How FM changes will effect Nik1s and La7s?

[Vulcan]

I think the LA-7 will improve if they tweak the E retention. As it is the E-retention can be exploited, ie its easy to get an overshoot or lawndart out of an La7 because they find it hard to slow down. With the limited gun range you get the chance to do this a lot.

The Niki is a puzzle to me, I kind of hear people describing it as a Zeke with big guns and a big engine. This would explain the amazing manoevres we see it pull. Where it puzzles me is the Niki can follow my tiffie down through dives, tiffie-pedal-to-the-metal type dives at well over 480kias. Now if the niki was so light, had a hi thrust-weight ratio etc, one would think it would have airframe problems at high speed, or compression problems. But it doesn't.

I've had a niki follow me through moves that rip the rings of 109s, 51s, 47s, and Spits.

This is what I don't understand - composite airframes didn't exist in WW2 did they?

These days if I see a co-alt or high niki I just HO him, I figure that 9 times out of 10 its a newbie, his shooting sucks, and my hispanos have a higher rate of fire and better trajectory. And most of the time this works, especially as most nikis go for the initial HO anyway - I'm getting a relatively high success rate   I've noticed some Nikis pull some wild moves when they see a tiffie coming HO at them now.

[Karnak]

Urchin,

I don't fly the Bf109G-10 much (once only in Tour 20) so I'll take your word for it that killing N1K2s is hard for it.  However that wasn't my qualification.  What I said is that it would rarely lose.  You have 3 options, win, lose and draw.  The aircraft I mentioned are so fast as to be able to withdraw and force a draw most of the time, even if they don't kill the N1K2.

Soda,

All planes have advatages and disadvantages, I feel that the La-7's add up better than any other fighter's in the context of the AH MA. It might not be the best, but it is certainly close.

RAM,

Actually, I find P-51s annoyingly fragile.  The break apart if you pull hard, something that my normal rides, Spitfires, Typhoons and Fw190D-9s, don't do. They are very responsive and balanced on the controls though.

Humble,

Heh.  Those are my numbers.  You have to consider that I only got 65 kills in that Tour.  I don't get that much time in AH per tour.

As to my tactics, if I am forced to run, I rarely come back.  The kills of N1K2s that I got were in melee situations, I just make sure I've got the energy to climb out of danger.  I make an attack at 450mph-500mph and then do a 3 G pull up to verticle and go straight on up till I'm down to about 125mph.  Then I look at the situation and go again.

I remember a fight I had in Tour 19.  I was flying an N1K2 and my opponenent was in a P-47.  He came in with the energy advantage and a did a break turn out of danger.  He went verticle, but instead of going up until he was safe he just pulled it over the top and came down again. After doing this three times I had evened the energy and when he did it a fourth time I killed him.

I get the feeling that a lot of people don't do a great job of retaining their energy.  That pilot initially blamed his loss on my "ufo".  The truth is, I'd have done the same in a Spitfire MkIX and with a few more loops a Zero, Spitfire MkV or Seafire would have done nicely as well.

I have to admit that I am really looking forward to 1.08 and I hope the N1K2 is still servicable for all those who like to brawl.

[humble]

Karnak...the 9-3 # wasn't ment as a negative in any way....just an observation that many simply choose not to engage a nikki under most circumstances (a smart decision) and use it's mediocre top speed to minimize it's superiority in every other area.

My only other significant experience in online flight sims was AW (ducks), obviously the FM here is far superior...BUT...I do believe the hierarchy of the plane set was fundementally correct. The planes were modeled correctly to each other to a large degree...the spit out turned a 109 but suffered in vertical...the 190 outrolled the P51...but didnt turn as well and so on....the nikki was considered the "190 of the pacific"...the Ki-84 was the uber plane that came closest to the perfect combo of speed and turn rate...however a well flown hog would eat em both up...while the F6F labored a bit due to its lower top end speed.

The nikki here simply seems to have disturbed the natural order of the universe...

[Karnak]

Humble,

Ah.  I see what you were saying.  In my case I don't see the N1K2 as this monster and I don't avoid them like the plague.  I think there may be some moral issues here as well.  If people think its that nasty and it'll win, they may be setting up a loss without realizing it and fulfilling their beleif in the N1K2's UFOness.

My personal monster is the La-7.  

From what you say about Air Warrior I would not use it as a reference.  Everything that I've found about the N1K2 says that it was a great turner.  A 369mph Fw190 doesn't sound like a threat to me at all and historically Hellcat pilots reported the N1K2 doing "impossible manuvers." Actually, are you sure you're thinking of the N1K2 in AW and not the J2M3?  That description would match the J2M3 a lot better.

[humble]

I believe only one version of the nikki was modeled and I don't really recall the specifics.

A well flown La-7 will control the fight against almost any plane in the absence of a large initial E disparity.

[Tac]

Just take a n1k, get it to 300mph and pull 90 degrees up. Watch the speed until you begin to have problems keeping the plane under control while keeping the nose pointing upwards. Dare say 30 or 40mph? Notice I said "begin". The plane will stay nose up (90 degrees with horizon) with minimal rudder input until the plane is at near 0 mph, at which point it noses down on its own.. with no stall, no spinning, no nothing. Now you wonder why E-fighters cant do anything vs n1ks unless they have like 10k adv? it will zoom up WITH them and spray until its 0mph (which point the other plane will have stalled and flopped over at 100mph... 100 mph advantage!!)

Not bad for a plane with 2000HP engine and automatic flap system wouldnt you say? Im sure the F4U and 109g10 guys would love to have a torqueless thing like that!

[ 10-04-2001: Message edited by: Tac ]

[SirLoin]

I think all planes could use a good stall model worked into thier fm's(not just Niki)

[Am0n]

Anyone know if they are going to change the ceilings of these planes? (la7/N1k)

from what i understood they could not fly over 20k due to not having the oxygen equipment, or somehting to that effect. (not a ac buff my self)