Fighter's and who to fly them(well)

[VansCrew]

Ok guys im going to put togher a list of fighters in the game that you fly.Ill need to make more then one post to get them in their but ill do it.If you fly a fighters thats not on the list let me know.Im going to start off small and start with the...

KI-84LA:tale of two extremes. At low and very low speeds the Ki-84 is very capable and can typically perform with anything outside the real dedicated low speed turners like the Zero or Hurricane. While the Ki-84 has combat flaps they only become available below 168mph, very slow in comparison to most aircraft who possess combat flaps. The landing setting is available, by comparison at only 13mph less, 155mph. Typically, as a result, you won’t get the flaps out unless you are turning very slow/tight or at the top of loops where they can be deployed for short periods before acceleration kicks in. With flaps out though, the Ki-84 can remain in control under 85mph and at very high angles of climb. The other side of the coin starts at the relatively low speed of only 375mph (IAS) where you can start to get structural creaking as a warning that you are entering unfriendly performance territory. The Ki-84 simply doesn’t handle anything over 400mph well and by 475mph you may start shedding aircraft components. To sum it up, you don’t need to worry about Mach buffet or compression in the Ki-84, if you even try to get close to that fast you are more likely to fall apart first.

A final point, stalls in the Ki-84 are in general fairly gentle but with the high engine power and slow speed capabilities, it is very possible to put the Ki-84 into a dangerous flat-spin. Be careful when slow not to apply too much power or push the aircraft too hard, the margin for error is larger than in some aircraft but if you exceed the flight envelope you can get yourself into real trouble.



Flying the Ki-84

Offensively, I'd try and use the acceleration and climb-rate, plus the excellent turning at mid-low speeds. You should be able to over-power anything that can turn with you and out-turn anything faster. Vertical performance is simply amazing, I don't know that anything can follow the type of climbing spiral the Ki-84 can perform. In the mid-speed range between about 175 and 250mph the Ki-84 can turn pretty much equal with a Spitfire Mk V though you might lose ground slowly in such a case. Put the fight into the vertical though and your superior power and low speed handling should quickly put the Spitfire at a disadvantage. Energy type fights should also work very well, the excellent acceleration and climb should match energy with anyone else very quickly. Don't climb too high, the Ki-84 is better in the mid-low altitude bands, 11K and lower. As you get higher a lot of aircraft are going to over-power you fairly quickly and anything over 22K or so is not your best spot to be. Try and close to good guns range, D300 or less, so you can put the most fire into your target in the fastest amount of time possible. Unfortunately, faster aircraft with some altitude to burn may simply dive away and extend. The Ki-84 has good energy retention properties but not the top speed to stop this from happening, nor the good high speed handling/toughness. A smart enemy will roll out and dive to the ground and there is probably little you can do to stop it.

Defensively, the break-turn and energy equalization properties of the Ki-84 are very good. Quick, violent, maneuvers should be able to break off more enemies and quick use of WEP to get maximum acceleration should even up the energy situation fairly quickly. The Ki-84 is about average in toughness, much better than many Japanese aircraft, but still doesn't want to take a good hit from anything. Visibility is very good though, so use your situational awareness to trigger your avoidance maneuvers and then try and immediately pick up energy to counter the enemy (and maybe take the fight to him). If you get a tracking enemy, see if you can't use the vertical to slow him down and then show off your amazing slow speed handling to hang up your attacker so you can turn the tables quickly. Scissor type maneuvers tend to be very effective as the Ki-84 is good in roll and acceleration, making it tough to match in that area and if you can throw in some climb or slow speed down you are going to make it very difficult for anyone to follow you.



Fighting the Ki-84

The Ki-84 is an exceptionally dangerous foe and escaping one can be very difficult if you get into trouble. Anything you can do, the Ki-84 can probably do almost as well, or better, so don’t get caught in the Ki-84s trap and find out too late that you can’t get free.

If attacked, try and break contact quickly and don't hang around trying to match energy levels. The Ki-84 has such great energy building properties that you are unlikely to be able to match that. Even if you can, the fight might deteriorate into something very slow, and area where the Ki-84 excels. If you have some altitude, a split-S type maneuver could be successful as it exploits the mediocre high speed handling of the Ki-84. An extreme speed dive is even more likely to have the Ki-84 break off pursuit, else, it structurally fail trying to follow you. You can also try some overshoot maneuvering in hopes the Ki-84 will over-energy his situation and end up passing you. On some aircraft this is more effective than others, with the Ki-84 a smart pilot would simply zoom a bit and wait for you to run out of energy and then re-engage. Not many aircraft can purely out-turn the Ki-84 at low speeds but above 250mph many of the faster ones probably can. It seems the Ki-84 is unable to pull 6G's above 275mph, making it less than average in that respect.

If attacking a Ki-84, keep your speed up and watch for impossible style vertical maneuvers. The Ki-84 can reverse very quickly and basically hang on the prop at almost zero forward airspeed. It isn't a fantastic zoomer mind you, but in a pure power climb it is pretty much equal to anything. Be careful of your energy situation, what starts out as a small advantage for you can quickly turn into a deficit if the Ki-84 is given a chance to use acceleration/climb. You need to keep fairly constant pressure up to keep the Ki-84 reactionary to you and not able to gain energy. Take whatever snapshots you are given but realize that the Ki-84 is significantly tougher than other Japanese aircraft and a single good gun pass may not be enough to kill it, so don't over-commit to only one opportunity. Be decisive on your exit if you need to extend, the Ki-84 can accelerate very quickly. If you wait too long, or are indecisive, the Ki-84 might reverse and catch you with early acceleration before you can build sufficient speed to exit.

[VansCrew]

Typhoon:

Most of the Typhoon pilots I tend to see are suicide guys who make no attempt to survive, which is unfortunate. They use the superior speed to get into their target, make a bombing pass, and then try and make one additional guns firing pass before succumbing to what they feel is the inevitable end. The Typhoon is better than that. It's the fastest plane under 8K that can carry the amount of ground pounding ordinance that can be so useful, and once rid of the drag imposed by external stores, it can race for safety at very high speed. It really isn't the greatest of fighters because of handling deficiencies, but thost can be mostly overcome with the deadly application of it's firepower. Nothing within D650 of a Typhoon should be safe as any firing opportunity it can generate is deadly.

Offensively, try and ensure that you are at a good cruising altitude and speed. Decide whether your target will require rockets/bombs and load them appropriately, otherwise, taking external fuel tanks instead. Any external ordinance should be discarded before entering a dogfight situation as the performance penalties are simply too high for the Typhoon to overcome easily. Always try and maintain your speed and don't commit to turn-fighting anything for any extended period of time unless you can be sure that you are isolated from any other enemy interference. Even then, the Typhoon is at best an average turner. Any sort of scissors defense is likely to be a real problem for you, and people will know that. If they start to scissor, accept early that you cannot hope to match the rolling motions. A slashing style of attack is usually best, using your speed to slash through the pile to take shots at anything that stumbles into your path, extending out the other side, only to reverse and come back again. Don't accept Head Ons if possible. Although you have more than enough firepower to basically destroy the other aircraft, the front of the Typhoon is very vulnerable to any caliber weapon damage and the radiator (most commonly damaged) will quickly drain. A damaged radiator in the Typhoon almost ensures you will not be able to return to base, even if you are close. Don't be afraid to take difficult and improbable shots, the hispanos can surprise you with their ease of use and devestating effects.

Defensively, never slow down enough for anyone to catch you. Honestly, the Typhoon does not have a very good defensive ability as it rolls so poorly, accelerates only average, deccelerates quickly, bleeds speed badly, doesn't turn well, and isn't a superior diver. If someone catches you and locks on your tail in guns range you are in deep trouble and most maneuvers you will try will be of the desperate variety. The La7 will be your most dangerous foe as there is almost nothing you can do to shake one free unless it makes a mistake. Ensure you save your WEP, at least part of it, for escape because without WEP there are a number of aircraft that might be able to chase you down eventually. Always maintain your bearings on the route home so that you can speed towards the most likely location of friendly help and don't be afraid to open the throttles, dive, and extend away at low level.

A side note, the landing gear on the Typhoon extends at lower speeds than is typical of other planes and takes a long time to fully deploy. This, combined with flaps that are also restricted to lower speeds can make landing approaches more difficult. Give yourself extra deployment time when approaching a field. This may seem pretty simple but if you are trying to land a Typhoon with damaged engine or at shallow angles you can find yourself acquiring too high a sink rate before the landing gear is fully extended or the flaps are deployed to aid with lift.

Fighting the Typhoon

The Typhoon should be pretty easy to beat as long as you can addres it with either superior speed or superior maneuverability. You can be sure that most Typhoons will try one of two defenses, the run-away with superior speed, or the lets-play-chicken defense with a Head On. Often, the fight might start with the first method and deteriorate to the second.

If you find a Typhoon you wish to attack, ensure you have enough speed, or atltitude to convert to speed, to catch it. Once you catch it, almost anything can out-turn a Typhoon. If nothing else, you know a turning Typhoon is bleeding speed like crazy, so simply forcing even a 90 degree turn might pull 100mph out of the Typhoon in the process, speed which it is unlikely to replace. So, corner the Typhoon and then build your position to take your shot. Be very careful that you don't end up accepting a Head On in this situation as you simply cannot survive if the enemy has even a decent aim. If you find you are chasing the Typhoon and only barely closing yet in no trouble from other enemies, remember that the Typhoon can only sprint for the duration of it's WEP (5 minutes). Likely, as is the case with most Typhoon pilots, they have already used up more than half of that before you met them and maybe more. That means that if you have lots of WEP time remaining, you may find the Typhoon slowing down after a minute or so as his WEP runs dry. If you can wait that out, then the Typhoon will be even more helpless.

When attacked by a Typhoon, aggressively maneuver to avoid any sort of shot he may try and take. If you hear a single hispano ping it might be too late. Attempt to escape through maneuvering and using rolling motions, the Typhoons major weakness. Something like a barrel roll can be almost impossible for a Typhoon to follow, although you need to make sure it is sharp enough to throw off the Typhoon that is spraying hispano fire to try and get you. A great tactic if you have a plane that rolls well, i.e. P47, F4U, 190's, etc is to try and sucker the Typhoon into a scissors defense; vertical, rolling or horizontal, where the lack of roll rate will quickly present the Typhoon out of phase with you. Once out of phase you can build in impossible shot angles by staying ahead of the poor rolling of the Typhoon while planning your next more offensive maneuver. Overshoots and barrel rolls are classics, the Typhoon can not stay with you and will either give up the attack and try to extend, or will attempt to throw on the brakes so as not to overshoot, thus creating a slow turning fight for which the Typhoon is poorly equipped.

