Why fly the Spitfire?

[Buzpilot]

Originally Posted by Formula88

Its less durable than a hurricane and not too much faster, far less stable and completely useless for shooting down 109s. There is no reason to fly for the red side as far as I can see. Every advantage belongs to the blue with faster planes, deadlier guns and just general superiority. I was just in the syndicate server and there was like 15 blue and 5 red...I left because, well, wtf? Give us an aircraft capable of competeing with the 109 and I might decide to start playing again.

There is a capable plane, Spit MkIIa, but most servers are in favour of 109's, so their afraid to fight it, and disable it in menu.

[Blackdog_kt]

I think the reason the IIA is disabled on most servers is that the 109E's FM is off in terms of top speed, so until the FMs are corrected in a patch people are trying to balance things out on their own.

This is not only a 109 issue, in fact after tests done by the community members (the results are in this forum) the Spit IIa is the only aircraft that is getting its real-world performance in the sim.

Most of the other fighters, both axis and allied, are slower than they were in reality so the Spit.IIa becomes an "i-win" choice. I'm sure that when all the other fighters are tuned to better reflect their historical performance (auto-mixture fixed, 109s getting their correct speed, 110s getting the improved engines they used during the BoB, Spit Is and Hurris getting the 100 octane boost limits) the Spit IIa will make a return.

Until then, it's not only too much to handle for the people flying 109s, it's also too unfair to compete with for kills for the people flying other RAF fighters-->everyone on the red team would fly an Mk.II and things would be boring without Hurricanes

[609_Huetz]

I wonder what that "poor-red" fuzz is all about. The Spitfire is an outstanding fighter in this sim. I fly red mostly (some rare trips in a 109 included though) and I can't really complain. I have died online maybe twice or three times in accidents, yet I still have to be shot down by a 109 or a 110. That is after more than 6 weeks multiplayer.

It's much the same with the 109, if you work for your advantages, there's really nothing that can (and should) touch you.

[Buzpilot]

Originally Posted by 609_Huetz

I wonder what that "poor-red" fuzz is all about. The Spitfire is an outstanding fighter in this sim. I fly red mostly (some rare trips in a 109 included though) and I can't really complain. I have died online maybe twice or three times in accidents, yet I still have to be shot down by a 109 or a 110. That is after more than 6 weeks multiplayer.

It's much the same with the 109, if you work for your advantages, there's really nothing that can (and should) touch you.

Thats what i mean, just because ppl can't handle the 109 advantages, they "feel" it's underpowered, and disable the SpitMkIIa.

[Blackdog_kt]

Originally Posted by Buzpilot

Thats what i mean, just because ppl can't handle the 109 advantages, they "feel" it's underpowered, and disable the SpitMkIIa.

Like i said before, people disallow the Mk.IIa because it's currently the only fighter that's getting correct performance. Everything else is slower than it should, 109s, Hurricanes, the whole lot.

Running a server with the Mk.IIa would probably result in 80% of the server population cruising around in one, it gets boring pretty fast if you have nothing to shoot at

[flyingblind]

Google 'Battle of Britain: The real story'. It's quite an interesting BBC documentary on BoB with actual pilot accounts and appraisels of the planes, tactics and weapons as well as an indepth look at what when on behind the scenes at a logistical and tactical level. This part in particular highlighted the fact that it wasn't the Spitfire being a better plane that won the battle but the way in which it was used and the backup behind it. That and some crass blunders by Goering.

[Winger]

Originally Posted by Buzpilot

There is a capable plane, Spit MkIIa, but most servers are in favour of 109's, so their afraid to fight it, and disable it in menu.

Spit IIa simply doesnt belong into the BOB. At least not in even numbers. Period.
The Spit Ia is better in turning. A good 109 pilot will always have an edge over a spit if he plays the game using his advantages. Just dont engage in a fight if youre on even or lower energylevel with a spit. You can only win such an encounter if the 109 pilot is dumb and starts tunfighting your spit.

I for my part have big fun paying the game from the BnZers perspective this time. In ROF i was turn and burning on german side for almost 2 years (what else could I do with all allied planes being faster and better climbers). In CloD i am forced to BnZ. And it works.

Winger

Winger

[609_Huetz]

Originally Posted by Winger

Spit IIa simply doesnt belong into the BOB. At least not in even numbers. Period.
The Spit Ia is better in turning. A good 109 pilot will always have an edge over a spit if he plays the game using his advantages. Just dont engage in a fight if youre on even or lower energylevel with a spit. You can only win such an encounter if the 109 pilot is dumb and starts tunfighting your spit.

I for my part have big fun paying the game from the BnZers perspective this time. In ROF i was turn and burning on german side for almost 2 years (what else could I do with all allied planes being faster and better climbers). In CloD i am forced to BnZ. And it works.

Winger

Winger

That definately is not true. During the major operations of the BoB, already almost some 190-200 planes were in service, with conversion starting as early as August and Production in June 1940.

Also, the most interesting thing is that the MkIa is still working with the Battle of France 2-Stage prop in-game, that is limiting performance quite a bit. IRL all aircraft from number 175 onwards of the prudction line were fitted with a CSP.

Then again, there should also be less E-3s and once it's out also limited E-4s available, with the E-1 being the main type of the LW in the BoB.

Especially online I find it funny to see tons of over confident 109 pilots flying in a sort of sloppy way, thinking they can get away with almost anything as long as they try to keep their speed up, but that will most likely change once the FMs are brought to their historical specifications and the correct 100 octane fuel introduced. Don't get me wrong, I love flying the 109 as well, but quite a few people will have to rethink their tactics in a bit.

[Grand_Armee]

Originally Posted by 609_Huetz

Then again, there should also be less E-3s and once it's out also limited E-4s available, with the E-1 being the main type of the LW in the BoB.

In all the books I've read, all of the documentaries I've seen, in some 30-odd years of studying WWII, I've seen one picture of an E-1 purportedly flying during BoB. I would love to know where you get this information, please.

[Kurfurst]

Originally Posted by 609_Huetz

Then again, there should also be less E-3s and once it's out also limited E-4s available, with the E-1 being the main type of the LW in the BoB.

All MG E-1s and cannon armed E-3/E-4/E-7 were roughly 50/50, or perhaps 60/40 with more cannon variants around.

Saying that the E-1 being the "main" type is completely misleading. One can pretty much handle the E-3/E-4/E-7 as one type (cannon armed Emil) and the E-1 (MG armed Emil) as another, as a matter of fact the differences were very minor, and even E-1s were converted to E-3 sometime.