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Hello Pilots, welcome to the third episode of Blueprints.
In this episode, the Russian Polikarpov I-15. The I-15 variants are the first aircraft available
to you when first starting out the Russian aviation line. The single-seat, open cockpit,
fixed-gear, biplane fighter with wooden and duralumin construction, saw introduction in
1935, and took part in the Spanish civil war and early Second World War, among others.
As with all reserve aircraft, repairs are free of charge, so don’t worry about crashing
into the nearest tank by accident. The standard I-15R and I-15 M-22 feature a
licensed version of the British Bristol Jupiter VI radial nine-cylinder, air-cooled engine,
clocking in at 480 hp. The characteristical gulled upper wing configuration
of the I-15 improved handling characteristics, but hindered the pilot’s visibility. As
such, one might find it difficult to track a target in cockpit view.
The in-game stats of these two variants are identical, featuring the same climb rate,
top speed and turn time. Each of these stats were measured in Arcade mode.
The stock top speed at 1 Km altitude is 287 Km/h without, and 300 Km/h with War Emergency
Power. Facing off against the reserve aircraft of other nations, this puts the I-15R and
M-22 as the second slowest reserve aircraft, only beating the Fury mk I. Fully upgraded
and under the same conditions, these planes reach speeds of up to 318 Km/h without and
326 Km/h with WEP, and can as such beat a stock He 51A-1 in a straight line race.
Due to the underpowered engine, climb rates are low. One can maintain a speed of 150 Km/h
in a 13º, 10 m/s climb without, and a 20º, 13 m/s climb with WEP. Fully upgraded, one
can manage the same speed in a 19º, 14 m/s climb without, and a 25º, 18 m/s climb with
WEP. The time to complete a full 360ª turn is
average. With a stock aircraft, you will need 8.2 seconds to complete the turn. As such,
be aware of experienced He 51 and Ki-10 pilots. Fully upgrading the aircraft shaves a second
of the turn time, giving you a better fighting chance.
The I-15 WR features the upgraded Soviet Licensed M-25 nine-cylinder, radial air-cooled 715
hp engine. This massive improvement in power, as well as aerodynamic upgrades such as the
instalment of wheel covers, made this aircraft much faster than its predecessors.
These changes are implemented well in-game, with a massive boost of top speed to 333 Km/h
without and 339 Km/h with WEP. Whilst still only average, these speed improvements can
be decisive in battles against He 51s. Fully upgraded, speeds are furthermore increased
to 362 Km/h without and 363 Km/h with WEP, which enables you to now outrun any stock
reserve aircraft in the game. Climb Rates see a big improvement as well,
enabling you to maintain a 150 Km/h speed in a 23º, 17 m/s climb without and a 29º,
21 m/s climb with WEP. This makes the stock I-15 WR the second best climber in its tier,
beaten only by the Japanese Ki-10. Fully upgrading this aircraft empowers you
to maintain a 31º, 23 m/s climb without and a whopping 44º, 30 m/s climb with WEP, again
beating any stock reserve aircraft in the game.
Due to the heavier engine, turn time suffers an increase in comparison to the previous
model, clocking in at 9.1 seconds stock, and 8.2 seconds whilst fully upgraded. Whilst
still average, you should be even more careful when getting into turning fights with anything
that isn’t American. The I-15bis is a discontinued variant of the
I-15. Players who had unlocked it before its removal got to keep it, and you might still
see one flying today. This model underwent further aerodynamical
upgrading, featuring a proper engine covering. Due to pilot’s requests, the standard gulled
upper wing configuration was modified to a standard straight wing one, which increased
visibility. Due to the altered wing configuration, top
speed decreases to 316 Km/h without, and 338 Km/h with WEP. Fully upgraded, these speeds
increase to 336 Km/h and 351 Km/h respectively. Climb rates aren’t spectacular either, clocking
in at a stable 17º, 13 m/s climb without and a 27º, 20 m/s climb with WEP. Fully upgraded,
these figures rise to a 22º, 16 m/s climb and a 35º, 28 m/s climb respectively.
