AB Fighter Plane Reviews

[Bramborough 376]

Great P-39N-0 video, as always.  Rather annoying that despite your performance dominating the map center, your team was unable to capitalize on that for a win.  One question.  You gave the (very sound) reasons for ammo belt choice (if I look back, I think I do something similar with the P-39's and P-63's).  On the convergence distance, however, if you mentioned a rationale, it escaped me.  300m caught my notice, primarily due to the fact that you typically prefer slightly longer convergence distances than the average player.  Is it because of the 7.62mm ballistics compared to .50cals?  If so, does that imply a different preferred convergence distance for the all-.50cal P-39Q-5?

 

Since you mention the Yak-9U...I confess I skipped over it for now.  My practice has been to play every plane, in sequential order, at least long enough to obtain all the upgrades.  I even suffered through upgrading the F-82E.  In this case, however, I looked at the 9U and just didn't want to deal with it.  1x20mm cannon plus a couple of MGs...essentially same armament as a LaGG-3, at a BR where that level of firepower simply isn't competitive any more (which obtw, is one reason why the single-20mm stock G-10 is a challenge).  Meanwhile, the follow-on Yak-9P just looked too juicy to wait much longer before putting into service.

 

I'll go back to the 9U at some point, of course...my compulsion won't tolerate a non-elited plane sitting idle in the hangar.  I'm just hoping that the plane has some redeeming qualities which aren't readily apparent from looking at the stat card.

Edited August 21, 2014 by Bramborough

[tx141 815]

Great P-39N-0 video, as always.  Rather annoying that despite your performance dominating the map center, your team was unable to capitalize on that for a win.  One question.  You gave the (very sound) reasons for ammo belt choice (if I look back, I think I do something similar with the P-39's and P-63's).  On the convergence distance, however, if you mentioned a rationale, it escaped me.  300m caught my notice, primarily due to the fact that you typically prefer slightly longer convergence distances than the average player.  Is it because of the 7.62mm ballistics compared to .50cals?  If so, does that imply a different preferred convergence distance for the all-.50cal P-39Q-5?

 

Since you mention the Yak-9U...I confess I skipped over it for now.  My practice has been to play every plane, in sequential order, at least long enough to obtain all the upgrades.  I even suffered through upgrading the F-82E.  In this case, however, I looked at the 9U and just didn't want to deal with it.  1x20mm cannon plus a couple of MGs...essentially same armament as a LaGG-3, at a BR where that level of firepower simply isn't competitive any more (which obtw, is one reason why the single-20mm stock G-10 is a challenge).  Meanwhile, the follow-on Yak-9P just looked too juicy to wait much longer before putting into service.

 

I'll go back to the 9U at some point, of course...my compulsion won't tolerate a non-elited plane sitting idle in the hangar.  I'm just hoping that the plane has some redeeming qualities which aren't readily apparent from looking at the stat card.

 

Thank you. I had another game like that last night in my Spitfire F. Mk. IX: completely cleaned out the enemy presence over the central airfield and this time my team captured the airfield, still, I digress.

 

In answer to your question on the 300m gun convergence. In short, you have already surmised my answer, the 0.30 cals seem to be completely ineffective beyond 0.5km based upon their ballistics. As a result, I have to get close to use these machine guns which happen to be coincidentally mounted in the wings. Since the 0.50 cals are mounted in the nose, I look upon the "convergence" set-up much like I would my Yak-3: whereby the main armament is not-convergence reliant, the only convergence issue is in those 0.30 cals in the wings. When I get around to reviewing the P-39Q-5, you are going to see that I switch the convergence to a different setting (I cannot disclose this yet as I am stuck between two settings at the moment) because the 0.50 cals are effective to a much larger distance.

 

Concerning the Yak-9U, a friend of mine has recently started playing it in full force, and I would like to share their opinion of it with you:

 

  It is an interesting plane, for it has the same armament as the Yak-3, but does not seem to share its overall love for low altitude dogfights. Instead it handles brilliantly up high and is more than a match for the BF 109s, P-47s and P-51s that come your way, although you need to get close to make the armament count. Additionally, that is why using the plane for attacking bombers is ill-advised.

 

I can appreciate why some would skip over it to get to the Yak-9P, although I get the feeling that the Yak-9U is going to be a "Dark Horse" that no-one expects to do well.

 

Update 22.08.2014:

• My review of the FW 190 D-9 is now up; you may view it using the embedded link below, or via the link in the first post:

[media='315x420']http://youtu.be/SseMQ7tgbWM[/media]

 

• My review of the Ki-61 Hei should be up by tomorrow.
• Following this I will work on Tx's Tips Part 4 (at long last!).

