Thanks Obie.
The best advice I can give is to be willing to fly it exclusively for a whole tour.
Set guns to 275
Wait for the shot
Learn when to work the flaps. You need to work em alot.
If you think you are about to be hit, you can bet money its the right or left flap. Make sure your flaps are retracted if you can in time. Getting a flap hit thats down can be a horrible experience.
Learn to fly defensive. Its not what fighter pilots say to do, but they arent flying 1942 planes among P51s,and La7s. By defensive I mean if a guy is above you,separate horizontally. When he dives on yer 6, turn into him but not all the way. Pull up or dive at last second to give him the worst solution.
Learn what planes you can fight 1 on 1. Bad planes to do this with after more than 3 turns- A6ms,Hurri2C,fm2- best to dive away after a few turns if you dont kill him.
Learn what planes are double threats. Such as the Spit9,109F,KI61. These planes not only turn well but have the horse power to keep their nose up in spiral climb where you'll fall off.
Above all else learn how NOT to be hit. Always give the attacker the worst shot. Always gather E when you can. Always get horizontal separation if he is above you. Always WAIT, before committing E reserves in a chase up to make sure you can catch him. That takes time to learn. But the best gauge is the speed of which the icon range changes.
Never climb with anything unless you know they are slow. P38s and 109s always seem to have just a lil more E to spend over you in a climb.
When learning the P40E expect to die. Alot. But remember what got you killed.
Don't yank the stick around. Guide it thru the air with a stiff wrist and a light hand. Flaps are your best friend.
When aiming start out shooting near convergence range (275) and then try 400 shots..then 600. You will learn the lead after awhile. Remember its always more than you think.
P40E plusses:
Tuff bird
great flaps
6 50s
handles nice if not yanked about
Negatives:
not alot of ammo compared to other 50 cal planes
always gets a flap hit
low gunsight making lead shot tuffer to make (they are often below the cowl)
Slow, can almost always be caught
Some of the maneuvers Id have to show or make a picture for to explain it. Always willing to goto DA to do stuff if someone wants to learn em. Pretty basic stuff really.
Hope this helps.
Remember..a full tour exclusively P40E!
