Ive heard a few people say that they dont use it for fighting, If not what do you use it for?
Also how does the TIR affect GV aiming and performance, I know it would be great for exterior views, but kind of wondered about gunnery views
I love my TrackIR4... wonder what I did before I got it. Yes, it is that fast and snappy.. the biggest problem is muscle memory. You don't realize how much you move your head during flight until after you get it. It takes a bit of 'restraint' to learn to keep your head perfectly still while aiming, but really.. it's not THAT big of a deal.
As for using a HAT with it, yes it is possible. TrackIR (and AH) can track side to side, up and down, forward and back, rotational (like a puppy tilting his head when you sing to him), and pivoting (like turning your neck to look around). If you use a HAT view, it disables all but the side to side, up to down movement. It also turns off your saved head positions, so you'll be looking at your seat until you move your head left or right. Because of this I usually don't bother, but I can see how some people would find this easier.
As for GVing.. I turn it off for that. It really screws up targeting and the like while in a tank, especially in a zoomed in turret. I have two buttons programmed on my joystick - TrackIR ON/OFF and TrackIR Center.
I also usually turn it off while doing level bombing, and while flying the IL2 because of the site...