Poll: What is "Your Ride", and why??

[Kweassa]

Ok. No wise cracks!!

 Many people use many various aircrafts, but there's gotta be that
 special something that turns you on!

 Whether you are good  in it or not, no matter in what kind of situation,
 there's gotta be a plane.. no.. THE plane that you would trust, that you
 love, and would dearly want to ride it for just for once in real life!!

 --------------

 In my case, I like 109s.

 When I was a total newbie, I guess I was one-of-those-folks who
 thought the dark, sinister and well disciplined image of the Luftwaffe was
 really cool. The sort of people who are fascinated by all those legends of
 big name aces, how they almost conquered England

 And the LW being the loser, the tragic/dramatic aspect of a once mighty
 being stumbling to ashes caught my attention more than the stories of
 the wise-crackin' hill-billy Allies(well, I saw it that way then what do you
 expect of a total newbie anyway!).

 Guess what happened to a total newbie who used to fly Fighter Ace, when
 he thought he'd start AH with a plane like 109  

 Stumbled through many planes, but somehow always came back to
 trying 109s, got discouraged.. tried other planes.. but always I came back
 to 109s, dunno why.

 Now more than a year has passed, I read and study the historic materials
 .... the newbie illusions of the "Invincible LW!" are all gone(or, is it ??).
 But still something remains that keep drawing me to 109s

 So there you have it

 ------------

  What is 'your ride'??? and how did you fall in love with it??



ps) I'd especially love to hear the personal love story  of guys who like
 LW planes like me.. like Santa.. Hazed.. Wilbus.. Grunherz and on and
 on.. I'd also like to hear the replies from dedicated Allied craft drivers!

 

[Seeker]

The Spitfire, just because

The P38, for it's balance of Jabo and supression

The A5, black clad death from on high

The Lanc, just because.

[ra]

Favorites:  Jug, Stang
Do best in: 190A5
Underrated: C205, La5, 109G2

[JoeCrip]

190 D-9

It's fast, It looks good, and just because

[TPIguy]

La5, shes a russian beauty. She gets me kills and takes me home in one piece (usually.)

xtpiguyx has 54 kills and has been killed 10 times in the La-5FN

Besides, its the only plane I can fly worth a damn.

[eskimo2]

Base/CV defense: A6M, because it turns.
Dogfighting/GP: 109-F4 or G2, because it's a tough but fun challenge to fight with.
Base attack: Typhoon or Mossi, because they have Hispanos and rockets, and they get there fast.
Base attack from CV: F4U-C, because it's got tons of Hispanos and a few rockets.   
GV killing: IL-2, 109F or G2 or Typhoon, because they get the job done.
CV killing: Arado, B-17, Lanc, B-26, P-38, F4U or Hellcat, because they get the job done.
Bomber interceptor: 109G-10 or F-4, Because they climb like mad and were made for buff killing.
Field porking: Lanc, because it carries 14,000 #s of bombs.

eskimo

[LePaul]

Ar-234

Gets in and gets out fast, and since you have no defensive guns, you really have to figure out your attack, eggress and what to do if attacked, etc.

Not a big bombload, and the "AR234" icon next to your name really draws the baddies to ya!

Only takes the length of the state of Texas to slow down to land

[moose]

109G10 or F4 90% of the time

or P47 / P38 for a change in pace

[AKDejaVu]

F6F - It just does everything well.

[Sachs]

Favorite ride:

Fw 190 A-8

Favorite fighter to piss people off in:
ME-262

Buff:
The 234 of course.

[Mathman]

F6F

I figure it made the most aces out of any US plane in WW2, so it has to be able to make someone like me an ace too (or is that ass? - I always forget how to spell it).

[Widewing]

Ki-61

Positive: Great guns and steady platform, good turning ability, very good range, solid diver, glides like a sailplane and has decent outward visibility.

Negative: A tad too slow, relatively low ammo loadout. Poor climb rate.

Notes: Keep it near corner velocity and it can fight and kill anything. Remarkably good vulcher.
_____________________________ _______________________

Spitfire, any version

Positive: You guys obviously know.

Negative: Relatively frail, quite slow on the deck, and has a low cannon ammo loadout.

Notes: Avoid head-on attacks. Great furballer.
_____________________________ _______________________

Yak-9U

Positive: Fast, great climber, great outward visibility and a good turner.

Negative: Weak gun package, with low loadout. Poor accelerated stall characteristics.

Notes: Requires attention to E to be most effective. Use "in and out" tactics to stay on the outside of furballs.
_____________________________ _______________________

P-51D

Positive: Fast everywhere. Great initial turning. Best outward visibility. Decent guns and ammo load. Terrific flap system.

Negative: Poor acceleration and sustained turn rate.

