In case anyone is interested... my analysis for my first three weeks playing AH.
Had bad moments and some good ones as well.
Started out with the Bf109-G10. Fast, does not handle too well at speed, but at least I could run/climb away when things went wrong. My first kills were in this machine, its great for intercepting lone red dots, still use it that way. Also had a great vertical fight in it with a Spit. But using its speed and E advantage isnt easy, think compression problems and overspeeding into the ground. Ammo/firepower is also not great.
The Fw-190A-8 then. Reasonably fast, and awesome firepower, but it flies like a dumptruck. I really have no idea how anyone can survive a one on one in this machine. Died a lot and dismissed it soon. I'm not good enough for it (yet). Skipped through the planeset, got killed a lot in various interesting ways and also learned a few things. Avoided the dweeb and perk planes mostly, I think that as a newbie you shouldn't rely on them.
Flight modelling: Some augers when fighting fast in the vertical and very early when taking off with heavy loads or unfamilair aircraft. Only spinned a few times, some planes are forgiving, while some others most defenitely are not ;-) I think the stall warning is implemented very well. Always use combat trim, only in extreme situations like a Bf109 at high speed or a shot up plane I'll override it.
Gunnery: It seems that with some planes I can't hit sh*t, while with others I had good results, even with snapshots at high deflection. I am now looking at info and postings about the behaviors of the different guns, convergence, etc. Still, I managed to kill F4Us and P47s with 0.303s, but it's frustrating to think you have a good gun solution in a Fw190 and hit nothing.
Fighting style: My SA has GREATLY improved, even to the point where I drive around in my car and are subconsciously classifying other traffic as threat or no threat. Anyone notice this themselves? A great dogfighter I am not, I think this is probably a fine skill that comes with a lot of practice. I do think myself as an opportunist and get a fair amount of kills this way. If I can shoot it, I will. Against a good pilot in a comparable tactical situation I tend to lose. Other thing I noticed is that AH is not a game you just play for five minutes when you are tired and bored, you need a fait bit of determination otherwise you're just get killed. I think my weakest point is furballs, especially when my side is outnumbered, I get too focused on my target and get someone on my six. Especially in my favourite mount this is a problem, more about this later. I also have been lured into a fleet flak umbrella too often. Bombing I haven't tried yet, but an excellent tutorial has been posted, might try it soon. Jabo-ing seems nice, but I'd like to hone my flying skills a bit further first. GV's or boats I haven't used, only managed to drive an Osti once. Field or ship gunning is also nice if you're overwhelmed by superior numbers or if you just can't seem to win a dogfight. I always fly solo, don't belong to a squadron yet. Of course this also means you can easily be beaten by good teamwork.
Favourite aircraft: I really like the P51, fast, smooth, 0.50s and it handles so very well. Maybe it's a bit too good. I also take up the Spit I for field defense quite often to earn perk points. Plane I really love however is the FM2. Started using it as fleet defender, but it is a supreme dogfighter, doesn't climb too poorly, and is very solid. And this is one of the planes I consistently can hit targets in. Of course it's slow, but what the hell, come down to the deck and play with me, I still get great pleasure from killing guys in P51s trying to get me. The little flying barrel also seems to hold on to its energy extremely well. You can pull g in it like there is no tomorrow. I like it so much, that it has become my favourite mount in most situations. At this point it's the only plane I feel confident in and with which I get multiple kills without geting killed myself. Once fought a fight involving P51s, Spits and F4Us with it until my ammo was out and my tanks were dry, then hit the silk without a scratch on my FM2, three kils and an assist :-) If only the view to the rear was bit better...
