I finally got my first, second, and third kills.  Flew the N1K a bit last night and that seems like a good forgiving ride.  I tried to dampen my stick a bit to see if that helped but I still fell spinning from the sky into the ocean a few times.  I watched some of the films posted on this forum and I think one component of keeping my plane in the sky, and being able to get it to turn has been use of the throttle.  Keeping in mind, the last time I played a game like this was Air Warrior about 8 years ago, and in the Relaxed Realism arena's at that.  So it was full throttle and WEP on 99% of the time when engaged.  I particularly have trouble when I am climbing and stall out at the top, that puts me into the spin o death.  After watching the films I have noticed cutting the throttle and letting the nose of plane fall downward seems to work a bit better, and manipulating it while turning seems to tighten the turning radius as well.  If any of this is not accurate, please correct me.  I am hoping to be able to spend some more time in the TA, but in my limited time at the moment I am trying to gain a sense of the MA so I know if I want to continue after my trial period is up.  This H&T thread has been a great source, thanks for all the help.
ODBAL