A final point, always respect a Typhoon until you have it on the ropes. One mistake and the Typhoon can make you instantly pay, though if you play your cards well you should be able to beat the Typhoon, if you catch it, almost every time.

The tempest is the "fighter" more ammo,more speed.

[VansCrew]

SeaFireIIC:To be successful

The Seafire is only successful because people tend to get stuck in extended low-speed turnfights at low altitude and I know because I used to fly the Spit V a lot before it became popular (which is almost the same plane yet usually has far more use). The key is that the Seafire is a better turn-fighter than most of the other planes in the game so when it comes to a situation where you need controllability, pointability, and the firepower to finish a kill, then the Seafire is a good performer. Unfortunately in most cases this low speed style of fighting tends to not lead to a lot of survivability against multiple opponents who can continue to force you into defensive low speed actions. Somewhat strangely, the Spit IX is more popular although most newer pilots don't have the proper technique to get the real use out of the extra engine power in the Spit IX and would be better suited to the constant turn-rate advantages of the Seafire.

The Seafire we have only produces 302mph with WEP at sea-level (293mph without WEP), placing it squarely below what is usually acceptable speed range for the MA . At best altitude the Seafire can reach 370mph at 20K, which is much better, although it is unlikely you will see many Seafires that high because the climb rate over 16K quickly drops. Climb rate near sea-level with WEP is pretty good at 3,500ft/minute all the way up to 14K. Typically the engine isn't going to get you out of trouble though in a Seafire and the Spit IX shows the benefits of more engine power. WEP is very important, it only lasts for 5 minutes and improves your performance a lot in a fight. Don't waste your WEP on transit as you will likely need it for the main part of your fight. WEP isn't even really required for takepff from the CV since the stall speed is so low that it can lift off at full weight and still manage to clear the end of the deck easily. Acceleration is good though at low speeds but accelerating over 250mph is a real problem.

The weapons package on the Seafire is good but not great. It combines four .303's (350rounds/gun) with two 20mm hispano cannons (120 rounds/gun). While the .303's are only light hitters, the hispanos are probably the best weapon in the game and even having only 2 of them makes your firepower above average. I have typically set my hispano convergence out a little further enabling longer shots (D450 or more) while I keep the .303's set to a single point at about D300. If I've come from a plane where I've been used to shooting at shorter ranges (something like the La5FN), then I may initially set this point in even closer. I would attempt almost any reasonable shot with the hispanos, snap, crossing, or high deflection though I would be careful not to waste ammunition on impossible shots unless you are pretty desperate for a quick kill. It is likely that you will have an angles advantage on almost any plane you are likely to meet in the MA (see later for more details) so can eventually build a solid tracking shot as long as you have time on your side. That usually depends on how many other bogies are in the area that could threaten you. Head-On's are not terribly recommended as the Seafire is not a very tough plane and although your hispanos should be able to deal a lethal blow to the bogie, it is also likely your plane will not survive.

The Seafire is very maneuverable, best of all the Spitfires (well, a tie with the Spit V which is weird), slightly worse than the Zero and a very close match for the Hurricane and N1K. At almost ludicrously slow speeds the Seafire still remains very controllable and has a very tight turning rate and radius. The Seafire only weighs 6,900lbs though, half of what a Hellcat weighs, and that combined with a good wing area makes for a nice light wingloading. Strangly, even though I've said that the Seafire and Spit V are usually considered equivalent, they are not when you look at the aircraft dimensions. The Seafire has a smaller wing width and carries 300lbs greater weight, yet still feels almost exactly like the Spit V. This should indicate that a Spit V has lighter wing loading and would turn better, though I've flown both a bunch and can't tell the difference. The extra weight on the Seafire is mostly due to additional carrier operation equipment (like tail hook and stuff). Roll rate is good, energy retention is excellent, and the Spit has a wide range of effective speeds from very low (sub 150mph) right through to 450+mph. Control response is good and the Seafire tends to feel very stable making it a good gun platform. Diving is strong and it is easy to far exceed the speedometer measuring range with no ill effects.

Offensively the best use of the Seafire is a great BnZ fighter, though people rarely use it that way. The Spit IX is superior but the Seafire actually can be very effective. All Spits seem to retain E very well and can sometimes convert this into maneuvers that seem to defy explanation. I've had Spits pull 180 degree flat turns and emerge with most of their energy still retained. Come in with a bit of altitude above your target, just enough so he knows that he cannot escape with acceleration and best done near the ground so he can't dive away either. Setup above the target and try to force the enemy into defensive turns or commonly circling. Time your BnZ passes to correspond to the point in time he is point away from you, or is just entering the turn that would reverse him into you. You want to either have a shot at his rear, or catch him when he is showing a full plane view in his corner. Regain your altitude after each pass and make another, until you wear the enemy out or shoot him down. Using this method is the most survivable way of flying the Seafire, while trying to keep yourself on the friendly edge of the fight so that you can escape into friends at the first sign of trouble. Vertical fighting like this is also good, the Spit zooms fairly well and can hang on it's prop against an opponent who doesn't cleanly out-zoom you. The hispanos are very effective like this since the aiming is easy against a stationary target above you, even at D900.

The most common offensive tactic in a Seafire though is to angles fight, pure and simple. Get slightly above an enemy that is already low, in order to keep him from running away. The pounce and simply out-turn him, sustained, with little regard for fancy maneuvers. Eventually if the enemy doesn't manage to break away from you then you should be able to pull onto his rear and fire away until you get him. The problem is that this tends to leave you slow and vulnerable to just about any other bogie around and you can be pretty sure that the enemy is screaming for help the whole time because he knows he is in deep trouble. One additional note, don't fall for overshoots in scissors if the enemy tries that. It is easy to pull angle for lead against a scissoring enemy and then overshoot only to find yourself the defender and not the attacker anymore. Try and follow the path of the scissoring opponent and only pull enough lead to ensure you close distance if you think he is managing to out-accelerate you (i.e., cut the corner a smidge to gain ground). It is unlikely he is really out-accelerating you is you started at low speeds as the Spit is not a bad plane for acceleration from 100mph to 250mph. Just remember to keep your head on a swivel though, slow and low Spits are favorite targets for many people. You also usually want to fight in what I call nose high. This means, since the strongest point about the Spit is turn, especially at low speed, the idea is to get both turning and low speed working for you. A good way to do this is to fight in a vertical spiral, climbing early in your turns to lower speed, and then using the altitude you gained to finish off your opponent or escape. The enemy has few choices, either follow you vertically and slow down, or stay lower and give up vertical position to you.

Defensively, the Seafire is unlikely to hold any speed advantage except against the slowest of opponents. The usual defense involves a lot of sustained turning, often looking more like a train of people trying to catch someone on a merry-go-round. Unless they have better turn rates than you do then someone following you in such a turn is unlikely to catch you, though it automatically sets you up in a predictable path for someone looking to bounce you from above. Don't reverse you turn as you will likely give a snapshot to someone at low speed and that could be very dangerous. Avoid BnZr's with slight rudder movement to cause side-slipping or by changing wing angle a bit. Unless you can maintain your turn long enough to sweep your own tail by gaining angles slowly turn after turn, or you have help you can come in and clear you, you may find this a rather desperate and eventually fatal tactic. This is also where if you've burned you WEP too soon you may find yourself wallowing low on power with a pack of hungry wolves seeing you as their next prey.

[VansCrew]

LA7:
Maneuverability

The La7 might be considered a nimble plane, though I wouldn't really class it anywhere near a turn-fighter. At high speeds, it probably turns with just about anything in the game, though really all high speed turns are limited to the blackout limit at 5G anyway. While only a little better than average in the turning game at mid-low speeds, in the process of turning, it really gets away from it's main strength, speed. Low speed turning is dangerous since the La7 has a nasty stall behaviour, quickly and easily stalling only one wing and snap-rolling the plane downwards (maybe into the ground). You really don't need to push the La7 very far into unfriendly manuevers to realize how short tempered it can be when flown outside it's limits. High speed handling is excellent, even at extreme speeds, and I've never had an La7 come apart on me under structural loading that would have sent many other planes to the scrap-yard in pieces. One last point, the La7 really glides well, just like a P-51, so engine damage/failure should involve a climbing process with the plan to glide back to safety (reducing engine RPMs the La7 seems to glide forever).

Flying the La7

The icon "La7" is bound to draw a lot of attention so you will likely find yourself a rather hunted individual. Many MA opponents know that the La7 is the greatest threat to them if they are forced to try and escape low so will attempt to remove all La7s quickly while they have advantage. The P-51, in particular, will want to eliminate you so that it can dominate in the high speed fight without having to worry about low La7's causing them problems as the fight altitude deteriorates. The P-51 is an excellent matchup for the La7 and is an extremely dangerous opponent to encounter, but the balance favors the La7 as the fight get lower, which is the natural progression for most fights.

The key in the La7 is to use your speed to your advantage for both offense and defense, never slow down and learn to react to everything happening very quickly. Staying really fast typically helps keep anyone off your tail, or at least makes their job getting there a whole lot more difficult, plus likely extending the time you have to notice. You really need to have some experience and anticipation to properly fly the La7, with such inaccurate guns you need to get in close where aiming is not an issue. Your firing opportunities are likely to be brief, but if you are good, they will be very bloody for the enemy. I've cut many a Spitfire to ribbons in one pass with a 1/4 second firing because I anticipated his break turn, and then met him at short range when he was presenting a full plane view while turning. Slashing attacks are great, appearing quickly, taking a couple of shots while passing through a pile of bad-guys, and then racing out the other side to safety, or reversing to make another pass.

Defensively, you should be able to out-run anything you can't out-turn as long as you detect it early enough so you can build up seperation and maximize your speed. Try and not get cornered where you must turn and slow, that is almost certain death for any number of Spitfires who will dive 15K or more to get enough speed to catch you. You only need to break clear from an enemy with superior E, but vastly inferior natural top speed, once, and then you should be able to motor away. Against someone with similar high speed at your altitude, you should still likely be faster if only by a bit. You may also have a turn-rate advantage as many of the fastest aircraft (190D9, 109G10) that are not known to be considered even average turners (significantly towards the bottom of the pile overall). Don't worry about having to dive away, that's fine, playing to your advantage as long as you can find a direction to run while low that won't lead you to more high enemies.

Head-Ons are not really recommended, although it is a typical of the La7 but only because many people who fly it haven't yet developed the techniques to employ other tactics properly. The views and stall of the La7 also make it feel uncomfortable, since they are restrictive to people how have been used to the carefree handling and sight from such planes as the Spitfire and P-51D.

