I don't attribute any magical abilities to the N1K2, but the fact remains that it IS an easy plane to get kills in. Can it turn a really hard 360 and make up ground on you as you pass? No, I've never seen that. Can it outturn every plane except the Spit and Zeke? Yes, in my experience it can. Can it accelerate with a 190D9 and a 109G10? Yes, in my experience it can. Can it dive with a 190D9? Yes, for the first 5 seconds or so, after that the 190 pulls away. Can it climb with a 109G10? It can't quite keep up in a sustained climb, but in my experience the zoom climb is every bit as good.
Can a 190d9 or a 109g10 kill a N1K2? Absolutely. I'm 20 and 3 against them this tour. Do you have to be very, very careful about how you engage them? Yes, you do.
The N1K2 is one of the two most dangerous planes in the game, in my opinion. If you screw up around one, you will be shot down.
People used to argue over who was better when I played the game Team Fortress (for Quake 1). LPBs (those with high speed connections) said that their fast connection was no advantage at all, and that only their "skill" at the game had any impact on how well they did. Most HPB's disagreed with them, and thought that the connection did play a role in how well you performed in the game. I thought that it was a little of both- the players skill was the main determinant, but the connection speed was a big help. I still think that way, after having my cablemodem for a number of years now.
I believe that it is the same sort of thing in Aces High. You have people that say "oh, it is the pilot, not the plane", and you have those that disagree. I tend to believe that the pilot is the chief factor in the outcome of any fight, but you'd have to be a fool to say the plane had no input at all.
As a for instance,lets take pilot A and pilot B, both are of equal skill. One is flying a 109F4 and one is flying a N1K2. The planes are at the same altitude, heading towards eachother, distance is perhaps 6 kilometers. Out of 10 fights, who will win the majority? I personally would say the N1K2, you may disagree.
I realize that conditions in the MA are quite different than the scenario that I've just described, however, I do not feel that it renders my point any less valid. In the MA, if I meet a N1K2, a large factor in the decision whether or not to engage is the type of plane I am in. If I am in a Dora or a P51d, or an La7- sure, I'll take that N1K2 on, and I'll most likely win the fight.
If I'm flying a 190A8 or a 109G2, I know realistically that I am most likely going to end up on the losing end, unless the other pilot is baked. That could be the reason that numbers are so low for the German planes (other than the G10 and D9), the U.S. planes (other than the P51 and F4U), the other Japanese planes, the other Russian planes, and the Italian planes. People have flown those planes and found that they do not stack up well against the current "favorites" in the arena, so they sit unused. Another possible reason is that numbers aren't yet high enough that we show a lot of usage on all the planes we have.
But I honestly don't believe that most people that DON'T fly a N1K2, spit, or LA7 are "whiners in disguise"- I think most of them are either looking for a challenge or wanting to be different.
Again, most of this is pure personal opinion, so feel free to disagree with me.
