Many people make the same common mistake when they talk or think about the WWII fighters. They imagine them as a well-flying planes.
There is a lot of talk how certain planes were superior in their flight characteristics, maneuvrable, controllable, etc.
That is a load of crap unless you keep firmly in mind that all those virtues and praises are only valid in comparison to the other contemporary airplanes of the SAME type, meaning other fighters.
The fighter planes, WWII in particular were extremely lousy flyers. They were purpously built for several reasons, main of which were air-superiority (fighter vs. fighter, escort), intercept (fighter vs. bomber) and ground support. Nowhere was it stated that they should fly well, only that they fly well enough to accomplish their task, preferably fly better then the opponent. If not, armor and firepower compensated for the flying characteristics.
No argument, any plane built in the shape WWII fighter and equipped with the same engine would fly reasonably well (except for some torque effects), not much more difficult then, say Cessna, if you take it out in the same configuration as a Cessna.
Now add to that exellent flyer a ton of armor (pilot, fuel tanks and some other vital parts), weapons, ammo and high-alt equipment, load the fuel for the required range and you have a tub that can barely hold in the air.
Also add much heavier landing gear assembly to support all that weight on the rough airstrips during very rough landings (the pilot may be very tired, wounded or shaken and his plane often damaged).
Add much tougher construction than necessary for flying to withstand those occasional high G-s maneuvers and overspeed during dives dives. Now double or triple it so that plane could still keep flying after it is hit by a few bullets, shells or debris.
Considering the weight, all those planes were severely underpowered.
They cannot be compared to modern aerobatic, civilian or even trainer planes or surviving WWII planes with all abovementioned items removed and 1 hour worth of fuel in their tanks. They were extremely difficult to fly.
Take a very decent runner, make him put on heavy boots instead of sneakers, heavy suit instead of a t-shirt, steel helmet and bullet proof-vest, an M-16 or a machine-gun, few grenades, a gas mask, 2 liters of water and 3 days worth of food for a heavy-working man, few clips of ammo and 20-30 pounds of other items necessary for a soldier. I bet that his morning jog will be much less fun.
There are a few nice sims coming up where you can enjoy the flying itself, scenery, even gliding. They are worth a try. Realistic military flight sims are definitely no fun to fly. But they allow us to get an idea what a real pilot felt like.
Good job HTC!!
miko--
