Rookie Pilot Seeking Help

[Ack-Ack]

I rarely fly a 38. I don't think they are bnz planes at all.

P-38 is an excellent plane for BnZ.

ack-ack

[FLS]

Hoff I'll be in the training arena Saturday morning 10AM -12 ET.

[morfiend]

I watched your Way Too Fast film and I have a couple of comments. The P-51 starts a little outside your turn so he needs less initial angle and doesn't sustain the hard turn as long as you do, he pulls hard for the shot but it's a quick pull.

You also have to consider net lag and the fact that he was shooting you at your position on his computer.  The bandits shooting at you have a better angle than they appear to because your position information on their computer is slightly behind where you are on your computer, also the bandit is further ahead on his computer than you see him on yours. Those 2 slight differences in position add up to let a bandit hit you even when it looks like he doesn't have a shot. In order to really evaluate that shot you'd have to see a film made by the P-51.

In real life if the bandit is pointing right at you in a turn he doesn't have a shot until he pulls lead. Online if the bandit points at you on your PC he's probably pulling lead already on his PC. The bandits you shoot at on your computer are just where they appear to be but the bandit threatening you always has a better shot than he appears to have. You learn to worry sooner.

This is the same reason why a bandit can collide with you but you don't collide with him and vice versa.

   A fine assessment,this is exactly as I saw it and FLS saved me all that typing....TY!!!


  Lag is an issue we all have to deal with,I cant begin to count the times I've been shot down thinking,his nose wasnt even pointed at me.I'm sure from his end it was as I was killed,knowing that I tend to make my move a bit early rather than late in hopes of avoiding being shot by the con that hasn't quite pulled lead yet!!



     

[Hoff]

I've been noticing that most of my shots are high deflection snapshots, so people suggested I try out the 109k. I really like it, but I also really like the P38. Do you recommend flying two planes or is it best to stick to one?

[Guppy35]

I've been noticing that most of my shots are high deflection snapshots, so people suggested I try out the 109k. I really like it, but I also really like the P38. Do you recommend flying two planes or is it best to stick to one?

Two different birds.  There are some great 109K sticks out there.

No answer for you other then you need to have fun regardless of what you fly.  Many of the 38 guys stick to 38s for the most part.  Many of the 109K guys stick to 109s.

[clerick]

Just starting out I'd suggest picking a ride and getting sticking to it.  Right now you have your hands full with BCM/ACM, not to mention the plane. Once you are "proficient" then start flying other planes.

I have no doubt that when I started out, my devotion to the 38 stunted my growth as a cartoon pilot, but who cares! It's a sexy beast and I was having fun.  It wasn't until a few months in that I flew much of anything else and, again, I tended to stick with it for a while. I think you will find that the top echelon players, in general, know the entire plane set and they know it well. The only way you can beat a tough opponent is to play your strengths against his weaknesses.  If you don't know what they are you'll die a gruesome cartoon death... a lot.

 

[Soulyss]

My $0.02 on the subject is to experiment a bit till you find a plane that you think you can enjoy flying for awhile and then I would try sticking to that type for at least several weeks, or even a few months.  The reason for that as Clerick mentioned above is that it will give you one less thing to worry about, all the reading and research on ACM and plane characteristics is good but ultimately it comes down to how well you employ those concepts which means stick time and each plane is going to behave a little differently and require different tactics and you can minimize some of the work load by familiarizing yourself with one plane at a time.

Ultimately it comes down to fun and flying what is fun to you, I think the 38 is actually a tough plane for a new player to jump right into.  It is fast, but not the fastest, turns well for it's size but again isn't the most nimble which means changing tactics a lot.  I'm not saying don't fly it, I love flying the 38 myself but it's probably going to be a bit more of a challenge starting out than some of the other planes in the set.  I would probably say the same for the 109K, a great performer but will be a bit of a handful for a new player.

