Why not start with the 109 like the ones here from the il2 demo days... No other plane has that "big brute plane hanging in the prop" feeling like the 109 with the slats out and the stall warning screaming...

After mastering the 109 - the Ki-84 or the La-7 are nice all round late war dog fighters like mentioned earlier here...

The best fighter I flew is the Tempest (altought not being a pure fighter).
Great speed,good handling,nice armament.I like the Ki-61 too.

The F4U's on 25 or 50% fuel are pretty nice. They have decent turn rate and roll pretty well. Plus the F4U 1C has 4 cannons on it w/ enough ammo to sink the entire Japanese fleet. There is also teh Spitfire, any model gives a new meaning to turns on a dime b/c that plane has amazing turn radius, plus it has cannons =D

Just an observation but most SIM matches on BOP are generally set with limited fuel and ammo and there are no a/c icons or padlock features in sim mode.......(have to defend it as I like it!) Time to get me hat and coat me thinks.....:grin:

I suppose you have to ask yourself how do you like to fight.

Do you turn endlessly despite the aircrafts capabilities?

Do you never engage without significant height advantage, and fire only whilst diving, never turning?

Do you prefer sneak attacks or try to get head on shots hoping for the engine kill?

Is your gunnery to the point where you can line up cockpit shots without thinking, or do you prefer machine guns with their bigger ammo load supporting those low percentage long range shots?

Decide these things:

Where do I usually attack from?

Can I hit my target reliably?

Whats my country preference?

Do i like cannons or machine guns?

Do i fly looking rearward or prefer power to make sure things get smaller behind me rather than larger?

Once you've covered those general points, then you'll have a selection of aircraft that will do you well.

srsly...double post...now how did i do that?......

Lolz, the questions are there, I gotta awnser them haha.

Do I turn endlessly? yes....I turn all the time....even when I dont need to really...true story

I attack when I see an enemy....thought I do almost always attack from above....altitude is always a good advantage to have

I try to dive in from above and get on the 6 o clock, drill em and move on.

My gunnery is kinda shotty, mostly b/c the joystick ive got always goes down to the left....even after calibrating it. I prefer close range 0.27-0.10 range shots w/ cannons or 50 cals...thsoe give me the best results haha

I go for 6 o clock

i hit quite a bit, my gunnery is aight I guess

nation? idc what one it is just as long as the plane fits my box haha

20mm cannons, they have good ammo load and give pretty quick result if they hit. 50cals b/c they are easy to hit with and produce pretty effective results only after a litle bit of plinking away at the enemy.

30cals.....worst...guns...EVAR!!!
30-57mm cannons I dont care a whole lot for b/c they dont carry any ammo, kick like a mule resulting in you cant hit the broadside of a Battleship....Surely they are simply devastating and ive put that to good use a time or two but I usually miss b/c the big cannons also fire so slow and the planes fly so fast that they simply miss..one round goes in front of the plane the other right behind its tail and the plane is missed entirely.

At the end of the day the plane I have found I do the best in are the Spitfire.....its I guess a "noob plane" but I think its simply the bomb. It has decent speed, turns on a dime....the only thing I dont like about it is its armarment. Surely it has cannons but it has 4 30cal MGs that arent worth spit in a bucket.
I have also wrecked me many a bot in the P40 M42, that planes is actually quite nice, turns well has good armarment but doesnt climb worth a hoot and its overall kinda slow...
the newest addition is the F4U 1C or 1D on 25 or 50% fuel loads. The 1c is like simply beautiful, its got the firepower I always dreamt of, 4 20mms and a boat load of ammo and with the lower fuel load its only slightly worse in turning and such as the P40. Its pretty bloody fast and it handles extremely well at low speeds 190-220KPH and its a breeze to land. One thing I hate about it is that black cap that is over the top of the cockpit right where you would be looking to check your six....cant see a hot-diggety-dog gone thing one my six in that plane... however, All in all I quite like it...the Only Navy planes ive grown to like at all.

I'm amazed about the fact that noone mentioned Yak-3 and J2M, the best two dogfighters in the sim in my humble opinion.

Mi favourite dogfighters in game are the FW190D9 and FW190A8. Ta152C was better than these previous planes in reality, but not in the sim, is completelly underpowered.

Just fight over 6K and this two beauties are doomed.

Gunkan, the J2M5 is as fast as P47 and p51 at alts above 6000m(or so). ;)

Compared to late war American and German fighters, the Jak-3 is too slow and too limited to low and medium alts, starts to lose engine power quickly after 4000m. J2M to high alts only... Personally I find the VK107 powered Jak-9U much better, ahead of La-7, but still behind P51, P47 and late FW190s.