having some balance troubles or is everybody cool with this?

[ImADot]

i've never really understood the lack(or perceived lack) of popularity of pto planes. especially the early war rides.

Because the vast majority of players play in the Late War arena so they can fly the fast planes with lots of armor and guns. If they are "forced" to fly early era planes, some choose to go pout in the corner and not participate that month.

It makes it hard for a CiC to plan the plane assignments when he can't count on squads to come with their regular numbers. And if he doesn't understand how to properly assign maximum numbers, and squads actually turn up with normal or max commitments, then all of a sudden the side is way over the maximum for a given airframe.

It's tough for a designer to design an event that balances history and gameplay, and it's hard for a CiC to come up with a plan that balances fairness to his players and is flexible enough to remain within the parameters of the design. I have respect for both and am glad that I get to fly at all.

[Arlo]

It's tough for a designer to design an event that balances history and gameplay, and it's hard for a CiC to come up with a plan that balances fairness to his players and is flexible enough to remain within the parameters of the design. I have respect for both and am glad that I get to fly at all.

I can appreciate that. I really can. But it's not like events in AH is something new. There may be rotation amongst the CMs and CiCs (and there should be) but there's tons of experience amongst the player base, with former CMs and CiCs who may have run this precise setup able to share both their successes and failures. Having said that, I'm seeing new implementation, maps and so forth (with game updates making new designs of old setups possible) that bring back the old excitement in me.

All in all, there's no crisis. I just don't like discussions devolving into cries. We're (virtual) fighter (and bomber) pilots, dammit. 

[APDrone]

...

 i've never really understood the lack(or perceived lack) of popularity of pto planes. especially the early war rides. they can(and often do) provide the best fights. 

Well, here's my beef with the early war PTO planes, and I'm strictly referring to IJN vs USN..

If you fly blue planes the ONLY IJN aircraft you fear is the A6M. I'll take an SBD or TBM against the D3As and Kates any day..

If you fly the D3A or B5N you fear ALL blue planes.  ( or you should.. if you approach FSO with the intent of surviving ) 

So, here you have a disparity between the psychological impact of the different sides.

As allied, there's a 1 in 3 chance ( given equal distribution of aircraft assignments ) that the enemy plane I encounter is a threat to me.   
As Axis, if I'm in the D3A or B5N, the chance of the enemy plane I encounter being a threat is 100%

Perhaps the worst part of all this is there is really no way to fix that.  That's just the way they were.  Personally, I enjoy flying the D3A and B5N.. I just don't care being killed in them so easily.   

[Triton28]

If SBD's were used for cap role historically, it's all good in my book.  It really had no bearing on this frame, though,  as both of our boats slept with the fishes.  We obviously didn't do that well with them.  

30 extra zeros!?  I feel much better about our failure to get our guys to target now.  

[CAP1]

i'm probably gonna get heat for this.......

 but......i don't generally see reference to escorts when i read of the bomber attacks in the coral sea. i only have noted references to the scout planes, and the bombers.........

[Shifty]

Personally, I enjoy flying the D3A and B5N.. I just don't care being killed in them so easily.   

Stalking CVs with a B5N is lot like doing something you're not supposed to do. It's great fun, until you get caught. 

D3A's I feel like I've got a fighting chance. Maybe its just because I got something in the front of the plane that goes bang.

[CAP1]

Stalking CVs with a B5N is lot like doing something you're not supposed to do. It's great fun, until you get caught. 

D3A's I feel like I've got a fighting chance. Maybe its just because I got something in the front of the plane that goes bang.

that, and flown right, those thing seem to manage to always be where my bullets aren't.......

[Ten60]

that, and flown right, those thing seem to manage to always be where my bullets aren't.......

Any advice on this topic... I can't seem to not get shot at!

[ImADot]

Any advice on this topic... I can't seem to not get shot at!

You can't "not get shot at". 
You can, however, try harder to "not get hit". 

[Ten60]

You can, however, try harder to "not get hit". 

LIES! 

[CAP1]

Any advice on this topic... I can't seem to not get shot at!

 i wish i did. when i fly the dam thing, i feel more like a lead magnet than when i'm flying a p38 low and slow. yet, when i'm trying to shoot em, the dam things almost seem to "warp jump"(trekki reference) outta my sights.

[Ruah]

the problem is not thee sbds, it is the tbms. . . allies should be flying the vale instead (and that would be an upgrade to what the yanks had)

[Bino]

the problem is not thee sbds, it is the tbms. . . allies should be flying the vale instead (and that would be an upgrade to what the yanks had)

I think you mean the Douglas TBD "Devastator", no?

[Arlo]

the problem is not thee sbds, it is the tbms. . . allies should be flying the vale instead (and that would be an upgrade to what the yanks had)

Maybe you meant to say the Kate. And sure .... reskin it to represent the TBD Devastator, if you must .... but really, the TBM
is faring no better in this scenario than the TBD  did in real life:

"The US Navy`s standard torpedo bomber in 1942 was the Douglas TBD Devastator first flown in 1935 and embarked on carriers of the Pacific Fleet in 1937. On May 7, 1942 in the Battle of the Coral Sea Devastators sank the Japanese carrier Shoho but failed to sink the Shokaku the next day.[15]

At the Battle of Midway on June 4, 1942, 41 Devastators launched from three US carriers failed to score a single torpedo hit. Only six aircraft returned to their carriers. The rest fell prey to the defending Mitsubishi A6M Zeros or anti-aircraft fire. The attacks had been poorly coordinated but the Devastator was immediately withdrawn from front-line service.[16]

The successor to the Devastator, the Grumman TBF Avenger arrived too late at Pearl Harbor to be loaded onto carriers for the Battle of Midway. However six were flown from Midway Island airbase. They fared no better than the Devastator with five being lost without a hit.[17]"

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Torpedo_bomber

I'm seeing excuses, not valid reasons.  

[CAP1]

i'd have loved to have the proper planes for this.....but with the votes to get new aircraft, even if it was offered, the lw main players would never vote in another ew aircraft.

 i'd have been happy if i could've had some way to make adjustments to its the tbm's performance even.......