With regards to "it's the pilot, not the plane", it is certainly a valid point.
However, when comparing planes, one should assume that the pilots are as skilled in their respective planes, and one should take them to a neutral alt - that is, the alt where both perform as equally as possible. In the case of aircraft where an alt advantage is almost a prerequisite for attack, it should be granted one (albeit as small as possible.
Aircraft with similar characteristics, such as the 51 and F4U, could start off with co alt.
No matter what you say, I bet I can shoot down Chuck Yeager when he flies a WWI aircraft, while I mooch around in my Frogfoot. He is clearly the superior fighter, but the skill multiplier factor must be extremely high to to compensate.
Therefore, I suggest a simple equation that can probably be improved by many of you.
Total Lethality = aircraft multiplier * skill multiplier
In the Yeager vs Santa case, my TL would be say 100*1, a total of 100. Yeager's would be say 1*50, making him 50 times as good as me, which I quite frankly do not think he is. Also, the 100 number for the Frogfoot is probably way low.
In this case, I'd kill him twice for every time he kills me.
So, the original statement is true, but only within certain limits.
Comments, anyone?
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StSanta
II/JG2