[Hoff]

See, that makes me want to fly the p38 and 109k even more. This is mainly due to the fact that I hate flying planes labeled as noob friendly and I hate the way spitfires look (omg blasphemy, /flamesuit on). I also don't like any of the japanese or italian planes. That pretty much narrows it down to the 109, 190, and p38 series of planes. So far I've only tried the p38 and 109k. I like both of them. The 190 that I want to try is the A8, mainly because I like to have craploads of firepower, but I've been told it's a terrible performer.

I like the F4U1-A, P51-D, and P47-N/M because I love being able to stick to the same plane for attack missions as well as dogfighting. Only problem is that if I'm gonna fly an american ride, it's gotta be the p38. I like the LA-7 since I like to fly low, but hate the label that comes with flying it and hate the gun package. I don't like any of the spitfires or the italian planes, I do like the Hurri-D though (for anti GV when ord is down) and the Mossie (basically a slower p38, I use it when the fighter hangars are down). Then there is the 109k which I love because it's fast on the ground, has good, albeit hard to use, firepower, and can climb like crazy to catch bombers. Lastly, the 190 series, which I haven't tried but I suspect is going to be worse than the 109k performance wise but with better guns.

After playing a few days I realize that the way I like to fly, regardless of whether or not it is the best way to fly or the safest, is to BnZ at the start of a furball and then knife fight once the fight has been started. I really like fighting in the vertical, the rope a dope is probably my favorite move to use and works well in the p38 and the 109k. As for looks, the p38-L green skin is my favorite followed closely by the 109k's JG52 skin. These two look so good that I want to build a model of them (although I would probably want the shark/crocodie/whatever you call it paintjob on the front of the p38, kinda like how they do it on the A-10).

Anyways, those are just my thoughts at the moment,

[TwinBoom]

If u see me on i can try to help
u can ride with me or fly with me im fairly decent in a 38

[Hoff]

Scrap the 190 idea, thing is a piece of junk compared to the p38 and 109k. All it can do is go fast, it craps itself if you try to maneuver at all with it. Gonna stick with the p38 and 109k, dunno which to choose yet though.

[The Fugitive]

Scrap the 190 idea, thing is a piece of junk compared to the p38 and 109k. All it can do is go fast, it craps itself if you try to maneuver at all with it. Gonna stick with the p38 and 109k, dunno which to choose yet though.

With 190s you need to maneuver different thats all. Keep your speed up and use hi and low yo-yos to come back around on a breaking bogie. The same is is good for any of the faster planes, including the 38. The fun thing about the 38 is while it's great as an "E" machine, once you start getting slow, it's a pretty good turner too. As you found out the 38 is a BIG target and one of the first planes people try to pick, and thats because of the real good sticks in the 38 like Twin,Del, Souls, Guppy and all of them. They are tough to kill, and if you can get them while they are busy.... 

Hang in there Hoff. Flying and fighting are very complex skills, especially when done together. It can and will take months just to get comfortable. More time to be average, and more to be good. As long as your having fun, don't worry about it, you'll get there.

[Hoff]

Hoff I'll be in the training arena Saturday morning 10AM -12 ET.

Oops, I read that as 10pm-12. I'm a college student so there's pretty much no way I'm going to be waking up before 1pm central on the weekends haha. Are you available at any other times?

[Hoff]

Other than ordinance, what advantage does the p38 have over the 109k? According to http://gonzoville.com/ahcharts/index.php the 109k is better in every aspect, so my question is, what does the p38 do better?

[clerick]

Other than ordinance, what advantage does the p38 have over the 109k? According to http://gonzoville.com/ahcharts/index.php the 109k is better in every aspect, so my question is, what does the p38 do better?

In my experience, the counter rotating props make those vertical much more docile then the K4. And you get a K4 turning against it's torque that turn radius becomes less of an issue. Oh! and the 38 has a superior zoom climb. 

[Hoff]

Why would torque affect turn radius? I thought torque would only affect roll rate? Does the p38's heavier load and therefore better zoom climb make up for the fact that the 109k can climb like crazy with wep? I really like to rope a dope and I'm also finding the 109k more forgiving because I can tuck tail and run easier if I mess up unlike the p38. I do like the guns on the p38 better though.