F-80A-5

F-80A-5

F-82E

F-80C-10

F-80A-5

F-82E

F-80C-10

USA

V Rank

Battle rating:

AB	RB	SB
6.7	7.0	7.0

Class:

Fighter

Jet fighter

Research:82 000

Purchase:240 000

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Description

The F-80A-5 Shooting Star is a Rank V American jet fighter with a battle rating of 6.7 (AB) and 7.0 (RB/SB). It was introduced in Update 1.39. The plane was redesignated from the P-80A-5 to the F-80A-5 in Update 1.79 "Project X".

The main purpose of the F-80 is to teach a pilot how to fly jets in general. If a pilot is doing well (read: has even or close to even k/d) in the F-80, he's ready to move to higher tiered jets. Never give up your speed: it is the plane's insurance. Only trade it for altitude in zoom climbs!

Be careful that the jet is up-tiered quite a lot. When this happens, strictly adhere to the rules set forth in this article or you will be at a great disadvantage.

One thing to take note of is the M2 Brownings. Sadly, they are insufficient for high-speed combat due to the low rate of fire and subsequently limited damage output. This issue is later on fixed with the M3 Browning on the successor F-80C Shooting star, but the ammunition load still remains low, like on the P-51D. As for piston planes: they are capable of setting enemy piston planes on fire in a short burst. All of the guns are mounted in the nose, making them deadly accurate when performing head-ons, especially once the "new 12 mm MGs" modification is installed. For ground attack, there is the usual complement of an ordinance for the USAF: HVAR rockets and standard 1000 lb bombs.

General info

Flight Performance

Characteristics
Stock
Max Speed (km/h at 0 m - sea level)		Max altitude (meters)	Turn time (seconds)		Rate of climb (meters/second)		Take-off run (meters)
AB	RB		AB	RB	AB	RB
854	829	12,500	24.3	24.8	19.1	18.0	950
Upgraded
Max Speed (km/h at 0 m - sea level)		Max altitude (meters)	Turn time (seconds)		Rate of climb (meters/second)		Take-off run (meters)
AB	RB		AB	RB	AB	RB
899	882	12,500	21.9	23.0	28.5	23.6	950

Details

Features
Combat flap	Take-off flap	Landing flap	Air brakes	Arrestor gear
✓	✓	✓	✓	X

Limits
Wing-break speed (km/h)	Gear limit (km/h)	Combat flap (km/h)	Max Static G
			+	-
990	380	560	~16	~8

Optimal velocities
Ailerons (km/h)	Rudder (km/h)	Elevators (km/h)	Radiator (km/h)
< 482	< 600	< 640	> 250

Compressor (RB/SB)
Setting 1
Optimal altitude	96% Engine power	100% Engine power
0 m	1,486 kgf	1,735 kgf

Survivability and armour

• 10 mm Steel - Fore cockpit armor
• 12.7 mm Steel - Behind pilot's seat
• 38 mm Bulletproof glass

Armaments

Offensive armament

The F-80A-5 is armed with:

• 6 × 12.7 mm Browning M2 machine guns, nose-mounted (300 rpg = 1800 total)

Suspended armament

The F-80A-5 can be outfitted with the following ordinance:

• Without load
• 8 × 127 mm HVAR rockets
• 2 × 1000 lb (454 kg) AN-M65A1 bombs (2,000 lb total)

Usage in the battles

This plane must be flown strictly as Boom and Zoom, or Boom and Run. Anything else does not work due the aircraft's awful acceleration. For ground strike, the F-80 is a very good aircraft because of the M2 Brownings mounted in the nose, making it even easier to destroy AAA, light pillboxes and such.

At the beginning of the match, the P-80 needs to climb away from the potential combat zone.

An altitude of around 3500 m (about 11,500 ft) is sufficient. Then it might head into the battle, after it gained its top speed of around 800 TAS / 700 IAS, both kph, or around 500 TAS / 435 IAS if you use miles.

As of 1.73, the F-80 is frequently up-tiered to face off against superior Axis jets in 7.7 and 8.0. Since most of these jets can outrun, out-climb and out-accelerate the F-80, the only way to succeed is to keep your altitude extremely high and to maintain energy discipline. This means no hard turns and not letting the jet slow down too much. The Axis jets can potentially outrun the F-80 even with a 2000 m altitude disadvantage.

Modules

Tier	Flight performance		Survivability	Weaponry
I	Fuselage Repair	Compressor		Offensive 12 mm
II	New Boosters		Airframe		FRC mk.2
III	Wings Repair	Engine		New 12 mm MGs
IV	G-Suit		Cover		FLBC mk.1

• As with most M2 armed aircraft, the default belts are sub par, so Offensive 12 mm should be focused on first. Due to early jet's bad acceleration, unlocking Compressor and Engine afterwards are crucial. To help F-80's not the best maneuverability, New boosters and then Wings repair are recommended to fix this problem. Afterwards the G-Suit upgrade will come in handy. Fuselage repair and Cover are not really useful and can be ignored until the very end.

Pros and cons

Pros:

• Good energy retention compared to piston planes
• Great zoom climb compared to piston planes
• Faster than any piston plane
• High dive top speed
• All weapons in the nose
• Due to M2's lower RoF, pilot can spray longer and have less trigger discipline

Cons:

• M2 Brownings are insufficient for high-speed combat due to low rate of fire and limited damage output
• Poor acceleration performance
• Looses a lot of speed in turns
• Small rate of climb
• No WEP in RB
• Only a 105% Increase in throttle in AB
• Frequently up-tiered to battle vastly superior Axis jets like the G.91
• Four large fuel tanks on each wing.

History

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Media

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Read also

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• reference to the series of the aircraft;
• links to approximate analogues of other nations and research trees.

Sources

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