... had a real pilot had as much flight time as some of the sticks in this game the abilities show could possibly have been recorded as such....
Junky, shida, pipz, rabbit, Tequila, et al... -->SPKmes hit on the nail on the head with this comment.
If Aces High can be used a perhaps the premiere avionics engineering test platform for WWII planes (and IMHO, it's right up there with DCS), here's a fact that most of us can't ignore...
Some of us here have more time in cockpit flying the variants of our favourite rides the past 18 years that any pilot during WWII.And while Aces High is not perfect - it doesn't simulate part failures, other environmental conditions that impact flying, or does it take into account pilot fatigue, being able to do loops with bombs attached, it's pretty dang good for what it does - provide us an environment to fly aircraft from the WWII period with a wide range of abilities and characteristics modelled into this game.
For example, I've flown the P-51 for 18 years here in Aces High since Beta1. I know how it acts, i know how it stalls, I know how to maximize a climb out heavy, and the same goes for other variants I've flown. The 109-G2/F4, 190-D9, Tiffy, the Yak-9, F6F, F4U-1D, and the P-47D-40. I've flown these birds for years when they were first introduced here. And some of you have thousands of hours per aircraft. i.e. Tequila and pipz probably have more hours than any WWII pilot ever accumulated in a single variant.
My point is this - it does make us experts in the flying characteristics of many of these aircraft in this environment. And when someone with experience in a variant says 'it's fine' - believe it. It may not be 100% realistic, but with respect to Aces High, give credit where credit is due. When Ack-Ack, Pipz, or Tequila says the model is fine...it is. Just saying.