What Aircraft has the best...
 

which aircraft in IL2 is the best? now before you stop me i know there are too many variables. so i will break it down what is the best Dog Fighter for

Arcade

Realistic

Simulation

what 3 aircraft have the highest all around superiority for each of those level's. im sure every one has a favority but this should be nice. and really helpful information for people like me, who dont really play Simulation but if i did id know what to look for.

I only play realistic....BF 109 is my favorite.....

But the IL-2 is the best...its utterly indestructable.

In the game its the best fighter, but its not even a fighter!

Arcade= Doesn't matter what you fly, all fighters are equal in all respects.

Realistic= Yak-3, La-5FN, I-16

Simulator= Yak-3, La-5FN, I-16

Why? Because the Yak-3 is fast, nimble and light, along with the La-5FN. And the I-16 is a great little TnB fighter.

You seem to have the same amount of bias as the game has. Oh well.

Most people i encounter use the spitfire. But the specs of the game are skewed towards the Russian planes. The only drawback for them is firepower.

i have a question, i beat the game on arcade mode. and each time i would fly in a new aircraft i could realyl feel the difference. especially when i got to sit in the Spitfire mark IX, i was shocked at how well i could just take out the NPC, and then it stuck me in the P-51D and i felt like i had some kind of turtle with wings.

now i was playing singple player arcade. does online arcade have a different effect on flight physics?? i have not played enough to really know. i only went online a handful of times. i been busy latley.

Well being a Soviet Ace, I have to be biased. They're all I fly, and have flown in 1946 and others. I have flown other planes, but those are what I most enjoy.

Are you ever going to give up your PSN? :)

Oh well, nobody is perfect.

Arcade: Take one of the turn fighters (Yak-3, La-5, I-16, I-153, Spit). Everybody can accelerate to Mach 1 so, take a fighter with a ridiculous turn advantage.

Realistic: Turn fighters still tend to dominate, but the less maneuverable actually stand a chance of winning now and then. Most common I run into are Spit IX, Spit XVI (for turning ability), and Bf-109G-6 (for firepower).

Simulator: Now things are pretty up for grabs. More depends on eyesight/ability to use the confounded right thumbstick to see the other guy before he sees you. I've only played one round, but me and my wingman were both in Bf-109F-4s. I only bagged two - a Spit and an I-16 - but my wingie got 9 kills. Also, flaps can be deployed to tighten your turn radius, hence how I got my I-16. My Spitfire was a lot more cooperative and just flew straight and level while I lined up a shot, not realizing I was there.

Exactly. No matter what fighter you use in Sim because what it is important to be an ace, is mostly being able to spot your enemy without loosing track of him, and shaking him using disorientation tactics.

For me I would say, those are the best :
Spit IX
Yak 3
LA 5

EDIT: This is why big planes such as IL2 are easy to take down in Sim, because they are slow and easy to spot. Try to find a small fighter with your gunner position. it is really hard. That is why it is important to fire a the last moment to avoid giving your position and direction when attacking a bomber.

LA-7 gets no love?? :( i see it as one of the best planes to go against the XVI :o

no disrespect to ANYONE that has posted in here, thats the last thing i want so before you read my reply, please dont take it to heart as it is NOT a personnal attack on anyone what so ever and its not meant to sound as if it is......



To the poster -

do not listen to what you are told about which is the best plane to use, as you have been told to use the 109 which is superb at boom and zoom and the guy who told you may very well be excellent at this tactic, YOU on the other hand may not be so good.

You have ben told by our local ruski enthusiast who adores anything dirty and ruski (like that? lol) to use the various ruski planes because they are good for what HE does. You may struggle with them and stall or spin etc.

At the end of the day its about what YOU feel comfortable with. Keep flying, try different planes and techniques out and as time goes on you'll find a particular aircraft you prefer to others because "it just feels right to fly for you"

much like the ruski likes his ruski crates because he knows how to use them and he feels comfortable with them, he is one with the plane,

same as the guy who likes the 109.... the boom and zoom works for him, he's got his angle of attack and his plane to fly the way he likes. He's also comfortable with it.

Its upto you to find the best one to suit your needs and yor style of play :) it wont take long at all i can assure you.

Good luck in finding it :D

Thumbs up

One of the first times I chose a LA7 I sucked with it and got owned by a spit. Next match I went back to my spit and owned the same guy with the plane he had previously beat me with.

I for one don't care for the reticule of the Russian planes the lines are to thick and when you get your crosshairs over the target the reticule blots out their plane. My favorite reticule is the spitfire IX but I still love to fly the yak3.

FOZ is right, some planes are better than others in some aspects, but what makes a plane 'the best', is you.

soviet says the yak-3 is the best, well I fly spit and I never have any trouble against them.
Mattman says the 109 is the best, I think they are easy meat.

