Trying to provide a different perspective, here's my take on this film: (OH NO, BUSTER-ESQUE WALL OF TEXT!)
This is NOT a lame fight. For those of you with ADD, you can stop reading here. For those who are learning, or like to analyse fights or are interested in plane performance, the rest might be interesting.
This is a climbing, high altitude fight. To many, it may be a protracted, boring fight, but it is a very good example of how differing aircraft performance plays a role in fights, especially at alt. If you actually watch the film (and it's laughable how many comments came from those who DIDN'T watch the full film), if you watch it from the perspective of looking for the gaps in speed and climb, it is actually kind of interesting. In fact, if you were told in advance that the fight would be a climbing fight ranging from 19K up to 26K (and took WEP out of the equation), you could actually look at the plane performance charts and see where the turning point of the energy fight will likely come.
First off, for those that say Uptown didn't try to engage the Spit -- you should try watching the film again. The Spit starts 960 yards on Uptown's six o'clock WITH a 400 foot altitude advantage. Uptown doesn't clearly start with the upper hand here. He has no angle, and a minor speed advantage of 135 MPH, which he (wisely) uses to extend and climb. The Spit is actually out-climbing him when he goes straight vertical and drops flaps to TURN INTO THE SPIT. Oh, look, he actually DID TURN INTO THE SPIT. TWICE, in fact, both times from less than 1.5K away.
However, after both merges the Spit is actually winning position AND narrowing the energy gap. After the SECOND merge the Spit is 500 feet ABOVE his P-47 and Uptown's speed difference has dropped to +33mph. (In other words, the Spit is winning angles while narrowing the energy gap each turn). When Uptown begins his long climbing extension, the Spit is 760 yards away ON HIS SIX and Uptown only has a measly 10mph speed advantage (at about 1:15 into the fight). A plane with 50cals, may have pinged him here and maybe have gotten a lucky damaging shot. He clearly doesn't have a distinct ADVANTAGE, anywhere at the beginning of this fight.
So, what do you do when you are nearly CO-E with a Spit 760 yards on your six? Continue turning with them? Sure you do, because you are all about the fight.
Or maybe you would use your airplane's speed advantage to extend and gain a bit of energy? Uptown does this, deciding to climb. At 19K without WEP, he has NO climb rate advantage on the Spit1. Even with WEP it will take a couple minutes of climbing to gain 1500-2000 feet on the Spit. This is essentially the BORING part of the fight, but if you STAY TUNED, this is also where it get's INTERESTING.
Let's ignore the Spit16 trying to climb up to the Spit 1, as it never was a factor (just as BE said, so he ignored it too). If anything, it made the climbing part longer as Uptown is also turning. So, lets skip the boring and irrelevant part and fast forward to where the Spit1 and P47N reach about 25K - if you're still with me, start the film at 4:15. Notice at that stage how much more quickly the gap increases, even though Uptown is TURNING back into the Spit (again). Now go look at the Speed and Climb Rate charts for these two planes -- notice how much the Speed and Climb Rate gaps increase between 20K to 25K. Once he has lured the Spit1 up to 25K, Uptown is rapidly able to gain that E advantage which he quickly uses to turn into the Spit and kill it.
Isn't that exactly what you're doing when you bait that "stupid Pony" into trying to turn or zoom climb with you by "giving him your six" when you're in a Ki-84 or 109K-4? Yeah, it pretty much is. It just doesn't take 3 minutes to do it. So, then it would be OK for the Pony pilot to call you lame for "making" him climb with you, because you didn't fight him how he wanted, right?
In my opinion it is not "lame" to avoid your enemy's strengths and instead get him to play into your strengths. Everyone tries to do that -- just in different ways.
<S>
Ryno
