The SpitXIV conundrum

[BnZs]

Here is the situation as I see it:

When trying to fight SpitXVIs with an XIV at low altitude, you may say to yourself "Why the %$@$^@$ is this plane perked?"

However, if you were to attempt flying a P-51, P-47, 190, etc. and so forth in an arena with free SpitXIVs, you would no doubt soon say to yourself "Oh, THAT'S why it is perked."

So, compromise. Right now, the price of a XIV seems to be the same as the C-Hog. 13 points when I popped in there just a minute ago. Cut it in half I say. Sound good?

[MstWntd]

Think the spit14 is more than the chog at the moment, the average at least.

[StokesAk]

Spit16 will beat the Spit14 anyday 20k and under. Just perk the 14 something around 5 and the 16 at 15.

[FYB]

Here is the situation as I see it:

When trying to fight SpitXVIs with an XIV at low altitude, you may say to yourself "Why the %$@$^@$ is this plane perked?"

However, if you were to attempt flying a P-51, P-47, 190, etc. and so forth in an arena with free SpitXIVs, you would no doubt soon say to yourself "Oh, THAT'S why it is perked."

So, compromise. Right now, the price of a XIV seems to be the same as the C-Hog. 13 points when I popped in there just a minute ago. Cut it in half I say. Sound good?

Fix the wings of the 14, unperk it, and perk the 16.

-FYB

[MstWntd]

Spit16 will beat the Spit14 anyday 20k and under. Just perk the 14 something around 5 and the 16 at 15.

With the arguments I've seen here, the Spit16 isn't perk worthy. I believe the 14's avg is around 20. Drop the 14's to 15 avg and bump the 16's to 5-10. that way the 16 is affordable but not a noob "go-to" ride.

[BnZs]

Fix the wings of the 14, unperk it, and perk the 16.

-FYB

Whaddya mean, "fix the wings"? If it wasn't hard to handle I wouldn't even suggest cutting the price, much less eliminating it.

Even now, the SpitXIV is a more perkable plane than the 16. The XVI is as fast and greatly out-turns, out-climbs, and out-accelerates compared to many planes in the MA...the XIV would flat run down most of the MA while being double-superior to a great deal of it, and run with the fastest of the fast, while being greatly superior in turn and climb to them.

[MachFly]

Spit16 will beat the Spit14 anyday 20k and under. Just perk the 14 something around 5 and the 16 at 15.

I have 64 kills on spit 14 right now, have not been killed by a spit 16 a single time. I killed a spit 16 10 times on spit 14.
So the way I see it, spit 14 will beat spit 16 anyday over 1K.

Here is the situation as I see it:

When trying to fight SpitXVIs with an XIV at low altitude, you may say to yourself "Why the %$@$^@$ is this plane perked?"

However, if you were to attempt flying a P-51, P-47, 190, etc. and so forth in an arena with free SpitXIVs, you would no doubt soon say to yourself "Oh, THAT'S why it is perked."

So, compromise. Right now, the price of a XIV seems to be the same as the C-Hog. 13 points when I popped in there just a minute ago. Cut it in half I say. Sound good?

cut what half way? the spit 14 of the C-hog? I say cut the C-hog a half way, because for some reason it has the same perk value as spit 14 just because of the guns.

[Motherland]

The Spitfire Mk XIV's climb rate is grossly over exaggerated. At no point does it really 'pwn' the Spitfire Mk XVI in climb rate (even above 20k, it doesn't outmatch the deficit it has against the XVI from 14-20). It's turn radius is pretty good, but even then it's only about half way in between the Bf.109K and the XVI with flaps up, and much closer to the Kurfuerst with flaps down. (it's slower than the latter aircraft at most altitudes (below 25k), and has a similar climb rate to it, BTW). On top of all of this, if you actually can get a good angle on someone, once you do fighting against that gargantuan Griffon engine is for the shot is not a pleasant experience. Even takeoff and landing the thing is not simple (not quite as hard as the Ta 152 though).

I have 64 kills on spit 14 right now, have not been killed by a spit 16 a single time. I killed a spit 16 10 times on spit 14.
So the way I see it, spit 14 will beat spit 16 anyday over 1K.

