I'd actually like to see the Spitfire XXXXVVVVISDFHOHTEWRTTYERTTXXV VV943. Only one model existed, well, it existed on a napkin in a pub in London. The specs are as follows- Top speed 947 mph at 15,000 feet, on the deck it is only capable of a measly 853 mph. Climbrate is 8,743 fpm under WEP, until 20k, at which point it drops to an anemic 6,582 fpm. Armnament consisted of 62 Hispano MK 974 20mm cannon (30 in each wing and 2 in the nose), with 18,740 rounds per gun. The actual effective range of these guns were well over 800 miles, they could shell Germany from their airbases in Britain, but the pilots would of course get bored quickly.
/sarcasm off.
OK, I really do understand that there are probably some people out there that REALLY like the spitfire, just like I like the 190 and 109. However, these people are definately in the minority. I'd guess that 90% of the people flying the Spitfire fly it because it is an easy plane to fly, and it has the best guns in the game (even if it does only get 2 of them, with rather limited ammo). In its "1943" incarnation, the Spitfire is still the SECOND most popular plane in the game, by a pretty good margin. I think it was actually close to the niki in total kills last tour, I'll have to check. Granted, the K/D ratio was not to impressive, but you can chalk that up to the fact that most people take off and point their nose into the nearest furball. One of the reasons that the K/D is not better is BECAUSE the spitfire is slow. I actually don't have to much trouble with them, compared to nikis and LA7s. If a spit gets on your 6, co-E, just do what real pilots did, roll and dive. You'll outdistance the spit pretty easily (though I did get pinged at d800 a few days ago- the guy must have been a decent shot).
Now take that 1943 spit and add 1k fpm to the climb rate, 25 mph to the top speed, and a better roll rate. Hey presto! You can no longer run from a Spit on the deck, you are going to have a tough time rolling away from it go get away, and you STILL can't climb away from it. (even in the "1943" mode, the Spit can outzoom 190s, and every 109 but the G10- speaking from personal experience only of course).
I feel badly for the people that are huge fans of the Spit, and would like to see a "better" version of it, I really do. However, that would pretty much destroy any semblence of "balance" in the MA (as bad as it is with the Niki right now, it'd be worse with that spit).
