Are SE5a wings made of balsa wood?

[Majpalmer]

I started an Se5a career. (PW). First time I've flown this aircraft. Second mission coming up on a 2 seater, I hear a single hit on my left wing, and it rips off! Fluke, I thought. Restarted the mission. Attack another DFW. Same thing! 

 

It's not as if I was pounded. I heard one zing and goodbye to the wing. 

 

Are Se5as notably ... undurable? Can't take gs? Damage?

 

I've got hours in Albatrosses and Pfalzs. In RoF scores of hours in everything but Se5as. I've never seen wings rip off one of my aircraft with a bullet or two. 

[1PL-Husar-1Esk]

We are waiting for wings strength revision,  should be done after fuel system release for ww2.

[=IRFC=kotori87]

Are SE5a wings made of balsa wood? Certainly not! Balsa wood is the hardest hardwood in the world, and would probably be an improvement over what we've got now. There's a reason all of the R/C airplanes are made of the stuff.

 

Joking aside, The SE5a (and the SPAD, and the Dolphin, and the Albatros D.Va, and the Pfalz D.XII, and the Camel, and the...) have unreasonably weak wings in-game right now. A single bullet to the wing (or a flak burst 100 feet away) will probably shatter one of your wing spars, reducing your wing strength significantly. While most WWI-era planes can easily manage 5-6 Gs during combat maneuvers, once you take a hit your effective G rating may have been reduced to 1.5 to 2 Gs. And that's before you consider the added strain from aileron rolls, etc. This has little effect on AI planes, since they rarely approach these limits in the first place, but it had a devastating impact on the WWI multiplayer community. The faster planes are more vulnerable to this, since they need the higher speeds and G loads to fight. Basically if you take one or two hits, you have to dive away and pray your wings don't collapse on the pullout, or switch to extremely low-energy turn-fighting which will most likely get you killed.

 

The good news is that the devs have (finally) acknowledged that there *might* be a teensy-weensy little problem, and have stated their intention to investigate once they are done with the drop tanks/fuel management system.

 

Until then, your best bet for a PW career is to fly a plane that is bugged in the other direction, like the Pfalz D.III or the Bristol Fighter. Both of those have a reputation for extremely tough wings that are virtually immune to battle damage.

[JG1_Vonrd]

On 3/20/2022 at 9:05 AM, kotori87 said:

the Pfalz D.III or the Bristol Fighter. Both of those have a reputation for extremely tough wings that are virtually immune to battle damage.

Since the last update it seems that the Pfalz D.III is now like the other borked planes. A few bullets and the wings fold easily. Haven't tested this extensively though and I'm pretty fed up with this issue so I'm more interested in the other sim with the clickable cockpits.

[Majpalmer]

Thanks. A saw a video from one of the Experten complaining that he had the wings on his Mustang fold, too.