a couple of videos of me toasting Albs in a tripe and there were a handful of violent manuevers in there. How often do you seem to have the problem? Did you perhaps already have some wing damage due to hun gunfire when they shed? Worse case scenerio, you can always turn off G-force effects in the workshop settings.

 

Hellshade

[Duce Lewis 3]

Schnitzel, there are a couple general rules I follow to keep my crate intact

1. Throttle back when diving

2. Pull up into a snap turn instead of trying to follow corkscrewing HA down

Tends to keep the wings on

 

Nieup pilots have reported diving in a skid to keep speed down

 

HTH,

[Olham 164]

Yes, you have to fly her the right way, SvK.

I have complained a lot about the weak lower wings of my Albatros,

but now I know, what I just CAN'T do.

I can't even, for example, pull her out of a shallow, throttle-back dive hard

with lots of G-force - they might break.

And what makes it real hard to accept: my opponent's Nupe 17 wings should

also fold, but on AI craft, they don't, and he happily escapes me!

[Schnitzel von Krumm 0]

Well, I do tend to fling her around a bit.

 

The manoeuvrability and responsiveness of the Tripe is her biggest appeal, though, so it would be nice to be able to use it without fear of the wings falling off prematurely. While just about any aircraft from that period could likely be induced to shed its wings with violent enough manoeuvring, it seems to be that the wings come off the Tripe a bit too easily in this game.

 

Anyway, thanks to all of you for the suggestions. I guess I'll just have to learn to be a little more gentle with her.

[+Polovski 440]

Tripe is fine, it will usually dive and survive however repeated mistreatment and oh dear..