Central Mounted Propeller Challenge!

Meet the P-65A Centerfighter, almost unarguably the highest quality Red V Green plane to date.

Lore:

In the late 1940s and early 1950s, the Red V Green War was still in full swing with no sign of stopping. Aircraft were incredibly important due to the rivaling nations being separated by only vast seas. The combined issue of island outposts and slow speed made warships less in question, but still valuable on several occasions. But we're talking about the P-65A.

During the late 1940s, 1947 to be exact, the P-62A "Centerfire" rolled off the line of production, and into the line of duty. It was an incredible dogfighter, so much so that it almost replaced the P-12 Whiplash. But the P-62A had a number of drawbacks.

For one, despite using the reliable Liam-Ray PR260 as a base for the engine, the P-62's PR275 was mostly experimental and has some issues. It was a massive gas guzzler, so much so that the P-62 only had a combat range of 298 miles (ignore the infinite fuel of the ingame version, in the Red V Green universe it can only do 298 miles since aerial refueling doesn't exist just yet), as opposed to other aircraft like the P-14D Counterfighter with a range of 649 miles, or the P-12B with a range of 1005 miles. Furthermore, although the P-62 had decent maneuverability and acceleration, its climbing abilities were anything but desirable, meaning that it always had to be above or on level with its opponents. However, the P-62 still had an incredible design, so Green engineers decided to upgrade their Centerfire.

Thus the Centerfighter was born. Admittedly slower, and sacrificing the P-62's leading-edge slats., but with far superior climbing and agility. It also featured better range than the P-62, with the P-65 ranking at a comfortable 855 miles (ignore all this miles stuff it doesn't apply ingame). And of course, GUNS. The P-65A was infamous for its sixteen guns which could tear through any opponent, and thanks to its hardpoints it could even carry gunpods to have unfathomable amounts of guns. However, the P-65's pylons were obviously usually used for air-to-surface weapons like bombs and rockets, although later on they would be used to carry air-to-air missiles.

The P-65A was a formidable fighter, but what made it one of the scariest fighters of the early Red V Green war was tactics. The Centerfighter was rarely used during day missions with a potential of active combat, usually if not only being used for combat missions from dusk to sunrise. Even with preparation, the Centerfighter made best use of its abilities under the cover of night, and was sometimes nicknamed "The Last Sunset" by Red bomber crews, as since it operated at night, there was always a possibility of the preceding sunset being the last for its opponents.

Actual Flight Stuff

The P-65A is one of the most complex aircraft I've ever built, but read the instructions and flying it is quite easy.

Throttle: Normal, but beware of VERY high acceleration if you re-engage the throttle.
Yaw: Normal
Brakes: Normal, but does not activate airbrakes
Pitch: Normal
Roll: Normal
VTOL: Flaps
Trim: Normal

Activation Groups:
AG1: Supercharger, can increase your speed to about 1000 miles per hour or higher (depends on altitude and dive/climb). Note that you must keep AG1 on in order to deactivate the supercharger.
AG2: Activates the four inner pylons. Does nothing for now since they are all unoccupied.
AG3: Activates the four outer pylons. Detaches the plane's drop tanks.
AG4: Deploy arresting hook.
AG5: Deploy airbrakes.
AG6: Nothing, but from the cockpit view it serves as a decent fidget toy.
AG7: Open canopy. Random Fun Fact, it was originally going to use pistons to slide back, but this wouldn't allow it to clear both the cockpit and propeller at the same time, so I resorted to hinge rotators instead.
AG8: Lights, not much else to say here.

Also, the P-65A breaks several Red V Green records, albeit small for the most part (In SimplePlanes, of course the official Red V Green lore doesn't apply here):
-The only fighter to have a detailed interior
-The first Green aircraft and second RvG aircraft to use its team's roundel, only preceded by the PF-7J2
-The first RvG aircraft with an opening canopy
-The first RvG aircraft with custom airbrakes (fully custom, not just Overload modded)
-The first RvG aircraft with an arresting hook
-Most fixed/built-in guns out of any Red V Green fighter, currently only surpassed by some bombers and the P-2D Slasher, but only if the optional/mounted cannons are counted

That's basically it so...

Enjoy some extras and happy hunting!

The P-65 is massive compared to the P-62 lol