Go fly a spit 8 or 16 tonight and then go fly a ki84 or vice versa. You will be able to see how much easier it is to turn inside of planes earlier in a spit. You will get better jumps on planes. Quicker loop over immelmans, quicker responses and easier handling. You have to be able to get the flaps down quickly in a KI84 which is really tough. Those flaps do not like to come out. This puts it at a harder disadvantage because a spit has the ability to get around on planes extremely quickly while deploying flaps earlier.
No need. I've flown all three extensively over the 10 years I've played this game.
You are correct the that it is easier to perform these actions in the Spits than in the Ki. I'm not disputing that both Spits are "better" in a turnfight. My dispute is with the implication that the differences are so vast it prevents the Ki from being classified as
a "noob killing / seal clubbing" monster in its own right. That opinion is apparently desputed by a number of players...usually by overstating the gaps that exist between the Spit8/16 and Ki as a qualifier e.g. "
Oh, well....the Ki is much harder to get kills in than the Spit <8/16> because of <x>".
*ahem* I'd be remiss if I didn't point out many (most?) of the players who do so fly the Ki regularly....
You are also neglecting to mention the other intangibles, both defensive and offensive, which the Ki84 possesses that have to also be factored in when deciding if it's an "uber" ride or not.
So again, in every way it is a dominant knife fighter. To the degree of a Spit16, no, but its
really really close. Does it take a little more experience to get every last ounce out of it, sure. But I further dispute the implicaiton of some that it requires years of experience to do so.