Newb

[AndyJWest]

I think you'll like the IL-2 P-38, kjwright. Handled properly, it is a killer in the air, and at ground attack too. You won't be able to turn fight with it, particularly at low altitude, so you need to learn 'zoom and boom' tactics. The contrarotating props make handling easy, as does the trike undercarriage. It handles pretty well on one engine too. About the only thing that catches people out is it's high-speed dive characteristics - fly too fast and you'll never pull out - just like the real thing...

If you only ever fly the P-38, expect an unpleasant surprise if you eventually try something with only one prop: IL-2 models torque and gyroscopic effects more realistically than most sims, and this takes getting used to.

I'll see if I can find any handling notes for the P-38, for you, but a couple of suggestions to start with:

(A) Don't carry more fuel than you need - it handles better at low weight, like any fighter.

(b) The P-38 J VNE is 820 Km/h (indicated airspeed), P-38 L is 880 Km/h. Dive any faster and you are almost certainly going to have something nasty happen, very soon. In practice this means that you should start to pull out/throttle back well before you reach these speed. The P-38 L has a dive recovery brake, which helps, but you then risk blackout - IL-2 models that too.