Author Topic: Understanding the Niki (Read 2896 times)

Ghosth · « **Reply #30 on:** March 02, 2008, 09:41:39 AM »

Most people don't expect the Nik to be flown fast or smart.

However it can be a blast in a furball if you don't try to turn too much with it.

Don't target fixate, feel free to take deflection shots on anything that crosses your sights inside 400 yards. You have enough ammo to spare.
If your flying the Nik you need to master the lead turn.
Keep your speed up, some alt under your wings, and your options open.

Angus · « **Reply #31 on:** March 02, 2008, 02:52:49 PM »

Just jostled with A niki today, flying a Spit VIII.
On rather equal terms, and getting through the merge, I actually outmaneuvered it, including turning. and it was not much of a contest.
I had fuel for some 30 minutes BTW....

Just stay away from the HO's and Prop-hanging, and use roll rate if possible, then the Niki is not the biggest headache

Rich46yo · « **Reply #32 on:** March 02, 2008, 03:59:24 PM »

Nah I aint going to change Bronk. It wasnt me being insulted anyway. I dont fly the Niki, or a lot of other planes. But anyone who does, or flys anything else, is cool to me. I dont insult others over what they fly or how they play the game. If anyone likes to then I prefer they dont do it in my threads. Anyway I had my say and I'll leave a thread before getting in a prolonged flame.

Eagle its tempting but your a grownup right? Fight your own battles.

Ill bet 90% of the HO'ing is done by guys with at least 6 mos in the game.

Really. Just listen in on 200.

Ill say this about the Niki and that sometimes it seems deceptively fast. Not so much in the long haul but when you end up with one on your 6 it seems to hang on you longer then its top speed would indicate.

And its got a lot of lead to throw at you. I learned that flying bombers. Normally Nikis will start shooting at about 1,000k and seem to never run out of ammo.

DoNKeY · « **Reply #33 on:** March 02, 2008, 05:00:57 PM »

Quote

Originally posted by Rich46yo
Ill bet 90% of the HO'ing is done by guys with at least 6 mos in the game

I'm going to disagree with that statement. The reason why it's new people ho'ing is because they have little or no ACM abilities other then turn, point, shot, repeat. I am not saying that people who have been in the game longer don't, it's just you see it A LOT more with newer guys.

I only have roughly 8 months in this game, and I very rarely ho. I stopped using it as my main tactic about a month into the game. Not saying I don't, but it has to be the right circumstances for me, becuase I have come to realize that it's a toss up at best, and I am very confident in my abilities now to outfly most of your casual gamers in the MA then to put myself in that bad of odds. And don't confuse that with me saying I am good, as I still suck, it's just that over your casual gamer here I have put more effort into advancing up. There's still PLENTLY of people who can whoop my but.

donkey

Motherland · « **Reply #34 on:** March 02, 2008, 05:08:20 PM »

Quote

Originally posted by SoonerMP
Did someone call the LA-7 a (Superior Fighter?) << ughh ..... puke......retch... puke again..>> LA-7 is the ultimate crap/horrid plane ever created. NEVER was the LA-7/5 good in combat or as nimble in this game. Go (talk/read about an actual) Luftwaffe pilot that fought one. Like in the game... their advantage was in numbers not in pilot skill or superior design.

You may be thinking of the LaGG-3, which was known as the lacquered coffin. However, when the Shvetsov radial engine was added, creating the La5, it became one of the best planes of the war. The highest scoring Allied ace was Ivan Kozhedub, an La pilot, whose 61 kills included an Me-262.

E25280 · « **Reply #35 on:** March 02, 2008, 07:28:20 PM »

Quote

Originally posted by CAP1
by this, do you mean the muzzle velocity? or does this fire a different type of round as compsared to the hispanos?

thanks
<>

If you ever get down this far . . .

I am sure there is a difference in the actual round, but I was referring to the muzzle velocity. I believe rate of fire is lower too, but you have 4 vs. 2 on a Spit, so I don't think that is too relevant.

I don't recall what the actual muzzle velocities are, but let me put it this way . . . in my experience, when firing at a turning target, I have to lead quite a bit more with the N1K2 than with any other aircraft save the Zeke. It just takes the rounds a lot longer to get to that aim point. The Hispanos seem like lazers by comparison.

It is also why I tend to stay in the N1K when possible. To me, the differences in lead and drop are hard to adjust to. After flying the N1K, I tend to fire in front of the targets in any other aircraft. After flying something else and returning to the N1K, I find myself firing late / behind the targets. For some reason, I can adjust fairly quickly going from slow velocity to high velocity, but going back is harder. Not sure why that would be and of course your milage may vary.

I tried using the Typhoon (4 hispanos) a few tours back as a primary ride to see if I could get over my aversion to it (I failed -- still hate that plane). Gunnery was not a problem with the Typh after a couple sorties. When I went back to the N1K, it seemed to take forever before I could hit anything with it again.

Rich46yo · « **Reply #36 on:** March 03, 2008, 06:10:56 AM »

Quote

Originally posted by DoNKeY
I'm going to disagree with that statement. The reason why it's new people ho'ing is because they have little or no ACM abilities other then turn, point, shot, repeat. I am not saying that people who have been in the game longer don't, it's just you see it A LOT more with newer guys.