This model’s turn time is the best of the I-15 series, clocking in at 8.1s whilst stock
and 7.1 seconds whilst completely upgraded. All I-15s feature 4 synchronous firing 7.62mm
PV-1 machine guns, firing at a rate of fire of 600 rounds per minute each. This puts the
density of fire at an astounding 0.48 Kg/s, which is the highest of the reserve aircraft,
excluding the P26-A M2 variant. All variants up to the I-15 WR can carry 3000 rounds per
belt, whilst the I-15bis can carry 3050 rounds. These characteristics, in conjunction with
the predominance of API-T round in the Tracer belt and AP-I / AI rounds in the Stealth belt
define the strength of this aircraft: Long-lasting and destructive fire power. With an untrained
crew, reloads take only 15 seconds, and as such it will seem to your enemies that you
have an infinite amount of ammunition. In addition, you can opt to carry 2x 50Kg
bombs, mounted under the wings. With these, you can extend your destructive power to Light
and Medium tanks, as well as Cargo ships. Be aware that you cannot damage pillboxes
with these. The I-15bis can opt to carry 6x 82mm rockets
instead, which can destroy bombers and light tanks in one hit, and can even destroy pillboxes
with over 8 direct hits. When deploying these, be aware of the almost non-existent explosion
radius and the low accuracy. Roll rate is average, hindering you in certain
manoeuvres and making it a challenge to stay on enemy aircraft.
To note is that none of the I-15 models have flaps installed, and as such you have to rely
on your own flying skills in a dogfight. The I-15 is a fighter, with limited ground
attack capabilities and low durability. With its high climb rate and good speed, the I-15
WR should be the main aircraft in your roster. You can deploy both boom and zoom, as well
as dog fighting tactics, and the high density of fire in combination with the ammo types
available allow you to destroy aircraft with a short burst. The I-15 R and I-15 M-22 should
be used exclusively in low altitude dogfights, and as such you should carry bombs in order
to score some extra credits and help your team’s cause. Stay with your team, as a
lone and low I-15 is helpless and quickly dispatched against a group of 2 or 3 enemy
aircraft. The I-15bis can be used as a bomber hunter with the use of rockets, but don’t
bother climbing up to them as their defensive gunners are more than able to quickly dispatch
of you if you stay on their tail for too long. My name has been MikeGoesBoom, thank you for
watching. Make sure to share this video with your friends and subscribe to be notified
when the next Blueprints is released. You can follow me on Facebook to be notified of
any new project, get to know me better and directly contact me.
Next episode: The Hawker Fury and ***.
Here we go again, welcome back to bonus! This time, I’ll talk a little about what’s
been going on, on top of giving you some manoeuvres to use in battle. Firstly, you can use the
same QS and SE turn that I’ve talked about in the He 51 video to further decrease turn
time. However, the A+E and Q+D rolls don’t work as well on the I-15s due to the slower
roll rate. Instead, you can use Q+A and E+D rolls to quickly get out of the way of an
oncoming aircraft and set yourself up to stay behind it. Don’t use this roll too soon
however, or you might put yourself right in front of your opponent’s guns.
Now I do realize that it’s been over a month since my last release, but I had my reasons,
okay?! It’s been a busy month, with exams, illnesses and a well-deserved week of vacations.
Also, I decided to, for the first time, test out all the stats myself instead of believing
the ones displayed in game. As for future videos, I should finish the
reserves this month, and maybe start working on other aircraft before the vacations are
over. I’m still not 100% sure whether I’ll just follow the tech tree in order or poll
you guys for which aircraft you want to see next. After the vacations things will be harder
on me, since I’m going to college and won’t have as much time to spend on YouTube.
Lastly, I want to know your opinion about these bonus segments. Do you want me to keep
them short at the end of every video, or would you rather prefer separate videos where I
could answer some of your questions? Post your opinion in the comments down below.
As always, thank you for watching and keep your eyes on the sky, pilots. Until the next
briefing.