Originally posted by Saxman
I disagree thrila. The flaps are certainly uber and greatly improve low-speed turning ability, but NOT stability. She's still twitchy and will snap out from under you with little to no warning. I still lose her from time to time, just usually am able to recover before it becomes fatal.
I think it's more a matter of SD67's skill, as I in no way would call the F4Us forgiving for inexperienced players.
Ok, I like the F4U very much, but it is entirely too stable at low speeds. More so than the F6F, which set the standard for carrier fighter stability around the boat. You can fly it down to 60 mph, nose high and cob the power with not a hint of instability. Historically, it's wrong, period. I've discussed this with a gentleman who flew the F4U-4 and F4U-5. When I described the low-speed handling behavior he wrote back and said, "if I had attempted what you described, I wouldn't be here to discuss it with you."
In a discussion with a local FG-1D owner, he described low speed, high power handling as "like a fat girl on a surfboard."
As far as I can remember, the F4U was always good with flaps out. After the drag model update it went from just good to absolutely ridiculous. Ditto for the 109s to lesser degree.
Planes that suffered from the drag model update include the Ki-61 and P-51 to name the most obvious.
Now clearly, the FM is a constantly evolving creature. Thus, we can expect changes and tweaks as the game move forward.
My regards,
Widewing