Bf109F-4:
10 minutes of WEP and extremely sweet handling make this a wonderful brawling fighter with light firepower being the biggest drawback.
Awesome perk earner, not hard to fly, can be wicked in a furball. Secret to it is learning to hit with the german cannons. IE not as easy or as powerfull as the RAF Hispano's.
F4U-1/-1A/-1D:
Fast, decent climb, decent range, average firepower with great ballistics and oh, the flaps. The F4U is simply one of the best fighters in AH.
Yes, the hawg is the king of the heap for now. Fly it like this while you can because I don't expect it to fly like this forever.
F6F-5:
Docile handling, average firepower with great ballistics, good ordnance hauling and tough as a brick.
Favorite Carrier ops plane. Has same loadout as the F4u, yet takeoffs & landings MUCH easier. Can move mud, vulch, and RTB with kills with just a little practise.
Ki-84-Ia:
Great acceleration, reasonably fast at AH combat altitudes, decent firepower, fast roll rate, insane WEP cycle and yet more uber-flaps.
Yes, but since the last FM change the 84 is handicaped.
Its flyable, and in the right hands its deadly. Just not sure it belongs in this list.
La-5FN:
It is an La-7 that is slightly slower, only has two cannon and none of the stigma.
My all time favorite fighter. It does everything but move mud.
P-38L:
The true jack-of-all-trades in AH. There is nothing this fighter isn't at least good at, if not great at. Oh, uber-flaps for the third time.
P-51B:
Like the La-5FN, this is much like its derided sister, yet carries no stigma. The P-51B is fast and has the great high speed handling of the P-51, though slightly light on firepower.
Yak-9U:
Like the Bf109F-4, a great brawler that only lacks for firepower and fuel range. No WEP to worry about. [/B][/QUOTE]
Most underflown plane in AH, yes it has a short clip. But it will teach you good habits. Has good guns if you get in CLOSE! And this plane is so nimble that its not hard to get in close. Its also fast, faster than the la5.
Keep it in the vertical and it will loop all day.
This is perhaps the single easiest plane for a new pilot to go out and get 2 kills with, and return alive. And that gentlemen, for a new pilot is HUGE.
Overall, good list & post Karnak