P-51B

[Krusty]

Both planes however seem to operate at the low end of the scale here in AH.

 

Uh... say whut?

It's the BENCHMARK for late war planes. It's one of the fastest and highest flying planes with the standard snap-shot-killing 6 pack of guns. Under no stretch of the imagination may the P-51 (B or D) be considered at the "low end" of any scale in AH. If all you're doing is porking with it, there are even better rides for that.


P.S. P-51D is the most used single plane in AH (you add up spit8 and spit16 and together they outnumber the ponyD) for a long time running now. Low-end of the spectrum my petude!

[Karnak]

Krusty,

For April you had to add the Spitfire Mk XVI, Spitfire Mk VIII and Seafire Mk II to exceed the P-51D's numbers.

[BnZs]

Usage means jack. The best unperked Hog in the whole pigpen, the 1A, is rarely used. The Ki-84 is the best plane in the Japanese arsenal, and its used less than the N1K.

Yeah, the P-51 is a good plane for the gang-pick and run home between your legs style, but lots of planes, like the 190D, the "fast" 47s, the Typhoon, and even the F4u1a excel at that (as is evidenced by their K/D ratios). What the P-51 does NOT do as well as many 20ENY fighters is ACTUALLY FIGHT. Keep that in mind when you are attacking those of us who point that it is kind of mediocre in ways not revolving around top speed-we know this to be true because we are the ones actually trying it to use it for AIR COMBAT from time to time, (which is the whole point of having this game), instead of sticking to a steady diet of cherrying.

Funny...I notice I get alot more S! flying the F4u's than the Pony. Its not like I've magically become a better pilot, its just that the plane will allow you to pull off a lot more of that "pilot ****". Actually fighting in the P-51 without all the alt and numbers is what requires more skill, IMHO, but is apparently considered less "awe" worthy...after all, yer in a P-51 and thats the bestest plane  cuz History Channel said so. 

[R 105]

 The P-51 shot down MiG 15s in Korea and was still in use with the air National Guard into the late 50s. It was still in use in Central America until the mid 80s. No other piston engine plane from any country can say that except the ME-109 with a Merlin engine used by Spain until the 60s. The P-51 still wins air races all over the world. Maybe because it was one of the best if not the very best all around prop fighter ever produced. It is for sure one of the prettiest

[iron650]

Wrestled with a 190 today. Almost ran out of ammo. Thanks uneven ammo numbers.  The 2 .50s knocked him out of the sky. We got into scissors which the Pony B got to 200mph and won. I also skimmed the danger zone at a point 190mph. Also, the 190 had the alt advantage. It was A5 and I'm not sure how well it performs.

[BnZs]

The P-51 shot down MiG 15s in Korea and was still in use with the air National Guard into the late 50s. It was still in use in Central America until the mid 80s. No other piston engine plane from any country can say that except the ME-109 with a Merlin engine used by Spain until the 60s. The P-51 still wins air races all over the world. Maybe because it was one of the best if not the very best all around prop fighter ever produced. It is for sure one of the prettiest

The F4U-4 was pretty clearly superior in nearly every respect except range. The 47M/N were clearly superior above 20K. Almost ANYTHING  with an air-cooled engine is superior for groundpounding. Many prop designs of the immediate post-war trounce the P-51 even worse. The H is a counterpoint, but it was never fielded in strength. The P-51s usage in Korea and long service life tells us a lot about the numbers it was produced  in and its relatively low cost, but not that it was the "best". And none of those factors directly correlate to the P-51 as modeled in this game.

[Becinhu]

Dogfights is 1 part history and 9 parts horsepoo.  According to Dogfights any US plane will outperform any other plane in all departments.  I recall the 51 episode where the planes were sweeping over Japan and were shooting Japanese planes down with abandon.  But you must notice that all the "kills" are flying straight and level.  Even with the undertrained pilots Japan had at that point they wouldn't be flying straight and level during a furball.

[R 105]

 By the end of the war both Japan and Germany had so few well trained pilots the performance of the air craft they flew was canceled out. The German air craft industry still produced a very competitive combat plane as good or in some cases better then the p-51 in the prop engined planes. The numbers of allied planes just overwhelmed the Luftwaffe. The p-51 looks like a racing plane while the ME-109s and FW 190s look like the war birds the are. That gives them a beauty all their own.

[Krusty]

BnZs, that's a rather harsh take on it. You might as well say the same thing about Spits. So many dweebs, newbies, lamers fly those, but that doesn't deny the fact that the spit16 is one of the all time best fighters in this game.


So, saying you don't think the best people fly the pony doesn't change the actual plane itself. When you choose to mix it up with a pony, it CAN hand you your butt. There are quite a few pilots that specialize in this plane in AH and they prove that more than the lemming hordes prove your point.

 

It is CLEARLY not "low end" by any definition.

[iron650]

The numbers of allied planes just overwhelmed the Luftwaffe.

Like how the Sherman outnumbered the German Tanks. (That averagely had more armor.) Why would the Pony be low end?

[321BAR]

I see I'm not alone. Anyway, I seem to be bad at defensive maneuvers in one. Any tips?

SA...

[Midway]

I apparently chased down an I-16 in a turnfight. (Oh how I wish I had a film.) And in an earlier fight I took out a Spit (somehow it happened to be Midway in his SpitIX) in scissors and found a low I-16.

I'm sure this happened, although I don't recall since I get shot down so often still, but p51s are usually easy kills for me when they are alone and don't run. Looking forward to another encounter. 

[Guppy35]

The P-51 shot down MiG 15s in Korea and was still in use with the air National Guard into the late 50s. It was still in use in Central America until the mid 80s. No other piston engine plane from any country can say that except the ME-109 with a Merlin engine used by Spain until the 60s. The P-51 still wins air races all over the world. Maybe because it was one of the best if not the very best all around prop fighter ever produced. It is for sure one of the prettiest

You want to go back and check your notes on that?  What Mig kills?  The F4U was also in combat in Central America and claimed the last kills in a piston engined air combat fight when a Honduran F4U-5 shot down 2 FG1D and a P51D  of the El Salvadoran Air Force.  This was in 1969

[BnZs]

BnZs, that's a rather harsh take on it. You might as well say the same thing about Spits. So many dweebs, newbies, lamers fly those, but that doesn't deny the fact that the spit16 is one of the all time best fighters in this game.


So, saying you don't think the best people fly the pony doesn't change the actual plane itself. When you choose to mix it up with a pony, it CAN hand you your butt. There are quite a few pilots that specialize in this plane in AH and they prove that more than the lemming hordes prove your point.

 

It is CLEARLY not "low end" by any definition.

In this game, from a fair start, every 109 from the F-K will easily outfight the P-51, as will every Spit starting with 9, the F4U-1A, The N1K and Ki-84, the Yak-9U and La7, the C205, and the P-38. The P47M/N is a less clear case-I think the P-51 has a slight edge in sustained turn rate that can be used to win an extended nose-to-tail turn fight, but the Jugs definitely have the advantage in a scissors.

 IOW, the P-51 is outfought by the top-of-the line perk-free fighters of every air force represented in AHII. To win a fight with conservatively 75% of the fighters in this game, the P-51 needs an edge in pilot skill or energy, preferably both.

[Stoney]

IOW, the P-51 is outfought by the top-of-the line perk-free fighters of every air force represented in AHII. To win a fight with conservatively 75% of the fighters in this game, the P-51 needs an edge in pilot skill or energy, preferably both.

And, this just goes to show you how what works in real life, doesn't necessarily translate into game.