The only thing you really need to know about the 109 is that the faster they get, the worse they turn.
I take up a G2 for CV based fights where the CV puffy ack keeps you pinned under 3K anyway forcing you to turn your way out of trouble rather than head for the clouds. It also seems to be faster than everything that comes off a CV deck, typically (especially when they're trucking ord or not bothering to climb much).
For everything else I like the K4. It's sheer brute force makes it, in my opinion, the best fighter in the game. It can get you into and out of almost any situation you can think of and still take a bit of damage if it has to. If I'm flying into a big red dar-bar I don't hesitate to take the K4. It may not be the easiest plane to kill with (particularly at high speeds) but it will get you home safely if things turn a dark shade of brown. It is also one of the most difficult gunning platforms too, if you're unfamiliar with it, so it's god-like flying ability doesn't always get you the kill.
I think the K4 turns well enough to keep most aircraft honest and rockets away from anything that eats it in a turn, so it makes it the most fun fighter in the game for me.
Use of flaps in turn fights is nothing short of absolutely essential, as is careful throttle control. The torque of the engine really can pull you off a target and allow them to slip away in tight turns at stall speeds (particularly if you get stuck turning right... always go left if you're dictating the turns).
The 109 is not a plane that you simply jump into and have boundless success in, unless you're flying against complete 'tards. To go into a 1v1 with a skilled pilot and come out on top it really requires a combination of finesse and brute force that is not always plainly apparent.
Keep at it, the 109 is one of the most fun aircraft to fly in this game. It makes you work for it and that makes the kills all the more enjoyable.
I had a great little fight yesterday.... High pony came in with a strong E advantage, proceeded to merge and moved to climb and make slashing attacks. (Which is exactly what I would have done). After the second or third pass, each of which I turned hard into to keep his guns just off me and put me in a position to come around behind, he went to climb back around behind me in something like a spiral climb. I popped 1 notch of flaps for about a second, then pulled them back up, WEP on and nose up in a hard right-turn... took a glancing shot from low six (I had no visual on him, I just 'felt' where he would be) and snapped off 4 cannon rounds. They hit and broke the Pony in half. The guy in the pony couldn't beleive it.
(nor could I, actually, he is a good stick and one of the top 3 best fights I've had in AH was a 2v2 against him... Pony Ds vs Fw 190D9s on the deck for a solid 5 minutes. Absolutely incredible stuff.)
It was one of those lucky shots that you meant every part of but still didn't think you'd make it. It's merges like that, where you start at distinct disadvantage against a good stick and manage pull that perfect reversal and land the perfect shot that really make the K4 magic for me.
That's another thing about the 109s I like.... there is no spraying with those guns. You don't hose down targets like you do with the .50cals.... It's just surgical. I've always said that you 'stab' with the 109 rather than shoot. It's a street-brawling knife-fighter and it rules.
The last thing is that most people suck in it, so only a small group of people stick with it and really make it shine.