Thank you as always for your support.  :salute:

[Bramborough 376]

Brilliant video.  Confirmed for me that I've been correct in avoiding heavily-armed bombers with the D-9 (no qualms about making a pass at something like a Wellington or Ki-49).  But also showed me that I haven't been taking it high enough, and keeping it fast enough....I guess I've been trying to play it too similarly to the A series, planes in which I tend to play lower and engage in more dogfighting than I do in my 109s (perhaps this in itself has been suboptimal as well).  Edit: Okay, been playing the D-9 all afternoon, and I have to say that the video is "not applicable" to a stock D-9.  That high-alt performance and speed just aren't there yet without the upper flight performance mods.  I've been pretty much a sitting duck today for most opponents. I do understand that all the review videos assume a fully-upgraded version of the aircraft.  No worries.

 

Compelling comment on the 9U from your buddy; will give it a try soon, after the 9P is finished upgrading.  I do remember that I did like the Yak-3 a good bit more than I expected (even though I wasn't particularly successful with it at the time, as I was quite rusty after a long WT hiatus).

Edited August 22, 2014 by Bramborough

[tx141 815]

Brilliant video.  Confirmed for me that I've been correct in avoiding heavily-armed bombers with the D-9 (no qualms about making a pass at something like a Wellington or Ki-49).  But also showed me that I haven't been taking it high enough, and keeping it fast enough....I guess I've been trying to play it too similarly to the A series, planes in which I tend to play lower and engage in more dogfighting than I do in my 109s (perhaps this in itself has been suboptimal as well).  Edit: Okay, been playing the D-9 all afternoon, and I have to say that the video is "not applicable" to a stock D-9.  That high-alt performance and speed just aren't there yet without the upper flight performance mods.  I've been pretty much a sitting duck today for most opponents. I do understand that all the review videos assume a fully-upgraded version of the aircraft.  No worries.

 

Compelling comment on the 9U from your buddy; will give it a try soon, after the 9P is finished upgrading.  I do remember that I did like the Yak-3 a good bit more than I expected (even though I wasn't particularly successful with it at the time, as I was quite rusty after a long WT hiatus).

 

Thank you. Until you get the upgrades, the D-9 essentially acts as an elongated A-5/U2 without the 20mm Cannon pods. I apologize for the lack of coverage concerning the "stock" plane, I should really add a disclaimer to this review series highlighting that all planes on display have been fully upgraded, and as such, the reviews cover only this situation with some minor exceptions.

 

Had another go in my "stock" Yak-9U last night, three assists, no kills. You have got to get really close to do the damage although I had a nice dogfight with a P-63A up at 3000m which demonstrated how the Yak-9U can turn quite well with speed.

 

Update 23.08.2014:

• Having completed my review of the Ki-61 Hei Hien, you may view the review using the embedded link below, or via the link in the original post:

[media='315x420']http://youtu.be/Im8ml2X8PpA[/media]

 

• I will now work on Tx's Tips Part 4 - Researching Upgrades, this should be up by tomorrow.
• I will then begin finalizing my review of the A6M3, although I have also got my review of the I-185 M-82 prepared, and so this may go up beforehand sometime next week.
• I have also started upgrading my Yak-3P.

Have a nice weekend folks, and as always, take care, and good luck in the skies!  ;)s

[long5hot 7,302]

I've been waiting on the Hei video for quite a while seeing I had a consistently bad experience with this plane - thanks for putting this together as its good to get another person's view on how to fly this 61.

 

Just some comments on the video - if the Tiffy pilot was any good he wouldn't have tried to scissors you, but instead used his far superior vertical power and elevator authority to simply loop over.  If you'd tried to follow the Hei would have stalled, if not on the first loop then certainly on the 2nd, and he'd have had an easy kill.  Alternately he was far enough away that he could have low yoyo'd and then outclimbed you.  From an equal starting point energy-wise, as that fight was, the Hei isn't going to win many energy-based battles.  Can't complain though when an enemy decides to give you a shot at them instead :)

 

But that really illustrates the problem with the Hei.  Its an energy fighter that can't energy-fight except by bleeding energy quickly to force an overshoot which is something turnfighters do, but this is not a turnfighter.  It can BnZ once you do get an altitude advantage & its performance does strangely pick up a bit above 4000m, but my experience once in a dogfight situation against any fighter at its BR range flown by a competent pilot, the Hei is toast.

