You guys just don't get it.
Hate seeing all those La-7s, ponies, Nikis, and Spit IX’s? Tired of watching unaggressive dweebs run, or unskilled spit pilots drop from high altitudes onto your 6?
Who isn’t?
There’s a very good reason there are so many in the MA, though. It takes a surprising amount of skill to move past these mounts. When I first started AH, I couldn’t stay alive in the Yak I wanted to learn. After a while, I tried the spit with the same results. By my third month, I could do OK in the Pony and the La-7, but it was only after I passed the median – about 1500 fighter rank out of the 3000 or so who get ranks every month – that I successfully moved to a “real” plane. My KPD in the Dora is now somewhat better than the average for that plane, and I’m getting better bit by bit.
Until I reached that point, I couldn’t leave the despised quartet without being a flaming chunk of aluminum. I really believe that’s the main reason we see those dweeb planes so much – people just want to play, and their skills haven’t progressed to the point that other planes are feasible. And, if my experience is typical, it takes passing the midline to get past the quartet. That means that about half the players in the main arena are gonna feel bound to the easy planes.
So how best to deal with the situation? Seems obvious for me.
When we see players with ranks above 1500, we ought to take them under our “wings.” Give your lower ranked squaddies a tip each day. Tell them about that reversal, or explain energy concepts. Give them recorded flights. When a newbie question pops up on 200, don’t mock the guy – answer the question, and private channel an offer to meet in the TA for a half hour. You can’t rely on the BBS, or the help files, or the training corps. Realistically, those resources will only be used for by a few – and bottom line is that their valiant efforts have still left half the MA pilots below the vets’ desired standard.
It may sound like a bit of a hassle, but remember the payoff – FEWER DWEEB PLANES. This is for you, oft complaining vets. Rolling planesets aren’t gonna happen, and you wont see the easy planes perked in you lifetime. The best way to see them gone is to care enough to teach, teach, teach.
You can complain about the status quo, or you can make a difference. So what are you going to do?