I only have roughly 8 months in this game, and I very rarely ho. I stopped using it as my main tactic about a month into the game. Not saying I don't, but it has to be the right circumstances for me, becuase I have come to realize that it's a toss up at best, and I am very confident in my abilities now to outfly most of your casual gamers in the MA then to put myself in that bad of odds. And don't confuse that with me saying I am good, as I still suck, it's just that over your casual gamer here I have put more effort into advancing up. There's still PLENTLY of people who can whoop my but.

donkey

I dont want to turn this into a HO thread but most of the HO's Ive seen have been around a long time and do have skills. There is the other angle to all this and it revolves around the rank system. Many experienced players will take an easy HO just for the kill points and the rank. MANY are very good HO shots and make shots noobs simply couldnt. Ive checked the historys of some and they have been around.

We have to many screwballs that like to blame new people for all the games problems. When was the last time you saw a noob tie up 200 for 20 mins with smacktalking nonsense and insults?

Nothing personal, if you say you dont then Ill believe you but at the same time I dont much believe anyone when they say they dont HO. Nor do I rank Nikis high on the List of HO airplanes, or for that matter LA-7s. I'll bet if AH kept records of planes that HO'd that it would be a fairly equal smattering with maybe a little higher percentage among the energy fighters and jabos.

waystin2 · « **Reply #37 on:** March 03, 2008, 06:45:13 AM »

Hello Rich,

I have begun flying the Niki now and then as a fun break from the Spit family(my first love harem)

. Anyway, one thing that I have not seen mentioned yet is the Niki's ability to loop and loop and loop. You can wear alot of planes out with these types of manuevers in this bird.

Urchin · « **Reply #38 on:** March 03, 2008, 06:51:44 AM »

You can define 'noob' a couple different ways. I tend to define them as someone who couldn't fight their way out of a wet paper bag. There are numerous 'noobs' that play this game that are very .... sensitive. These are the ones who tie up 200 with their nonsense. There are a few who labour under the mistaken belief that berating whatever ******* that just cherrypicked you out of the 4 on 1 you were already in accomplishes something. I used to be one of those, now I know better.

Regarding a head-on, you should distinguish between the jousting passes that are seen so commonly in this game (basically picture a jousting list, and you've got it), and a front quarter snapshot that is taken when the opportunity presents itself. There are certain situations where I will set my lance and charge forward - generally that is when I am already fighting X on 1, so I feel that I have nothing to lose.

I tend to believe that most everyone feels that the joust is the option of last resort, but for some people run out of options faster than others.

WMLute · « **Reply #39 on:** March 03, 2008, 11:44:49 AM »

(offer still out there)

Did anybody wanna know how anything in particular about the niki?

Possibly a "vs." question, or a "how would I"?

WWM · « **Reply #40 on:** March 03, 2008, 12:28:10 PM »

PM sent for some training Urchin.

Krusty · « **Reply #41 on:** March 03, 2008, 12:58:48 PM »

Quote

Originally posted by WMLute
(offer still out there)

Did anybody wanna know how anything in particular about the niki?

Possibly a "vs." question, or a "how would I"?

I've only just read this... took me a while to bother coming back after rich64's belligerent attitude.

Although, the only other person I see refer to it as "cartoon" flying on a regular basis is Storch... Either he's a clone or he hung around with the WRONG person the second he joined, and is thus marred for the rest of his AH life.

Anyways, Lute,

I was going to ask you to clarify your first point. You say that a lot of folks don't use it right. Well, not counting "they use it as HO machines" -- how would you best suggest flying it? For example, they say you should fly a Spit14 as an E fighter, not a turn fighter, even though it can turn well.

How would you briefly describe your thoughts on the proper way to fly this plane?

I've flown it from time to time. The weak guns put me off after I unloaded time after time into fighter and bomber alike, scored many hits, and was denied a kill.

Sikboy · « **Reply #42 on:** March 03, 2008, 01:08:32 PM »

Quote

Originally posted by E25280
If you ever get down this far . . .

I am sure there is a difference in the actual round, but I was referring to the muzzle velocity. I believe rate of fire is lower too, but you have 4 vs. 2 on a Spit, so I don't think that is too relevant.

In a very coincidental note, using the numbers provided by Tony Williams on his website, the gun package of the SpitIX (2 Hizookas and 4 .303s) is the equal to the N1K2s package (4 Type99IIs). If you have .50s instead of 303s, the Spit gains an edge.

Numbers aren't everything of course, but this certainly does lend credence to the idea that they are similar, at least in this one emperical area.

-Sik

batdog · « **Reply #43 on:** March 03, 2008, 02:50:24 PM »

Quote

Originally posted by WMLute
(offer still out there)

Did anybody wanna know how anything in particular about the niki?

Possibly a "vs." question, or a "how would I"?

I like it.... its hardly the "uber" ride painted by some then again I'm average at best thus...

Anyway Since I enjoy it I'll take ANY tactics/info you'd like to send this way.

Krusty · « **Reply #44 on:** March 03, 2008, 04:03:28 PM »

It used to be more potent. Remember, the spit16, spit8, 109g14, are all new rides. These planes didn't exist to compete with the N1K2 before a certain time frame.

The main competition was La7, N1k2, and the P-51 was used fairly often, but not as much as the la7 and n1k2.

Now, there are more planes on par with it, more can counter it, and the f4us turn with it (they didn't used to) so it's still powerful, but you can counteract it more easily than you used to be able to.