A simple rule of thumb with ANY ElGays is to not try and chase unless you got a HUGE E advantage. It's not so much that they're FASTER, but they're a LOT lighter so will easily out-accelerate the early Hogs on the deck. F4U-4 is an ENTIRELY different beast, however (IIRC on WW's charts she's well in the Top 10).
Usually if I see an La start to run, unless I got a shot I'll either let him go outright, or pull up into an immelman or even a high barrell roll. It's funny how many ElGay and Runstang drivers see that and immediately try to turn back in, and often times you'll get yourself at least a somewhat decent shooting position.
But yeah, I get tired of the whole ElGay run-and-Ho nonsense, too. Especially because no matter how I try and maneuver on the merge to deny the hit those front quarter shots ALWAYS hit me.
Personally, I'd still like to see HTC unperk the 4-Hog for a tour and give the ElGay and Spit whiners something to REALLY complain about.
