i know the n1k2j is considerd a dweeb ride, but id say try it out.
ita a competive plane IMHO the flaps are uber you just dont want to get more than 3 notches out.
takes a lot of flap work but you can out turn spits in it at the right speed range.
only drawback is its not that fast or sexy as the other rides. but man if you get good with those cannos you can kill quick...
you can also bnz in it to a certin extent you just have to know when to get out and rebuld your E because to me, B&Z is not the best thing if your gonna get over 400 mph.
the controls get very heavy.
P.S.
if you use your trim keys when you do say an immle at 400 or so, trim all the way up on elv and you can pull to nearly blackout all the way around twice.
main things to me in the n1k are
1. speed managment not to fast not to slow (control the speed of the fight)
2. E managment know your oponents e state relative to yours try to keep the alt, speed or position advantage. if they have more e use it against them
turn lightly if you dont think they can hang with your turn. they will burn up thier e trying to get a killshot, once you get them to your speed you can simply out turn most oponents either in vert yo yos or flat turns.
also once they are slow enough dont let them rebuld speed easily a lot of planes will out acelerate you. also dont chase a diving con too deep you'll compress or lose position when they turn hard and you cant hang with them (if someone tries to run i usualy let them if it will put me at a disadvantage i.e getting low and slow for his buddies to kill me.)
3. cannons are great. go for every shot you get once you learn the lead you can kill about any plane with a 1/4 second burst from one or both banks
(you have tons of ammo and you can extend it by only firing the primary bank till its dry. id still recomend both banks against bombers and better armored planes.
4. don't take a head on shot your opponent will be surprised
and if you do acept a head on your pretty much gauranteed to die or catch fire (nik's a roman candle but a little tougher/ faster than the zero)
5. id recoment fuel loading either 50% and drop tank for short flights
or 75% and dt for longer just remember your turn rate suffers the heavier you are a light nik is a monster. i never dump the dt unless i go defensive which is ususaly the first high con to dive on me. as long as im B&Z i keep the tank around for a little while.
6. one luxury in the nik is that you can run away from the real dedicated turners and out turn most all of the faster planes i belive.
though your not gonna hang with a p51 at 400 mph when he drops a notch of flaps (just lag turn him preserve your e let him pull hard and lose speed playing into your game)
7. spits may give you trouble get the fight slower and get your flaps out to 2 notches or 3 he cant drop his till super slow so you can get the turn rate advantage that way. that's if he decides to turn fight you. i think the spit 5 can still out turn you but you can outrun it.
8. must use rudder to asist roll with flaps out if your very slow say 3-5 notches of flaps. the roll gets VERY sluggish if someone starts scisoring in front of you your gonna need to feather the throttle a little and use rudder to asist rolling.
9. heck use rudder to asist roll most of the time (sluggish over 375 mph)
just some of my observations i could be (and probably am) wrong.
good luck.
