How do you fly...
 

a 109G-2? I'm one of the Spitdweebs for sure, but the 109 is my second-best fighter and I would like to earn a 109K.

I'm going to put down my Spitfire II (which really feels like a Vb) to try and get myself the 109K, the single best performing piston-engine fighter of WWII, albeit not very maneuverable.

If anyone's got good E-fighting or BnZ tactics for th 109 in this game, I'd appreciate it. I think the G-2 has the best overall balance of performance of the 109s I've got so far so I'm going to try it.

I don't find any of the 109's in BoP that much faster or manoeuvrable than the G6 and none of them can compete with it's firepower.

Ah so I should try the 109G6 then?

In the war the G6 really was just a more heavily-armed 109G2. But if it's better in this game, then hey, I'll be glad to fly it.

EDIT: I checked Wildar's performance charts and it seems it performs a little worse than the G2. I'll still give it a shot though.

I find the 109F turns WAY quicker then the 109G-6. The G-6's guns are a bit overkill I think, thats why I prefer not to use it. You don't really have to aim acurately, epspecialy if its unlimited ammo.

I'm sure David (the 109 know-it-all in a VERY good way) will stumble upon this, and tell us all about it. But for the time, I agree with Pope. the F4 is my favorite in BoP as well. Not as power punching as the G6, but it's A LOT more stable than the G6, and turns much better from what I've experienced with it.

(Note: The F series of 109s is my personal all time favorite. The G2, would be my last because they were just too heavy afterwards.)

If you are flying in arcade, everyone there uses the g-6. EVERYONE. If someone is not using it, they are a rookie and WILL use it as soon as they compare those guns to another model. Sim guys don't usually play arcade so their attitude may be different. You can't compare planes behavior in the 2 modes. I used it myself to earn the K, which I was very proud of! I wouldn't say it has overkill on the guns, though. Everything in arcade is faster than the other 2 modes and stalling (except the 51 and 190, still) is nonexistant. Its hard to keep the tit on target using the stock controller. You fill the sky with lead and don't hit a damn thing. The longer you chase someone trying for that fatal shot, you are only a target for the opponenet behind you, who will nail you any second. The more firepower you can put on target in just a second or 2 makes all the difference. Sim is different, but in arcade it's the G6 hands down. EVERYONE cannot be wrong.

The G2 is the best of the 109s for dogfighting on Sim.

Thanks guys.

Yes, in IL-2 1946 and Aces High II, I was almost untouchable in the Spitfire VIII and 109F4. Historically, the 109F4 was considered the best 109 of all the series, but of course the lightest armed.

I haven't yet tried the G2 online, but the F seems like a good choice, since it always was in other games. However, comparing the differences in its performance versus the much-used Spitfire IX could be a problem due to its similar turn rate, top speed and climb.

The f handles much better than the later ones because it is lighter = lower wing loading.

I came across some of the data from the pc version, and the 109f is very close to the la5 in that one.

In particular, its corner speed (where it gets max degrees/s) is just a little higher than la5's, at about 370kph. where it does about 33 degrees/s but bleeds energy heavily. The sustained turn curve is better than la5 between about 380 to 450, and worse elsewhere.

BOP is undoubtedly less accurate, since most of the planes can easily sustain level turns under 19 seconds, but I bet you'll get better results with a 109f if you keep it between 400-450. Fight the energy fight. Takes longer to get kills of course, but takes longer to die too.

I've set the 109f elevator at 4 notches below top and it remained pretty stable. Rolls good, too.

Just so you know, the patch awards the K4 for one online win with any plane. Ta152 also.

I fought Edal just a couple mins ago in a 109F.

Wow was that fun! He pretty much owned me, but not before I got a couple of kills myself :-P Though, the 109F is really different from my Spitfire II. I was really working the throttle, trying to get to corner velocity as fast as possible. The 109 handles like a truck at low speeds... very much the opposite of a Spitfire.

Good fights Edal, sorry for the constant crashing; I'm really not used to the 109 yet. At one point, my throttle wasn't even functioning. It must've been a glitch because my flaps weren't moving, and the throttle stayed at 0%, but my engine was fine.

In real life, the Spitfire MkIX and 109F4 wouldn't have been such a bad match up against one another. I think I'll have to try that later in BoP! :D

Does anyone use combat flaps with a spitfire in BoP? I do not remember having them in 1946!

in sim and realistic mode i looove the k-4. no other plane can follow me after a znb attack. they tried it so often and waste a lot of ammo. its my choice when i attack. bad, when my engine was damaged. then im a sitting duck for the spits and hurris. ^^

StingerSix, Indeed, the 109K4 was the best performing 109 available.
In WWII, though, they came so late that some of them had wooden parts, while some 109G's were built from recycled 109 parts.

