Well yes, Murdr.
I'm not saying the flap use impossible, nor how it is used in AH is wrong for that matter. I'm just suspicious about how common it actually was, and what the official views on such uses were inside the squadrons. That's why I had to ask Guppy in such a long winded way(since I had to cover the details..) if any such use can be considered 'the norm'.
One thing that constantly bothers me is how much the pilots would be willing to let go of the HOTAS state and take time to fiddle with gadgets in the cockpit. I've constantly met reports and excerpts that simplifying in-cockpit operation was of supreme importance in real life, which we don't really acknowledge by playing a game.
The USAAF were very confident with the capabilities of their planes, but there is one constant appraisal in every case inspection of LW aircraft that the simplified controls and operations, was an exampled to be followed. The Rau report I've mentioned also gives some insight on how difficult it can be sometimes for rookies or average grade pilots to start getting their plane to combat readiness.
I've also often heard about pilots usually keeping their both hands firm on the stick/handle during combat, and they'd rarely even touch the throttle lever in most cases, much less fiddle with trim wheels or flap switch/levers.
A gamer with a stick can extend/retract flaps, control throttle, kick rudder, adjust trim, and toggle through ordnance options at the same time, but such luxury was not of an option in real life. Most often, if the pilot would fiddle with the throttle too quick the CSU might malfunction or may cause engine detonation. We gamers also pull 3~4 G turns easily with our sticks, but I'm not sure if a real fighter pilot can cope with such G forces on a regular basis with only one hand held to the stick, and I imagine it could have been more difficult with a yoke type of control device such as the P-38 had.
So when it comes to certain, 'advanced' techniques being mentioned as something 'common', I'm quite skeptical about it.
Thus, I had to ask;
..in the case of the P-38s, if indeed, such practices were RELATIVELY more common amidst their ranks, as compared to other pilots of other planes, then it had to be about human influence rather than a characteristic of the plane itself.
How the rookies or average guys would look up to dashing, vocal, leader-type pilots like McGuire or Bong.. and would want to be like him... and try their hand in practicing such techniques. Except, I am suspicious that for every pilot that had success by doing so, countless more others might have perished because he took unnecessary risks that could be simply avoided. And in the end, such reputation would work both ways that the P-38 was highly appraised by who knows how to fly them, but be considered 'not right' for average grade of pilots with very different options or duties assigned to them. When somebody comes up with a remark like, "not everone can fly like Kelsey or Huf", then there's no denying that. Not everyone can fly the P-38 like that.
