Yak-3 in Marcel's view

[wannabetheace]

"Marcel had the opportunity to fly the American P-51 and the P-47. In comparing these allied aircraft with the Yak, he clearly said that the Yak was a superior aircraft. When Marcel flew for the RAF flying the Spitfire, he was not impressed with the English aircraft at all. " http://aviationartstore.com/albert_2.htm

I think that if Yak used Merlin engie from Great Britain like P51-D it would be the best fighter. P51 mustang was upgraded it's frame and used Merlin engine to get impressive speed. If Yak was upgraded it's frame and used powerful Merlin egnine no other fighter would touch it. Because it's more agile than P51-D. yak with different engine

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AN1-5BP0xSU

[IceFire]

Its pretty common for a distinguished pilot in one type to favour that and all of its quirks over another type no matter how good it is. Combat pilots are often the most biased when it comes to comparing types. Test pilots, the ones who spend a bit of time in each type, tend to have a slightly more objective view on what type is overall better and in what respects. There are, for instance, no shortage of Spitfire, Mustang, and Thunderbolt Ace pilots who considered their mount superior to all others.

I'm a pretty big fan of the Yak series. I knew nothing of it until IL-2 and I now consider it amongst my favourites of various single engine fighters but the Yak is not everything. The Yak-3 is particularly superb but it has short range, limited ability for expansion of equipment/armament, and although the structure was relatively strong the plane did not take well to battle damage.

With a Merlin inside it would be interesting to see what it did to it. In its basic configuration it was great at low altitudes but not nearly as good at medium and higher altitudes where planes like the Spitfire and Mustang tend to reign supreme.

However, there is no question in my mind that the Yak-3 is probably the best low level pure fighter of WWII. The are other types that I would also consider superior at low and high altitudes but with greater capability. Its always the details that really matter and thats hard to capture with a single quote from a single Ace. Interesthing as it may be.

[crucislancer]

That youtube link was awesome. Thanks for posting that.

BTW, "White 100" is featured in the May/June issue of Warbirds International magazine, which also has another Russian favorite on the cover, the P-39.

Like IceFire, I didn't know about the Yakovlev fighters until I started playing IL-2, but they are one of my favorites now.

[ElAurens]

Really nice footage there.

I don't get the chance to fly the Yak 3 much anymore, as there are fewer and fewer Eastern Front scenarios online these days, but it will always remain one of my favorite aircraft in the sim, and in real life.

[SG1_Gunkan]

WW2 teach us something:

- Powerfull engines
- Mounted over strong frames
- With good armament and several armament options
- Speed as the main factor
- Easy operation engine
- Good visibility
- Long range of operation
- Several roles
- Good dive speed
- Good high speed handling

And that's was the way to go.

In WW1 they stated clearly: "the most important factor for a plane is to be fast". The german and USA way to go.

[wannabetheace]

Well, I'm very impressed with this movie made by JAFA.
Here is the url:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3naO5...eature=related

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