Hello Krank, and welcome to the community! Per your request for flight info, I guess I'll start it off and the others im sure will expand on/correct my thoughts, as it can be a bit subjective of course. I'll give a quick and dirty description on different A/C as I consider them. Be advised, that any thoughts I may have may differ from what others think, and remember that the flight model selected by the host will greatly affect the handling qualities of any A/C. Easy is just that, and not very realistic, while hard will make mush of even the best A/C set on easy.
Also, I will limit my comments to fighters and DP A/C. Ill leave the bombers for later.
UK Aircraft
1) Spitfires- easily the best handling in either version. Turns extremely well, good climb rate, good top speed. Ixe is undergunned with .303. Ixc has cannon, so better. Durability is average for both.
Stall onset very predictable, and happens only under extreme maneuvers.
2) Tempest- Good handling. Turns well, decent climb rate, good top speed. Hard hitter with cannons. Durability better than avg. Stall carachteristics similar to Spit.
Vampire- Avg. handling, difficult to learn to fly well, but can be very good in right hands. Avg. turn rate, tremendous top speed and ROC, but easy to overspeed. Hard hitter w/ cannons, but difficult to target due to tremedous acceleration and speed. Durability below avg. Engines easily damaged. Stall onset predictable, but not as good as above, but can be more easily overcome due to more powerful engines.
Typhoon- Flight caracteristics quite similar to the Tempest as are the cannons. Downfall is what appears to be a huge error in the damage model. A couple of .303 rounds or one 20mm usually results in a huge explosion. Dont know what M$ was thinking when they wrote the code on this one. Too bad too, as it should be an above average performer like the Temp.
Mosquito- Not much of a fighter, but can be deadly if used well. Good top speed, avg. ROC, below avg. turner, good firepower in MK VI (no guns at all in MK IV) 57mm cannon in MK XVIII for anti-shipping missions. Durability slightly above avg., at least against small caliber guns. Stall onset average, and controlable.
US Aircraft
P-38- Difficult to fly well. Avg. to above avg. ROC, turn and roll rate below average as is top speed. Like the Vampire, can be easy to overspeed resulting in loss of elevator control with predictable results. Speed brake use is a must in a dive. Not sure if the J model is so equipped.
Good firepower on both J and L with cannon and guns. Rockets avail. on L. Stall onset is average and controllable. Give good response to use of flaps in a turn under WOT. Durability sketchy. Will absorb a lot of punishment, unless hit in a tail boom near the elevator.
P-47- Not a good performer, but not the worst. Speed, ROC, turn and roll rate below avg. Stall onset fairly early, but controllable. Good firepower in both models, and good durability. Fast in a dive, but slow to recover altitude. Not a good choice unless others are flying the same or similar A/C.
P-51- Probably the biggest disappointment in the game. The D model especially. Speed, ROC, and roll rate all below avg.. Stall onset about the time you think about pulling on the stick, even in easy flight mode. Firepower is good and durability average to above average. Suffers from poorly written flight model, I suspect. IMHO the flight model of the C is better, but I dont know if it is written any differently than the D. With practice, both A/C can be made to perform some unusual handling stunts due to strong rudder influence. (read, crossed controls) All that said, its not the A/C one would have expected given it reputation. Its just broken.
P-55- This would be the ringer in the mix. As a "what might have been" A/C, no one knows for sure how it should perform, so the flight model is perhaps based on available specs and speculation itself
. In this game, its quirky as one might expect. Speed is well above avg., as is ROC. Handling however is a knife edge. There is a very small window of speed where turn and roll is very good, but above or below that speed it become very mushy, making it very difficult to fly well. A few here in the community have mastered it, but it takes a lot of time to learn, and laser beam focus to execute in game. It also requires dedication to specific tactics. Firepower is good with its cannons, and durability is above average.
Last but not least is another "what if" A/C, although the flight model is well known as the P-80 became a servicable A/C after the war ended. Flight model is similar to the Vampire. Great top speed and ROC, roll and turn avg. Firepower avg. with only guns. Stall onset about avg. and controllable. Difficult to fly well for same reasons as Vampire.
German Aircraft
Bf-109- Good performer, but not easy to fly. Speed is below avg. to avg., but great ROC. Stall onset late and predictable, but tends to spin easily if you get too deep into a stall. Can be made to do tricks like the P-51 with liberal application of the rudder. Firepower is good with guns and cannon on both models. Mk-10 is the better A/C. Seems to have a slightly better flight model and more power. Can be deadly in the right hands. Durability is avg.
FW-190- Another inexplicable dissappointment. Fastest of the single engine (and faster than the P-38) fighters in the game, yet the ROC is well below average. Roll rate is very good, yet it takes miles to execute a 180 deg. turn. Appears to suffer from a flawed flight model IMO. Also, flaps seem to be completely inoperable, at least in my game. Ive reloaded several times with no apparent change in this respect. Difficult to fly as a result. Easy to overspeed with REVERSAL of controls when oversped. No speed brakes available, but kicking the rudder back and forth can sometimes keep you from augering in. Stall onset is early, and like the 109 will fall into a spin if the stall gets too deep. Armament in the MK5 is (should be) good with guns and cannon, and the MK8 even better with its extra cannon pack. However, it appears that the cannons shoot blanks as far as I can tell. Settling in behind a helpless B-25 and hammering away with both 20 and 30mm cannons seems to take forever to bring it down. Just my own observation. Others may disagree. Durability is above average. Can take a lot of .303 from a spit to bring one down.
Do-335- Another of the "what if" A/C. Flight model and handling are similar to the P-55. Great speed and ROC, but better overall handling than the P-55. Firepower is good with cannon and guns, and durability is average. Requires specific tactics to be successful.
Me-262- Same as the other jets, tremendous speed, ROC. Handling is good overall, roll rate above avg. turn rate avg. Needs to be in the "sweet speed" for optimum performance. Firepower is good with cannons, except for the model 1a/U4 equipped with the ship killer howitzer. Will kill anything with one shot if you manage to hit the target though
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Last but not least is the Go-229.
Another "what iffer". Flight model is similar to the rest of the jets in speed, ROC, etc. Durability is below avg. Very difficult to fly and bring on target, hence few ever choose to use it except in games where it may be one of the only choices available.
So, there you have my quick and dirty descriptions. I encourage others to add their thoughts as mine are just that. Mine. Im sure others here will have a lot more and different opinions, so, have at gentlemen!
Joe Dunlap
aka Maj_LeMay
