noob here

[JRock]

just a few questions... i start off at the first american mission at pearl harbor, and my squadron mate flies sooooo much faster than me and gains altitude amazingly fast. i know how to raise my gear and my flaps, but is there some other trick that i'm missing? i read all of the pdfs that came with the game but everytime i try to gain altitude my engine overheats and i'm screwed. any help would be appreciated. tia