What bothers me about threads like this is that the 51D only comes under scrutiny for running because it is the most widely used plane in the game, and because its fast.
So the argument going back and forth right now is pony pilots should die with honor if they engage, get low and slow, and lose advantage, right? And that a BNZ plane should be expected to try and turn with an agile TnB fighter.
lets not forget that 51 pilots are cowards if they egress out of a disadvantageous situation to regain a foothold on the fight and come back on better terms.
Make no mistake, I am not saying that everyone posting in here against the 51 are saying just this, but really a lot of you are whether you think you are or not.
People will play this game the way they want to play it, it is their money they can do whatever they want. If they dont care about dying because they have an infinite amount of virtual lives and they just want a good fight, then great. Power to you. Some people like to have a good fight AND get home alive because they consider that more 'prestigious' than dying in a fireball. Fantastic. Of course then there are those who only engage targets when 3 other people already have them occupied and who run like bats out of Hades when a plane can challenge them. Whatever, its your money.
why anyone would call a 51 diving away from a slow turn fight against a ki86, for example, a coward makes no sense to me. The 51 pilot is showing knowledge of the enemy aircraft (and in his own) in knowing that if he stays in that slow turn fight he will quickly find himself in a heap of trouble. If the roles were reversed and I was the one flying the Ki, I wouldn't be thinking "hey this guy is a do-or-die flyer", I would think the 51 pilot stupid for engaging me like that, and it would come off to me as him being an inexperienced pilot who didn't know his plane. And for those of you that are bragging about how many 51's you've killed that's probably what went through your head too, right? Either that or "ZOMG WEAKSAUCE 51 N00B COULDNT OUTRUN ME COULD YOU?"
Im not, however, defending those 51 pilots that dont engage for anything and use the plane just simply for its speed and its 'run away' factor. But again, its your money so I have nothing ill to say either I suppose.
Bottom line, just because you dont care whether or not your plane makes it back to base doesnt mean your opponent doesn't either, believe it or not (see what i did there?). I myself get the most fun out of having a few good engagements and getting home, whether or not I had to disengage from a fight I was clearly losing, and whether my plane comes back without a scratch or bent almost beyond recognition, although I admit i have a little more fun limping a wounded bird back to base, little more satisfaction in making it home.
