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Overview The C205 is a C202 on steroids and is an improvement in almost every way. Still, the C205 is a uncommon aircraft to see in the MA and gets a bit of bum rap. I'm really not sure why this is other than that people don't really understand the plane and it is generally pretty poorly flown. Still, the C205 is by no means outstanding in any fashion, though I think some of the information about it might surprise more than a few people. |
 C.205 |
To be successful
The C205 is a fairly uncommon aircraft to bump into in the arena but not quite in the rare category. If anything it has gained in popularity over time as people have begun to become interested in it. Unfortunately, I think the statistics on use are a little misleading because I tend to see a lot of C205s participating in vulches often for the primary purpose of building up perk points more quickly. That said, the C205 is a reasonable opponent, not outstanding in any clear way, but probably a bit better than average in most. One of the biggest problems when encountering a C205 is knowing whether the guy at the controls is an ace, or just another clown, which can give a false impression of the aircrafts abilities.
The engine in the C205 is a vast improvement over the C202 and moves this plane more into the realm of the later war planeset that tends to dominate the arena. Sea-level cruise speed is 321mph (331mph with WEP), still pretty slow considering the average if faster aircraft you will likely encounter. Still, it is an improvement in an area that really hurt the C202. Speed increases fairly linearly with altitude gains with 345mph (cruise) available at only 6K, and a top cruise speed of 390mph at around 22.5K. Overall, WEP tends to add about 10mph to the top end at most altitudes. Those numbers are not fantastic, but don't clearly drop you out of competition with other aircraft. Above 23K the C205 starts to fade and is no match for a number of better high altitude aircraft in top speed. Climb rate is outstanding, a little understood aspect of the C205, beginning at over 4,000ft/minute at sea-level and slowly decreasing to 3,500ft/minute at 15K. That is in the top 5 of non-perked fighters and gives a solid band at low or medium altitudes where your climb rate should be quite effective. Acceleration and vertical performance also tend to be quite good though the plane is pretty light and tends not to hold energy really well. Fuel range is short at only 28 minutes at full power (no WEP) on internal fuel. No provision for droptanks are available so extend this and WEP use can seriously cut into range.
The firepower of the C205 is quite good, a vast improvement in the other major weak area of the C202. While there are technically two different setups available in the hanger, a twin 7.7mm plus pair of 12.7mm as in the C202, or a pair of 12.7mm with wing mounted 20mm cannons. You really do need the cannons and I doubt anyone really flies without them on purpose. The 12.7mm guns are cowl mounted, and given a solid 370 rounds/gun, allowing for good clustering of hits even with the convergence set out to D650. I find these guns fairly effective and easy to aim, but considering they are only a pair, it takes a while for them to be effective. I tend to use them for herding people, or to keep them honest if they try and run straight away. The cannons in the wings are Mg 151/20's, same as most LW birds, and each are provided with 250rounds of ammunition. The cannons should be set to your typical engagement range (D200-D350 most likely) and can easily damage aircraft if they land hits. Aiming is a little tougher with these cannons, just like the German fighters equipped with the same model. It's more of having an eye for them though so you need to fly with them a bit to get used to their aim point as compared to something that has a flatter and faster trajectory. In general, firepower is very good, with a good snapshot, deflection, or tracking ability, albeit that the wing mounted cannons start to lose ballistically over the 12.7mm cowl weapons outside about D350. Long range shots are likely better left to the cowl weapons if the target is maneuvering at all.
I've at times been a little harsh on the C205 for maneuverability and I can't say I'm overly impressed, but it does seem pretty decent. The C205 only weighs in at around 7,500 pounds, an increase of over 1,000 pounds over the C202 but still somewhat of a medium-light weight as compared to many fighters. The wing area of the C205 hasn't changed from the C202 although the planes seem to handle almost the same from what I can tell. The C205 does feel fairly stable although at lower speeds appears to be a bit less so. The stall is rather abrupt and violent although recovers is easy but simply releasing pressure on the controls and regaining airspeed. The plane does seem a little nose heavy which tends to help get the nose down in stall situations and aid in recovery. A C205 will reverse almost naturally at the top of a zoom climb when it runs out of airspeed, something few planes can boast. Sustained turn rate is pretty good, especially at higher speeds, but also down to around 200mph. Speeds less than that are really hard to gauge, but it doesn't feel like the C205 is well suited to slow speed stall fighting. Dive performance is very good, although the transition between full control and almost complete loss of stick response is fairly abrupt. 550mph seems like it should be about the extent of diving speed, though the plane is highly responsive. By 575mph there is serious buffeting and 590mph leads to compression which is likely unrecoverable.
