Ar-234: Why is it perked?

[Midnight]

I understand the perk system, and I really like it. However, I have a question...

Why is the Ar-234 perked?

1st, it only carries 3 bombs, barely enough to kill a hanger.

2nd, it climbs worse than a Lancaster.

3rd, it cannot carry enough fuel for the long haul required to get up to altitude.

4th, it has no defensive guns.

5th, although it has a high top speed, it takes forever to accelerate.

So here is the scenario... I took off A48 with 100% fuel and 3 500kg bombs, heading south for A6. It took over 1/2 the fuel load to reach 23K where I was almost 3/4 of the way to A6 (125 miles)

I leveled off and accelerated to 400 true air speed. A 25K P-51B spotted me and dove around for the kill. I tried an evasive climb, but with the 3 bombs, the speed quickly bled off. I was forced to drop my bombs away from target. The P-51 managed to close but fortunately, he only managed to kill my right engine, blow the oil for both engines, blew off my right aileron and damaged my nosewheel   before he ran out of speed.

I was fortunate again that the 234 glides very well as I lost my left engine about 45 miles from A44 (closest safest base to land at)

So, I ask how is this plane unbalancing to the arena? It can't defend itself, and it can't climb to high altitude unless you take off from a base like A48 which is at 8.5K already. Now that I have flown it, I am going back to prop buffs. At least in those you can carry a lot of bombs and kill stuff, including fighters.

Un-perk the 234. It's useless.

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Midnight
13th TAS[/i]
       midnight@13thtas.com      

"...it's better to have a gun and not need it, than to need a gun and not have it." -Christian Slater True Romance

[This message has been edited by Midnight (edited 03-08-2001).]

[Mitsu]

I really want periscope tail cannons.  

[SwampRat]

Used effectively in a group the Arado is highly perk-worthy.  As a single ship mission?...naw, not alot of good for anything but fun.  In a group...lookout.
Swamp

[TheWobble]

I agree sort of, I dont think it is a "perky" enough plane to warrent the price it costs, it costs as much as the friggin tempest, the most expensive fighter.  And the arado is not to bombers what the tempest is to fighters.

A: I can do VERY VERY minimal damage to anything.
B: it cannot defend it self.
C: it climbs very slow past 10k
D: It doesent have the range do do much more than attack the next field over.
E:unless they attack in mass (which is not gonna happen with a cost of 70 points each) they are no real threat to anything.


All the arado has is speed...and it trades almost EVERYTHING else for that 1 advantage.

its not worth 70 points...30 maby.

[bloom25]

Someone played a sick joke on me.  I took a 234 over to 15 and as soon as I pressed the button to release my bombs .. "HOST CONNECTION LOST"

I think all my neighbors are woke up now.  



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bloom25
THUNDERBIRDS

[TheWobble]

ive landed on runway cut engine and typed .ef only to see
SYSTEM: You have been killed.

140 points down the toejamter.

[-duma-]

Arado is perked because in general use it's untouchable. How many times do you run into a 25k P51?

Everyone's perk-plane hunting because everyone's trying them out. In general arena use the Arado will be a very effective weapon.

[Midnight]

duma... where you been this tour? Every where you go, you run into high A/C now. This map is built that way.

Now that there are more medium to high alt performers, you will be seeing a lot more high altitude planes running around.

This is one person who is not looking forward to running into a 5 - 6 ship group of 190-D9s at 25k...

Believe me they will be there. Which brings me back to my point... Why is the Arado perked?

Let's say you take off from a standard field. That's about 1.5k in this map. You would take about 15 to 20 minutes just to make 20K (so you could be semi-safe) By that time, your fuel will be about 1/2 gone. Now you still have to fly to target and drop your 3 lousy 500kg (1100lb) bombs and then fly home.

If there ae any enemy in the area (and with this map, attacking an undefended field is virtually impossible) you had better hold altitude until you are safe into freindly territory so you don't land at a forward field. The way the 234 comes down, you have to do a lot of turns to scrub the speed. Don't get caught by the roving Ta-152, 190-D9, P-51, N1K, YAK, LA5/7... see my point?

The 234 just is not perk material. MAYBE it would do well in numbers, IF you could get 5 or 6 DEDICATED pilots to sit for 45 minutes or more so they could disable 1 field. Good Luck finding that in the MA  

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Midnight
13th TAS[/i]
      midnight@13thtas.com      

"...it's better to have a gun and not need it, than to need a gun and not have it." -Christian Slater True Romance

[Jochen]

Ar 234 is perked because it was rare plane during WWII. And it is fast.

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jochen Gefechtsverband Kowalewski

Units: I. and II./KG 51, II. and III./KG 76, NSGr 1, NSGr 2, NSGr 20.
Planes: Do 17Z, Ju 87D, Ju 88A, He 111H, Ar 234A, Me 410A, Me 262A, Fw 190A, Fw 190F, Fw 190G.

Sieg oder bolsevismus!

