K4 is easy mode vs. K4 is a symbol of courage

[Fox]

I compiled some data on the different planes a few years ago using Dokgonzo's website trying to get a better understanding of how the different planes compare.  There are lots of ways this can be done, but I simply rank ordered the planes from first to last in the categories of sea level speed, acceleration 150-200 mph, and full flaps turn radius.  I then multiplied the rank of the planes together to determine an overall rank.  This simplistic ranking shows the following, starting at number 1.  I don't know that this matches my perception of the best planes exactly, but was interesting.  Note that even though the planes are listed 1 through 15, many of them have nearly identical scores.


Tempest
La-7
Spit 14
F4U-4
Bf109K-4
Spit 16
Spit 8
La-5FN
FW 190D-9
A6M2
A6M5
Ki-84
Bf 109G-14
N1K2-J
F4U-1D

[Karnak]

Did you weight the values for their importance at all?  The fact that the A6M2 shows as your 10th most potent plane suggests you did not and that you omitted a lot of other characteristics.

[titanic3]

I really wouldn't consider the P-38J as a good perk farmer, unless 99% of your kills are late war birds like the P-51D, La7, FW190-D9, etc.  It's an average perk gaining plane in my opinion. 

ack-ack

Hmm, plenty of ammo and good qualities allows for lots of kills, which make up for it IMO. I suppose the Mossie is a nice perk farmer if you can find the right fight but once it's caught, it can't do the same things a 38 can do low and slow. At least for me anyways.

[Fox]

I didn't weight any of the categories, just rank ordered them.  Some of the planes are very one dimensional while others are more balanced.  The A6M shows so high because it was ranked 1 in the turn radius.  I made several different graphs using the same data with the 3 axis being the speed, acceleration, and turn radius.  The graphs show better how the planes compare.

[Spikes]

This argument has been going for a while. Personally I do not view the K4 as an easy-more plane...has a lot of torque that you must get used to and is a huge advantage once mastered. The 30mm is the main reason you don't see more of these IMO. It is one of the most capable fighters flight model wise, but lacks in the "easy mode armament" vs the likes of the 4-cannon birds and 2MG/2-cannon.
I could see the ENY being dropped a bit considering that once you learn the basics of the plane it never stops becoming better as you learn the characteristics.

[Gixer]

Spikes until you change your avatar, no one will ever hear a word you say. 


<S>...-Gixer

[Zacherof]

 And as a Luft jock, I rope ALL the time. One of my favorite moves. Why? Cause it's effective.

[Letalis]

Most new players have a hard time recognizing everything that can be done in the vertical dimension when in a pinch, that is why they seem to gravitate toward the Spits.  The K-4 is ugly, a "bad guy" plane, doesn't have a lot of ammo, doesn't have great gun ballistics and doesn't carry ord.  It is not "easy mode" for a "green" pilot.  A pilot with a little experience will easily recognize not only the obvious advantages the K-4 holds over most of the planeset, but how to use them. 

I respect K4s much more than Spit16s in the MA for the specific reason that someone flying the Spit to its full potential is about as common as getting struck by lightning, going against a K4, it's a roll of the dice.  On the fence about the ENY-is it possible that there's more to determining ENY than just air to air and air to ground?  What about less tangible factors like simply managing the types prevalence? 

The D-40 and F6F are fairly similar with many advantages going to the D-40, yet the F6F is 15ENY vs 20 for that Jug.  The F6F is available from a carrier however.  The 109G-2 and F-4 seems very overpowered to be 30ENY aircraft.  The Luft crowd gets an ENY break pretty much across to encourage diversity-not a bad reason.

In the end does this discussion matter in terms of gameplay?  If someone has been around long enough to master the K-4, good for them, they probably have no use for their perks either.
I'm closing on 4k fighter perks on this subscription and still don't have an F7F or F8F to burn them on...

[Tank-Ace]

I think many are over - estimating how easy it is to actually employ the skills needed to fly the K4 well. We're all pretty much vets here, and our personal perspective is almost certainly skewed quite heavily.

Many of the low-average pilots may...  no, probably... recognize the factors that go into flying the K4, but simply don't have them down because they aren't necessary to flying most other aircraft reasonably well.

And in my opinion, a plane isn't easy mode if you have to practice a specific skill set to use it effectively. It should be largely intuitive. For that reason, planes like the 190s, P-38, typhoon, and yes, the 109K, aren't easy mode. A new player will have trouble in them not because he is flying them poorly in the correct general manner, but because he is flying them in a manner not well suited to the aircraft.

[Zacherof]

Well put

[Pand]

I had never flown the K4 outside of one sortie here and there until last tour when I started flying it to knock out some LW achievements.  

Bottom line, it's an amazing aircraft.  After a few sorties to see how the 30mm flies compared to 50 cals, the 30mm is quite amazing and I started easily landing 4+ kills per sortie.  

Not worrying about score, I was flying this aircraft at a disadvantage almost the entire time--- upping from capped fields, engaging aircraft with 5-10K of alt above me...  All you have to do is get someone to slow down to match your speed, force the overshoot and shoot 'em in the poopshoot, or run them down if you miss.

I still haven't mastered the k4 flip; however, scoring with this aircraft in the MA is definitely easy mode.  Granted, 95% of the time I died, I was picked by that high P-51 or P-47 I didn't see.  The other 5% I was consistently schooled by people like Latrobe that are just plain amazing in it.  

Here are some numbers for a non-German iron ponyb dweeb actively flying a K4 for the first time:
   In tour 158, I went 229/82 averaging 2.76 K/D+1 (was running at 200 convergence on the 30mm -- oops)
   So far in tour 159, I am 59/17 averaging 3.27 K/D+1 (was able to increase my stats now that I've got the 30mm at 650 and can actually lead them  )

For those that haven't flown it... fly it straight for a week.  The best gunnery tip for 30mm I can give you is: Where you think you should aim to score a hit, at least double your lead or even triple it, based off your target's speed.   You won't be disappointed!  

Almost forgot... I'd much rather be in a K4 than my bravo with someone on my six, as it provides a lot more options, defensively and offensively.

[Debrody]

Yup, the K4 has everything but the dive ability to be highly successful - its just not easy to use its full capabilities.

Hey Pand, let me be a dyck 
You liked the K4 because its amazing - yes it is, but have you ever tryed a Spit? Liked it, no? Maybe it couldnt go - away?
Sorries, just had to : )
Anyways, seriously speaking, once i would like to see, what you can do. In a friendly way.

[BaldEagl]

The K-4 has so damn much power I fought an entire fight one day at 50-60% throttle never deviating from that and still didn't have problems going vertical when I needed to.  And it made turning against torque sooo much easier although it eliminated the snap roll that's so often so helpfull.

How much easier can you get?  It's a wicked awsome plane; a fine alternate to a Spirfire.

[Zacherof]

Bah! You can't fly a spit with honour! 
except the 14. Alot like the K4.

but pand, if I were to have my little brother hope on, he wouldn't be able to control this plane. He's like a week better than a 2 weeker. He likes your plane karnak

back to pand, I don't know ling you've been playing but you already KNOW how to fly and kinda what to expect. Transition comes easy for jocks like us

[save]

ENY is something that really should change for some planes.

Since I fly formation regularly with Bozon in his Mossie, being outperformed in ALL aspects but dive-speed, finding out Mossie has higher ENY than my hippo A8, you realize something is wrong.