Being a Luftwaffe type and liking the 190 far more than the 109 I have to say the 190 is a great plane if you treat it right.
It's strenghts:
-VERY VERY GOOD diving performance, this plane doesn't compress easy
-Excellent High speed handling (hell i can keep with spits for like 1/4-1/2 turn depending on my E situation)
-Excellent Firepower (I like the 190a8 for historical reasons and it's Firepower) it's the Nik2 of the Luftwaffe (Well at least in firepower) 4 20mms really say something
-Good speed (190a8 does 408MPH around 20k 190a5 is around there and d9 is even better
-Roll rate
weaknesses:
-Low speed handling
-sustained turning
-the way it stalls
-visibility over the nose (not to a very great extent
These are general Assessments, as any 190 pilot will know there are major differences between all 4 190 models we have in Aces High. I will give a detailed Description of each.
190A5
This is the Dogfighter of the 190 series it turns decent, accelerates good, rolls almost as good as a 190 and has about half the firepower of the 190a8 (the 20mm mg-ffs aren't really worth carrying IMO) and good climb rate. It is also fast around the same speeds as the 190a5 (And i believe it's faster up high due to lighter construction) It's an overall good plane and for the time it was released I can see why it gave the RAF pilots fits. It's a very good plane if you master it.
190A8
This is often called the Bomber buster or Field vulcher of the 190 series. Well forget that, yes it is very good at doing both those tasks but a trained 190 pilot who knows how to milk all of his strengths to his advantage will fair well against the Arena 3 (Spit, Niki, La7) and even all the other planes in the Arena.
Ok the best way to understand the 190a8 is to compare it to it's predecessor, the 190 A5. Compared to the 190a5 the 190a8 is faster on the deck, it turns worse (higher wing loading) but it makes up for this with stability (well to me it feels like more stable gun platform to me than the a5) it also has great firepower and better dive and roll than the a5. Use this as a BnZ and E fighter and you can't go wrong, it's excellent at defensives too.
190D9
This is the speed deamon of the 190 series. It is very very fast, comparable to a P-51 (Well slightly slower) it has good acceleration, dive, turning sucks though. It has a decent armorment at 2 13mm and 2 20mm.
It's a very good Plane for the main arena enviornment with it's speed allowing you to control the fight against most of the main arena aircraft (exceptions being La-7 and P-51 respectivly) which it can fighter pretty fairly on almost even terms. It rolls slightly worse than the other 190s (but still very good) and it is also has slightly poor visibility over the nose due to the elongated nose to house the new Inline engine. It's a very good LW Aircraft (the best IMO).
190F8
Theres not really much to be said about this plane.
It's Jabo 190
It's like a bloated 190A8 (with more weight than the 190a8) it turns worse, i believe it's slower and doesn't climb that well and has a reduced armorment (2 13mm and 2 20mm) It supposedly has more armor but with the planes in the MA (most with 2-4 20mms) it really doesn't do anything.
To be blunt, your better off using the 190a8 as jabo unless we get the armorments that it could carry (like the anti-tank rockets)
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Overall all of the 190s are fantastic aircraft that are a real joy to fly when you learn how to fly them well. My main tip is, don't get discouraged it really isn't an easy plane to fly but with time and practice you will be able to fly and fight with some of the really good pilots.
One last tip is to learn deflection shooting. There is really no lecture that can be given about gunnery, people try but often the best way to learn is sheer experience. Gunnery is more of an instictal art than something that can be learned. If you master shooting your 4 20mm will really leave a lasting impression on your target
