Pfalz D

Pfalz D.III

Pfalz Flugzeug-Werke has been producing license-built Morane monoplanes since 1913. In 1917, the company produced the first original design of its own, the Pfalz D.III biplane. It received a larger engine in 1918, becoming the D.IIIa. Over 600 D.IIIas were delivered by war's end, and although it was slightly inferior in performance to the Albatros and Fokker scouts of the time, it was well liked by pilots for its handling and durability.

The D.IIIa burns 6.7 gallons of aviation fuel per hour of routine usage. The plane had a historical endurance of 2½ hours. A full load of fuel and ammo costs $14.30.

Pfalz D.IIIa

Subassemblies: Recon Fighter chassis +2; Recon Fighter wings with Biplane option +2; 2 fixed wheels +0.

Powertrain: 134-kW HP gasoline engine with 134-kW old prop and 21.5-gallon fuel tank [Body].

Occ.: 1 XCS Body

Cargo: 7 Body

Armor F RL B T U

Body: 2/2C 2/2C 2/2C 2/2C 2/2C

Wings: 2/2C 2/2C 2/2C 2/2C 2/2C

Wheels: 2/3 2/3 2/3 2/3 2/3

Weaponry:

2xAircraft LMG/7.92 mm LMG 08/15 [Body:F] (500 rounds each).

Statistics:

Size: 23'x30'x9' Payload: 0.14 tons Lwt.: 1.03 tons

Volume: 96 Maint.: 97 hours Cost: $4,213

HT: 6. HPs: 15 Body, 100 each Wing, 3 each Wheel.

aSpeed: 103 aAccel: 3 aDecel: 35 aMR: 8.5 aSR: 1

Stall Speed: 40 mph. Take-Off Run: 178 yards. Landing Run: 160 yards.

gSpeed: 182 gAccel: 9 gDecel: 10 gMR: 0.5 gSR: 2

Ground Pressure: High. 1/6 Off-Road Speed.

Design Notes:

Historical wing area was 240 sf. MG load outs are a guess. Design payload was 390 lbs; the historical value has been substituted. The weight, cost, and HPs of the wings were doubled to increase design weight; it was increased another 5% to the historical. Design aSpeed was 115 mph. Performance calculations were based on historical values for wing area and loaded weight. A 30-gallon fuel tank was purchased for the design; the historical capacity is shown. The Body MGs are synchronized, lowering RoF by 10% (see p. W:MP8). Using the calculated gSpeed at 1/6 Off-Road speed (30 mph) gSpeed is still 75% of stall speed, so the plane could therefore potentially get airborne in a bumpy field, at the GM's discretion.

Variants:

The D.III (1917) featured a 119-kW engine.

An single experimental triplane version was constructed, but was never flown.

From the Aerodrome for GURPS