Selecting a Plane to fly

[Bluto]

Hi everyone kind of new to this game but enjoying it! I know this is a very silly attitude to take but I want a plane that is hard to master but once I do is seriously good in the MA!

I am looking at the P38's but does anyone else have any suggestions? Oh yes I do not get one with the 109's and 190's!! I kind of like planes you can tnb and use those flappy things!!

[Ghosth]

First off I recomend at least for a while starting with a spitfire to learn the basics.
Spit 8 is a good all around plane for starters.

Then as your skills and knowledge grows start experimenting with other planes.
See what "feels" good, and what doesn't.

Lots of help available at the trainers site, and http://www.netaces.org

[The Fugitive]

Most planes can be flown in the turny burny mode, some are just a bit harder to suceed in

Easy planes are the spits and LAs, harder would be f6s, f4s, 109s, P38s, harder still would be P47s, P51s, 190, typhoons.

Like I said any plane can be used in a turn fight. I've seen some amasing moves in Ponys, and the Jugs, it all comes with practice and learning your aircraft.

Good Luck !

[Lusche]

Originally posted by Ghosth
First off I recomend at least for a while starting with a spitfire to learn the basics.
Spit 8 is a good all around plane for starters.
 

Agree 100%

The Spit 8 is a perfect beginner plane. Easy to fly, stable, a good punch, good acceleration & turning.

The other plane I usually recommend (much to the chargrin of most MA folks ) is actually the LA7. Most people do not get the fact that apart from the amzaing speed the LA can actually turn quite well.

[Krusty]

P51 should not be in the most difficult category. The "easy end" of "middle" would be better for it.

[Oldman731]

Originally posted by Bluto
a plane that is hard to master but once I do is seriously good in the MA!

Ki-84 and P-38 probably top this list.

As others have said, it might not be the best way to learn, however.

- oldman

[EsX_Raptor]

What in the world?

Man, 109s are HARD to learn but once you get the hang of them they can be very deadly... just think about an uber pro K4 on your six ready to pop you with a single tater.
Can't turn?! 190s definitively can't even turn around the world but sure 109s can! I once fought platano in a Spit 8 and he could still turn inside my turn radius with proper throttle and flaps management.

[detch01]

I recommend the P-51B or D - seriously. If you can fight the ponies at high angles and low alts and survive you can pretty much do it in any ride. The ponies aren't brawlers, you've got to think your way through a fight with them. And you need a gentle hand on the stick or you'll empty your energy bank in a hurry.
Any noob can use the pony and achieve some level of success in it, although relatively few in the game can actually use it very well at all and even fewer can use it to its fullest capabilities. Just be careful not to get sucked into using the pony's high speed capabilities to the exclusion of its other talents or you'll miss the real beauty of the airplane.

The P-40E is very similar to the ponies except that it doesn't have the flat out speed to get you out of trouble. It will turn and burn with the best of them but there's very little HP to get you out of trouble.

The Fw190A-5 is a good one too. It will turn fairly well, has a decent sprint and a great set of guns, but not overly fast. Definitely not a ride for the ham-fisted.

And the 38's of course, although the G has a pretty poor rate of roll at higher speeds.


Cheers,
asw

[Patches1]

If you don't want to take the time to learn everything all of the folks have offered...then you can do as I did. I only wanted to fly the F4U Corsair. It's difficult to learn...you get dead a lot...but...once you get a feel for it...you will appreciate the Corsair's abilities AND other aircrafts' abilities.

I think the F4U ranks about in the center of difficulty to fly well...but ranks  difficult to Master.

There is much to consider about flying a Corsair since it truely is a Fighter/Bomer. First, you must learn to fly the airplane with all of its quirks, not only from a land base, but from a CV as well. Then you must learn how it behaves when carrying heavy ordnance, and again, from a land base, and from a CV. Then...you must learn to deliver the ordnace on target (without kissing the ground) and fly home with copious opponents wishing to kill you (and they may do so), whilst swithching from a Bombing SA to a Fighter SA and picking out which of the folks following you needs to be killed first...without throwing yourself into his wingmans' gunsite...and retaining enough Energy to still be competitive as a Fighter and survive the encounter.

If you choose to fly this path I have only one very strong suggestion for you: Spend a lot of time in the Training Arena learning from some of the best pilots in Aces High...The Aces High Training Staff.

Sir! I wish you well.

[Benny Moore]

The man asked for a ship that's hard to master but once mastered is very good.  Spitfires do not fall under that description by any means.  Spitfires are point and click.  Bluto, good show for being a man.  I recommend P-47, P-38, or Me-109.

[Bluto]

thanks guys, when you shoot me down in the MA my name is Getafix! So be nice!!

[Xasthur]

Bluto, the Bf 109 G2 is an excellent turn fighter.

Use of flaps is a must and it is definately a great fighter to learn.

Do not write off the 109s as 'BnZ' monsters, even the late-war 109s turn very well when flown correctly.

The earlier the 109, the better the turner.... the later the 109, the faster.

Jump in a 109F or G-2/G-6 and watch Spits and lots of other good turners fight to turn with you, you'll be surprised.

Even the 190 A5 can turn pretty well... not in the conventional flat turn sense, but the exceptional roll-rate can help you 'out-turn' many aircraft simply due to the fact that you can roll and start your turn much earlier... then roll back to the opposite direction and repeat.

Take pleasure in the 4 x 20mm blasting of an aircraft that tried to turn with you and overshot because they could not follow you quickly enough.

[Krusty]

P40E nowhere near as capable as the P51. Can't turn nearly worth a damn once you lose your initial dive speed. Flaps all but useless. Unstable at slow speeds.

F4us are easy-mode planes now. They can attack and fight, yes, but they fly nearly on rails, out turn almost everything in the planeset, can slow down from 350 to 150mph inside of 10 seconds or so, and have BS hover flaps.

Might take some time to learn how to use the tool, but the tool itself is uber and does all the work for the pilot. (same description goes for spitfires).

190s, p38s, ki84 (hell even the ki61 if you like!), p51, these are all planes that perform very well once you learn how to fly them.

[detch01]

Originally posted by Krusty
P40E nowhere near as capable as the P51. Can't turn nearly worth a damn once you lose your initial dive speed. Flaps all but useless. Unstable at slow speeds.  

It ain't a pony, that's for 100% sure, but don't sell it short as a knife-fighter. I don't find it any more unstable at slow speeds than the 109's and using flaps on the top drops the nose down quick-time when you're inverted. It's only problem that I've found is the lack of HP. The biggest problem it has is its inability to out run pretty much anything once it's time to go home.


Cheers,
asw

[Krusty]

ASW, I find it turns well while it has speed. But that precludes pulling any major Gs. The problem is that, even at speed, everything overtakes it rapidly, forcing it to pull high Gs, which thus slows it down where it doesn't belong. Match it up against planes from 1942 and it does okay. Anything later and it's showing its age.


The instability is when you're slow and/or perhaps trying to force an overshoot, go nose high, or popping flaps. You will drop a wing repeatedly. I find the 109s far more stable than the P40s, especially at those low speeds.

You're spot on about the HP though.