The C205 is a better plane that most people give it credit, though it still isn't what would normally be considered an outstanding performer. The extra firepower, speed, and climb imparted over the C202 model can all be put to good use and make it quite deadly if it can dictate a fight and stop an enemy from fleeing with greater speed. As a BnZ'r, the plane really shows it's strengths while hiding what might be the only real weakness, a lack of top end speed. The cannons provide the firepower for almost any type of shot and the C205 is best flown fairly aggressively. Try and arrive at any fight with a slight altitude advantage and convert this into speed for attacking and returning to safety above the defensive enemy. The use of climb rate is somewhat over-rated in AH as most combat tends to be sufficiently short duration than to allow a slow building of advantage through superior climb. WEP is very important, save it for combat and don't waste it on climb or transit. Without WEP you are likely to feel like a weakling and your aircraft will perform significantly worse, while the use of WEP decreases your fuel supply quickly. One additional warning, the C205 seems (and I think many would agree) to bleed energy quite quickly over some other aircraft. The acceleration and climb will help you replace lost energy, but you really don't want to find yourself bled out against an equal, or superior, turner.
Defensively, the C205 has far more options than the C202 did. Your speed and climb may be enough to enable you to escape from enemy aircraft though typically not. Planes like the P-51 and La7 are just too fast and likely to track you down quickly. Your turn rate is fairly average so you may have the opportunity to maneuver to avoid enemies. Even if you have to dive away you should have the control and acceleration to stay with most of the good divers. Often the C205 does need the help of other friendly aircraft though so staying near friends is a good manner to maintain a good defense. Roll rate is good, scissors should be pretty effective with your acceleration giving good sprints in-between each reversal. Also, you can look to create overshoot conditions since you have the firepower to quickly capitalize on enemies who overshoot you and end up a close or medium range infront of you. You are also a good zoomer so if you have a speed advantage at lower altitudes you may be able to out-zoom your opponents.
The C205 really is quite a reasonable plane and I don't think it gets even a portion of the credit that it is due. In the hands of a reasonable pilot a C205 can make life very difficult for most opponents.
To beat it
The C205 is pretty average defensively but does have a number of options depending on the conditions of the fight, more than you may think. I don't know why this is but I've seen a lot of C205 pilots try and fly it like a real TnB'r though and are pretty much lost to that style of defense (which isn't very effective). This is a shame because while the C205 doesn't stand out in any one way, it sure has a bunch of different characteristics that can show up.
Offensively, keep your energy up and force the C205 to fight your fight. There is a pretty good chance that you are either faster, or turn better, than the C205 so figure out which you are and then fight that fight. The C205 does turn reasonably well over a wide speed range, except at VERY fast, and slow speeds. The C205 also seems to burn energy rather quickly so if you can keep the pressure on you may find the C205 trading altitude quickly for speed. Watch the C205's climb, zoom, roll and acceleration, they can be quick and hard to follow. The C205 is actually in the top 5 in climb rate under 4K, which is scary, so if you get caught low and the C205 gets separation long enough to initiate a climb you may not be able to easily catch him. You don't want to Head-On attack a C205 either, they have too much firepower and will quickly damage you. The cannons are wing mounted though and people tend to set the convergence on them short giving a brief opportunity to attack head on from outside of D800, breaking off quickly before D500. The cowl guns might still hurt you though and you are likely to give up some sort of hits to his 20mm cannons.
Defensively, you need to try and keep your speed up and maneuver to build separation before breaking away. You can't afford to give the C205 a snapshot opportunity as it has too much firepower and will hit you hard. The C205 is a good climber so don't get sloppy and simply try to extend level or in a shallow climb. Also, while it is a good diver it does lose the maneuvering edge a bit over 500mph. By 550+mph it starts to become quite unmaneuverable and recovery may not be possible for an inexperienced pilot. The C205 is weakest near sea-level in top speed (331mph with WEP) so many planes can probably dive away to lower altitudes and have a speed advantage to boot, just make sure the C205 won't catch you on initial dive acceleration or close up the distance with superior initial speed. WEP time on the C205 is also only 5 minutes, and once WEP is used up it becomes much worse and barely better than a C202. Try and drag the C205 to friendlies if you can to make chasing you unattractive. If you have a good turner at low speeds, get the C205 into a stall fight where you can drag him out of energy.
You can't afford to treat a C205 too brazenly, but most of the popular aircraft shouldn't have too much trouble dealing with one.