LA-7 love/hate relationship

[gbtstr]

Hey if the Jug was as ridiculous as the Russian planes (and was the Razorback version - cause they're just so damn sexy) you could have your overpowered yaks, etc. and I wouldn't care.

[Lost Apiarist]

To be honest I don't think i am buying the overpowered Russian planes argument. If that was the case then there would be a LOT more people using them. Fact is 8/10 times I won't see any Russian planes in the online realistic matches I have been playing. It is human nature to try and get an edge, go for the advantage....and people simply aren't doing that when it comes to these planes.

This is by no means an argument to make excuses for my piss poor flying skills lol. Just an observation.

[Robotic Pope]

Originally Posted by Lost Apiarist

To be honest I don't think i am buying the overpowered Russian planes argument. If that was the case then there would be a LOT more people using them. Fact is 8/10 times I won't see any Russian planes in the online realistic matches I have been playing. It is human nature to try and get an edge, go for the advantage....and people simply aren't doing that when it comes to these planes.

This is by no means an argument to make excuses for my piss poor flying skills lol. Just an observation.

Well the one thing that Spitfires and 109G6/k4's have that the rusian planes don't is the huge bullet sprayability. In a hectic realistic dogfight you need to take down your enemy quick before you get spawned on, so one tactic that is often used is just chuck as much bullet into the air as possible with minimul aiming (this is also a tactic that is best against mini lag as with that much gunfire there is no way every bullet will miss). The La is more like a scalpel, compared to the spitIX/109G6 fire hose. The La.7 is the king in sim were you have more time to aim. I have a feeling that the combat flaps are very effective on the la's and give it an extra turning boost over the spitfireiX in sim

[Lexandro]

Originally Posted by Robotic Pope

Well the one thing that Spitfires and 109G6/k4's have that the rusian planes don't is the huge bullet sprayability. In a hectic realistic dogfight you need to take down your enemy quick before you get spawned on, so one tactic that is often used is just chuck as much bullet into the air as possible with minimul aiming (this is also a tactic that is best against mini lag as with that much gunfire there is no way every bullet will miss). The La is more like a scalpel, compared to the spitIX/109G6 fire hose. The La.7 is the king in sim were you have more time to aim. I have a feeling that the combat flaps are very effective on the la's and give it an extra turning boost over the spitfireiX in sim

Thats exactly my feeling about the LA-7. It handles brilliantly, but the cannons are very difficult for me to get on target properly. The lack of sprayability hampers me online, where as the the various spit's have the MG's for making a "wall of bullets" that I can be sure will hit the target. The cannons of the spit I find to be much easier to aim primarily thanks to the MG's and being able to "see" roughly where your rounds are going to hit, giving improved accuracy.

If it had been commisioned with even a pair of wing mounted MG's, It would be up there as one of my first choice aircraft.

[ButcherBird]

Originally Posted by Lost Apiarist

To be honest I don't think i am buying the overpowered Russian planes argument. If that was the case then there would be a LOT more people using them. Fact is 8/10 times I won't see any Russian planes in the online realistic matches I have been playing. It is human nature to try and get an edge, go for the advantage....and people simply aren't doing that when it comes to these planes.

This is by no means an argument to make excuses for my piss poor flying skills lol. Just an observation.

no one flies the russian planes because they dont mean much to people in western europe and U.S.

i dont fly the best plane when i play...i fly the planes that interest me. That means i'll fly the butchered P-51 and P-47 as well as the bf109 and FW190's. If i want a plane that can actually dogfight, then i'll play with a hurricane or spit. I'm a really big history buff, but i honestly dont own one book that concentrates on the russian military and if it does mention the russians, its more from the german perspective.

