I don't usually post anymore because I'm not a subscriber. But I did support AH from 2012-2014. I miss the fights I had with VF-17 and the guys there. I did leave primarily because I became more interested in civilian flight sims like FSX and X-Plane, but also because I didn't think the cost of AH is anywhere near justifiable for me at this point.
Looking at just the sim and not necessarily the community of AH (the latter of which is great), AH doesn't offer much these days compared to other games. "WT" (I'll use initials for other sims since the mods don't like competitive statements here, from what I understand) is a free alternative for those that want to get introduced to combat flight sims. "IL" is a series that better caters to the hardcore WW2 flight sim gamer that wants good squad-type gameplay. "DC" is best for the hardest-core realism gamer looking for dogfights with small number of players, though.
I honestly don't see where AH fits into this marketplace.** I never bought the whole "we have the longest object draw distance of any flight sim" argument that the developers here sometimes put forth. Honestly, who really cares about this? In a cost-benefit analysis, this is probably one of the lowest items on my list in terms of what I'm looking for in a combat flight sim. Sometimes the flight models in AH are praised compared to other sims. I don't know if this claim is substantiated, but even if it is, someone who actually would appreciate this is just as much turned off by the other cartoonish aspects of the game (simplified cockpits and world physics).
And here I'll end my yearly rant about AH. I say these things with the hope that I can one day be enticed to come back to AH, since I did enjoy the historic gameplay. But AH3 previews already look outdated to me, so I will continue to wait and check back on the site once every few months in case things drastically change.
** Edit Note: I don't mean there can't be a place for AH in the marketplace. But for $180/yr compared to other contemporary games' pricing structure (some of which are free), there is no justifiable value there for me at this current price point.
A pricing structure that would intuitively make sense to me (though I have not done any market analysis/projections on this or would necessarily know how to do so) would be to make the AH MA online arenas free for everyone, but make the historical scenario and AvA, etc. specialized arenas $5/mo or something. The real value of AH is in those latter arenas (where most people who have played AH for a long time have the most fun) but the free online MA would draw in a greater crowd that could feed into the paid subscription pool. Just an idea...