Not a master at this by any means, but there are definite uses for throttle adjustments in combat.
Every time you adjust, tho, you're trying to balance the advantage of more energy (higher throttle) versus tighter radius in your turn or loop (lower throttle).
I find I back down the throttle in a couple situations primarily. Obviously, when diving you want to shift down if you're approaching maximum controllable speed. Also, when diving in on an enemy, throttle adjustments help keep your angle where you want it to be. I've also found that working the throttle in a dogfight helps me stay inside enemies' turns. If you're not careful, though it can be dangerous -- cutting throttle can give the enemy an energy advantge if not dont right, and that can mean they can go places and angles your now slower plane cannot
Flaps are good for maintaining lift at low speed, but cost energy as well. Drop em when you have to -- to get that final angle, or to keep from stallng at the top of a loop, or to keep going in a "stallfight" turn battle. But, pull em up soon, because they give away a lot of energy -- and teh lower your flaps, the more energy you lose. (This is good when trying to slow down for landing, tho.)
Some plane have a HUGE advantage when flaps go down, and some can start using them at higher speeds than others. (some call those "combat flaps") The Ki-84 and the F4U shine when flaps come out. The P-38 used to, but this last patch took away some of the Lightning's shine with flaps. Many american planes can drop flaps early, almost up to 300 mph, which lets them slow down faster and tighten turns quickly. The F4U series has hardened landing gear, which act as speed brakes to suddenly dump energy in combat -- so watch out for oivershooting them! COurse, if that gamble doesnt work, the f4u is slow and vulnerable.....
