I like setting up my own belts.

Heh, yeah I kinda figured :P

To be honest I think this is just tinkering around the edges because a perfectly historical loadout will not be matched by a perfectly historical damage model. The damage model possibilities are too complex.

Don't misunderstand me, I don't mind if preset ammo loadouts are forced on us for a special mission as long as they were historically accurate, along with the availablility of Spitfire types, 100 octane, numbers of 109 E[types], 'N' series engines etc., i.e. a carefully researched day of the battle. I think the ammo load would have to be a download from the server and some kind of autoselect of the downloaded "mission_user" file containing the ammo details for all the aircraft in the mission. That would mean everyone logged in and waiting to go to avoid game lags and a firmly shut door to late entrants. It would also mean some additional coding by the devs (did I just hear the idea hit the floor with a thud?)

Another poster has given us statements about RAF loadouts during the BoB, possibly from this website:
http://www.quarry.nildram.co.uk/BoB.htm
Even then there are two opinions for the use of DeWilde and the total loadout so the mission designer would have to decide precisely which battle day he was designing for. I think it will mean no "no tracer" loadouts though.

Meanwhile I will fly with my 4xAP, 2xDeWilde and 2xWhite Tracer (at least you know I'm behind you). I also don't understand why they bothered with plain Ball unless there was a supply (or cost?) issue.

Bottom line: given all the inevitable imperfections of a flight/combat sim I wouldn't want to see it on the every day servers.

I always take 100%

Maximum loiter time.

In a plane created in the mission (not in a spawn point), the ammo and fuel loads are locked to what the mission designer put on it. So if you want to fly a historic mission with historic ammo loads just make it coop style with all the planes already created in the mission.

There's no need to change anything.

Balls are actually quite nice in destroying control surfaces and from my pov, they are far more effective in this role than incendiaries. But when i see a default loadout, containing 90% ball (ok, might be exaggerated a bit) and i have to go against bombers, i question the wisdom of the developers, because quite frankly, crippling a bomber isn´t fun at all, especially with those sniper gunners. As far as i understand it, the loadout was actually suited to fit the missions need.