Use the tracers to learn to aim. They'll show you if you bullets are going high or low until you get enough of a feel for it. Once you know whether you are aiming high or low or on target without having to use tracers, just turn them off when you fly fighters. No sense in telling the enemy when you're shooting at him.
Try to stick with planes that have similar weapon characteristics until you become a pretty good shot; that is, stick with all planes armed with .50 M2, or all armed with Mauser 20mm or ones armed with Hispano's, or such. The weapons all have different ballistic properties, so if you switch from one to the other there's a bit of re-learning involved.
Use the gunsight to do the actual aiming. Download a gunsight that suits your needs, or make your own. If you use the default one (it's a British sight), there are scans of the training manual on the 'net of how to use it properly although I have lost the specific URL.
Learn to USE your gunsight! I suspect 90% or more of AHers don't actually know how to use their gunsights and just treat it like a boresight. If you learn the nuances of your sight, you will be a better shot.
I do not recommend using the tracers to correct your aim in mid-burst. This will result in you wasting a massive amount of ammo. If you miss, stop firing, re-aim, then take another burst.
You should never have to hold the trigger down for more than a few seconds at a time when firing. The exception to this is if you're making long, slow passes against large targets like heavy bombers or ground targets. The other exception is if you're flying an airplane with extremely weak weapons, like a C.202--then longer bursts may be necessary.
Be aware of your range and weapon placement. If you're flying a plane with wing-mounted guns, be careful to not get TOO close or else you'll miss with half your bullets no matter what. Flying a plane with wing-mounted guns, I generally avoided shooting at less than 50 yards and 100-250 is optimal range. If you're in a plane with nose-mounted weapons, then the closer you get the better.
Experiment with convergence settings until you find something you like. I won't make a recommendation as to convergence; different people have success with different settings.
Be a THINKING shooter. Plan your shots in advance. Do the hard maneuvering before you shoot, so when you fire you have to make only small gentle adjustments.
Reading this stuff is the easy part; doing it takes an awful lot of practice. Just keep trying.
J_A_B
