All in fun; I do think finishing the existing planes is very important, however a completely new airframe does add some excitement and freshness to the game in a way an existing plane update cannot match. I really wanted to try an aircraft poll with some color - more than just a list of planes. I wanted action shots to go along with each entry.
My thoughts - I excluded planes where game capability does not yet support - like floatplanes and flying boats. I would love to see the A6M-N Rufe or the Emily, Sunderlund or Catalina in AH someday. I also intentionally left out some variants of existing planes - like the B-17F or B-24D, to keep the voting list to a reasonable size.
Yep, I goofed - should have been a Pe-2, not Tu-2 - which is already in game I think? Two more days until my new vid card and power supply arrive, and I can't get back in until then; I'm going stir crazy. I should've checked the aircraft list on HTC's website though.
There are a few planes I want I forgot about - Lagg-3, and a Mig, for example. I don't think I would've thought to add a fixed gear early Japanese plane though - I assume Jimson refers to the Ki.27 Nate or A5M Claude.
I don't believe the Do335 or the F-82 meet the inclusion requirements. The B6N and D4Y would be important scenario hole-fillers though. The A-26 was omitted unfairly - like the Meteor it was an Allied latecomer to the War but went on to serve with distinction in the Korean and even Viet Nam conflicts. In fact it was tough to find WWII art on it, a lot of stuff I found was from Korean, or Viet Nam era. While it was initially rejected for service in the Pacific by General Kinney (who preferred the A-20) it did see some service and also got in to the final months of the ETO. The Boomerang is a sweet looking little ship but I understand it was mainly used for light ground support. A more complete list would've included it though.
Thanks to all who voted - I am surprised at the G.55's and Ki.45's strong showings! I was expecting a close race between the Beaufighter and the Meteor myself. I voted for the J2M Raiden but a top choice for me was the Hawk 75/P-36. Saw service with lots of nations, both ETO and CBI Theaters, and a lot of the development work can be borrowed from the P-40C. I also got to thinking it would be important to have an early FW190A - the plane our Spit IX was specifically developed to counter.
I'll leave the poll active another day or so.