Fighting the La7

When attacking the La7, you should try and take away it's one advantage, speed. You want to corner it, slow it down, and then pin it there while you take your shot. Typically this is done by starting a dive to catch the La7 and force him to react. The La7 is a fairly nimble plane with poor visibility, difficult handling, and ineffective long range firepower. The Typhoon, 190D9, 109G10, and P-51's can all force this style of fight and really cause an La7 problems. Still, a smart La7 pilot will try and draw out your energy reserve and then turn the tables, chasing you down with superior speed at sea level.

To attack the La7 from above is not very difficult since they always tend to be operating at very low levels and making slashing attacks. Position yourself above it and wait for it to reverse or turn, then dive in and make your move. Fire at long range and try to get hits whenever possible. The La7 is a tough aircraft but has a number of rather fragile components that seem to take damage easily. Fuel, the tail, and the engine all see to be a little more fragile than average while the actual wings and body seem quite tough. A wounded La7 is likely to try and run for home which may deny you a kill, but it will also take him away from the fight. One point of warning, be careful of smoking La7's, be it radiator, fuel, or oil leaks. La7's can sometimes trail smoke while actually having no leak. It usually seems to happen with the loss of the rudder or tail-wheel for some reason.

Defense of the La7 starts with good situational awareness. The sooner you can detect an La7 in the area, the sooner you can plan what your best course of defense may be. With slashing attacks, most La7 pilots can't hit an aircraft that performs even a basic type of break turn when the closing rate is very high, the key is timing it to be unexpected and too late for the La7 to compensate. The faster the closure, the shorter the time for the La7 to adjust and the sooner you may need to start your defense. In a BnZ style attack, the La7 can corral you and slowly work you out of energy, pushing the fight lower and lower and playing right into his game. Try and break way early, building up speed and then forcing the La7 to either overshoot (giving you a snapshot opportunity), or have him end up out of phase with you and heading the wrong direction (often using speed to induce a level of blackout or tunnel vision that may allow you to slip out of his view while you change heading). The speed margin on some aircraft compared to the La7 is such that a break of as little as D1.5 may be enough to guarantee a long pursuit which the La7 may not be willing to risk. If the La7 seems willing to enter a turn-fight and you are in a superior turning aircraft with no other enemies nearby, then oblige. Eventually the La7 will likely find he is being out-angled and decide to run for it. He won't likely be gone long, and you likely have no real avenue for pursuit, so expect him to come back as soon as you break off the chase, or when he builds up sufficient energy/speed/altitude that he feels he can come back and finish the job. Usually, rather than a pursuit, I would instead look for cover, using the time he runs to replace lost energy while finding a spot that discourages the La7 from returning.

One last point, the La7 has a really trouble with overshoots both because it packs on speed easily, and because it can't have the controls wrestled around when in close because it can stall violently. Most La7 drivers easily overshoot, so rolling scissors and other maneuers may cause an La7 to blow clean by you. You must be careful to not allow the La7 a shot as he passes though since he can take you down so quickly from in close, so make the maneuvers violent and unpredictable. Once he overshoots, you may or may not have a shot opportunity in return, though he is unlikely to stay in range for long.

[VansCrew]

F6F:
Manoeuvrability

Maneouverability is very good, surprising for an aircraft that looks as large as the Hellcat does. This isn't a dainty little plane, this thing is a monster that weighs in at over 12,000lbs so it's no lightweight by a long shot. The wingspan is over 42 ft, more than 2 ft longer than a P-47, 5ft larger than a P-51, giving a little more area to carry all that mass. Turn-rates are very similar to the P-38 and only slightly worse than a Spitfire Mk IX. The Hellcat isn't very sensitive to speed and is good both slow and fast though at low speeds it can develop a fairly abrupt snap stall. Recovery is not usually a big problem with a simple release of stick pressure enough to stop any snapping motion. Deep stalls seem fairly rare. The Hellcat can be a little mushy at the bottoms of loops most noticably when near the ground so you don't want to wait until the last second to pull out. Dive control and speed are excellent and roll rate remains solid through the entire envelope from around 150mph up to 575mph. Recovery from even serious compression is not very difficult.

Flying the F6F-5

What surprises me most often is how many options I have when I fly the Hellcat in a fight. It is just good enough a turner to beat many aircraft that are unsuspecting of you while it can also BnZ with the best of them.

Generally it is advisable to start from a reasonable position if you can rather than try and fight uphill, grab a little altitude to start with and don't enter the fights at very low level. BnZ styles of fighting are all very good because the snapshot power of the guns are good and the speed tolerance of the F6F-5 in general is excellent. You really don't need to worry about compression unless you are performing VERY long dives at incredible speeds. The abundance of ammunition should allow you to take shots whenever you think you have a reasonable chance to hit something. Be it long range, crossing or snapshot, open fire a bit early and let the enemy aircraft fly through the bullets. The ballistic properties of the .50cal guns are excellent allowing easy aiming so a little spraying isn't too bad if you can land some lucky hits in the process. As a turn-fighter, the Hellcat can hold it's own and against any average opponent can probably beat it. From my corner velocity information the F6F-5 appears to beat out the likes of the F4U, P-51D, P-47, and 109G6 (and later) but would run about even with the P-38 or 109G2 series. I wouldn't recommend turn-fighting something in the class of a Spitfire or better unless it is at higher speeds in excess of about 230mph. An underappreciated factor in the F6F-5 is the ability it has to shake off a little damage from 12.7mm type hits or less. 20mm or larger hits are still going to hurt and the F6F-5 is not a small aircraft so tends to attract a couple more hits than usual but often it can simply fly through relatively unscathed. Your largest problem will be catching and cornering the faster aircraft as well as re-building energy if you get into trouble. Zoom climb is reasonable and feels much like a P-47 under full power.

Defensively, you don't really want to hang out and get slow in a group of better turners. In general that's good advice for most aircraft but the Hellcat seems to attract trouble pretty quickly when low and slow. While it can take a bit of damage, eventually someone will hit you enough or with big enough guns, to cause you trouble. Try and stay near the edges of the fight and work your way outwards towards friendly aircraft rather than dive, or chase, enemy aircraft long distances into enemy territory. Always be careful of your 6 as the Hellcat can be pretty easily caught by a number of aircraft in short order and your rear-downwards view is not all that great. Always keep track of your options too and evaluate your opponent, you can probably take the fight into an area where an opponent it not really that strong, be it a high speed fight or a tight turning fight, it depends on the situation and the enemy aircraft involved. If you can though, try and split off 1-2 enemies at a time and deal with them, regaining your energy before heading back to pick up more. Rolling is a strength so most defenses that involve it are good, including scissors or Split-S. The extra advantage of a tough hide can also provide the opportunity to force overshoots, accepting a couple of hits if required, but putting the enemy in lethal guns range for you. Don't fight the Hellcat heavy if you can help it though, any more than 75% fuel and any external stores tend to add quite a bit of weight and remove some of the performance advantages you may have.

Fighting the F6F-5

The one thing you are going to probably find with Hellcats is you need to punish them before they submit. I don't think there is any other way to describe it but unlike some planes where a single good pass is enough to shoot it down (Spitfires, 109's, etc), the Hellcat might take the best you've got and then fly off. There are a few other aircraft like that, the P-47 and F4F come to mind, but the Hellcat seems almost as good.

You should never consider the F6F to be a one pass kill. By that I mean, don't trade your position advantage, or energy advantage in for a single good pass thinking that will be enough to knock it down. I always consider that I'll need to make 2-3 passes, the one I'm doing, the next one, and one more after that before I get a Hellcat kill. I've seen them take 30mm hits to the rear and survive though that is a little rare. Hellcats are not good at generating energy so any style of fight that can get, or keep, a Hellcat at an energy disadvantage it good. You will not see many Hellcats fight uphill so if you can start out above one then that is best. Hellcats are not good runners either so it is unlikely they can avoid you in a chase for long and will have to turn to fight. Vertical fighting is good as long as you keep in mind the mass of the F6F-5 and watch for a sudden vertical zoom at high speed. Also be careful though to not get too slow, the Hellcat can generate good turn-rates and remains very manoeuverable at lower speeds, generally below the normal corner velocities of many aircraft. Chasing a diving Hellcat is probably risky, if you are in a great diver then it might be possible but if not then it could be a trap. Be patient though if you can, the Hellcat generally can't run away easily but won't be afraid to spin around and spray you down from any angle, even a Head-On, so you can't rush and give up any opportunities.

Defensively, your best bet is often to simply build some separation and try to give yourself some time to build up energy. The F6F-5 is not a good pursuit style aircraft and anything with better acceleration and climb can probably build up an advantage over time. Don't dive away steeply unless you get a great head-start, as the Hellcat is amongst the best divers in the game and can likely follow just about any high speed manoeuver you may perform. You cannot give up any shooting opportunities either, most Hellcat pilots are not afraid to fire at almost anything within D850 because the ballistics of the .50's give reasonable chance of success in wounding your aircraft or worse. Vertical zooms are ok if you start with enough separation and excess energy but be mindful of the energy stored in the Hellcats mass, they can sometimes zoom much better than you'd expect. Try and isolate your advantage if you can though, there are several aircraft that can simply out-turn the Hellcat at mid-lower speeds and there are several that only need to buy a couple of seconds worth of advantage in order to simply run away with pure speed. The most dangerous Hellcat is likely the one above you with some stored energy advantage but any Hellcat near you that can get within guns range for even a second is

[VansCrew]

Hurricane IIC:

The Hurri IIC handles really well at all speeds. It is a plane that can comfortably handle down to as little as 100mph or up over what the speedometer will display in excess of 500mph. I don't think many people realize that, but the Hurricane is a pretty tough bird and can take some punishment from maneuvering. Roll rate can be a little sluggish at very low speeds, but that is common to almost everything. At high speeds the controls are still quite good and you will have structural creaking and possibly Mach buffet if you dive the Hurricane to high enough speed. Unusually, the ailerons will actually fail first, peeling away and leaving the plane still in tact but basically unable to roll. Turn rates are good and the radius is very small. This is a little surprising as the Hurri IIC gained 1,000lbs of weight yet no increase in wing area. I tend to feel it turns slightly worse than a standard Hurri I though it has more power with enables it to maintain a turn longer. I also think the Hurri IIC feels a little less nimble and slight less balanced, against probably because of the weight gain. It is still a pretty stable plane though, not one that is known to depart flight easily. The pointability of the Hurri IIC is part of what makes it very dangerous though, it can spin around so quickly and face almost anyone down with a frightening decision to face 4 hispanos.