It is all about the pilot, you can only say 'this plane is better than that one' if you tried them both, and it is only true for you.

I have not seen many people calling the spit 'the best', but for me it is. why? because im at my best in a spit.

i second that. The spit is also the best for me, because i know how to fly her and i feel safe in her :) the IX or the XVI, depends on what im up against but 9 times out of 10 its the spit i will take, but not because its the best plane (i have no idea which is or how you could tell) but because i know how to fly it :D

HAHAHAHA.
Sorry, I apologise for my first impression of this post. It is, in fact, ridiculous. The best (and almost only) way of being able to kill people, is to be shot at. If you just ignore it, it can hardly do a thing.
I know it's hard to believe, but I do mean this without offense: Being killed by an IL-2, or any other bomber for that matter, is 90% of the time your own stupid fault.

Back to topic: I love both the Spit IX and the La-7. Have flown the Yak-3, but didn't really like it for some reason.. But, as earlier comments stated, experiment, try everything (with different elev. sensitivities!) and make your own choice. This will give the best results. All the different answers you got are just the evidence to prove this statement.

should just follow Hartmann tactics, get in close, open fire at a very close range, normally, my tactics is just to get in behind them from below, till like .40-.30 then let loose the guns, its best to fire when you feel confident that you will hit the guy, dont fire wastefully. atleast thats what i do for Sim flight lol.

my favourites r the LA7 and spit ix i love tnb fighters

A little off topic here but can you guys tell me about any differences you may have noticed between the Spit mkII and IX? I got the game late and haven't had much time to play so I'm wondering if I should focus on my fave the 109 line (although I REALLY need a cockpit!!!) or the Spit line, the mkII seems nice so far but how does it stack up against its younger brother?

The Spit IX is my plane of choice but I also like the rear visibility you get in the LA 7. Each to their own, fly which ever you feel most comfortable in.

You proved your point when you flew against me anyway. Longest 10 minutes I've played on this game.

Yes, you should get used to what you're flying and fly what you do best in. However, I don't think its unfair to say that even an inexperienced player can pick up any Spitfire and find success more easily than most other aircraft. If all else fails, tuck the stick in your lap and wait for a shot. Haven't flown it against every opponent, but so far it has out-turned everything except other Spitfires (though, there's ways around that, too). And what it can't out-turn, it can most likely outrun.

haha what was your nick? you sure gave me one hell of a fight man :D

Roberts333, I hardly got the chance to shoot, you were bloody invisible

haha i always try and keep an eye on you, normally i will just turn and turn and turn till you do a loop thats where i normally attack :D

hahaha, good stuff

Dont listen to FOZ, 1983 wasnt exactly a vintage year for advice.

lol im only joking, what he says is exactly right, just experiment around and find what you like...i started flying the BF109G6, but didnt like its handling charecteristics, then switched to the YAK3 but thought it was a bit underpowered but handled fantasticaly [best handling plane IMO], and now im looking for a comfortable medium. Like an X-Wing.

AH.... you see i was more of a Y-WING fan myself ;)


But in all seriousness i know what your saying. I used the 109G6 for a while so i could unlock the K4 (100 kills online with the 109 series) and i found the tactics needed were not suitable for my style of play. The whole "boom n zoom" wasnt really my style, i like to get on someones 6 and stay their..... the spit i like for this :D i found the lag to be a little "bulky" and the yak to just not "feel right" if i could just upgrade that hurricane to give it some more speed................................

Y-Wing? Are you crazy fool?!? I mean sure they looked sweet but the B-Wing tottaly pwned them.

Oh god please microsoft PLEASE X-Wing Vs Tie Fighter as dlc...

good job the B-WING and Y-WING never fought each other then ;)

but the Y-WING got pawned by most (if my star wars memory serves me well)



but its all about personnal choice :D

the y-wing looks good and suites my style, ground pounding though capable of getting into a furball if needed.

Y-WING i would compare to a HAWKER TYPHOON or IL2


great at attacking ground targets, enough armour and can fight aerial threats if needed (though not aswell as fighters).


my star wars knowledge is minimal though at best lol.

Mine extends to the old star wars space sims lol...and KOTOR...

I can only comment from my POV but;

Arcade - Anything but the jets, they cannot turn with the piston planes, but the piston planes can match them on speed.

Realistic - My choice is contraversial, but I prefer the ME-163C. Its fast nimble, small, hard to hit and with some fancy throttle control can turn with all but the slower YAK and Hurricanes.

Its only down side is its lack of stopping power, but in my mind its a reasonable trade off against all the plus points.

Sim - No idea, I haven't unlocked it.