Last tour a third of my Dora kills were against the XVI, and I didn't die to one once either. Can we conclude that the Fw 190D-9 is a superior 1v1 fighter to the Spitfire MkXVI as well?

IMO the Spitfire MkXIV deserves to be perked about as much as the Ta 152H did/ the Bf 109K does.

[BnZs]

Yeah, I mean approximately halve the SpitXIV price. 6-7 points on average sounds fair. I think the XVI should get 3-5.

IMO the Spitfire MkXIV deserves to be perked about as much as the Ta 152H did/ the Bf 109K does.

Ta-152-Has what, the 3rd or 4th worst turn radius in the set? Not a great climber.

109K-Great plane, but lousy views, dangerous to dive, and the 30mm is nowhere near dual Hispanos in effectiveness for most people.

[FYB]

Whaddya mean, "fix the wings"? If it wasn't hard to handle I wouldn't even suggest cutting the price, much less eliminating it.

Even now, the SpitXIV is a more perkable plane than the 16. The XVI is as fast and greatly out-turns, out-climbs, and out-accelerates compared to many planes in the MA...the XIV would flat run down most of the MA while being double-superior to a great deal of it, and run with the fastest of the fast, while being greatly superior in turn and climb to them.

Dive with a 14 AND YOUR WINGS ARE GOING TO PLOP AWAY.

-FYB

[BnZs]

Dive with a 14 AND YOUR WINGS ARE GOING TO PLOP AWAY.

-FYB

Really? Because I just went into offline practice and did a full-throttle dive from 30K. The E6B gave me an IAS of 574mph right before it augered. The wings never came off.

Edit: And the thing can also stand a spike of at least 8 Gs on the pullout.

[Motherland]

The Ta 152 has superb high-altitude performance, great E retention, and an awesome gun package. Kinda like the Spitfire Mk XIV, except it's faster above 29K. It doesn't have as good a turn radius or climb rate though, even at this alt, though, but that doesn't matter because if you have speed you can dominate the fight, right?


On the 109's views-- sure, you can say the Bf 109E, F, and G-2 have bad views. Maybe even the G-6. But by the G-14, with it's Erla Haube, the views are almost as good as a bubble-canopy plane. Better than the 190 at least, IMO, since the two bars it actually has are in a much more convenient place than the 190's one.
It's dive is not great, but far from 'dangerous'! In fact, I usually use the dive against Spitfires. If you can find the 'K' key, or use manual trim (as I do), you have to worry more about blackout than the responsiveness of the elevators. If you're going to call any dive 'dangerous', it would be the Spitfires, whose wings rip off at high speeds and high G-loads!
On top of all of that, though I would agree that the Hispano is a better weapon than the Mk108, it's effectiveness is drastically reduced when you're fighting the Griffon.

[BnZs]

The Ta 152 has superb high-altitude performance, great E retention, and an awesome gun package. Kinda like the Spitfire Mk XIV, except it's faster above 29K. It doesn't have as good a turn radius or climb rate though, even at this alt, though, but that doesn't matter because if you have speed you can dominate the fight, right?

If performance above 20K were very important in the MA, I'd wouldn't be saying the SpitXIV perk price needs to be reduced. A relative top speed advantage, in and of itself, lets you choose whether to fight or not, and lets you carry some extra E into the first merge, and not much else, by itself, it really does little to actually win the fight for you.

I've been in the 109K4 enough to compare views to that of the Spit, and I simply can't see what you are talking about. The front view in particular is still more obscured, and the head position in the 109 can't be raised over the nose as far as it can in the Spits. Frames get in the way in the various up-and-angled views to a greater extent.

I repeat: I dive tested the Spit14's wing and it was still there at 574mph IAS, and didn't break under an 8 G spike.

[Motherland]

I just did the same thing. First off I hit 609 as I hit the ground, and although I never lost wings to speed alone, every time I tried to pull out (even just under stick authority!) I lost my wings.

[BnZs]

I just did the same thing. First off I hit 609 as I hit the ground, and although I never lost wings to speed alone, every time I tried to pull out (even just under stick authority!) I lost my wings.

Really? You have to easy around the compression/no compression line if you put in a lot of nose-up trim, but I wasn't having an problems trimming it out of compression dives without spiking the Gs.