If you are using the 16 as a high speed b/z plane I would humbly suggest you are using the wrong tool for the job. The advantage of being able to roll fast at high speeds is a moot point when the planes strength is not its speed.
Are you kidding me or what?
![WHOA! :O](http://bbs.hitechcreations.com/smf/Smileys/default/shocked.gif)
The SpitXVI is clearly one of the premier E-fighters in the game. It handles well in dives, has a zoom that apparently compares favorably with that of unperked Corsairs, a superb climb rate, and superb retention of E in maneuvers. ON top of this, it has a good turn radius and excellent turn rate. Well flown, it has the potential to dominate almost anything from an E advantage...and it is top notch at building an E-advantage. P-51s, D9s, 109 and etc. are famous for b'n'zing, but a SpitXVI with alt to convert for closure is far more problematic than any of these.
Now you can name all the fighters that run away from fights better than Spits, but who really cares? The SpitXVI stands a fair chance against every unperked fighter it can't outrun. It is other fighters that need to be able to run away from SpitXVIs...only a great many of them can't! Unperked fighters that can challenge the SpitXVI's E-performance are almost all significantly less maneuverable.
You don't fly a Spit because of how fast it is. You fly them because they handle so well slow when turning.
This is just completely wrong...you and I both know there are plenty of planes which make better pure turners than the SpitXVI, VIII, or even the IX. If pure turning were key, then the SpitV would be most popular. Even better, Zeke, HurriIIC, or Fm2.
No, the strength of the later model Spits is that they have excellent E-performance *and* almost tremendous maneuverability in relation to most other planes that can challenge them in the E-performance department.
Once again, I think we are letting the fact that the SpitfireXVI is almost always flown poorly and/or flown against terrible odds obscure the plane's potential.
An otherwise inferior fighter with good high-speed roll rate can conceivably use this to get the VIII out-of-plane for either an overshoot or enough separation to escape, but if they are able to, I have screwed up somewhere. That move is just too easy to counter.
Roll-rate disadvantage to work with is better than no disadvantages to work with at all. I am trying very hard to not go in for perking the SpitVIII here, why are you trying so hard to convince me that *another* Spit should be perked?
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