The only shortcoming of the plane is its maneuverability and range. Not that it matters in a dogfight. That's why I want it! Didn't know it was so easy to unlock post-patch.

FilthyPrick,

That's because the Spitfire never really had combat flaps and neither did the Hurricane. Both aircraft were fitted with flaps that were set either up or down, and could not be set in between. In BoP, we have the option simply because it makes it easier for everyone. Same goes with the WEP option for the 262 and the 163. How can you have WEP on a jet or rocket engine? Makes no sense, but we've got it. Plus, there's no reason why a Spitfire couldn't use flaps in combat at very low speeds. The pilot's manual states that the flaps can be used under 180 mph. I'd like it if they allowed the flaps to be set only for landing or up in this game for the Spit/Hurri.

Does anyone know if the landing flap configuration offers more lift in BoP than the combat flap config?

I use them all the time, and when I switch to realistic I have real trouble with stalling because I can't control them.

And Spitfire know-it-all, you forgot that:-P

Seriously though, good to see you around again, long time no see/speak:)

Anyway, about the 109's. The F4 is the most agile, and like all 109s its fast and a good climber, well suited to Boom-n-Zoom tactics for an early war plane but it is slower than more commonly flown aircraft like the La's, late model Spitfires and the Yak-3. Gun armament is light but all the guns are mounted on the centreline so they are easy to shoot accurately.

The G2 is a great plane. It is heavier than the F4 but not by much, so it is still agile, and there is a sizable improvement in speed and climb rate, so if you want to BnZ the G2 is a better plane than the F4 while still being competative in a turning fight, which the later 109s aren't.

The G6 is the worst 109 to fly, but has a whole load of firepower, so some people will use it as a BnZ fighter, but since it is no faster than the F4 you would be flying a plane that is slower, turns worse and climbs worse than the La's/Spit's/Yak's used by most players, so this is not a good choice.

The G10 is fast, has a good armament and is reasonably manoeuverable, again well suited to BnZ but not the best for turning fights. Not really very good when flown low down amongst fighters that have a similar top speed and are more agile.

The K4 is the best BnZ fighter in the game, very quick, very powerful armament, and a great climb rate, but the turning circle is poor. However, since Blackouts/Redouts have been introduced via patch to the PS3 version and made constant turning dogfights harder it will be very competative in Sim mode, though 360 players like myself will find these tactics harder to use.

Long story short, F4 or G2 for turn fights, K4 for BnZ and steer clear of the E3, G6 and G10.

Regards

Thanks, everyone.

Indeed, David, it seems even thought the planes in this game have that touch of arcadey-ness, they more or less follow the trend of both IL-2:1946 and AHII. There's really no point in flying the G6, because like mentioned, it's an up-gunned G2.

I think I was always successful in the F4, G2 and untouchable in the K4 in AHII, so I'll try them out. Though, the K4 really shouldn't have two 20mm cannon.

I'll do some testing soon to see whether the combat flaps have less lift than the landing flaps. I would assume so, as someone on these forums stated that the landing flaps do indeed jam at high speed, suggesting that they do have extra deflection.

agreed.
the k-4 should have 2x30mm cannons... ^^

Stalling speed with the landing flaps is a whole lot lower than with the combat flaps. In sim if I get a dead engine I sometimes drop the undercarrige just so I can use the landing flaps to hang in the air for longer. The times when Ive crashed while I had my landing flaps ingaged, and then respawned with them stuck on though completly destroys your capacity to fight though thanks to the huge drag.
If you look at the wings while in cockpit view and change from no flaps to combat flaps you can see how little the flap acually moves. Then watch the flaps go from none to landing and the whole thing drops down.

I guess I never noticed because the Spitfire's flaps are split flaps and aren't visible from the cockpit. Actual Spitfires had little hinged tabs behind the 20mm cannon bay which would fold up towards the cockpit when the flaps went down to let the pilot know.

Plus, Spits didn't have a combat setting. But that's cool, it's good to know. I may be using that setting for stall turns now.

Combat flaps also jam when I respawn with them on, forget and dive for the deck :(

Yup damn anoying bug that. I'm always affraid to use my landing flaps in CTA games because they will get stuck if i'm bombed on.

the danger of being bombed has trained my reflexes to raise the flaps right away as soon as I'm on the ground. It's now the first thing I think of, except for braking.

but the flaps getting stuck from high speed is a great patch addition. It's what should happen.

The gear should also be damaged from too much speed or g's, but I haven't seen it happen yet

sometimes I can get rid of the crash-to-stuck-flaps bug by lowering and raising the gear