Flying the Hurri IIC

Try and grab a little bit of altitude to work with, something around 8-10K should suffice. This will help with cruise speed and give you some altitude to trade in order to pick up additional speed. Only climbing that high shouldn't take very long as the climb rate is pretty reasonable. Extended chases are not practical though a quick dive on someone can provide a short-lived closure into firing range.

Offensively, your greatest assets are a very good turn-rate, tight radius, and big firepower. Your weaknesses are in anything extended, such as a chase or escape manuever. Most Hurricanes are flown as strict turn-fighters though and it seems to suit them. Using as many energy conserving maneuvers as you can, turn-fight people to get into position to take brief snapshots at short ranges with your cannons. This is really effective and it can't be stressed enough that you can take out any plane in the game with only a half second burst. Being slow isn't great because of the defensive liabilities but you should be able to turn with almost anything as speeds bleed off. I wouldn't get overly greedy with chasing people in dives as they tend to lead to more extended chases which won't favor you. If someone simply tries to run though, a quick burst of hispano from only 1 bank might make him reconsider that.

Defensively you don't have that many options and typically you'll end up in a sort of turning defense. You can't really run and diving away isn't going to help you in most cases. Your turn rate can be very high though, placing the enemy in a poor offensive situation. If you are alert, you can basically force your enemy to face a Head-On option or break off the attack. I don't really think this is a great option though as it basically assures the demise of you both unless one of you is a terrible shot. Junior pilots see this as a prime shot, while veteran pilots will tend to avoid, so it is risky. If you can trick an enemy into slowing down in an inferior turning aircraft though, which are most planes in the game, then you may be able to win angles quite quickly in a sustained turn-fight.

Fighting the Hurri IIC

The Hurri IIC should be like food you can play with until you are ready to eat it. The only real thing to fear is a turn-fight and those hispanos. Lots of people who fly the Hurri IIC will burn up their ammo rather quickly though and have nothing left to shoot. I think this comes from experience in planes with more ammunition that would allow spray'n'pray tactics, which the Hurricane IIC doesn't. You can also easily identify the different Hurricane variants if you can get close. Tan/Brown is the IID, Grey/Green is the IIC and Green/Brown is the Hurri I. Don't let yourself get cornered and if you sense danger, look to extend.

Offensively, just try to land hits and don't slow down long enough let the Hurricane get a shot in. You should be able to dictate the terms of the fight fairly easily by using superior speed to stay out of harms way. Never get into an extended turn-fight with a Hurricane unless you are in a Zero as I don't think there is anything that can clearly beat the Hurricane. Take shots whenever possible as the Hurri IIC isn't terribly tough to large calibre damage. Be careful of collisions too, the Hurricane tends to be moving so slowly that it is not uncommon to ram into one accidentally. Never accept a Head-On unless you have no other options.

Defensively, you probably just have to break free from a Hurricane once in order to escape clean. Even if the Hurricane starts with a large energy advantage in speed or altitude, keep your speed up and then try to maneuver to break free. Break turns are not a great idea as the Hurricane will try and follow you since you probably have slowed down a bit. Instead, build up as much a speed as you can, knowing the Hurricane is paying a terrible price to maintain a high speed. Never let the Hurricane settle into guns range though, keep him outside D1.0 if at all possible and you should consider any time spent inside that range as dangerous. I would maneuver very aggressively at the first sign that he is shooting at you at almost any range under D1.0. As a minimum, rock your wings to make the shot more difficult while you extend. Hispanos have a nasty habit of blowing you to bits even at D1.1 sometimes. A steep, high speed, dive can be an effective escape though you will likely have to throw in some serious maneuvers to try and break free on the way down. Once free, extend in any direction away from the Hurricane and he will likely

[VansCrew]

P51:To be successful

The P-51D is an excellent aircraft in the main arena. Where many other aircraft offer a combination of a few positive characteristics, the P-51 tends to offer any number of great attributes. The P-51 almost allows a pilot to be sloppy and still get, and land, kills, a trait which few other aircraft have.

The P-51 likes to have altitude, come in at least at the top part of the fight though it is not necessary to come in at the absolute top of the pile. You want to carry your full cruise speed and have finished your climbing away from the fight. One of the few negative characteristics of the P-51 is a poor climb and acceleration rate at lower levels. You really want to take care of those before getting to a fight. Once there, a BnZ or slashing style of attack is usually best as this helps maintain your speed and altitude. High speed turning fights are not a problem either, the P-51 has excellent high speed maneuverability and using 1 notch of maneuvering flaps will give incredible high speed turn rates. Be careful using the flaps though, more than 1 or 2 notches will quickly bleed away your speed and the P-51 has difficulty regaining that lost energy through acceleration. The best times to use the flaps tends to be at the top of loops or by briefly using a single notch to get your nose into position for a deflection shot. The P-51 is not a sustained turner though, it becomes more and more dependent on flaps to maintain performance as speed decreases. Over-use of the maneuvering flaps can quickly spell disaster.

The firepower of the P-51D is excellent, though I recommend you take the 6 gun option vs. the 4 guns. The 4 guns will make you lighter for a turn fight but that is not the strength of the P-51 against most opponents anyway. The six gun option really improves your ability to make snap, or deflection, shots. Remember that these are US .50's mounted in the wings too, so the maximum range for attempting shots is typically much further than for cannons. On fairly steady targets a D650 shot is not very difficult, while on a non-maneuvering target the range could be extended to slightly over D800. Don't expect to inflict serious damage at these ranges though every hit you can make helps. Sometimes long range hits can damage planes enough to make your job easier in the long run while other times you may get lucky at actually get kills at long ranges. I have my convergence set long on the P-51 and set in a pattern, not a single focused point, since I like to exploit the long range shot potential. With 3 closely spaced guns in each wing the convergence pattern is not as important to focus to a single point. Deflection, and merging front quarter shots with .50's are not a bad idea, lay out a pattern of fire and hope the enemy flies through it.

One of the greatest assets of the P-51D is vastly under-appreciated though, the views from the cockpit. The bubble canopy with no rear fuselage to obstruct your vision is absolutely the best. It works for you both offensively and defensively since you can more easily keep track of aircraft to your front or aft. I'd say the views probably double the average pilots situational awareness and makes keeping track of the situation much easier.

Of course, the P-51 loves speed at all altitudes. At low level the P-51 is amongst the fastest aircraft while at high altitudes it is probably the fastest non-perk ride. A good lower altitude for the P-51D is around 13.5K where it can pull 410mph on cruise. At sea level it makes 354mph, while WEP will increase that to 367mph. All are within a couple of mph of the fastest planes in the game though be careful, there are a couple of aircraft that can eventually catch you at certain altitudes. Also, remember that acceleration in the P-51 is not great so don't get caught slow or someone will probably catch you quickly. Save your WEP and only use it in combat since that extra horsepower and speed might be the difference between escape and being caught.

The final notes have to do with loading up on fuel. Full internal fuel is almost never necessary in a P-51. The range even with only 25% internal fuel is impressive. Typical scenario is to load 50% internal and drop tanks. While on the runway, drop one of the drop tanks and only take off with one. The plane will level easily with only 1 drop tank (it's not terribly unbalanced). Use the drop tank to climb to altitude and cruise to the area of the fight, then drop it. You should easily run out of ammunition before you even get close to running out of fuel. If I expect a fight there my return transit is less than 1 sector I also sometimes only take 25% fuel to make my plane even lighter. You never want to fight with more than 75% internal as the plane is a little unstable with all that fuel onboard.

P38(L)
Maneuverability

The P-38 is big and heavy. At 17,500lbs and a wingspan of 52 feet compares to weights around half that and wingspans more in the 35-40ft range for most fighters. The P-38 is also easily over-loaded with ammunition, bombs, rockets and up to 410 gallons of fuel which is more than double the 137 gallons of a plane such as a Spitfire. Considering the amount of weight associated with all this, it's a wonder the P-38 can turn at all, but it can, and well. The P-38 in general can be considered an above average turner at most altitudes, both instantaneous and sustained, though not quite in the class of a Spitfire. Best sustained turn speed tends to be a little higher than some planes and the turn-radius is a little worse than average under most conditions. Flaps are available for use during combat but cannot be deloyed over 250mph. Use of flaps can greatly improve the turn radius and rate, but at a high cost in drag, so use should be limited to short periods. The P-38 can be dramatically hampered by weight, so trying to fight while heavy is a problem. Rolling response is reasonable once it is established though the large wing produces inertia related problems with starting or stopping a rolling motion. Stall handling is very gentle as the twin engine counter torque forces with each other, making for a gentle nose down motion at stall which is easily recovered. The P-38L can have dangerous high speed handling properties because of Mach buffet and compression though at lower altitudes there tends to be some warning. Over 20K, compression can occur at around 460mph and that can be troublesome but at low levels typically compression occurs around 500mph and long after Mach buffet and structural creaking are in full swing. Steep dives should be avoided that allow your P-38 to get out of control in speed, though throttling back and adding some slide-slip with your rudder is usually enough to maintain safe speed. If you do compress, deploy the dive-flaps which will pitch your nose back upwards, though slowly, and aid in recovery. These are not dive-flaps for the purposes of limiting speed, only for dive recovery.

Fighting in the P-38L

Offensively the P-38L is a pretty decent plane being capable enough to make either a good BnZ'r or a good TnB'r. Usually the BnZ style is preferred until you know you have met an inferior turning opponent. Be careful when approaching the fight, you want to have lots of speed, but not excessive speed. You also don't want to get into a highly vertical dive on merge as the P-38L can accelerate out of control on you, quickly. Use the long range and beautiful trajectory of your guns to take lots of snapshots at any range within D800. Add the cannon into close firing situations when you think you can land hits. Getting slow and turn-fighting is acceptable though the danger level is higher. The P-38L is so large that even an average marksman can sometimes land hits at long ranges, being slow just makes that all the easier. Always try and fight as lightly as you can, take a drop tank and less internal fuel. A typical launch configuration includes one drop tank and only 50% internal fuel. You should also save your WEP as much as possible, just use the good climb-rate of the P-38 without sacrificing your WEP time to get to the battle. The P-38L also has flaps that can be useful when used at key times in order to increase turn-rate, though don't leave them out as they bleed speed quickly.