[Skysix1]

I have flown H2H on and off for a while now and I rarely have enough time to fly more than 2-3 missions in a day and I usually can only fly 2-3 days a week max.
I joined yesterday (paying money) to fly the Ar234 online against more than just a handful of people.  With this perk point I will never get to fly it in the main arena.  I will cancel my account and live with H2H if I can't fly it.

Also I need to point out to Duma and anyone else that says P-51's (or anything for that matter) dont normally hang out at at 25K.  Every mission I died in I was in a Ju-88 or B-17 at 25,000!  

I dont mind the fact that I got shot down or have to earn perk points.  I do mind the fact I paid $30 to fly the Arado online and cannot.  Why not give the new guys some perk points to get em started!

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Chuck Perry   
"Sky61"

[This message has been edited by Skysix1 (edited 03-09-2001).]

[This message has been edited by Skysix1 (edited 03-09-2001).]

[Cobra]

I flew the Arado exclusively last night.  It SHOULD be perked.

It was untouchable, period.  I also think it should NOT get the 20mm.  In needs to have a weak link somewhere.

I bombed and re-armed and bombed again without any worries.  Once or twice a couple of 152's and Doras would get close, but put the nose down a little and bye-bye.

I am in favor of leaving it perked, and I also intend on flying it alot.

Cobra

[Kieran]

Once people sort out how to use the 234, and what its particular niche is, you will see why it is perked. For example, if you see a high group of dots coming over a base, HQ, or whatever you will climb high enough to ID them as Ar234's then turn away. You won't have a prayer of catching them, and you will move on to more productive targets.

[flakbait]

Barely climbs over 10k? I had that thing going 2k a minute offline and I was past 15k. It ocilates when in auto-climb and gets real twitchy if you don't have your stick set right. As it stands a single Ar234 can blow one hangar at a field; that's it. Get a group of four together and you can team up with a goon or M3 to take any field you want. One quick Blitz raid and the field is toast. What used to take about 15 minutes in a Lanc or B-17 can be accomplished in a single pass with 4 or more Arados. That's why it's perked.


-----------------------
Flakbait [Delta6]
Delta 6's Flight School
Put the P-61B in Aces High
"For yay did the sky darken, and split open and spew forth fire, and
through the smoke rode the Four Wurgers of the Apocalypse.
And on their canopies was tattooed the number of the Beast, and the
number was 190." Jedi, Verse Five, Capter Two, The Book of Dweeb
 

[TheWobble]

 

In needs to have a weak link somewhere

Id say being able to carry only 3 bombs would constitute a "weak link"

 

if you see a high group of dots coming over a base, HQ, or whatever you will climb high enough to ID them as Ar234's then turn away

Wich will seldom if ever happen because they cost so much. and it would take over 7 of them at once to kill a HQ, insted of just 2 lancs.


 

Barely climbs over 10k? I had that thing going 2k a minute offline and I was past 15k

3x 500kg bombs  75% fuel and autoclimb at 250mph (default)  
@6k  2000fpm
@9k  1500fpm
@14k 700fpm
@18k 550fpm

sure it climbs well with no ord and low fuel, but in a realistic situation..once over 14k i climbs slower than a lanc.

 

I flew the Arado exclusively last night. It SHOULD be perked

I agree it should be perked but NOT at the current price.

Average arado mission= .75-1.30 points.

so to keep one you must have at least 70 successful missions without dieing, or you will not mae enough points to keep using it much.


 

Arado is perked because in general use it's untouchable. How many times do you run into a 25k P51?

since the new terrain release 25k on up to 28k FURBALLS are commen if not the norm in the ma and that was BEFORE they released the 106 planes.

Lets put it together shall we.

A: Carries only 3 bombs.
B: climbs VERY slow to get to even a reasonable alt 20k
C: has NO guns.
D: has very low range.
E: cannot get over 1.75 points in a sortie with it.
F: reasonable operation alt is far below commin furball alt so if ya see it coming any decent fighter WILL catch it.


A+B+C+D+E+F = 70 points...i dont believe so.

It is a vulnreable as a goon to anything with over 5k alt advantage on it...which is the norm in the MA.

I say make it cost say....20-40 points, but for god sakes not 70.  Its only "advantage" is speed, which is useless if any cons are very far above it.  EVERYTHING else it totally SUCKS at.

I was actually suprised they perked it at all.

[Kieran]

Wobble-

Did you try dropping the nose to gain a little speed when attacked? I haven't, but I would be curious to see who has and what the result was. I suspect it wouldn't take long for the 234 to get enough separation to escape.

The point to the perk cost is to keep the arena from being full of them. I have no problem with the cost of the perks as they stand now- and I had major concerns going in. In the final analysis, any bomber that can go 400mph+ is a serious threat in the arena despite its relatively small bombload- used in numbers it represents a difficult if not impossible force to stop. Argue 'til the cows come home about everything else, but if you have 'dar and you are careful there will be nothing that will catch you.