Tips on flying the 190A5 needed........

[eddiek]

Ok,I finally bit the bullet and decided to fly the 190A5 a bit.  So far, I am 8-1 in it, but I know I have not tangled with the REALLY good pilots yet.
I need to know what maneuvers are the 190's strengths, beyond the dive, and what to NOT do in it, besides turn  .
I know there are some AWESOME 190 sticks in AH; give me tips on what I need to do to be successful in this kite..........ya might even make a Luftwobble convert outta me!    

[StSanta]

Depends a bit on what you're facing. I fly the A8 almost exclusively but the a5 is basically an A8 on steroids, so some general rule can be applied.

Rule bumer one: stay fast! Keep speed around 300 or more at all times; zoom up only when you know you're clear. In the A8, this comes almost automatically but tha A5 is a decent turner for a FW so it's tempting to turn just that littl bit extra.

You'll outroll all your opponents ad medium speeds.As speed increases, you have to watch out for the American b&z'ersas they'll easily follow you.

If in trouble, take the fight low-ish. 3k is a good dogfighting alt for the A5 - it accelerates well here and as a good climb rate. Try to keep a few k' - not so mucn for running but as a buffer that'll enable you to build speed and with it a possibility of escape.

If caught low and slow, use the 190's weaknesses to your advantage - snap rolls are highly effective. Beware though; I've augered more than a few times doing it at alts around 100 feet  .

Effective gun range is around 325 - 350 tops.  Aim for deflection shots where you are presented with a big target - the A5 is not a follow around and get a dead 6 shot plane.

Sometimes, surprise your enemy by turning into him. Only do it if you have enough alt to be able to build speed back up again. It's useful when you have wingies and want to buy some time.

Climb when you can, but set default climb speed relatively high, and climb only when you're clear of danger. Keeping speed around 300 is far more effective than giving it up for a few hundred feet of altitude. Excpet to be on the defensive against t&b'ers like the Spit a lot - they'll immelman right onto your butt and try to stay glued. Keeping speed up will allow you to rope them and regain the offensive.

The 190 ain't a good runner, but it is a powerful diver. It has excellent trimming characteristics and good elevator authority. If pursued by 109's, a last ditch move that works is a speedy dive to the ground followed by a violent high g crank upwards. The 109 might auger (seen this a lot of times).

NIK's are best dealt with by keeping speed around 300 and easily outrolling them. Getting slower vs these planes is very dangerous.

P-51's and F4-U's are dangerous - but if you're low, your acceleration and climb rate will give you enough to either hold your own or reverse the situation.

If you're attacking these planes, beware that they can outturn you, outgun you, are faster, have better low speed characteristics and are uglier. Speed up, deflection shots, zooms and keep it going.

That's about it for now  

------------------
Baron Claus "StSanta" Von Ribbentroppen
9./JG 54 "Grünherz"

"I am the light at the end of your sorry little tunnel." - A. Eldricht

[funked]

This is a troll for Creamo right?

[RAM]

I think that Santa has not driven the A5 enough  

his advices are quite good, but he is talking about a 190A8, not an A5.

1st: load only 2 20mms. MGFF are worth nothing.

2st: if you have the chance (and the lack of hit % scorepotato feelings  ) fire ALL your MG ammo before engaging on combat.

3st: Keep it reasonably fast. Stsanta talks about 300 IAS . I talk about 250 IAS. Over that speed (and at that speed) A5's handling excells

4th: keep on rollin'. You can win close fights using the roll of this plane alone. But roll with a purpose on mind, not only for the sake of "I am in a good roller, so LETS ROLL". I have seen many of those in the 190s  

5: its a good diver. But remember that when the dive ends (on the deck) you are a slow plane (340 on the deck is not to jump on happiness, frankly). So be sure that you are careful on collecting E in the dive.

6: Fire cannons only. The MGs screw the visibility (because the flash) and the aim (because the ballistics). Ideal range under 250 yards, and with the most bullets, the better.

7: Unlike Santa, I think that hte P51 is the easiest meal for the Fw190A5, given that he doesnt run away like a girl  . You have worse turning, but quite better acceleration and low-medim speeds rollrate.

The F4U is another thing. Turns way better, and usually has what seems the broadside of the USS Excelsior as firepower. if you give him a snapshot you are dead. Use the vertical against this plane, is almost the only thing it can be beaten in a 190.

And remember a golden rule. That you dont outturn 'em doesnt mean you can't OUTMANEOUVER 'EM!. The 190A5 at the proper speeds can turn a defensive combat into an offensive one in seconds against most of the AH's planes.