Defensively, the P-38 often has quite a bag of tricks, though you need to have a good feel for the P-38 to get the most out of it. If it weren't for the overly large size of the P-38 it would usually make quite a difficult target for most attackers. Hard turns and stall fights at the top of zooms tend to be primary to the P-38L tactics, where it exploits the neutral stalling characteristics and good turn-rate. The P-38, once rolling, can also be a real problem in a scissors as it can throw out flaps, input massive rudder, and sometimes the landing gear, in order to cause a very rapid overshoot problem for an attacker. The key really is to keep the enemy off target with the guns while you dance around and make him overshoot before he can react. Once he passes infront of you, your acceleration and lethal guns will likely end the fight before he can get escape. Always remember your aircraft size though as a bit of a handicap as it makes you a pretty large target for taking some sorts of hits and damage if the enemy can get in close. Slow turn-fights can be fine when you have only one enemy to deal with and he's in only an average turner, tighten up the turn as much as possible and wait for him to try and break off and run. Often, planes will stall out under torque and crash while trying to follow a slow turning P-38. Be very aware of your dive limitations, once over 450mph you are going to be in trouble as most aircraft will still maintain very good control but your P-38 will be almost helpess in maneuvering.

[VansCrew]

the C205:
To be successful

The C205 is a fairly uncommon aircraft to bump into in the arena but not quite in the rare category. If anything it has gained in popularity over time as people have begun to become interested in it. Unfortunately, I think the statistics on use are a little misleading because I tend to see a lot of C205s participating in vulches often for the primary purpose of building up perk points more quickly. That said, the C205 is a reasonable opponent, not outstanding in any clear way, but probably a bit better than average in most. One of the biggest problems when encountering a C205 is knowing whether the guy at the controls is an ace, or just another clown, which can give a false impression of the aircrafts abilities.

The engine in the C205 is a vast improvement over the C202 and moves this plane more into the realm of the later war planeset that tends to dominate the arena. Sea-level cruise speed is 321mph (331mph with WEP), still pretty slow considering the average if faster aircraft you will likely encounter. Still, it is an improvement in an area that really hurt the C202. Speed increases fairly linearly with altitude gains with 345mph (cruise) available at only 6K, and a top cruise speed of 390mph at around 22.5K. Overall, WEP tends to add about 10mph to the top end at most altitudes. Those numbers are not fantastic, but don't clearly drop you out of competition with other aircraft. Above 23K the C205 starts to fade and is no match for a number of better high altitude aircraft in top speed. Climb rate is outstanding, a little understood aspect of the C205, beginning at over 4,000ft/minute at sea-level and slowly decreasing to 3,500ft/minute at 15K. That is in the top 5 of non-perked fighters and gives a solid band at low or medium altitudes where your climb rate should be quite effective. Acceleration and vertical performance also tend to be quite good though the plane is pretty light and tends not to hold energy really well. Fuel range is short at only 28 minutes at full power (no WEP) on internal fuel. No provision for droptanks are available so extend this and WEP use can seriously cut into range.

The firepower of the C205 is quite good, a vast improvement in the other major weak area of the C202. While there are technically two different setups available in the hanger, a twin 7.7mm plus pair of 12.7mm as in the C202, or a pair of 12.7mm with wing mounted 20mm cannons. You really do need the cannons and I doubt anyone really flies without them on purpose. The 12.7mm guns are cowl mounted, and given a solid 370 rounds/gun, allowing for good clustering of hits even with the convergence set out to D650. I find these guns fairly effective and easy to aim, but considering they are only a pair, it takes a while for them to be effective. I tend to use them for herding people, or to keep them honest if they try and run straight away. The cannons in the wings are Mg 151/20's, same as most LW birds, and each are provided with 250rounds of ammunition. The cannons should be set to your typical engagement range (D200-D350 most likely) and can easily damage aircraft if they land hits. Aiming is a little tougher with these cannons, just like the German fighters equipped with the same model. It's more of having an eye for them though so you need to fly with them a bit to get used to their aim point as compared to something that has a flatter and faster trajectory. In general, firepower is very good, with a good snapshot, deflection, or tracking ability, albeit that the wing mounted cannons start to lose ballistically over the 12.7mm cowl weapons outside about D350. Long range shots are likely better left to the cowl weapons if the target is maneuvering at all.

I've at times been a little harsh on the C205 for maneuverability and I can't say I'm overly impressed, but it does seem pretty decent. The C205 only weighs in at around 7,500 pounds, an increase of over 1,000 pounds over the C202 but still somewhat of a medium-light weight as compared to many fighters. The wing area of the C205 hasn't changed from the C202 although the planes seem to handle almost the same from what I can tell. The C205 does feel fairly stable although at lower speeds appears to be a bit less so. The stall is rather abrupt and violent although recovers is easy but simply releasing pressure on the controls and regaining airspeed. The plane does seem a little nose heavy which tends to help get the nose down in stall situations and aid in recovery. A C205 will reverse almost naturally at the top of a zoom climb when it runs out of airspeed, something few planes can boast. Sustained turn rate is pretty good, especially at higher speeds, but also down to around 200mph. Speeds less than that are really hard to gauge, but it doesn't feel like the C205 is well suited to slow speed stall fighting. Dive performance is very good, although the transition between full control and almost complete loss of stick response is fairly abrupt. 550mph seems like it should be about the extent of diving speed, though the plane is highly responsive. By 575mph there is serious buffeting and 590mph leads to compression which is likely unrecoverable.

The C205 is a better plane that most people give it credit, though it still isn't what would normally be considered an outstanding performer. The extra firepower, speed, and climb imparted over the C202 model can all be put to good use and make it quite deadly if it can dictate a fight and stop an enemy from fleeing with greater speed. As a BnZ'r, the plane really shows it's strengths while hiding what might be the only real weakness, a lack of top end speed. The cannons provide the firepower for almost any type of shot and the C205 is best flown fairly aggressively. Try and arrive at any fight with a slight altitude advantage and convert this into speed for attacking and returning to safety above the defensive enemy. The use of climb rate is somewhat over-rated in AH as most combat tends to be sufficiently short duration than to allow a slow building of advantage through superior climb. WEP is very important, save it for combat and don't waste it on climb or transit. Without WEP you are likely to feel like a weakling and your aircraft will perform significantly worse, while the use of WEP decreases your fuel supply quickly. One additional warning, the C205 seems (and I think many would agree) to bleed energy quite quickly over some other aircraft. The acceleration and climb will help you replace lost energy, but you really don't want to find yourself bled out against an equal, or superior, turner.

Defensively, the C205 has far more options than the C202 did. Your speed and climb may be enough to enable you to escape from enemy aircraft though typically not. Planes like the P-51 and La7 are just too fast and likely to track you down quickly. Your turn rate is fairly average so you may have the opportunity to maneuver to avoid enemies. Even if you have to dive away you should have the control and acceleration to stay with most of the good divers. Often the C205 does need the help of other friendly aircraft though so staying near friends is a good manner to maintain a good defense. Roll rate is good, scissors should be pretty effective with your acceleration giving good sprints in-between each reversal. Also, you can look to create overshoot conditions since you have the firepower to quickly capitalize on enemies who overshoot you and end up a close or medium range infront of you. You are also a good zoomer so if you have a speed advantage at lower altitudes you may be able to out-zoom your opponents.

The C205 really is quite a reasonable plane and I don't think it gets even a portion of the credit that it is due. In the hands of a reasonable pilot a C205 can make life very difficult for most opponents.

[VansCrew]

P47N:

Maneuverability:
For an aircraft so large and heavy, the P-47N is remarkably maneuverable. The P-47N did introduce a few changes in a larger wing and a fillet extension to the tail, both of which have positive impacts. The stability, especially in yaw, are quickly noticeable compared to older model P-47's which had a tendency to wander a bit. The P-47N also doesn't seem to get quite the same wallowing, mushy or heavy feel that late model D versions had. You still need to be careful, there is nothing lightweight about the P-47N and it can take time to overcome a high sink rate at the bottom of a loop or to push through a corner. Stalls in general are also more benign, stall speed decreasing to under 80mph with flap, stall stability improving, and high speed stalls seeming to be less common. Roll rate is excellent, maybe not elite like a 190 but better than most everything else. The roll-rate also seems to be good over a slightly larger range of speeds from slow to very fast. The P-47N loves speed too so don't be afraid to push it very hard, the only barrier it should fear is the sound-barrier. The flaps are combat capable and can be used to improve turn-rates at medium speeds. They should be handled appropriately as the drag produced tends to have negative long-term impacts for short term turning gains.




Flying the P-47N

The P-47 was always better than it was given credit although to be good in one took some practice and understanding. It didn't help that most P-47's were used like guided missiles or bomb-trucks, not fighters, giving a poor impression of the full capabilities the P-47 possesses.

The P-47N is simply better in almost every way than the earlier models. It is a competitive ride and more likely to catch on in the Main Arena, pretty much putting the earlier models into obscurity. The P-47N addressed the issue of engine power, range and stability, all of which are much improved. The P-47N's improved speed, climb and acceleration all give it a better energy potential and can allow it to play an energy fight much better. Fuel capacity of the P-47N was increased significantly to improve endurance and make external fuel carriage almost unnecessary. This did come with some weight penalty but a larger wing and extended tail fillet improved stability, making it a much better gun platform.

Standard P-47N use will probably be as a BnZ fighter but the P-47N can be pretty good in close also. Just ensure you start out from a decent energy position and plan not to fight uphill for very long. Typically this would mean entering the fight slightly high and then working your way down until you reach your exit altitude and egress. No need to climb ultra-high unless the enemy is up that high also. The P-47N is great up high of course but typically that's not where the main fight is. Use your speed, energy retention, roll and great firepower to hammer people. Given a short dive the P-47N can pick up a lot of speed and maneuver hard, using short bursts of flaps to gain angles for shots. Don't been cheap on the ammunition either, take every shot you can and hold your trigger just that little extra to ensure you land hits. Roll rate and high speed handling in general are excellent, as is stability, at most fuel weights. The mass of the P-47N allows it to hold energy better while the vastly improved power buys back energy more quickly. You still don't want to get into a pure energy fight though unless you are at very light internal weights. Once you start to feel some pressure, roll out into a vertical dive and egress to re-build energy.

Defensively the P-47N can hold a lot of tricks. The standard dive and run should be more effectively with the improved deck speed on WEP of the P-47N but you are still slower than quite a few opponents so expect to mix it up more. I generally would try and extend to simply thin the herd following you as some guys drop off rather than chase. Use the P-47's mass to hold energy and use the great roll and instantaneous turn to make for a difficult target to hit. The P-47's were always good overshoot creators given their ability to dump speed under power cuts and flap usage, just be careful because this can also lead you very vulnerable if the enemy recognizes the bait and doesn't bite. The P-47N can take a hit too, a couple of stray rounds are not likely to cause any serious damage, even so, I tend to recommend saving a couple of gallons in the wing tanks (maybe 10/tank) before running the MAIN tank all the way. This gives a short reserve for rtb when the MAIN runs out and also gives you a bit of range should your MAIN get holed and leak dry. Be aggressive in your defense though, the P-47N can be man-handled a bit more and might just surprise some opponents by it's ability to maneuver in such a large aircraft.






