Arado 496b/mg (fictional)

The Arado 96 was the Luftwaffe's standard advanced trainer, but it had its drawbacks. For one, it was small and light; pilots of, ehm, Hermann Göring-size found it quite uncomfortable.

Enter the Arado 496... it looks like the 96's big brother, down to the silly drillbit-nose. But it can seat a chubby pilot and a blimp-size gunner, making it perfect for flyboys who really enjoy an occasional oktoberfest and some sauerkraut-mit-wurst for breakfast.

Flying it

It's a trainer, so it's really forgiving and easy to fly. And it's slow. Still, it has some annoying quirks built in to keep life interesting.

AG1 : this will activate a gyroscope and disables the flight controls, allowing you to use the rear gunner’s MG-15 (control using pitch &yaw)
AG2 : swivels the gun mount of the rear MG-15 to either side of the plane.
AG3 : opens the canopy so you can let in some air (or seagull-shit, if it’s not your lucky day)
AG4 : not assigned
AG5 : toggles between pitch and roll trim. You shouldn’t need the roll trim really, but anyway… it’s there if you want it.
AG6 : not assigned
AG7 : toggle nav lights
AG8 : not assigned

Built-in toys

You don't just want to train your pilots and gunners to fly around in circles; they have to learn how to attack stuff and defend themselves, right?

• MG15 machine gun (7.92 mm) - the rear gunner has a single machine gun, installed on a special gun mount that allows him to swivel his MG to either side of the plane for a wider field of fire.

• MG17 machine gun (7.92 mm) - the pilot has a single fixed, forward-firing machine gun.

• MG-151 autocannons (20 mm) - to tackle heavy planes or light armoured vehicles and boats.

• A couple of really small and inconsequential bombs are carried underwing, to teach the pilot how to make bomb runs.

Have fun at school...