Well since the OP I've become much more familiar with the 109. My conclusion is that if you are careful to fly the 109 the way it is meant to be used you are close to untouchable with the current models. Slow, gentle turns to avoid bleeding energy and extending away feature heavily. Want to turn and burn? Fly a G.50 or fly red. Just don't even bother turning with red - even a half decent pilot will have you.
I was in a furball with three reds earlier and by carefully timing my dives into the fray I was able to boom and zoom effectively over about 20 minutes. Good,solid hits on them but I'm still getting used to the 109 gunnery which seems to behave differently to the red. 303s in terms of velocity and therefore lead shooting. Or maybe I'm just rubbish! (Which leads me to another question: why is the Hurri so fragile when I am being shot at and so strong when I am shooting at it?)
The only danger is that the current top level speed of the Hurri and 109 seem quite close if the Hurri is well trimmed. If you find yourself co-E with one down low then you are in strife. He might not catch you but you might not get away fast enough.
Most red pilots who are engaged in a furball will turn back when you extend away, often sharply which further reduces their energy. That is the signal to climb again in a slow turn, rinse and repeat the dive. And that cannon!
I only got into trouble twice today: once when I sacrificed my advantage to draw a spit away from our bomber (I was neatly shot down) and once when I made a mistake with the prop pitch on extension (wrong direction ahem...) and a Hurri gained on me rapidly. I was already on the deck so I tried the solution described above and braked hard into a turn. The red pilot saw it but was too late to stop an overshoot so rammed me instead.
Great fun but I must admit to still being red unless the server is uneven! And I wish the 109 had rudder trim.
|