Fighting the P-47N

The P-47N is a totally different beast from earlier models and will likely comprise 90%+ of all P-47's you encounter. It is very dangerous, capable of maneuvering beyond most expectations and the upgraded power grants it the option to now get into more vertical or upwards engagements.

Be aggressive with a P-47N and try to get them slowed down. You are unlikely to win angles on one at high speeds and they simply have better than average capabilities in most maneuvering characteristics at medium-high speeds. While the P-47N was a great leap in engine performance there are still several aircraft who can do better in climb and acceleration. Watch out for overshoots, a classic P-47 tactic, the P-47N might be one of the best scissoring aircraft in the game though it is still large and generally an easy target. That doesn't make it an easy kill, the P-47 can often take massive punishment and fly away. I've been in P-47's hit by a dozen or more 20mm rounds and still be entirely able to fight. If the P-47N heads into a vertical dive and you can't catch it in the initial acceleration then it is likely to escape unless you are committed to the long chase.

Defending against a P-47N can be tough, they typically carry a lot of speed on their attacks and any sort of shot opportunity you give up is likely to be met with a hail of .50 cal rounds. Exploit it's less than stellar turn radius to get inside of it and cause it trouble. The P-47N can balance this issue with use of flaps in the short term but the longer the fight the more the flaps will hurt the P-47N. Don't try and out-dive the P-47N and be really cautious using rolling techniques to defeat one. The P-47N is still heavy and pushes a bit through the corners when loaded with fuel. Don't count on this though, a light P-47N is a different beast, able to shed massive weight as fuel load lightens. Hard break turns at off-angles can be tough for a P-47N to adjust to though, the extra speed most P-47N pilots are carrying can cause them issues with G blackout or inability to pull enough lead angle.

[VansCrew]

Tempest:
To be successful

I think a lot of people mis-judge the Tempest is many ways or simply don't appreciate it. That's understandable because you aren't very likely to see a Tempest that often and very few people actually fly it in the arena. The Tempest only accounts for less than 1/3 of 1 percent of kills in most tours, often ranking right down at the bottom with planes like the C202 and Spit I. That said, it also often seems to hold K/D ratios in the 4:1 range, similar to Me262 numbers, so it is a plane that certainly has some strengths with the people who fly it. Because of it's similar appearance to the much more popular Typhoon, some people think the Tempest is similar, and in some ways that is true, but in others ways that's a vast understatement.

The engine is very strong and can pull the Tempest to 386mph (WEP)/ 372 mph (no WEP) at sea-level. That's about the fastest you can get in a propeller aircraft although there are a couple of awfully close contenders if you are without WEP. Performance only gets better when at 6.5K the Tempest cruises at 410mph. Climb rate is also good, though not quite as spectacular only briefly flirting with 4,500ft/minute, while maintaining something more between 3,500ft and 4,000ft/minute up to 17K. That leaves a bit of a problem with the likes of the 109G10, or Spitfire Mk XIV. Range is somewhat short at 29 minutes with internal plus an additional 13 minutes if you opt for drop tanks. Remember that you never want to run a Tempest out of fuel so ensure you pack enough gas to get you home. Travel times at full throttle are pretty quick though when you can cruise over 400mph.

Firepower consists of 2 banks of twin hispano 20mm cannons mounted in the wings. This is a premium weapons package and is very deadly under all conditions. Each cannons has 150 rounds of ammunition which is a little more than average. External options include single bombs under each wings, though the Tempest is absolutely mis-used as a jabo plane. Deflection shots, snap-shots, almost anything is going to be very effective if you can take one. Head-On's are not recommended because of the perk price of the plane, but the cannons are up to the task if you just feel like you want to throw caution to the wind.

Maneuverability is good but the Tempest is a heavy plane at over 11,400pounds. Wingspan is large (41 ft) but the plane still maneuvers pretty well. I wouldn't consider it a great sustained, or low speed, turner, but at high speeds it handles very well. Of note, the energy retention during very aggressive maneuvers tends to be a lot better than other planes. Turning really isn't the game to play in the Tempest though as eventually it will wear you down to the point that you are easy prey for others.

The Tempest is best used in the BnZ or slashing attack style. I prefer a slashing style because it tends to keep your position moving around better incase someone arrives above you and wants to try and get into position for an attack. Dive in to pick up speed, make small corrections in heading to take shots as you pass by enemy planes, then zoom up in extension on the other side. Reverse, and repeat. Just be careful to not accept Head-On's from anyone who might try to knock you down that way. The Tempest really doesn't draw half the attention of most other perk rides like and Me262 or Spit XIV though, so sometimes people will treat you just like another Typhoon.

Defensively, you want to always keep your speeds very high, at around you max speed if possible. Few planes can give much challenge in a pursuit so if you are already at top speed you should be able to extend from almost anything. Diving isn't a bad idea but try and level out before 6.5K so you can use the very good speed zone you have around that altitude. Dives to the deck against the likes of an La7 make for a very tight race. Your engine also turns opposite to most other planes so make your turns to the right where they are most effective. This makes any pursuer have to turn to his weak side. At the first sign of trouble though you should be putting on full power and sprinting away.

The Tempest is a great plane, but make sure you spend some time in it in the training or dueling arena so you know how to handle it. It isn't a magic bullet but sure places a lot of control in your hands.

[VansCrew]

A6M(Zero)To be successful

The A6M5 variant of Zero is actually a really dangerous plane when the speeds start to slow down. Base defense, low altitudes furballs, and places where there are a whole bunch of Spitfires and N1K's tend to be the locations where Zeros show up most often.

The A6M5 is slow, there is just no way about that, clocking a pathetic 288mph at sea-level. There is no WEP on the A6M5 which is both a blessing and a hindrance. Without WEP you never have to worry about it running out, or using up fuel too quickly, but you also don't get the extra power that tends to make a big difference in tactics and possibilities. Speed does improve with altitude, clocking 330mph at 10K and 352mph at 20K, both still low numbers but a whole lot better than 288mph. Be careful of your altitude though as between 10K and 17K the A6M5 actually has decreased performance as compared to at 10K. Climb rate is only fair at 3,300ft/minute dropping to around 3,000ft/minute at 16K. That's a pretty constant rate overall but still towards the middle of the pack. Fuel range is long, 40 minutes on internal fuel, with the option of up to 3 drop tanks to extend range another 41 minutes. This is basically the same length of time a P-51 can stay airborne although the range of the P-51 is much better because of it's increased cruise speed.

Firepower on the A6M5 is pretty good with a pair of cowl mounted 13mm machineguns and twin 20mm Type99 cannons in the wings. The wing cannons have 125 rounds/gun which is a little light but still better than the pathetic 60 rounds/gun in the A6M2 version. The cannons seem to have a fair amount of drop and tend to take some time to get used to before you can easily aim them. The cowl guns are actually quite effective though don't seem as nice to fire as US 50's, nor hit as hard. There are options for a centerline bomb but typically this is not taken.

Maneuverability is awesome, a hallmark of the Zeros. Even with full internal fuel and loaded with drop tanks you can probably still out-turn anything, at low speeds, in the game. Roll rate is only fair and you need to be careful with excess speed. One thing the A6M5 doesn't deal with well is speed, unlike almost everything else. At even mid-speeds around 350mph the A6M5 starts to really lose a lot of maneuverability and roll, to the point where it becomes almost uncontrollable. Try fighting at low fuel loads, usually 50% is tonnes since it provides more air-time than an La7 at full fuel. This also keeps the plane even lighter though the plane itself only comes in at 5,900lbs.

You really need to find, or create, turning fights where your enemy gives up on the opportunity to fight you with speed. You need to dictate a turn-fight either by baiting someone or by finding a way to force someone to turn-fight you. Look for planes that are lower that you can catch without excessive diving since this plane is one that doesn't like excess speed. Bogies that are already engaged against other friendlies, or ones that have just ended an engagement and have yet to rebuild lost E are prime targets. Low planes that are turning won't be able to run away and may be stuck with turn-fighting you, which means they are easy pickings. The reason that low targets are better is because the fight will typically have to be level or slightly nose high and thus the speeds will never increase. The A6M5 can pull such tight radius turns that most fighters can't afford to lighten up on their turns for fear that the Zero will be almost instantly behind them. Don't let yourself get into a descending fight unless you plan to run your prey down to the ground and out of options at the same time.

Defensively, you are likely to see a lot of slashing style attacks. BnZ'ing a Zero actually doesn't work all that well because the Zero tends to turn so sharply that any time the enemy makes a pass you can already detect it and have your nose pointed at him to meet him. Some opponents won't care and you can trade shots, but others will either misjudge the aim point or decide to break off. Try and get the fight to turn into a constant turn fight if you can as this will instantly change the situation in your favor. Even with an enemy on your tail, if you get him turning and unable to pull enough lead to shoot you are likely to slowly draw him into a turn-fight. The defensive circle, where you just turn endlessly, is a common tactic but is awfully predictable and doesn't lead you towards safety in the long term. It's pretty common though but makes extended situational awareness a problem and draws a lot of attention. Also, a predictable target is one that a good shot can usually land hits on, and the A6M5 isn't all that tough.

The best fight for the A6M5 is against Spits and N1K's who are trapped in a slow-turnfight near your airfield. You can often drop in at low altitude on a pack like that and clean them all out rather easily by simply out-turning them. The problem is, you need to make a good getaway and that can be tough. Chances are someone else will come in and look at you as a nice, low, and easy target

[VansCrew]

ME262:
Maneuverability

Maneuverability is excellent, especially at mid-high speeds, with both roll and elevators have good response. You also have maneuvering flaps available that can be deployed to further improve turn-rate though that comes at the expense of additional drag and loss of speed. A single notch of maneuvering flap can be useful though for short durations where turn-rate is important. The Me262, by nature of it's insane speed potential, can be quite dangerous though to a pilot. The issue tends to be that it's cruise numbers are so close to extremes that even a short shallow dive can quickly result in a 600+mph speed. The Me262 is not capable of supersonic travel and Mach induced buffet and compression can be a serious problem that leads to the loss of a lot of Me262 in AH. New players enter dives at too high a speed and don't properly control the acceleration only to find that they are out of control. Be very careful when flying at high altitudes and/or high speeds to not crash your Me262 or structurally disintegrate by excessive G loadings. Low speed maneuvering is ok though that is not what you want to be considering in an Me262 unless landing. The Me262 can build up a high sink rate though so be careful about your speed/decent rates while landing.

