Okay then genius, answer the other question: if it's so uber any noob becomes an instant top stick flying it, why does it have such a thoroughly mediocre k/d ratio? By my count it's tied for 15th place among non-perked fighters last tour. It's not even the top non-perked Spitfire. The P-51D beats it and has at least as much a reputation as a plane that clueless noobs gravitate to, so that's not the reason.
And sure, I understand it's not that simple and k/d ratio isn't the best yada yada yada... but it's the only hard stat we have to look at, isn't it? And it's not *that* skewed a measure. If the damned thing is a "UFO" like you claim, if it can take an otherwise 1 for 50 two-weeker and give him a 50-50 shot against anyone in the arena, I don't see how that could possibly not show up in the statistics. (And the stats certainly reflect the reverse: early war planes that are outmatched in the LW almost universally have very low k/d ratios, even though there probably aren't many bad pilots willing to fly them.)
A) You know how hard it is to learn SA in this game? The view system is excellent, but absolutely takes time to get used to. Do you know how often you get shot down with bad SA? That is one very solid reason for beginners having the poor K/D, no matter what plane they are in. However, it has been shown that the Spit 16 is the go-to beginner player ride.
B) Most new players fly the P-51D for it's reputation, and many give up on it when they can't get kills, which they then move on to the Spit 16 once they realize they need to focus on basics (ie. SA, E-retention, etc.). Generally you will see experience pilots dogfighting the P-51D, and if they are not experienced then they are generally flying incredibly timid. Those are the only two times you will see a P-51D pilot with a high K/D. P.S. Take up a P-51D and go against a Spit 16 co-E, and then tell me that the P-51D beats it with any sense of ease. Even against not-so-good Spit pilots, fighting a Spit in a Pony will make you sweat. Most Pony pilots will NOT win in a fight against a Spit 16.
Once you get the flaps out on the Spit 16, the thing IS almost literally a UFO. Go try it, you can do incredible things with it. Even before flaps out, it's ability to burn and regenerate energy makes it extremely deadly and extremely forgiving of errors.
