Do P51s breed sucky pilots??

[Vinkman]

Ya'll keep whining....Ill keep dominating in my Cadillac of the Skies  

(Image removed from quote.)

Just bring your 4 wingmen, like are shown in the picture. 

[BigR]

Just bring your 4 wingmen, like are shown in the picture. 

No one likes me so I usually fly alone. 

[Ardy123]

The p51 doesn't make poor pilots, many pilots who choose the p51 are poor 'sportsman' and are attracted to the p51 because it enables them.

There are people who I have fought against who fly p51 very well and are not 'poor sportsmen', but they are the minority. This being said, the vast majority of players regardless of plane, play by two tactics, 1) overwhelming numbers & 2) run when numerical superiority is no longer held. Considering that AH is a game and nothing is at stake, neither are respected behaviors and are generally considered cowardly.

Then again, the single motivating game element in AH is ego, nothing more. When the war is won, the war restarts...

[Brakechk]

The p51 doesn't make poor pilots, many pilots who choose the p51 are poor 'sportsman' and are attracted to the p51 because it enables them.

There are people who I have fought against who fly p51 very well and are not 'poor sportsmen', but they are the minority. This being said, the vast majority of players regardless of plane, play by two tactics, 1) overwhelming numbers & 2) run when numerical superiority is no longer held. Considering that AH is a game and nothing is at stake, neither are respected behaviors and are generally considered cowardly.

Then again, the single motivating game element in AH is ego, nothing more. When the war is won, the war restarts...

Beat me to it. 
I don't think anybody who flies the mustang (or any of the other "faster" planes in the game) is automatically guilty being a generally lame player but they do tend to draw those who are. 

The longer you stick with that kind of game play and avoid taking the risks inherent in learning how to fight in other situations (try stuff, die alot, try more stuff, die more etc.) the longer it will be before you learn how to excel in the game in any fashion other than high speed passes and running as soon as you see a faster/higher/numerically superior force. Some folks are good with that and that's cool if that's what they want...it's their money...but they need to get used to someone calling them out on it. Don't forget new planes are free...everytime...all the time.

[coombz]

Fugitive, I think Cartoon #108 should be a depiction of two P-51s having sex and, in the 2nd panel, one of them gives birth to a little vTard

[Sunka]

Flying the faster plane enables one to control the fight,but they have to want to fight. I love the b pony's and would be happy to fight anyone in the game one on one or even two on one,i do just fine with the bravo and though i do not monitor 200 ,i can say i have never been accused of running.
I for the first 4 years of flying i flew  pretty much just the bravo, but in the past few months I'm flying many other birds.
I have been flying the 109's a lot along with, f6f, 205 ,hurries ext.So i AM i pony pilot and coming from me I'm getting just as many kills in the 109's and so on when i fly em ,as when i fly a pony. So i think? its my willingness to learn that makes me the "OK" stick i am ,not the sexy ars plane i picked to fly from the start.
 

[HL117]

Considering the OPS statement has truth, I would ask what plane develops one into a better, good and maybe even a great stick.

HL

[coombz]

Considering the OPS statement has truth, I would ask what plane develops one into a better, good and maybe even a great stick.

HL

pee thurty ate

[Debrody]

Considering the OPS statement has truth, I would ask what plane develops one into a better, good and maybe even a great stick.

HL

IF - again, if - you have the willing to fight, just like any plane, except the really turny ones. Still, imo, the ones with a massive torque require the most skills in the same plane 1v1s: F6F, Jugs, Ki84, 109s, 190s.

Edit: met one non-sucky 51 pilot today. Uptown knows who he is  

[MK-84]

Yes, I believe it does.

     The P51D is fast and has adequate armament,it retains E well and at medium speeds handles very well with all control axis providing similar and expected performance.
That is about it.  The E retention is probably its best quality imo.
     It does not turn well at low speeds and feels unstable.  It feels heavy on the controls at high speeds especially in roll which makes it difficult to make adjustments when diving on a maneuvering target.  Further exasperating the situation is the rudder which does not have much authority at high speeds.
     The result is you get an aircraft that "likes" to stay at medium speeds because it retains E well and performs average at best at very high speeds (dives) and poorly at low speeds.  In the AH planeset in terms of performance I would describe it as decidedly suburban.
     This airplane breeds sucky pilots because it has a certain historical reputation of excellence, which does not translate well into the world of AH.  E fighting is its strength, but thats one of the hardest styles to master.  When it gets slow its easy pickings, when it is super fast it is at best average to control.

[katanaso]

I would love to see that video then because the c202 is probably the only plane in the game that I will not under any circumstances try to maneuver with, it ALWAYS ends up bad for me. Maybe its a curse...

I guess if you were messing with trim during the engagement I could somewhat understand. I dont touch trim when fighting because my trim isnt easy to get to in the heat of things. Id still have to see the video. Would love to add new tricks to my arsenal.

Here's the film of the fight versus the c202:

51D vs c202

[Oldman731]

Considering the OPS statement has truth, I would ask what plane develops one into a better, good and maybe even a great stick.

Planes that are good, but not great.

(Assuming late war; early- and mid-war offer more and better choices)

For the Americans:  P-38, P-39Q, P-47, Hellcat, Corsair (except -4 and -1C), FM2

For the English:  Typhoon (if you don't fly it like the P-51 pilots at issue here), Spit 14

For the Japanese:  Tony

For the Italians:   ....anything they've got...

For the Bolsheviks:  ....anything they've got, except the La7...

For the Germans:  190A5, Dora (if you don't fly it like the P-51 pilots at issue here), any 109.

Well, hey, you asked and I do have occasional opinions!

- oldman

[Saxman]

The Corsair is an excellent example, because it's a very "busy" plane. Despite the mystique of der uberflappen, you can't just dump flaps and go to town. To really fly the Hog well you're going to learn quite a bit about throttle management and ESPECIALLY how to work the rudder. Spend some time in the Corsair and you're going to learn a LOT about all the bits and pieces that goes into controlling an aircraft.

[Ripley]

Here's the film of the fight versus the c202:

51D vs c202

I honestly never would have believed it had I not seen it with my own eyes, thats just fantastic. For the record, were you adjusting trim for that fight?

[titanic3]

Considering the OPS statement has truth, I would ask what plane develops one into a better, good and maybe even a great stick.

HL

109F4.

Enough maneuverability to kill most planes, slow enough that you can't run like a pansy in it but not extremely slow so that even a bomber outruns you, mediocre guns with limited ammo, forces you to aim and practice good gunnery. Crappy high speed handling means you literally cannot zoom through a furball at 500mph. If I see a F4 in the MA, most of the time, I know it's going to be a good fight.