In my opinion, the K4 is the best non-perk plane in the game. The only downside, if it's a downside, is that the tater gun is hard to hit with. Some uber-stick is going to argue this point with me, but I put forth that for the average player, the tater is hard to hit with. But if I can hit with it, then it can be done.
You have to get close. Real close. Whites of their eyes close. Then shoot. Don't shoot unless/until the shot you take you expect to hit. Like that exact tater you're shooting you expect to hit.
The only thing the K4 sucks at is going downhill. BnZ is hard without hawking your airspeed indicator. It's not a big advantage to come in with alot of alt to kill cause the plane sucks going downhill.
But, yes, lots of speed and provided you don't get careless, you can extricate yourself from a bad position. Tons of WEP so you can out-WEP pretty much anything but another German plane, and maybe the La-7 (dunno).
N1K. Great plane. But not dominating. Yes the cannons are scary. But it's not a superior plane. It's not fast.
Get in a fight with a Pony and blow all your ammo and/or speed. Now try to get out of the fight. You're not going to be able to.
How about that Pony that's running? If he doesn't turn around, the fight's over.
Last night was when I started thinking about this alot. I flew an F4U-1A to an enemy field solo. Only a small darbar, so I figured I could get in, get my kill, and get out.
I get there and actually there's a 190a8 over the field go-alt. Go a few rounds, he runs to the ack except, for some reason, the server was porked and the ack didn't work! LOL. So I kill him.
See another friendly with a spit and La-5 on him. Light up the La-5, but run out of ammo.
Spit 9 gets right on my tail, along with a Yak-9T. It's getting really busy. A hornets nest is stirred up. Red cons all over. I reef into a turn and drop flaps and throw out everything that isn't strapped down and start eating up the angles on the Yak. Yak breaks off. A green con flashes by somewhere. Go a turn or two with the Spit. Spit breaks off.
Nothing behind me. I egress at 100' on the water, full WEP. Flaps sucked up. I'm checking 6, but I look clear. About 3 minutes go by and then WHAM! something lights me up and it's straight to the tower. Some dude got tucked in behind that blast shield, reeled in the distance, lit me up point blank.
Some speed and I would have gotten away clean. Without speed, no ammo, no options.
I'd have been better off burning my ammo off in the K4, then I could have scooted out and walked away from most of the planes back there.
