You know what I mean Laz. I'm confident you rarely saw me above 20K anyway, and you know that I don't really fly a turnfighter either.
When the fields are closer, you end up with this scenario pretty often. My cruise alt is usually 15K. You find a higher con, even Spit/Niki/Yak type of plane. You start to dogfight it, as soon as you gain the edge on him, he dives toward his field. Just by the time you are about to catch up with him on the deck, you are about to enter his field ack or you meet his countrymen who are on the climbout.
I understand your thirst of furballing, but this is no fun either, I sure you can agree with that.
When the fields are further appart (not like in beta map)

, I noticed people tend to dogfight more when they meet someone, and not necessarily climb all the way they meet someone. Usually they will level and go level cruise to reach the destination faster.
There will always be a furball in AH, any map you see this "highway" between two fields where a constant wave of green goes against a flow of red. Personaly I try to avoid the area, it's not my type of fun.
Would you like HTC to put a furball arena? A little iland with 4 fields for each country very close, with no ack to defend them? Something where resets will be shorts and often? A place where I would never be, but would it float ur boat?