Uh...I didn't say I saw YOU in a gang horde...you asked me what I thought about such behavior generally, I just telling you.
As for the rest...that is the MA, it is a melee and melee dynamics will rule. There is always the inherent risk (or perhaps it is a certainty) that anchoring yourself to a maneuvering fight with bandit A will lead to bandits B, C, D, E, F, and G gang-raping you.
No offense, but you seem like a hard man to please. You said you don't like the formal duelling...which is fine, it is all a matter of taste. Yet you seem to want the MA to function more like the DA. You obviously don't like being gang-horded, no one does, yet you have contempt for the bnz/energy tactics and the prudence in engaging that are rational responses to the unpredictable and chaotic multi-bandit nature of the MA combat. I may cuss the conditions sometimes, but in some ways, they are a good thing for demonstrating why certain planes and tactics were developed. For instance, for co-alt co-E duels, the Fw-190 D9 is almost useless compared to the Spitfire. Yet for slashing through large enemy formations in the MA without getting cornered and ganged to death, its value as a combat aircraft is revealed. I've said it once and I'll say it again: Historically, prop fighters evolved from light maneuverable kites into increasingly fast, but heavy, bricks. This is because using energy tactics whenever possible proved to be a higher percentage way of killing without being killed than engaging in the old Luftberry type tactics. Being bitter over what works and what doesn't due to the dynamics of simulated air melees is a bit like being bitter over having to deal with gravity or other facts of life.
BTW, IMHO, this is a combat flight simulation, of which "duels" in the sky are a fine part, but not the only part. While I don't personally believe in being the fourth or fifth guy chasing a lone bandit, I see "drag and bag" tactics as being perfectly valid. I think it is an all-right thing, nay, a good thing, to simulate the other 80% of air kills...you know, the ones where the victim never saw his attacker coming. Anyway, my enemy check6 key doesn't seem to work.
Where did you see me flying into a hoard? I let the A6M come to me. Sure I could see there were two other cons close by and more way off in the distance but that's sure not flying into a hoard. When I turned into the A6M because he was getting too close, I could see the first ki84 was coming so I expected him to join in. However at that time the P51 which would be the third plane was going at a different direction.
The p51 turned in when I started to engage the A6m. Then next thing you know a 109 or 190 flys in from somewhere else, another Ki84 and a Spitfire. You can also see the 110 that I tried to fight before all this even happened. The one 110 was the plane I tried to fight in the first place but he ran away and dove to the deck.
Where do you see me flying into the hoard? The hoard came to me, which is typical in this game anymore. There is rarely chance to get some good fighting in with out every noob in the sector showing up trying to pick a easy kill.
I flew for several hours yesterday and I managed to get two 1 on 1 fights that didn't end up with 5 noobs trying to jump in. One was a pretty good fight vs a LA7 I was again in the P40 and he had alt, which made it a challenging fight. I give him props (gon4beer) because he actually fought me and didn't try to run away and I killed him. 8) After the fight I felt a little sorry because I AFK cherry picked him the sortie before. 
Then in the same sortie I see a P39 (rook) and a spitfire on my side fighting so I hang around the edge of the fight but I let them fight their fight. Which I think is the respectable thing to do. I saw a nikki a little lower so I lose my alt and engage him. Needless to say every pass was a HO and he's spray and praying eventually knocked off both of my elevators so wasn't much of a fight after that. (typical nikki) However a amazing thing happened which is extremely rare.
The very P39 that I didn't go gang, starts to come into my fight with the Nikki, then he turned around and RTBed. So I have to assume either the Nikki called him off or he felt like repaying me for not ganging him. After flying several hours yesterday and ending up being on the losing side of a mini hoard pretty much every sortie I managed to get two 1 vs 1 fights, which ironically happened in the same sortie.
Even though the Nikki was a spray and pay HOtard and he killed me, at least it was a fair fight that didn't end up with 2 or 3 cons flying in trying to pick the easy kill. What I don't get and it's the reason for this topic, is why does it take several hours of flying looking for fights to actually only get two "real" turn fights that don't end up with every noob in the sector jumping in?
Oh and just for the record, BnZing some con or killing them with a quick pass putting your self in no danger isn't what I consider a fight. I know a lot of the people that claim they get lots of 1 on 1 fights do the typical flying in easy mode with alt picking the other con as he climbs up. That to me is not fighting and not what I consider a good 1 on 1 fight.
