Im an aviation enthusiast, not a pilot or engineer.
But I've noticed in flight model discussions here that the bottom line seems to be actual aviation physics, used to calculate the look up tables the sim itself uses. (I dont think AH's model does its math on the fly....it IS a table look up isnt it?)
So things like power, weight, drag, and all that engineering coefficient stuff is CENTRAL to the models. Individual pilots -- even those who flew the actual birds in combat -- cannot be objective when they evaluate the plane that kept bringing them home, or the one that killed them. Even great stories, like Johnson's posted recently elsewhere, arent true tests because there are too many variables like pilot skill, fatigue, etc.
I have read that some WW2 vets have played, and said things feel right.
HTC has made it repeatedly clear that they will not compromise on flight model accuracy, that they will represent performance as accurately as possible with data and processors available. I really believe they want to do it as close to right as humanly possible, even if that makes it extra hard on newer guys. Some other companies have very clearly made a different decision, to get people flying more comfortably more easily. Llike you, I cant know whose interpretation is more "accurate" but I'd bet on AH. Even if I'm wrong and this model is too "hard", the challenge makes it more fun....