[hazed-]

I would say that when you are bounced keep your evasives complex but smooth...by this i mean roll and dive/turn, dont just roll, or just dive/turn.Make yourself hard to follow and with luck they will get greedy and waste e trying to match your rolls or overshoot etc.
Of course this is final solution try to remain fast and choose exit before attack and stick to it.
getting greedy in 190 can be fatal but also fun  
great plane to evade in.
Wep is your best weapon after those 20mm..dont waste it  
i use immelman with rudder/roll in vertical to change exit direction quite a lot and have some success with it.


hazed

[MANDOBLE]

First of all, my advice is to fly A8 if you want to fly 190.

250 MPH as best speed for outrolling anything cutting the power.

300 MPH or even more to enter turning fights, and try to use lag rolls and hi-yoyos instead pure flat turns. If you, due alt, cant do anything but flat turns, dont keep on them for more than 180d. If you dont win in that 180, better extend or use your extra speed to initiate a vertical zoom.

If scissors dont work, try violent neg G  maneouvers followed by hi possitive G ones. You can go nose down very quickly in that plane at any speed. You can go nose down abruptly, roll, invert and initiate a neg G ascending loop to end with an inmediate Hi G dive, this is very disturbing for any hi speed con at your six.

Dont forget you have a very good substained climb rate at lo alt, you can outclimb easily any Hog.

The MGFF are worth only if you shoot at the closest range. A good conv for 4x20 configuration is 250 for MGFF and 275 for Mg151/20.

Set maximun convergence for machineguns, and use them only to upset any enemy tracking a friendly. Dont fire them with the cannons.

Keep in mind that this plane is relativerly slow at lo alt, you'll be unable to flee by speed from almost any other plane.

At some speed ranges you'll be able to outturn: 109G10 (any conf), 109G6 (any conf), F4Us, P38s, Yak, P51D, 190A8 (always) and F6F. Any other plane will outturn you at any speed, except Zeke for > 300 mph.

You can use a point of flaps at the end of a vertical zoom to help in a smoother inversion. Dont forget to roll 90d respect the enemy climbing at your six in these zooms.

When diving, try to use the pure vertical, and keep rolling on it, 180d respect the enemy at your six. You can do the most succesful split-S in this plane.

And my last tip: Fly 190A8.

[RAM]

 

Originally posted by MANDOBLE:
And my last tip: Fly 190A8.

oh,,,

see what does 15Mph on the deck and two cannons more to the BnZ sissies...they drool and can't recognize a good plane when they see it  


A5 Rules!

(hihihihihi)

[MANDOBLE]

 

Originally posted by RAM:
oh,,,

see what does 15Mph on the deck and two cannons more to the BnZ sissies...they drool and can't recognize a good plane when they see it  


A5 Rules!

(hihihihihi)

RAM, pedorra, suppose you know the diference in range between A8 and A5, right? And let me know how many times have you gone with 2x20 against a B17, and how many times have you kill the buff.
There are more important factors than those about moving the stick like a child. And, of course, 15-20 mph more help a lot when pursuing a mach 1 Typh jaboing your base.
And, a last and more important point, if you use 190A5 or A8 for anything but E fighting plane, then it is clear you have just no idea about the purpose of that bird, better go for Spit.

[StSanta]

Face it ram; the A5 is the wussie plane of the two  

------------------
Baron Claus "StSanta" Von Ribbentroppen
9./JG 54 "Grünherz"

"We are the light at the end of your sorry little tunnel." - A. Eldritch

[RAM]

 

Originally posted by MANDOBLE:
RAM, pedorra, suppose you know the diference in range between A8 and A5, right?

5 minutes   No deal I stll like the A5 more  

And let me know how many times have you gone with 2x20 against a B17, and how many times have you kill the buff.

Well, since V1.03 hit the road...all the buff kills I've got are with 190A5 without MGFF   . Quite a lot ,i guess  

There are more important factors than those about moving the stick like a child. And, of course, 15-20 mph more help a lot when pursuing a mach 1 Typh jaboing your base.

ohhh but nothing can compare to what you feel when that sissy P51 dives on you, overshoots, you scissor him and get the kill...(thanks to the better low speed handling of the 190A5 you can actually turn inside MANY faster planes without losing the fight while doing...thing that in the A8 you cant   )

Those yells...those cries...  

And, a last and more important point, if you use 190A5 or A8 for anything but E fighting plane, then it is clear you have just no idea about the purpose of that bird, better go for Spit.

