Why is the Yak-9U so underestimated?

[Rich46yo]

Every time I take one up, like yesterday when the Rook eny kicked in, I seem to run into enemies who underestimate the airplane.

Yesterday it was a zero who seemed surprised the Yak could grab air up to him so quickly and then snapshoot him so well. Then it was a Corsair who seemed surprised the Yak could roll so well, dive and maintain speed so well, and kill so easily from 600+ out.

As far as "great 20 eny+ fighters" go I think the Yak-9U is the best. The only reason I rate the P-38 so highly with it is cause the P-38 is so versatile, has such great legs, such a great gun package, and carries a whole lot of ords.

But The Yak is a winner. It is deserving of far more air time then it actually gets and is capable of smoking any 5 eny aircraft in the game.

[Anaxogoras]

There are few reasons why:

"Hey, this plane doesn't have WEP!"  Not realizing that it has WEP, it's just always on.

It's Russian and a lot of people haven't even heard of a Yak-9U until they play AH.

Most have never or barely tried it because of the small ammo clip.

That said, I give Yaks a lot of respect.

[Ghosth]

9 out of 10 yaks you see a good sticks who have realised that the yak can go get and land 2 - 3 kill sorties all day long.

They get tons of respect from me.

Most don't like that you can't spray & pray, have to make each cannon round count.

Put another cannon and 400 rounds of ammo and half the spit drivers would be flying yaks.

[Rich46yo]

One of the great matchups in the game is the 9U vs LA-7. Ive been on either side, driving either plane, and both won and lost flying either the Yak or the LA-7. I feel the Yak is a bit more responsive, rolls better, can shoot farther, and is a bit more stable as a gun platform. So we have a 20 eny fighter that can match up any day against the 5 eny LA-7. Thats a pretty good summation of the Yak. Its an exceptional airplane and will beat any other fighter in the game hands down.

Maybe we'll keep it a secret however. For those of us who have learned to appreciate it.

[BaDkaRmA158Th]

Yaks and f4u's are the first two enemy i target.
If they get under 400 on your six, your a dead man.

I fly mostly 39's and A20G's cause im not some perk huggin' coward. So it figures. 

[trotter]

Yaks and f4u's are the first two enemy i target.
If they get under 400 on your six, your a dead man.

I fly mostly 39's and A20G's cause im not some perk huggin' coward. So it figures. 

Disagree. Yak's do not have good saddling-up ability. Their sustained turn rate, simply, is bad.

A sustained flat break turn will leave the yak floundering after about 1 full rotation (depending on initial indicated airspeed). Granted, it's up to you to exercise rudder authority to cause his lead shots to miss on the first turn, but once you dodge, you are clear in the flat as long as your plane has decent sustained turn.

Now, in a multi-bogey environment, sustained flat turning is going to leave you in trouble. That's another story.

[Stoney]

I personally feel that the lack of firepower is a huge disadvantage.  Also, I mostly fly with CT off, and I have a huge problem with lateral stability.  Couple the smaller weight of fire with a more unstable gun platform, and I have a very hard time shooting anything other than dead-6 shots with it.

[Engine]

The awkward torque and the nasty forward cockpit framing have always frustrated me.

[Shane]

what they said about the yak's stability..

[Spikes]

The Yak is one of my most feared planes. I know that, because not many noobs fly it, and it can out turn most planes. If you try to turn with it you can render yourself dead.

[Toof]

The thing about the Yak tends to be, you learn one or the other. I can't hit the broad side of a barn in a 9U, but I'm prone to blowing someone to bits in the 9T. The 9T is obviously heavier and more gainly than the 9U, but once you learn where those 37mm rounds are going to travel... I find it easier to make a high deflection shot in it than any of the German planes packing the 30mm. It does flounder, and being on the deck when it does can make for a nasty auger ordeal. But let a few high ENY planes come bouncing in front of that gun 200 yards out on an overshoot...it's easy to miss, but once you learn where those rounds are likely to land, 800 yard shots aren't impossible. One shot one kill, and nothing is better than seeing a higher eny plane break into 8 different pieces from 1 shot. Once you have a 9T up your tailpipe, you may as well bail. Case in point, the 109K4 rounds drop like a rock, the 9T's 37's dont. They drop, but at a distance far enough to actually hit something not under your nose. As for being a 9T "stick" (I don't claim to be as good as Gixer or anyone who soley flies Yaks) It's not hard to saddle up on someone who thinks you're just there to be chum.

[Gixer]

Disagree. Yak's do not have good saddling-up ability. Their sustained turn rate, simply, is bad.

Sustained turn rate for how long? I find with throttle and rudder control the sustained turn/roll rate is excellent and can saddle up with almost anything and that's in the T let alone the U. Once the speed drops under 200 against something like a dweebfire it's time to break off, reset the fight, regain a little more energy and try for a new merge.

Beauty of the Yak 9U is that it often has an advantage or at least parity in a particular style of fight over almost anything, if your someone that can switch easily between any style of fight, then the Yak is a killer. Yak 9T however is a different story, often it's only advantage is that any hit with the 37mm is an instant kill.

Those that think either variant is unstable as a gun platform might need to check their stick scaling or something. It's rock solid at all but the slowest of speeds.

Thanks Toof, you never make it easy yourself.   


<S>...-Gixer

[Stoney]

Those that think either variant is unstable as a gun platform might need to check their stick scaling or something. It's rock solid at all but the slowest of speeds.

Compared to a P-47, it's as squirrely as a weasel...When I say unstable, I mean that the nose tends to wander with aileron input (a la P-51D), i.e. so I have a hard time keeping the sight on a guy as I maneuver with him.  Now, I'll caveat that by saying if I've saddled up and have him at 200 meters and E deficient (so I don't have to maneuver), it's ok.

[Toof]

While I skipped the TA sessions (and probably shouldn't have, I came over from AW). I don't find the 9T cannon to be unstable at all. Yes it takes a little bit of work/practice to get that shot in, but from 200-300 out, it's hard to miss. My modicum of balance is: Learn to hit something with only 32 rounds of one shot one kill - Up something with Hispanos/MG121/20, or even .50's, with enough ammo to throw down range, you're more than likely to tear someone to shreds. If you can hit an AtA target with that tater, everything else is cake(I still cant hit jack with a single 30mm round).

As far as Aileron input goes for affecting the nose placement, I rarely have trouble with it. Kick the rudder too hard and you just wasted a shot. Even the 9T can whip around fast enough on even the tightest of turners to get that one golden BB off.

[splitatom]

i would fly it more of ith had 150 rounds not 120 i dont know whey it only has 120 it is a very good fighter and i still sometimes use it