Some fast thoughts, and some kicks to Saw
Be preppared not being able to Run away Not really true. the Fw190A5 runs as much as, or more than, the spitfire V or IX, 109F4,109G2,109G6,P47D, P38L,C205,C202, Yak9t at any alt under 20000feet
The 190A5 top speed at the deck is 335mph, but at 6K is 370-375mph. At 23K tops around 415mph. Is one helluva fast kite for its time frame (early 1943), and is faster than the Fw190A8 over 3K.
Compared to all the other 190's in AH, this is the slower one(Slower than the 205 I think too). False, Saw...the Fw190A8 is faster than the Fw190A5 only under 3000feet. And the C205 is slightly slower on the deck (according to HTC's charts), and the A5 wins speed faster than C205 with alt.
It has a verry nice Rollrate, a good initial turn at high speeds (comparatively, a good initial YAW too for snapshot rudder kicks), nasty flip/stalls at low speeds. It's the plane I take with me when I want to fight, I don't take it out when I plan on survival Yep the A5 shares the magnific roll of all 190s, and has a very nice hispeed turn. The stalls are not so nasty once you learn not to go under 225mph IAS in this plane. It is the one and only secret in the A5: NEVER go under 200mph IAS unless strictly neccessary.
It's a plane you want a wingman with you (As I said: too slow for hit & run tactics).
Because of the good initial turn & good roll, if (more likely WHEN) I get defensive, I usualy play it going lower, faster, using quick vertical scisors. I use fw190A5 as lonewolf (hell I use the A8 as lonewolf too
), and is MORE survivable than the A8. You just must remember that if you want to flee, you DONT go under 5000feet. You can tangle in close fight with almost anything but a niki ,a zero, a C202 or a spit and expect to win the fight. In short, it can outmaneouver in a close fight anything it can't outrun.
It also has one thing wich is many times forgotten...at low altitudes (under 6000feet) this little beast has an AMAZING climbrate&acceleration, and up to 18K it has a very acceptable climbrate&acceleration too. In short, down on the deck you can close fight with almost ANYTHING in the game using a mix of its great acceleration, initial turn and rollrate. This plane is simply outstanding in rolling scissors, and when light on fuel its an outstanding dogfighting machine. Just use the vertical ,keep the speed over the 200 mph line, and use intelligent ACM instead of flat turns and stallfight. The mix of roll and initial turn of the A-5 Wurger makes this bird a very nice head to head dogfighter.
just remember that if you fall down to the deck your speed is not that great. but at 3-5K, it can run away from many planes in AH
It's not a very much used plane in the MA because being marginally faster than a spit, it's dead meat if it starts to turn. It could be syntetized in the phrase "it can't turn, and it can't run"-and that leads people to think that the A5 is the worse of the 190s. It requires some good ACM to extract the best from this plane, but I'll fly it over a spit IX or a 190A8 any day
[ 10-02-2001: Message edited by: R4M ]