Newb

[Borsch]

Originally Posted by kjwright

Favorite planes. p38, p47, p51, HellCat, Hurricane, Tempest, Spitfire, Corsair, Fw190, BF109, Also big fan of p61 black widow and the A20/B25's set up for anti-shipping and ground attack

All of them apart from p61 are present in IL2 and I love to fly them too P39 Airacobra, LA5fn, Il2, Zero, Me-262 Shwalbe, Yak9, I16, Bf110, Ju 87 are my other favs. But, the beauty of Il2 is that eventually people try out missions/campaigns for lesser known craft like Fokker XXI, Gladiator, Buffalo etc etc etc - they are all great fun in Il2! PLus, even the "big names" have lots of variants represented and look and feel different to each other - the number of planes is almost a distraction in IL2

[KnightFandragon]

The P38 is a fun fighter and is over all my favorite Fighter mainly for its looks. ive tried to fly it a few times to dogfight bots....I suck w/ that thing haha. Its a good Anti Bomber plane, but for me ground attack usually ends up in the only thing exploding on the ground is me =P

[Tempest123]

I've flown the il2 p-38 quite a bit, it is great flying aircraft in il2. Very stable, gun range is very good due to them being mounted on the nose, can make very long distance shots because of the lack of convergence. The 38 can also turn very tightly, use combat flaps and down throttle the inner engine on the turn, can out-turn most fighters save for the super-light single seaters. Very nice flying characteristics, just watch out for steep dives in the J model, they will result in compressibility and are had to recover from, in the L just pop the dive brakes and you're good to go. The 38 is easier to land and taxi than most too, and like has been said it has good speed against most Japanese planes, but is in tough against faster Luftwaffe aircraft. It has a good ceiling though and like most of the USAAF planes is very good at altitude.
The biggest problem with the 38 is that it is a big target, and aiming at a P-38 is easier than other planes due to the sheer size of the plane. IMHO its one of the best designed and best flying planes (in il2), but like the other twins is an easier target.

[kjwright]

So how does the P-38 stack up in competition compered to other fighters. same with the P-47. Now I know that the twin boom design does present a bigger target, but even the show Dogfights showed what an experienced pilot can do with a P-38. Also I understand that the P-47 was called the jug for a reason. Its a huge aircraft with lots of weight behind it. It does carry 2 more .50 cal mgs then the mustangs aswell as alittle more armor.

[AndyJWest]

I'd not put to much credence on TV documentaries about dogfighting. The reality was that the safest way to shoot someone down was to come in fast, and fill him with holes before he knew you were around. Evenly-matched 'jousts' were rare, and not something any rational pilot would want to get engaged in. Neither the P-38 nor the P-47 are sensible planes for circling fights, unless you are at high altitude. In any case, it's no good looking for a 'killer plane' - it is only as good as the pilot flying it. If you really want to learn how to dogfight, you are better off learning in an inferior aircraft - unlike for real pilots, a smoking crater is a learning experience in a sim.

[WTE_Galway]

Originally Posted by kjwright

So how does the P-38 stack up in competition compered to other fighters. same with the P-47. Now I know that the twin boom design does present a bigger target, but even the show Dogfights showed what an experienced pilot can do with a P-38. Also I understand that the P-47 was called the jug for a reason. Its a huge aircraft with lots of weight behind it. It does carry 2 more .50 cal mgs then the mustangs aswell as alittle more armor.

Haven't played online in ages but my hunch is in late war servers a good pilot in a Spit 25lb or Dora will both probably dominate.

But as always depends more on the pilot than the ride.

[robtek]

Those american planes only work well when flown 10 to 1 or something like that!





"Duck and cover "

[kjwright]

Originally Posted by robtek

Those american planes only work well when flown 10 to 1 or something like that!





"Duck and cover "

thats why most German pilots obeyed Richthofen rules and only attacked when they had the advantage and could win

[kjwright]

to be honest you give me a flight of 4 P-51D and ill take on 9 109's, i look at this way if there are more then you then me. that means i have pick of targets to shoot at. You know A "target rich environment".