PS3: Favorite and best settings Sim/realistic..What really works???
 

This may be in an old thread, but I was not able to find it. We all seem to know which aircraft fly and turn better than others. You can go to the library and get a book on good aireal tactics. But what really works in the vitual sky??? Use this as an avenue to list your favorite two or three aircraft and what you percieve to be the best settings "through experience" (Simulator and Realistic). As some of the aircraft are tough to fly this will give newer virtual fliers a good place to start when graduating to Realistic and Simulator Modes. The elevator and aileron settings you provide will keep newer players more competative and active in the online game.

I think this can apply to those on xbox as well. AFIK the Mustang is the only plane that is different and that is only if you don't customise your controls.

I will give my setting on an unmodded P-51D. Aileron maximum (as it is with all aircraft, you don't want to slow your roll rate). Elevator setting one bar above half way in Sim, or half way for Realistic. Use boom & zoom tactics, stay fast. The Mustang loses energy easily in turns and doesn't acelerate well in level flight so if you want to change direction it is better to do a large high speed turn rather than a hard turn losing most of your speed and then using engine power to regain it. If you do need to pull a hard turn try to gain as much altitude as you can in the turn so you can dive and pick up speed after the turn as the Mustang gains very good speed in a dive (in sim use combat flaps only in a hard turn and then retract them as you straighten out) . You can use the Mustangs stalling characteristic well in a evasive manuvere. If you are getting chased very closely use can zero the throttle, pull hard down on the stick with rudder full down and go into an instant spin that also slows the plane almost instantly. If you use this at the right moment the enemy will probably overshoot over the top. It has to be a supprise thing though, if the enemy is further behind you will just give him a nice falling leaf target.

To start off La5 full airelons full elevators and competitive with all other fighter aircraft commonly used.
Because i got my original post all wrong i find myself agreeing with winny use the training mode to find the sensitivities you are comfortable with.
My three favourite aircraft 109 k4, La7 and hurricane mkII all for very different reasons.

Play about with sensitivity in training. I, unlike most, will knock some sensitivity off the Ailerons on some of the twitchier stuff - Fw's, P51-D just makes them a little more forgiving.

The only bit of other advice I'd give is to fly a training mission and try not to get the stall warning, it helped me get to grips with keeping things smooth in sim especially.

I love playing offline in realistic with no hud, cockpit view (if it's got one) and only using the target camera to have a quick look at them, then back to forward view for the shooting. It makes for a nice halfway house.