spitfire = lazy?

[evenhaim]

[dedalos]

Maybe its because a spit IS a dog fighter?

[4deck]

Originally posted by hubsonfire
I'd be interested to hear what actual Spitfire pilots have to say, as opposed to a bunch of dorks sitting around arguing on the internet about the flight characteristics of planes they've never even touched.

[Souless]

....

[_mattsabs]

theres no reason they should perk the spixteen. all it is, is a good airplane that is more capable than others.

[hubsonfire]

Originally posted by halcyon
How do you know the people that talk about the Spit16 in this thread have never flown the plane?
Don't assume.

You have not flown a real Spitfire.

[Guppy35]

Originally posted by hubsonfire
I'd be interested to hear what actual Spitfire pilots have to say, as opposed to a bunch of dorks sitting around arguing on the internet about the flight characteristics of planes they've never even touched.

I've told the story too many times. but one more to help the cause.

At Flying Legends Airshow in 2005 I was talking with Spit Historian Peter Arnold, and Spit airshow pilot Clive Denney.  Mr. Denney flies the Historic Aircraft Company Spitfire Vb and has flown IXs and XVIs as well.

He said that the Spit is almost unfair in that it is so easy to fly.  He said it probably would have made sense to start pilots in Spitfires and then move them on to Tiger Moth's and T-6s.

The point being, the Spit is a forgiving airplane which was why it was such a good fighter.  It made pilot's better, and gave them confidence sooner.

Kinda like the Spit in AH.

All the real Spit drivers who I've talked to loved it, and that includes the Griffon XII and XIV.  Given the choice it was the Spit they'd have chosen to go to war in, and they were glad they had that chance.

They didn't envy the Tiffie drivers down low or the Hurricane drivers earlier in the war.  The Spit was it for them.

So fly it if you like it.  Who cares what anyone else says.

[JB88]

Originally posted by hubsonfire
You have not flown a real Spitfire.

perk the righteous indignation!!!

[Guppy35]

Originally posted by hubsonfire
You have not flown a real Spitfire.

Does this count?

[whiteman]

Originally posted by hubsonfire
I'd be interested to hear what actual Spitfire pilots have to say, as opposed to a bunch of dorks sitting around arguing on the internet about the flight characteristics of planes they've never even touched.

they'ed probably say we'd change our mind if it was the real thing, life or death. I like the spit not my favorite by far but would probable be my first pick.

[Xasthur]

Originally posted by Saxman
Y'know, given the widespread accusations of the Spixteen breaking the laws of physics I'd be interested in seeing HTC's take on it.

As a point of order on the Spit VIII, I seem to find those one of the easier Spits to deal with, along with the Seafire and Spit I.

I find them worse than Spit16s.

They're deceptively quick and have a nasty habit of sneaking up on me.

The main factor in their threat is the fact that the average skill level piloting the Spit16 is generally signicantly lower than those who fly the SpitVIII

Provided they don't sneak up you, most of the aircraft I fly can escape them, but certainly not turn with them.

[Excel1]

Originally posted by Xasthur
The main factor in their threat is the fact that the average skill level piloting the Spit16 is generally signicantly lower than those who fly the SpitVIII

Maybe I'm missing something but apart from the Spit 16s better roll rate I can't see much differance in performance between it and the Spit 8

[BaldEagl]

Just as an FYI I pull out the past three month stats again and the kill/death ratio of the Spit XVI across the arenas is 1.10, 33rd on the list of all planes and vehicles.  This trails the Spit IX by one position and .01 K/D.  Among Spits only the Spit XIV is higher than these at 25th and 1.19 K/D.

My gut tells me that this is because so many noobs fly the XVI so we check and in terms of kills plus deaths they are:

Spit XIV: 8,609 (75th)
Spit IX: 88,581 (17th trailing the VIII by one position)
Spit XVI: 191,447 (3rd)

So it would appear that a vast majority of differently skilled pilots fly the  XVI vs. the IX and XIV.  Oddly the Seafire is 10th on the K+D list at 106,616 but 50th on the K/D list at 0.85 (evidently there are a lot of masochists among us).

In comparison the highest non-perk plane is the Hurri MkIIC at 1.65 K/D (8th) and 94,695 K+D while the lowest fighter is the P40B at .23 K/D (80th) and 7,829 K+D.

This would suggest that the Spit XVI is only slightly above average in the arenas but again, the propensity for a vast number of differently skilled pilots to fly it likely holds it down.

Just thought I'd throw this out as food for thought.

Note:  All stats exclude Chutes and Ship Gunners

[Guppy35]

Hmmm, interesting.

Checked the 38s.

G and J are better then 1 to 1.  38L is well below that.

Guess lots of folks figure the later birds are easier/better....or the pilots who know them better choose the earlier birds for the challenge and do more with them.

Surprised the Spit VIII was less then 1 to 1

[Benny Moore]

Originally posted by halcyon
The AoA (Angle of Attack) {a.k.a G-Force} is not even close to being accurately modeled in this game.
The Spit 16 in Aces High can pull maneuvers that are physically not possible in the real world.

Granted I know this is a video game, but since a lot of realistic elements already exist in the game, I think it's fair to compare the in-game Spit16 "handling realism model" to other planes such as the P-51 and the P-47.
So what I'm really saying here, is that the reason you're finding the Spit16 so much easier to fly is because of flawed flight and physics game mechanics that favor this plane over all others.

I won't argue that the Spitfire flight model's got problems.  But I do wonder at your statement, "The angle of attack is not even close to being accurately modelled in this game."  A real World War Two-era fighter should be able to pull approximately a twenty degree angle of attack.  Moreover, it should be more or less the same for all fighters (within a few degrees).  I've not measured it in Aces High II, but at least for the ships I fly, it seems to be fairly okay.  I'll do some testing and measuring.