Heheheh...guess that my 4/1 K/D in my Fw190A5 close fighting with it (that in tour 10 and in a moment reached a -believe me- 25/1) is because I am a Spit dweeb  


[This message has been edited by RAM (edited 01-22-2001).]

[MANDOBLE]

RAM, it seems tour 10 was somehow brilliant for you and your A5, and it seems stadistics are also very important for you.
So, talking about your obliteration of buff formations, stadistics shows that just 0 buffs were killed by RAM in 190A5 during tour 10... Definitively you are not a good example for A5 as a buff killer.
The advantage in range is not 5 mins, at least for my A8 is about 10 mins (no wep and cruising at half power with aux fuel tank).
And the overshooting of 51s is as easy in A5 as in A8.
Cmon, admite it, A8 is superior to A5 and A5 advantage in turning hability doesn't compensate the rest of the factors.

[Glasses]

Blah Blah Blah look what you have done giving our FW secrets away , now Knight Luftwobbles are gonna get creamed by the Top secret advantages of our planes tsk tsk.  

Btw I have grown to love the A8 one of the best death kill ratios I have in the game is in it , including its older brother the A5. But nevertheless I love the A8 better it is heavy it is rugged it's damned ugly and I got four big bellybutton guns for your buttocks.



------------------
Glasses---I may have 4 eyes ,but you only have one wing.
Tis not important how one goes,but who goes with you.

[RAM]

 

Originally posted by MANDOBLE:
RAM, it seems tour 10 was somehow brilliant for you and your A5, and it seems stadistics are also very important for you.

Huhm, I like to have a good K/D. I measure the success of my sorties by how much of them am I landing.

But no, they are not very important. Everyone here knows that RAM doesnt fly to live, RAM flies to FIGHT, and RAM ALWAYS dives to clear sixes even when that means to dive into a cloud of cons.

Noone really caring about his K/D would do that  

So, talking about your obliteration of buff formations, stadistics shows that just 0 buffs were killed by RAM in 190A5 during tour 10... Definitively you are not a good example for A5 as a buff killer.

Look further back   . And remember that I left AH in Tour 10 almost in the first week fo the tour.

Also remember( and this is important) that I have always stated that I only attack buffs when I have at least 10K of advantage, or at least we are two fighters on the buff. Either that or I dont attack.

 
The advantage in range is not 5 mins, at least for my A8 is about 10 mins (no wep and cruising at half power with aux fuel tank).

5 minutes ,exactly, measured by Snefens' charts. Aux Tank in A8 doesnt last for 10 minutes.

[edit]Link to the fuel charts: http://pages.prodigy.net/armis1/.wi_fuelma.gif
[/edit]
 
And the overshooting of 51s is as easy in A5 as in A8.

the overshooting yes, the reversal no. REquires a low speed handling that the A8 simply doesnt have ,while the A5, barely has, but it has it.

Cmon, admite it, A8 is superior to A5 and A5 advantage in turning hability doesn't compensate the rest of the factors.

As I told Bikekil the other day...

A5 accelerates better than A8 AT ANY ALTITUDE
A5 climbs better than A8 AT ANY ALTITUDE
A5 outturns A8 AT ANY SPEED AND ALTITUDE
A5 runs more than A8 over 4K.
A5 has a slightly better rollrate (I guess that its because I always fly A8 with 4 cannons and A5 with two).
A5 has a noticeable better low speed handling that A8

A8 is faster than A5 lower than 4K
A8 has twice the firepower than A5 (letting MGs aside and giving that the A5 flies a 2x20mm configuration)
A8 has slightly longer range than A5

And that's about it.

You can love to BnZ,Mandoble. I can do it (and do it very well). But simply is boring. I want to FIGHT, and A5 is a MUCH better air superiority aircraft than A8. In all senses.



[This message has been edited by RAM (edited 01-22-2001).]

[Nath-BDP]

A8 is the only manly 190.

Looks better than A5.

More/better guns.

Heavier, thus better diver.

Priller markings.

And, its more challenging to fly than the A5.

------------------
Nath_____
9./JG 54 "Grünherz"
 

A captured Bolshevik pilot once stated, "In battle, the fighters with the green hearts are generally in the minority. But when they're there, things realy heat up. They're all aces!"

[This message has been edited by Nath-BDP (edited 01-22-2001).]

[SKurj]

Snefens charts are not exactly accurate as to fuel usage.  I found 109 times short by almost 5 mins, never bothered testing the others.

AKskurj