US Equivalent of a Spit?

[Helm]

Some folks recomended the f4u's to you, great plane,  fun as hell.  Be advised:  F4u ground loops very easy landing on a runway.  Practice some off-line to get the hang of it.  It's easy to land it on a carrier because of the
hook.  For my money the best F4u is the F4u-1.

[Viking]

Just remember to use flaps in the blue planes and you'll do alright.

[Krusty]

You dive in and pick a target while doing 450+ mph and you can "out turn" anything in the game -- breifly.

The facts are that the P-40E sucks worse than the Hurr2C, the Spit5, the Spit9, the spit16. It's slowest of them all, save the hurr2c, it can't outclimb any except a small window around 10k where it climbs better than the Hurr2C, then the Hurr2C takes over again. It can't out turn any of these planes, and the flaps are SPLIT FLAPS, meaning if you use them in combat you are toast. They are not efficient flaps, and are meant to almost act as air brakes during landing. While the P-40E does have 6x 50cal guns, it has a very short ammo clip (shortest amongst all the 50cal planes) and really hasn't got much firepower outside of 1-2 kills, factoring in average spray time.

http://www.gonzoville.com/ahcharts/index.php?p1=p40e&p2=hurri2c&p3=spit5&p4=spit9

and:

http://www.gonzoville.com/ahcharts/index.php?p1=p40e&p2=spit9&p3=spit8&p4=spit16

Most folks that swear by the P-40E use it in the most timid of fashion (coming in with 10k advantage, the second they lose speed running for home, etc) and while some good pilots can get kills with them, it's definitely not the plane in this case.

[BaldEagl]

Fly the F6F.  It's the closest US plane to a Spit.  It will hang with most of the Spits in a turn-fight but you need good flap work.

[EDIT]  Yes, F series are all Naval planes.  P series are all Air Force.

[Saxman]

Correct, USN/MC fighters are all designated as:

F-

It's confusing when you have the same aircraft is built by two manufacturers, like we have with the Wildcat. The F4F-4 is the 4th major variant of the 4th fighter design by grumman. The FM-2 is the 2nd variant of the 1st fighter built by General Motors, but is ALSO effectively the same aircraft as the F4F-8, I believe.

The F4U is definately the best dogfighter of the American rides. However she's NOT an easy ship to learn (although you'll get an argument on this point from some veteran pilots). For my money the order is:

F4U-4 - Best prop in the game PERIOD. Not quite the turner of the 1A, but the added muscle makes up for it, especially in the vertical.
F4U-1A - Better visibility, acceleration, climb, and marginally superior in speed and turning ability over the birdcage.
F4U-1D - Not quite the turner the 1A is, but equivalent in climb and acceleration
F4U-1C - Slower, heavier and not quite as agile, but otherwise generally similar in perfomance to the 1D, with the added punch of the Hispanos
F4U-1 - She's third to the -4 and -1A in speed, and second to the -1A as a turner. However IMO she really suffers from a lack of power in climb and acceleration. The view out the back isn't too bad, but every other direction is poor. Good luck with deflection shooting.

The key to the 1 and 1A is fuel load. Anything more than 25% in the wing tanks and she gets a little sluggish, especially in roll. I generally burn the wings down to 1/8 (left, then right) before starting on the main.

The FM-2 is a good plane. She can take a hell of a beating, climbs decently and is highly maneuverable (it is SO fun reversing on Spit dweebs who think they can out-turn everything). The views leave a bit to be desired, and while the ammo load is plentiful it's at times easy to really miss having the extra pair of .50s. However her biggest draw back as noted is speed. You're not going to catch anything intent on running, and you're not going to extend on anyone determined to run you down

[NitroFish]

If you do fly the F6F, be prepared for the worst rear views in AH. IMO.

[RATTFINK]

[SIZE=8]FM2 ROX[/SIZE]

[Benny Moore]

The closest U.S. ship to the Spitfire is indeed the Grumman F6F, but know that the latter is significantly harder to fly than the Spitfire.  It's slower, climbs worse, and turns worse than the Spitfire.  The F4U-4 doesn't behave as similarly to the Spitfire as the Hellcat does, but is closer in terms of ease of use.  In fact, the F4U-4 is faster than the Spitfire, climbs better, and turns very nearly as well.

[Viking]

Just so people don't get the wrong impression Benny; the F4U-4 is equal in climb to the Spit IX. The XIV and XVI are markedly superior to the F4U-4 in climb rate and acceleration. The F4U-4 zooms better though.

[humble]

There is no real equivelent to the spit8 in US iron. I agree with Viking the F6F is the closest thing. The FM-2 has got the turn rate but not the speed or raw power in the vertical. The 109F4 is actually (IMO) an awful close match in many ways (I know its not a US plane)...

The various hogs have a higher top end combined with flaps, roll and tremendous rudder authority that give them tremendous performance in the verticals and the ability to "saddle up" on the VIII. The spit vs hog matchup is probably one of the best (and most fun) since neither can really fly the others fight. It becomes a real "chess match" when two good sticks are involved...

[Gulp]

Although I agree that the F6F is about the closest to the spit8, it, and all other US planes are not going to have that Spit feel.  Spits are spoiling with there combination of acceleration, climb and manuverability.   You can blow your E in most Spits and still rely on these 3 factors to get an advantage, or stay competitive against most of the other common planes.

US planes are great, but they require more time to learn the flap work and more dilligent attention to your E state.

You'll probably feel neutered in a P40, heavy in the F6F & Corsairs, slow in the F4f/FM2, bored in the 51s, and like a blimp in the Jugs.

All of these feelings can be negated once you learn the planes a bit.


Aspen

[SkyRock]

1-hog!:aok

[Shuffler]

If you want something like a spit fly a spit. If you want a new experience fly anything else. Expect a learning curve.

AND HAVE FUN!

[RAS]

What SkyRock said !  

RASCAL

[waystin2]

Originally posted by Viking
F6F-5 would be my choice for a US Spit "equivalent". Fairly similar in performance to a Spit IX under 20k.

I'm with Viking on this.  I primarily fly Spits, usually the 8.  No they are not dweeb planes, they just outturn all those schoolbus-like AC out there!  Interestingly enough, I was asking the same question myself a couple of tours ago. I have begun flying the F6F5 alot, and have found that with some throttle work, rudder usage, and occasional flaps you can get it to behave "Spit-like".  The bonus on the F6F5 is the 6 x .50's cal, dives like Hell(cat), takes a heck of a pounding before dying, and it carries a wicked ordnance load to boot.  The heavy ordnance load let's you share the love with ground targets too!  It is also a heck of alot easier in an F6F5 to takeoff with a heavy load and land on a carrier than the F4U series.  No names come to mind, but there are some tremendous F6F5 sticks out there.  I am sure some of them would be willing to help you train up. Try it, you'll like it.

Oink