He has been away for a long time, even so I suggest you beg some time in the DA with him, you will not find many who are as difficult to kill. I've known Ded pretty much the entire time I've been in the game and I can say one thing for certain, I am not better than him.
Also, I would like to request that I not be addressed as an FPH. I would hence forth like to be addressed as an FPSV. The SV is for Super Villain. There must be some villains you know, or there is no need for the heroes.
S!
yes, FPSV - I like that.
what's interesting is seeing midway going thru basically the same pattern that many good sticks have, albeit way much slower.
Spits - check
Pony - check
109's - check
f4u - check
la7 - check
toss in a decent samping of the other intermediate rides like jugs, wulfs, and the kitty and Ki families inbetween the pony, 109 and f4u periods. 38 pilots are just whacksauce to begin with.
I was turning ponys way back when and had several good students who went onto greater things.

I was also turning lala's very early on.
Here's a secret - before you can specialize with a plane and style, you have to understand them all. I'm ultimately a spitdweeb at heart - the lala is the best spit going.
To master one, you need to master all, sort of. It's a FPH/SV thang. Some have it, many don't - some will always be midway between the two.