What's the first plane you go for?

[jolly22]

the first time i flew the 39Q, it absolutely surprised me. it surprised me even more when i got rid of the gondola guns.

It's a VERY deadly plane with speed, it has the guns of a P51B PLUS two big cannons....Looks good when you land kills in it too

[R 105]

I kind of like to shoot any Jap plane because they burn so nice. Fire Pretty.

[Becinhu]

and if there is no JUG around then they pile on Corky to be rid of him!  
The latter is in the bible somewhere, I'm sure of it!
JUGgler

No need to gang up on Corky. If left alone he will auger within a few minutes. Just make sure you are close enough for the proxy.  This is most likely due to his ground crew being sloppy drunk all the time and the second hand parts they use to repair is oft wrecked bird.

[LLogann]

The BnZ birds first, than turners, than rollers.

[dedalos]

C202s,  always get the C202s first.  Assign at list 2 spit16 to them and a Spit8 to go call for more when we run out of aSpit16s 

[Brooke]

Other than trying to clear a countryman, if there are high-alt planes around and I can go for them, I do that first.

If it's just a general furball and any plane is as good as another, I go after the most-popular planes with preference (Spit 16's, La-7's, Tempests if there is one around, etc.).

[Guppy35]

Lets look at this another way.  I fly a P38G cause I figure everyone will go for me first!

If it gets a little bit carried away, I take a 39Q as it's a smaller target

[321BAR]

It's a VERY deadly plane with speed, it has the guns of a P51B PLUS two big cannons....Looks good when you land kills in it too

Doesnt have the speed, stability, or climbing ability of the P51B though...

[JUGgler]

C202s,  always get the C202s first.  Assign at list 2 spit16 to them and a Spit8 to go call for more when we run out of aSpit16s 

Carefull that 202 may have a JUG up his sleeve   

[jolly22]

Doesnt have the speed, stability, or climbing ability of the P51B though...

I believe it does have the stability...and it can out dive you...

[321BAR]

I believe it does have the stability...and it can out dive you...

doesnt have the stability, trust me on that one and it can barely do the second. So i can just stay at alt and pick the 39 to death.

[Brooke]

the first time i flew the 39Q, it absolutely surprised me. it surprised me even more when i got rid of the gondola guns.

The P-39 (both Q and D) is quite a decent plane below about 13k.  Turns decently, rolls decently, has decent speed down low, is excellent in high-speed dives.  I've flown it a lot in the MA.

It would be interesting to know how it would have been regarded if it had from the start gotten a good turbosupercharger like the P-38, which was the original plan.

It is also interesting to know that the Soviets used it as an air-superiority fighter (i.e., against 109's, 190's, Ju 88's, Ju 87's, etc., not primarly as a ground-attack plane as often mistakenly stated in literature), loved it, and did very well with it.  Three of their top five aces flew the P-39.  The difference is that a lot of the eastern-front fighting was at about 15k to the deck.

[Zazen13]

The general rule is always this:

If you're in a fast ride always kill faster planes first...

If you're in a turny bird always kill the better turners first...

If you're in a hybrid always kill the ones with higher E states first.

The logic behind this is, during a protracted fight, the more you're E state degrades the fewer options you have. By eliminating the birds faster than yourself or "turnier" than yourself you can still retain an advantage all the way down the energy curve. In this way you will always leave yourself the egress or turn n' burn option as the case may be, depending on your ride. If you leave faster or turnier planes alive, you are generally screwed once your E state degrades below theirs, without any viable recourse left.

[Ctrl]

The one not looking.

Lol true.

I'll go for A6Ms, F4Us, and P-38s

[bagrat]

The guy on my squaddies 12....  

u bastage

I go for the one with 15 friendly already on em

nah I go for whoever I think I could kill within a turn or 2 to avoid getting picked.