If I understand correctly, "Fowler flaps" are just flaps that slide out instead of just down.. if you look at the Ki-84's flaps when you drop them they do exactly that.
And it is honestly quite simple.. 99% of the arena min/maxes, even if it is only on an unconscious level.
The fact that the Ki-84 is faster than a Spit 5 means nothing. The Ki-84 goes in the "slow, turny plane" category.. top speed isn't an issue. It is a given that unless you are in an El gay, Pee- fifty run, or the D-9 or G-10, you will be run down and horded eventually, unless you stick to your horde. Even then, you have to be in an El gay or fly fairly conservatively to avoid that.
So, taking it as a given that any flight will end up as an X on 1, what criteria do we look at in a plane?
As far as I can tell, there are really only 3- Firepower, Manueverability, and Acceleration.
Firepower is fairly self- evident. Keep in mind that your average MA'er can hit something only if it is flying straight at him, straight away from him, or moving very very very slowly. So you need some serious firepower to make sure that any rounds you land actually do some damage. The minimum criteria seems to be at least 2 Hispanos, or 4 of any other 20mm cannon (which makes sense, seeing as 4 regular 20mm cannon ~= 2 Hispanos). The Ki-84 comes up lacking in this category. 2 12.7mm and 2 20mm Ho-5 isn't exactly breathtaking firepower. If we get a model with 4 20mm, or ideally (for the MA) 2 30mm and 2 20mm (even if there were only 3 made) the plane would see more significant use.
Manuverability- This is perhaps the most important category, although I think for most people it ranks about even with firepower. Overall, the Ki-84s manueverability is outstanding. It will fly and fight at speeds under 100 mph, something that only a couple other planes can do. Unfortunately (for the Ki), one of those planes is armed with 2 Hispanos. The Spit V is fractionally more manueverable than the Ki-84, which is in turn more manueverable than the Spit IX or the Niki, albeit with half the firepower.
Acceleration - This is kind of a red-headed step child, but I think it plays an important role nonetheless. Not nearly as important as firepower or manueverability, but rather a sort of tiebreaker.
For example, in choosing between the Hurri-2C and the Spit V.. which do you go with? 4 Hispanos is pretty much overkill, since 2 will do the job with a quick snapshot that lands. Both planes will out-turn pretty much the rest of the planeset.. more significantly the Spit V can give a good account of itself in a brief turnfight against the Hurricane. So I think for most people it comes down to acceleration.. the Spit V can keep up with anything up to around 300 mph or so, faster in a dive. The Hurricane is left chugging exhaust. So in choosing between adequate firepower / overkill firepower with manueverability roughly equal, it makes sense to pick the plane that can keep up with the runners long enough to land a lucky tail hit for the kill.
So my Kweassa-esque post comes to an end.. but the short version is the vast majority in the MA won't fly the Ki-84 because it comes up short against the Spit V.. minimize your disadvantages/ maximize your advantages.. Not just for MMORPGs anymore.