Notes: Requires careful E management. Avoid furballs. Probably the best vulcher along with 190s.
_____________________________ _______________________

La-7

Positive: Fast, faster and very fast. Great climb rate.

Negative: Marginal guns and turn rate. Lousy visibility. Poor range.

Notes: Use speed and zoom ability to terrorize enemy hordes. Avoid turning fights that eat E.
_____________________________ _______________________

A6M5b

Positive: Best Angles fighter in planeset. Unmatched low-speed turning ability. Decent gun package. Awe inspiring in vertical plane. Good visibility, outstanding endurance. Scourge of the Spitfire. Remarkably robust.

Negative: Bog slow. Accelerates like it's tied to a tree. Very stiff ailerons above 350 mph. Very low VNe.

Notes: Unbeatable stallfighter in hands of a good stick. Best handled with BnZ tactics, but watch out for skilled deflection shooters. If you want to kill a Zeke, sneak up unseen. Otherwise,
it will simply disappear.... and reappear on your ass. In which case, never pull into a steep climb, unless you wish to add to your death stats. Best escape is to unload, accelerate and roll sharply into a break turn. Zekes will have trouble following at speed, and cannot keep up in any dive that exceeds 400 mph.
_____________________________ _______________________

My regards,

Widewing

[Karnak]

Mossie VI

Because it can do everything to some degree.


Mosquito VI Advantages:

The Mossie has a great record of doing many daring raids in WWII.  It is one of those aircraft that just couldn't be built in enough numbers as everybody wanted it.  Hell, even the Germans wanted it, the spent an obcene amount of effort trying to get a multi-role aircraft like the Mosquito and the Brits had the dang thing handed to them when they hadn't even asked for it.  That has to rile the Germans, they never did get a multi-role aircraft as good as the Mosquito.

4 Hispano cannon in the belly with 175 rpg give it that heavy, instant kill, firepower that a heavy fighter needs.  175 rpg also give it enough ammo to do some damage to ground targets.

4 nose mounted .303 Brownings with functionally unlimited ammo (780 rpg) are quite usefull for taking out AA while conserving the precious cannon ammo.

All the guns are centerline mounted so convergence can be thrown out the windo.  Just set convergence to 650 for best results and easier lead shots.

It can carry 2,000lbs of bombs or 1,000lbs of bombs and 8 rockets.  While not the equal of the F4U-1D, F6F-5, P-38L, P-47D-30, or P-51D, it still does pretty well and as a bonus two of the bombs can be carried internally for a drag free ride.

It accelerates quite nicely, turns surprisingly well and can out run the two most common fighters in AH (Spitfire F.MkIX and N1K2-J) at typical AH combat altitudes.

The Mossie dives like a demon and holds the speed well.  This can be used quite effectively in the attack or as an escape move against many fighters.

With full fuel it has a good combat range and the available droptanks extend this even further, though at the expense of some ordinance.

You can see over the nose to see what is ahead of and below you.  No other aircraft, that lacks a glass nose, can do this.

It is a great looking aircraft.

Mosquito VI Disadvantages:

It has poor climbing characteristics.  Never, ever try to use a shallow climb as an egress from an attack on an enemy fighter.  Always do a gentle pull up to the verticle or use a level, or slightly decending egress.

Its low altitude tuned Merlin 25s mean that it peaks in performance at the low altitude of 13,000ft.  The WEP does absolutely nothing above 15,000ft, don't waste WEP by using it abouve 15,000ft.

At no altitude can it be considered speedy in the AH MA.  A top sealevel speed of 338mph and a top speed at 13,000ft of 380mph means that many, most in fact, fighters will chase you down over the long run, if they don't get bored.

It is a big assed target.  Its 54ft wingspan is 2ft larger that the big assed target that is the P-38L (another great aircraft).

It is fragile.  It is rare to have one hold together after having been hit hard.  It does happen, but you will notice it as an annomaly when it does.

Being a twin engined, mid-wing aircraft has a negative impact on visibility from the cockpit, as in the P-38L.  However this is somewhat eased because the pilot is positioned further forward in relation to the engines than in the P-38L and the stepped wing grants a little more visibility in addition.

[Raubvogel]

Fw190A-8
Fw190D-9
Ta152H-1

Fly em all about equally, just depends on what I feel like flying. I like a plane that can go fast in a straight line. If it can't turn, that's one less thing my feeble mind has to worry about.

[SOB]

P51b

-It's green and mean looking.  Put the rocket tubes on it and it looks even better.

-There's just something satisfying about putting that much lead into an enemy.

-LA7s always think they can out turn you and kill you.  They are wrong.

-Great to whip out in a duel as 90% of the time the other guy doesn't know how to treat her right and ends up stalling all over the place asking "why in the hell would you fly this thing???"

-Put 75% fuel in it and you'll always have enough fuel to get home...even if you rarely have that opportunity!


SOB