It's a great plane for defense. It can't dive or really run away so that's a huuuggee disadvantage in this game. When you get ganged by 190Ds all afternoon it makes the plane tough to be really successful in.
Yes, but the same can be said for many "
turny" rides (including the Spit16) when engaged with planes which can go faster (i.e. P51s, LA7s, etc). Sorry...just not buying the "Doras dominate" garbage.
The spit 16 and spit 8 completely destroy the KI84 at everything.
Horse squeeze. - Below 12K the Ki is slightly faster without WEP and tied with the Spit16 WITH WEP (the Spit 8 is slower in both cases).
- The Ki does not climb as well as either Spit, but below 8K the differences are not vast. At Mil power the Ki has a disadvantage of about 500 ft. per min climb on the deck, with the Ki closing the gap up to ~100-150 ft per min at about 8K. It drops off after that. Using WEP increases the disadvantage so mark this as an area where the Ki is clearly at a disadvantage.
- The Ki's turn radius is
slightly worse without flaps. Flaps down it basically even between the three planes.
- Ki accelerates slightly faster than the Spit 8. The Spit 16 accelerates slightly faster thant the Ki. The differences are around 1 sec in either case so it is again essentially an even match.
- Guns for the Spits are better, but again its not an overwhelming advantage. Ki has a slight advantage in firing time.
I'm pulling this data from the Gonzoville AH charts:
http://www.gonzoville.com/ahcharts/index.phpSo nice try, but sorry no dice. The myth of the Ki being a "
more difficult" ride than the upper tier Spits is a
community myth. It's stated by cartoon pilots who
don't want to admit their favorite ride is really no better than the "
training wheels spit noobs" ridiculed mercilessly on ch200.