Do P51s breed sucky pilots??

[grizz441]

The ratio of sucky P51 pilots to good P51 pilots is a very high number, unordinarily high.  I don't think the P51 breeds sucky pilots however, but sucky pilots gravitate towards it because of its speed and visibility.

[Randy1]

If the OP's statement was true, then would it not also apply to the 109s, and La7s? As a matter of point, the La7 is a better beginners plane than a 51.  The lore of the Mustang though is large in a lot of peoples minds.

If it were not for the negative connotation of the 109's benefactors the 109 usage numbers would equal the Mustang's I would dare to guess.  

I would note though any stellar attribute of a plane will go underutilized in the hands of the inexperienced.  This would suggest the answer to the OP's question is no.

[MrRiplEy[H]]

Nope, the real good sticks are known to be visible for a long time, from a close distance before they kill me. Unless you call the afk hunters good sticks.
Pony vs 190 can be so much fun even if i lose.

It was a joke. It's very hard to surprise attack in AH unless someones afk.

[Vinkman]

I enjoy flying planes to their weaknesses and trying to figure out how to still win the fight. Get low and slow, fight 2 or 3 at once, do things with the plane that it's not really suppose to do. I've really learned just how far you can push the limits of some planes by doing this, and when I do fly it to it's strengths it almost seems like easy mode no matter what plane it is. Plus, it's so satisfying to turn fight a zeke or brew with a K4 and win. 

Maybe this is why I die a lot. 

 .  On the nose my friend. 

[Gman]

but I was wondering tonight why is there not a dedicated core of good P51 sticks?

There used to be.  After flying L/W for a couple of years, I was lucky enough to get to join the 13th TAS about ten years ago.  I was the "youngster" in the squad, most of the guys being 20 or more years older than me at the time, Rude, Toad, OzKansas (RIP), so many great sticks in that squad.  It seemed every night I logged in I had 8 or more squaddies as wingmen back then.  I'd say half of my time in the air in that squad was spent with my flaps down more than one notch, we were a P51 squad that didn't take bases or bomb, but FOUGHT, and most of my good memories are of low level twisting fights in the "old" P51 model that turned pretty well, had tons of ammo, and was deadly when used with 4 or 5 friends against mobs of opponents.

As for nowadays, BigR and Pand, as well as others mentioned are always guaranteed to give an entertaining fight, as opposed to a lengthy linear pursuit, but as most others have commented, the ratio is what it is, as the P51 is lets face it, the most "popular" or known fighter of the war, and new players will automatically gravitate towards it, and then stick with it due to its easy mode attributes.

[Vinkman]

If it were not for the negative connotation of the 109's benefactors the 109 usage numbers would equal the Mustang's I would dare to guess.  

Hmm. what are "...the negative connotation of the 109's benefactors..." ?   

[Nathan60]

NVM Im not touching this topic, too many trolls throwing bait into the same fishing hole.l

[smoe]

What I find amazing among Spit pilots is their ignorance about performance vs. speed.

Planes are not made of magic. They all have their strengths and weaknesses. If you want to fly a plane with a good turning performance then you will need a low wing loading design (more wing area for the total plane weight). Generally a plane with good turn performance will have more wing area resulting in more drag which decreases its maximum speed. If you want to fly something fast then you must design a plane with a smaller wing area (high wing loading). Since the wing is smaller the plane will have less drag making fly faster. However, the smaller wing will decrease its turning performance.

So, basically if you want to fly an apple then fly a dang apple and quit ur whining about the people flying an orange.

My point is why whine about pony. If you look at all the planes in WWII they all were designed to get the job done. They were not designed to only do fancy/girly aerobatics. As a matter of fact the F-15 is one of the first planes coined to be designed with above average maneuverability, every plane up to this one was designed for speed. The F-15’s maneuverability claim was discussed on a History/Military Channel episode.

[ink]

someone mentioned "oldDemon"  yup that guy was great in the 51 at turn fighting it...STeve was a great shot in it but kept it fast.....

I will never forget the first fight with OldDemon....me in the Hurri2C him 51....he passes with no HO....I figure he will keep going.... he was right around, and from there what ensued was 10 plus minute fight for me trying to get out of his guns....I finally did and got the kill, but damn he was turn fighting a Hurri in a 51   and doing one hell of a job of it.

[Strollin]

I must throw my opinion here...

I believe that the P-51 is actually a more difficult plane to fly for the newer players. Think about it, what is the first thing a newbie will do when they see red? Go straight for it!! They lack the knowledge to think about their speed, alt, and situation awareness entirely.

So lets say a newbie is flying a p-51 at 400mph around 8k.. And oh my, they spot a lonely spit low and slow. They are not going to think about what things they need to avoid in order to defeat the contact. So what's this pilot do? We'll the fist thing that most p-51 pilots do, dive in! The spit will ultimately pull a hard bank and downward to mess up the pilots shot. So now what? The newbie will realize that with his speed, he will never be able to hit his target.

So after he misses his shot he may either pull a hard bank, back into the spitfire possibly cut the throttle to loose speed (or engine off LOL!) and commit to a turn fight, and his death.

Same goes for the spit as we'll however if he attempted to follow the 51 up, stall, then die. I believe any plane lies with the skill of the pilot and the knowledge of the opponent you are against.

[Pand]

I will never forget the first fight with OldDemon....me in the Hurri2C him 51....he passes with no HO....I figure he will keep going.... he was right around, and from there what ensued was 10 plus minute fight for me trying to get out of his guns....I finally did and got the kill, but damn he was turn fighting a Hurri in a 51   and doing one hell of a job of it.

How long ago was that... before HTC changed the airflow or after?   

Do you have a film, I would love to see this and potentially learn something. 

[Saxman]

If a player gets in trouble they can just go nose down and out run anything in the game (and out turn the only thing that can catch it)

Mr. 4-Hog says hello.

In my past experience it's not that P-51s breed poor pilots, but it certainly ATTRACTS them. It's fast, it's famous. A large number of Pony drivers rely on making fast passes on a target and running away because it keeps them safe with an occasional chance of kills. They don't know how to truly work the P-51's BnZ capability to its true advantage. This leads to a LOT of dead Ponies who over-commit on their high-speed passes and get reversed in half a second, or don't provide much to a fight other than an occasional easily spotted, and just as easily avoided, nuisance.

[AAJagerX]

The 51D remains one of my favorite planes to turnfight in.  It certainly takes alot of feel to get it to dance while slow, but it is very capable of giving most planes a good run.  Mir and I have had some real white knuckle fights in Ponies....  Some of my most memorable in fact.

[Ripley]

My point is why whine about pony. If you look at all the planes in WWII they all were designed to get the job done. They were not designed to only do fancy/girly aerobatics. As a matter of fact the F-15 is one of the first planes coined to be designed with above average maneuverability, every plane up to this one was designed for speed. The F-15’s maneuverability claim was discussed on a History/Military Channel episode.

it was the first AMERICAN plane designed for maneuverability, which makes sense as far as AH goes because not a single American plane in AH maneuvers well without flaps, and even then most of them dog it.

[ink]

How long ago was that... before HTC changed the airflow or after?   

Do you have a film, I would love to see this and potentially learn something. 

no film, this was a long time ago when I flew the Hurri exclusively.