The Spitfire Mk XIV remains my favorite WWII fighter. I won't fly it in AH as it is no fun. I can get gangbanged for free by taking any aircraft to an enemy dominated sector and if I don't take an La-7, Fw190D-9, Bf190G-10 or Typhoon I can also experience the gangbang without the ability to get away. Just like the Spitfire Mk XIV, but for free.
Those of you who are saying how great it is in a one on one are living in a fantasy land when applying that information to the MA. The MA has nothing to do with one on ones. It is absolutely imperative that a perk plane be able to disengage from the freebie horde that its icon will call onto it. The Spitfire Mk XIV and Ta152H-1 simply cannot disengage at AH combat altitudes when facing the hordes of La-7s and P-51Ds, aircraft that are both faster. Furthermore the Spitfire Mk XIV's excellent climb rate is instantly nullified as an escape method if any fighter appears at a higher altitude that it. I've lost most of my Spitfire Mk XIVs to that very thing. Using my climb rate I slowly pull away from the La-7s and N1K2s when a Spitfire Mk IX or P-38 or something appears above me, and now I have to manuver to dodge and the horde below catches up and the guy above keeps me from being able to climb away.
Contrast the Tempest or La-7 to that and you'll see that all they have to do is put their nose down and they're gone and free. The F4U-4 can kind of pull this trick off, but persistant La-7s will still run it down and due to its "F4U-4" perk tag they will be persistant.
The F4U-1C's annonymous "F4U" icon gives it far, far better survivability than the Ta-152H-1, Spitfire Mk XIV or F4U-4. Look at the numer of kills it gets per Tour and you will see that despite a much greater total kills, indicating much greater plebian usage, the F4U-1C's K/D ratio is close to, or exceeds, the K/D ratio of these three iconed perk planes.
To the average, or even above average, AH player these three perk planes are death traps that might as well not be in the game. That is how unusable they are for the majority of players. Even among the well above average players these aircraft are very difficult to use.
Should there really be aircraft in AH that are really only for the Festers and Drexes among us?