Sorak,
I usually spot an enemy AC before I take off on most occasions, let alone fly around looking for them. If you read the briefing, note where the spawning airfields are, read the radar messages etc., if you're taking more than 10-15 minutes to spot a contact (10-15 minutes happens to be around the time it takes to get some alt and go across the channel) then you need some glasses
. Btw, ghost dots don't show up on radar. So I usually only go after radar call outs to avoid them. Also, most people use coms for teamwork, spotting enemy etc. If you read the chat messages, you'll notice the screen is usually filled with deaths on both sides, constantly scrolling. This should be a huge hint that many people are finding the enemy on a regular basis
Noone is saying the game is working great. Quite the opposite. It's just for many of us, I guess with high end systems, that we've tweaked to get the most out of IL2COD, it's a very enjoyable experience even in it's buggy state. And because of the feeling of flight, the GFX, the immersion of flying around the huge channel map, it's quite fun.