Flying the Me262

The Me262 really does require a decent pilot to fly effectively. It's not that it is a difficult aircraft to control as long as you manage your speed properly. The issue is, you need to be good at predicting your enemy and positioning yourself to attack based on that. With closing speeds that often approach 300mph, your window of opportunity to line up and lead the enemy aircraft is incredibly short. Additionally, with the short effective range of the guns you tend to have to get very close where collisions can be difficult to avoid. There is also the whole issue with an icon that reads like a billboard "Drop everything else and come kill me". You have to split your attention very well and maintain high situational awareness, which can be very difficult when you are moving so quickly.

Offensively, use your speed and try to catch people who think they are fast enough to avoid any attack from the rear. Don't fight in a furball as everyone will have heightened situational awareness. With your speed you can instead pick off guys who are separated from the main fight or who are still trying to transit to/from the main combat. Come in low behind them and sneak up, this helps control your closure rate (since you are both headed the same direction) and your large speed potential should allow you to close up any distance to guns range very quickly. You can typically afford to be lower than typical against an opponent in this fashion because your zoom potential at 500+mph is unbelievable and you can easily pop up to attack. High altitudes are not really required, anything medium or lower should do as long as you have your speed built up already. Many Me262's will fly under 5,000ft, which sounds dangerous, but reality is that it's almost impossible to intercept something that is sustaining better than 500mph at low altitudes. Some aircraft can attempt to dive on you but the actual timing required for them to match your speed and position for a shot is very difficult. Slashing attacks are also commonplace because of the short warning your high speed will give the enemy. It doesn't take long to cover D6.0 and an unattentive enemy may not even notice you before you are in guns range and firing. The knock against this tends to be that slashing attacks are more likely to Head-On situations by accident (if not intentional), something you don't want. Always be sure you don't slow down though as speed is your best weapon. Always assume that every enemy within a sector knows you are in the area as usually there is an instant call of the presence of an Me262 as soon as one enemy sees one.

Defensively, good situational awareness and speed are your keys to survival. If you are travelling less than 400mph at any time when within dot range of an enemy then you should feel uncomfortable, you should be at top speed if they are in icon range. Your acceleration work needs to be done beforehand though you can typically add speed quickly in a shallow dive. You are very unlikely to be caught from behind as long as your speed is sufficient to out-distance an opponent (which is usually easy). Even aircraft that are good divers and start with a massive dive are unlikely to catch you. The timing required to be successful in such a tactic is very difficult to achieve, but you should always be aware of it. The best tactic is to force the enemy to attempt such a dive, then turn slightly to throw off the angles. Once the enemy has attacked once in this fashion it is highly unlikely he could regain enough energy to have a valid second attempt at you. Very low flying is quite popular as it decreases the icon range at which you are visible and makes determination of closure/angles even more difficult for aircraft who attempt to dive on you.

A couple of final notes. The Me262 is most vulnerable when slow and historically it was attacked often while landing. The same is true in AH, this is usually the point at which you are most vulnerable. Commonly the Me262 will pick up quite a pack of enemy aircraft who will be attempting to follow you around and may be waiting for you to start to land. I would always plan to leave enough fuel to ensure you could land at a field that is one layer back from the front. This extra distance will tend to open up a gap where the pursuers will break off or where you can ready some friendly forces to be already up and waiting to help.

I'd also be prepared to spend some time in other arenas flying the Me262 for a while. It is very different and it takes time to adapt to the speed at which you need to make decisions in it. Even just attacking the predictable offline drones can be difficult to master so your time in the MA can be even worse when people are actually trying to avoid you.

Fighting the Me262

You need to stay alert and watch for things that appear to be moving very quickly at dot range. The warning you may have of an Me262 attack can be very short, only a matter of seconds. If at any time you see, or hear of, an Me262 anywhere in the area then you should remain vigilant even when you are transiting back to base. Me262's love to catch you when you least expect it and will wait until you let your guard down. Turning into an Me262 is typically ok as they will attempt to avoid any Head-On opportunities as unfavorable. Break turns, or quick unexpected maneuvers can completely throw an Me262 off aim. Try to ensure you have enough maneuvering speed to initiate something that could be described as at least "crisp". Crossing shots, hard angles, or large vertical components tend to be very difficult with the Me262 guns so exploit that. Shallow/Steep dives are not recommended, nor are zoom climbs, as the Me262 has very high speed potential and can easily catch you in those maneuvers. To be honest though, as long as you are alert and have some maneuvering speed then the danger posed by a Me262 is probably less than by most other aircraft in the game.

Attacking a Me262 can be described as difficult, at best. Typically they will not slow down to fight and your potential to catch one is pretty low. The opportunity to shoot down an Me262 usually presents itself more by chance and luck. You can improve your chances though by attempting to stalk one or predict what his actions may be and lay in wait. The Me262 is not likely to present a Head-On situation but it can happen if you manage to get your nose points around fast enough, though likely he will simply avoid. The most common method of catching a good Me262 pilot though is to anticipate his actions and use a high speed dive to match his speed and heading. If you don't match both, at at a reasonable guns range, then you aren't likely going to have any chance to shoot him down. Luckily, a fast Me262 will generally travel in pretty straight paths so you can anticipate where he will be before he gets there and start your dive early. If you are in a poor diver, or a plane with poor handling over 550mph, then don't even bother attempting to attack as you are even less likely to have sufficient control of your own aircraft in order to aim your guns. When presented with an opportunity though, don't be afraid to shoot and just attempt to land hits. A damaged Me262 is unlikely to remain in the area and will usually just run for home. The best place to attack an Me262 is when he is slow though, either on climb-out or landing.

[VansCrew]

I hope that i help some of you guys learn more about the fighter's in the game.How to fly them and how to beat them.If i forgot a fighter that you like to fly let me know and i will post the stats about it.I only did what i seen to be the rides of the squad that people like to fly them most.I left out the spit16 and the nik because they fly them themselves and i was geting tired of typing this all out for you.:D

Once again i hope this helped you guys.

:salute::pig:'s

[loonetik]

Vans, it would be easier to just link to Soda's page.

http://members.shaw.ca/soda_p/models.htm

[Syko]

Thanks VanScrew for your time and effort and thought,this is great info for all. :salute:

[skullman]

Really good.Thanks for the info bro.:salute:

[VansCrew]

Vans, it would be easier to just link to Soda's page.

http://members.shaw.ca/soda_p/models.htm


dont kill my glory!!!

:D :D,it's more easyer just for people to see it then look it up.

[VansCrew]

Dora:

Maneuverability

Most people mistakenly consider maneuverability as turn-rate, which would have to be described as generally poor in the 190D9. At high speed, it turns pretty well, able to pull the maximum 5-6G's that really limits turn rate anyway, with little trouble. At low speeds, the turn-rate is poor, amongst the worst, so maneuvering to maximize your turn rate is important and flat-turns simply aren't going to get the job done. Maneuvering isn't all about turn rate though, it's about a number of other things, one of which is roll, at which the 190D9 excels. I don't even know if the word excel does the roll rate justice, it literally dominates anything in roll rate at almost every speed. This is not a lie, but a 190 that is missing one whole aileron to damage can still out-roll 90% of the aircraft in the game at any speed. Unfortunately, roll rate is a characteristic best utilized by veterans, while new to intermediate pilots often struggle to extract the maximum gain from rolling. Stall characteristics of the 190D9 are also a little harsh with an abrupt stall and snap-roll, though recovery is usually easy by easing back pressure on the controls. I would ensure that you attempt to fight with the 190D9 while light on fuel, and balanced, as described in the engine section, as this makes it a much more capable aircraft.

Fighting in the fw190D9

I think I likely consider the 190D9 the premier BnZ fighter in the game, or at least in the top 3. It's combination of responsive high speed handling, stellar speed, good climb, and compact firepower, give it the right combination of tools to come in fast, line up easily, take a devestating snapshot, and then escape. Fight with the 190D9 almost purely in the vertical, or use slashing style attacks to keep your enemy responding your you and off-balance. The roll rate allows you to change direction exceptionally quickly in the vertical, plus aids in fine tuning your lead on crossing shots. Try and arrive to the fight at medium altitudes, or at least a little higher than most of the enemy contacts, and then start BnZing back and forth, never slowing down or commiting to a turn-fight. If you can time your approaches and get close, your cannons can destroy almost any aircraft in one pass even in the briefest of snapshots. If you do need to follow a turn, use a lag style and maintain your speed and turn-rate. The 190 can never get a good small radius on a turn, but it can give a good turn rate a higher speeds (325mph+).

Defensively, the 190D9 should try and retain speed, making it all but impossible for anything save a handful of the fastest fighters to initiate a chase. You can use the D9 like other 190's in a scissors type defense where it's acceleration and top speed will easily differentiate it from even other 190's. The D9 also has the pure running option as there are few planes who can easily catch you at most low'ish altitudes. Even the vaunted La7 only has a 5mph advantage at sea-level so any chase by one of those is likely to be fairly long. The D9 is second fastest non-perk plane at sea-level with WEP (the duration of which is at least tied with any other aircraft). You should be able to escape from anyone on the deck not in an La7 (the fastest) if you get enough of a jump on the situation and they don't catch you with some initial big speed advantage. Most of the close planes in this sort of drag race (Typhoon, P-51) don't have 9 minutes of WEP either, you are likely to leave them in the dust once their WEP runs out. Just make sure you extend outside of icon range before deciding to turn around and come back into the fight, don't get impatient. The most dangerous opponent to you if you stay fast is the La7, so try and watch for those or take care of them first. If there are no La7's around then you know you have the best deck speed and should be able to dive away and then extend.

I tend to be a big stats junky too, and the 190D9 offers some pretty astounding ones in performance and score. The D9 usually rules all other non-perk planes in K/D ratio in the main arena. The D9 is 4th fastest climber to 15K, behind only 109 versions (G2, G6, and G10). The D9 is second fastest as sea-level, 5th at 5K, 5th at 10K, and 4th at 15K. This just gives you some ideas on how fast it is and how it can be put to good use.

Fighting the fw190D9

All 190's are tough targets and the D9 is no exception. The typical defense of the 190 is to use superior roll rate to get your out of phase and then it will dart away while you are still trying to roll to get into the same plane of direction. This makes the 190's frustratingly difficult to follow in many cases. This tends to lead to a lot of overshoots, or situations where you have to break off your attack and reposition, only to have the 190D9 put some distance between you that you may not be able to overcome.