[Soviet Ace]

Originally Posted by ButcherBird

no one flies the russian planes because they dont mean much to people in western europe and U.S.

i dont fly the best plane when i play...i fly the planes that interest me. That means i'll fly the butchered P-51 and P-47 as well as the bf109 and FW190's. If i want a plane that can actually dogfight, then i'll play with a hurricane or spit. I'm a really big history buff, but i honestly dont own one book that concentrates on the russian military and if it does mention the russians, its more from the german perspective.

Ok, first off: Check my sig. That's one of the first you NEED to get. (I love it so much, it's almost like a baby to me. )

Second here's my own personal list.

Check 1
Check 2
Check 3
Check 4
Check 5
Check 6
Check 7
Check 8
Check 9
Check 10

There's some others too, that I have, but I can't find them on Amazon or anywhere else; but these will do to get you into the know how. (This is for anyone interested, not just ButcherBird.)

[ButcherBird]

Originally Posted by Soviet Ace

Ok, first off: Check my sig. That's one of the first you NEED to get. (I love it so much, it's almost like a baby to me. )

Second here's my own personal list.

Check 1
Check 2
Check 3
Check 4
Check 5
Check 6
Check 7
Check 8
Check 9
Check 10

There's some others too, that I have, but I can't find them on Amazon or anywhere else; but these will do to get you into the know how. (This is for anyone interested, not just ButcherBird.)

Thanks, i appreciate the advice on good books. I'll definitely start looking to pick some of those up...I seriously consume a good military history book in record time. Really would like to learn more about russian aircraft so that i can develop a historical appreciation for them...

I really wasnt meaning to be a prick by saying that i didnt care about russian planes, but its just because i havent had good books or opportunities to learn about them.

Thanks

[Lost Apiarist]

Ditto on sharing the great list of books. So you would recommend the Osprey series of books over the Red star series?

I have read a lot of Eastern front WW II literature. It is so fascinating to me, the scale of the battles, destruction and loss of life was so massive it doesn't even compare to the battles that the were fought in the west and south. That being said I haven't read a whole lot on the aviation aspect of these titanic struggles, only in context of larger battles. I would definitely recommend "Ivan's War: Life and Death in the Red Army, 1939-1945" as a great read and not far behind that Stalingrad by Anthony Beevor. Also A Writer at War: A Soviet Journalist with the Red Army, 1941-1945 By Vasily Grossman is great, he is kind of the Ernie Pyle of the Eastern front.

[Soviet Ace]

Originally Posted by ButcherBird

Thanks, i appreciate the advice on good books. I'll definitely start looking to pick some of those up...I seriously consume a good military history book in record time. Really would like to learn more about russian aircraft so that i can develop a historical appreciation for them...

I really wasnt meaning to be a prick by saying that i didnt care about russian planes, but its just because i havent had good books or opportunities to learn about them.

Thanks

Don't worry, no offense was taken. Just support was all I was giving.

Originally Posted by Lost Apiarist

Ditto on sharing the great list of books. So you would recommend the Osprey series of books over the Red star series?

I have read a lot of Eastern front WW II literature. It is so fascinating to me, the scale of the battles, destruction and loss of life was so massive it doesn't even compare to the battles that the were fought in the west and south. That being said I haven't read a whole lot on the aviation aspect of these titanic struggles, only in context of larger battles. I would definitely recommend "Ivan's War: Life and Death in the Red Army, 1939-1945" as a great read and not far behind that Stalingrad by Anthony Beevor. Also A Writer at War: A Soviet Journalist with the Red Army, 1941-1945 By Vasily Grossman is great, he is kind of the Ernie Pyle of the Eastern front.

Yes, Stalingrad is a very interesting book. There are others, but I'm too lazy at the moment to leave my seat and go rummage through them and name off dozens more. lol

But to answer your question. It depends. The Osprey series I gave are good in their own right, as they give you information on particular areas that the Yaks, La's, etc. fought over and give you some information about the pilots and such who flew them. But if you're more interested in understanding the planes, than the Red Star series is really great. It gives you the history, and statistics, etc. needed to understand the planes and see what's what with them all.