Your basically going to want to find a speed advantage that you can use to get into position for a quick shot. For some reason the D9, and all 190's come to think of it, have a relatively weak engine and any pings to the front quarter seem to knock it out pretty easily. The D9 doesn't have long on a damaged engine either, tending to overheat quickly before it can get back to base. Try and come in fast with a small altitude advantage and then use that to dive in gently to catch up to a D9. 190's tend to flee quickly too, and dive to the deck at high speeds to escape. Often this includes a split-S and several rolls to get you out of phase. If in doubt, level and regain lost altitude and wait for the 190 to stop rolling long enough to get back into phase. Just be careful not to overshoot because a 190D9 can quickly make you pay for an error like that. Almost everything that is nearly as fast, La7, Typhoon, P-51, can all out-turn the 190D9, sustained. You therefore want to saddle up, force him to turn to avoid your shots, and slowly drift into a sustained turn-fight. Once in a fight like that the 190 is likely to try and scissor and build up energy through short sprints, but this is a vulnerable time for him. If you can land hits on his reversals you may may damage him and will at least spook him into being more aggressive in his defense. This can lead to a 190 overcontrolling and stalling, opening the door for you to get in a free shot on a relatively helpless target. One note of caution though, don't over-lead a scissors style defense and get greedy about the shot, this is the first mistake in what usually ends up as an overshoot and reversal of situation (ie, you are in deep trouble).

Defensively, don't plan on running away from a 190D9 since it is unlikely to happen in the long term if he is determined to track you down. The major weakness of the 190 is going to be in sustained turn rate at lower speeds. A spiral climb, if you can maintain a reasonable climb rate and reasonably tight circle, is likely to pull the 190 into a poor rate of turn as speeds decrease. It is unlikely the 190 will continue this turn and will most likely reverse or try and dive away. A 190 that is driven away will come back but at least this gives you the option to extend yourself, or gain more altitude and wait for him to come back. The D9 has such great energy building characteristics that given half a chance it will build energy and quickly match your level, or exceed it, so you are unlikely to win an energy game unless you can continue the pressure. If you can get a 190 to sustain it's turning while chasing you, you can bleed it slow where it is less able to prevent you from gaining position for a firing opportunity. Good turners should turn aggressively to face the 190 at every opportunity though Head-Ons are not recommended except as a last resort. Once a 190's speed is gone it is a far easier target. One final note, if you are going to start using break-turns against a 190D9, don't do them level (ie, don't just turn to the left or right), instead, throw in some vertical component to the turn, or use a little rudder to change your heading slightly. A simply break turn is easily adjusted for in a 190D9 and he's going to take his crossing snap-shot on you if you make it easy for him.

[VansCrew]

190A8:
To be successful

The 190A8 was the original 190 variant in the game and for quite some time the only variant. It was, even in those days, not often used in a real anti-bomber role but more played the role of multi-purpose attacker with a secondary anti-air capability. I know I've flown it often, even recently, and it is still a fine airplane, if not a little out-classed by some of the super-performance planes that are most popular in the main arena these days. The A8, in real life, was an uparmoured 190 version for dealing heavy firepower to bombers. It suffered from the extra weight which made it a easier target for enemy fighters, and in AH it pretty much assumes the same problems. The 190A8 does share the same icon as other 190 versions though, so until up close it can be difficult to spot which 190 you are dealing with. The 190's all look similar too in paint-job, so it can be difficult to know which you are facing until after a couple of merges.

The 190A8 has decent low level performance, turning in a 349mph (WEP)/ 327mph (no-WEP) speed at sea-level, faster than a A5 by 10mph. Climb rate is about 3,500ft/minute at sea-level though this decreases to 3,000ft/minute at 5K. Not using WEP to climb is going to cost you up to 1,000ft/minute so it is pretty essential considering that the numbers aren't all that spectacular. Adding altitude doesn't give the performance gains as in the A5 until you get quite high, 350mph cruise (357mph with WEP) at 5K is about as good as it gets until you push through 11K. Top speed is at 20K and 375mph (no WEP), 400mph with WEP at 19K. That leaves you with slightly better performance when either very low, or quite high. WEP is very important and you have the advantage of over 9 minutes of WEP use between cooling cycles, double that of a lot of planes in AH. Fuel range is a bit better than in the A5, 31 minutes on internal and the option for a centerline drop tank that adds 14 minutes. Because of your high predicted WEP use you can burn fuel quickly and should likely take a little more than you might in other aircraft. The only problem is, you want to try and keep your fuel load as low as possible since the A8 is so heavy that a full fuel load makes it quite sluggish. Again, as in other 190's, the automatic fuel burning order is incorrect by what most people feel. The aft tank should be burned before the fwd tank to better position the center of gravity. I tend to leave an 1/8 of a tank of fuel in the aft, then go back to automatic fuel switching. This leaves me with a small reserve incase I run a little short.

Firepower is impressive and quite a step up from the A5. Standard weapons include a pair of 20mm Mg151/20s in the wings plus a pair of Mg131 13mm machineguns in the cowling. The upgraded cowl guns make decent weapons, especially compared to the 7.9mm in the A5, but are still best reserved for a good secondline weapon. 250 rounds of ammunition are provided for each cannon and 475 rounds for each 13mm gun, both very heavy loads when compared to other aircraft. Upgrades abound to further increase firepower. Two more Mg151/20mm with 140 rounds/gun can be added to the wings, or optionally a pair of even larger 30mm cannons with 55 rounds/gun. Both are a pretty dramatic increase on something that could not really be considered lacking in the first place. This is what makes the A8 such a good strafer though, lots of heavy firepower with tonnes of ammunition. External options include a center-mounted bomb up to 500kg and/or 2 wing mounted air-to-air rockets. The bomb is not typically carried because a fuel drop tank is more useful, and the air-to-air rockets are not terribly against aircraft but seem effective against ground structures becasue they must have impact fuzes. In the 190A8 you always have a decision to make when you leave the hanger, do you go light with only 2 cannons, medium with 4 20mm, or heavy with the pair of 20mm and pair of 30mm. It will really depend on what you are intending to do but I usually find myself with the meduim loadout to give me flexibility.

Maneuverability is a mixture of pleasure and pain. As a turner, the 190A8 feels heavy and most speeds, being on the verge of bad stalls at low speeds, and is one of the few planes that really can bottom out in a turn at high speeds. The stall behaviour is rather abrupt if pushed too hard though typically stalls are easily recoverable. Consider that the 190A8 weighs in a 9,700 points on a relatively small 34 1/2ft wingspan. This creates a pretty high wing-loading even in a light configuration, while adding the likes of drop tanks, rockets, full internal fuel, and the big gun package can make the 190 even more overweight. You will be able to feel it too, the 190A8 shows it's weight between heavy and light configurations. Always try and fly the lightest you can, take only the fuel you need, and don't automatically put heavy extras onto the aircraft. Trying to stop your decent on low level BnZ runs can leave the 190A8 to pancake on the ground with your nose actually pointed slightly skyward but your wings unable to slow your decent quickly enough. The roll rate is outstanding, even with the outer wing cannons in place, like all 190s. Experienced pilots can really make use of the roll rate, both offensively and defensively, to more than compensate for some turn-rate problems. Even with one aileron missing though the 190 can easily out-roll almost anything at any speed.

Offensively, you want to make sure you are properly selecting targets and capitalizing your your firepower and roll rate. Plan to arrive to the fight as light as possible and attempt to balance out the aircraft by burning the AFT fuel tank first (not before a drop tank though). The A8 is really almost the ultimate BnZ'r though, bringing wonderful handling and heavy firepower, while being able to generally accept a scratch or two from a lucky return shot. The roll rate will help you reverse quickly, especially in the vertical, while the acceleration and climb at lower altitudes is still pretty good. I tend not to think of the A8 is the best 190 variant for air-to-air work, at least not where you expect to meet enemies with equal or superior energy. That said, if you have a little advantage, or the situation is fluid enough that you can control your fight, you can quickly administer good firepower and easily knock down fighters. Often, the A8 gets used as a jabo fighter with some better air-to-air properties, coming in at low-mid altitudes, strafing structures or vehicles. For these types of attacks, the 30mm cannons can offer a little more hitting power though a shorter duration. Against unarmoured vehicles the A8 is devestating with a single 30mm hit likely to provide a fatal blow. Against heavy armour, like the Panzer or Ostwind, the 20mm and 30mm are mostly ineffective and it is not typically wise to press these situations since you may expend your whole ammunition load and see few results. Head-On attacks are not a terrible idea if presented, though you should always remember what firepower you are packing and what the enemy potentially has. The A8 tends to be a little tougher than average and usually packs more than enough firepower to ensure at least mutual destruction. Remember that you also have a very large ammo load onboard, take snapshots, deflection, and even some of longer range than normal with a German fighter, simply because you can afford to spray your cannons and bit hoping for a couple of lucky hits. Don't be too worried about vertical climbs either, the 190 will flip back around nicely at the top of a zoom, making it perfect for launching a quick second attack.

Defensively, the A8 doesn't want to get stuck in a bad situation because it has a limited bag of tricks to employ. Too many aircraft will accelerate almost as well, or maybe faster, others will own the turn-fight, while still more are going to hold a sometimes very large top speed advantage. Adding to that a situation where most people in A8's meet the enemy early in the sortie, while they are still very heavy with fuel and ammunition, and you have a recipe for issue of a parachute. Try to avoid poor situations, or always keep open some sort of escape route. The 190A8 is by no means helpless, but sometimes even if you avoid one good attack, the 190A8 doesn't have the ability to break away before a second one arrives. Cruising at low-mid altitudes or higher, saving WEP for combat, and trying to stay in places where there are at least as many friendly aircraft as enemy within icon range is a good place to start. Also, always try and recover your altitude after an attack since it will give you far more options than accepting you've lost your altitude and trying to always run away low. The roll-rate, especially at high speds, can be a life-saver, allowing you to quickly roll to get the enemy out of phase, followed by a course change and high speed sprint. This can sometimes lead to overshoots by enemies, which you can exploit and sometimes knock the enemy down, or at least it should allow you to break contact, at least briefly, to plan your next course of action. Remember when you roll, it's not just your roll speed, but also the speed you can reverse your roll that is useful. The whole idea of out-rolling is to get your lift vector as far away from the enemy as possible, and then execute a turn so he can't follow you, causing an overshoot, or allowing you to maneuver away. I never think of this as a purely offensive maneuver, it's more like an attempt to turn something that is purely defensive, into a lucky case of brief offense.

Used properly the 190A8 though can be a very good plane, but it requires technique and understanding