 

The P400 pilot was quite obliging.  After he overshot he could have used his superior power to loop on you or just extend away and reset, instead he chose to turn in front of your guns then dive into a cliff :)  And yeah, hooray for WT's kill system not giving you the kill despite landing some hits... 

 

The PBJ kill was textbook, but I especially like the kill on the F4U though, that was pure skill.  Very nicely done indeed especially tracking them for a clean shot in the loop, which is far from easy.  The Tiffy,Yak, I-185 and B-25 kills that followed were all straightforward intercepts that didn't push your plane's capabilities at all.

 

So there were in total 3 encounters that could be called dogfights (I can't include the PBJ as he did what a PBJ is capable of doing - fly straight).  Two (the Tiffy and P-400) were won by the enemy being rather stupid, one (F4U) was a nice forced overshoot.  Your plane was never really put in a tricky situation where a good dogfighter took you on and exposed another of the Hei's deficits which is lack of elevator authority.  I mean, the 61's don't have great elevators to begin with but the Hei's is substantially worse due to the heavy nose.  I'd have liked to see how you handled a Yak, Spitfire or P-39 taking you on at close quarters, but I guess you can only show what happened in the battle.  I severely doubt the Hei would have been capable of turning with them at all, or staying on their tails if you started with an advantage but weren't able to immediately secure the kill.  You've flown the plane quite a lot (and with much greater success than me I might add), if you could share your experiences about such encounters that'd be great.

 

Like me you were keeping your head down a lot, something the Hei forces on you, and being extremely careful about how you engaged.  Unlike me, most of your time was at low level making horizontal intercepts after you were forced away from altitude, which is a strategy I never employ in any plane but which you're very good at.  Also I found on many occasions that multiple enemy fighters would make a beeline for me, often flying through friendly furballs to get to me again & again, and that didn't happen to you that often at least in this vid (you got isolated attackers but not swarms).  When I flew it, I put the phenomenon down to this plane being perceived as an easy kill and thus provoking a seagull reaction.

 

One last thing, as far as I can determine the plane historically didn't have this much weight added as a result of the cannon replacing the 12.7s.  In fact whatever weight was added, was more than compensated for by a reduction in fuel tank capacity making this a shorter range interceptor.  I wasn't aware of this when I made my vid where I said it was 500kg heavier than the otsu, but I've since been corrected on that score.  Unfortunately Gaijin have this plane's FM modelled incorrectly by quite some margin, and even more unfortunately they've marked it as being complete according to data sheets so its unlikely to be fixed.  It really should be every bit as maneuverable, and as fast on the accelerate & climb, as the otsu - and if it were then it'd start to deserve its battle rating.

Edited August 24, 2014 by long5hot

[tx141 815]

I've been waiting on the Hei video for quite a while seeing I had a consistently bad experience with this plane - thanks for putting this together as its good to get another person's view on how to fly this 61.

 

Just some comments on the video - if the Tiffy pilot was any good he wouldn't have tried to scissors you, but instead used his far superior vertical power and elevator authority to simply loop over.  If you'd tried to follow the Hei would have stalled, if not on the first loop then certainly on the 2nd, and he'd have had an easy kill.  Alternately he was far enough away that he could have low yoyo'd and then outclimbed you.  From an equal starting point energy-wise, as that fight was, the Hei isn't going to win many energy-based battles.  Can't complain though when an enemy decides to give you a shot at them instead :)

 

But that really illustrates the problem with the Hei.  Its an energy fighter that can't energy-fight except by bleeding energy quickly to force an overshoot which is something turnfighters do, but this is not a turnfighter.  It can BnZ once you do get an altitude advantage & its performance does strangely pick up a bit above 4000m, but my experience once in a dogfight situation against any fighter at its BR range flown by a competent pilot, the Hei is toast.

 

The P400 pilot was quite obliging.  After he overshot he could have used his superior power to loop on you or just extend away and reset, instead he chose to turn in front of your guns then dive into a cliff :)  And yeah, hooray for WT's kill system not giving you the kill despite landing some hits... 

 

The PBJ kill was textbook, but I especially like the kill on the F4U though, that was pure skill.  Very nicely done indeed especially tracking them for a clean shot in the loop, which is far from easy.  The Tiffy,Yak, I-185 and B-25 kills that followed were all straightforward intercepts that didn't push your plane's capabilities at all.

 

So there were in total 3 encounters that could be called dogfights (I can't include the PBJ as he did what a PBJ is capable of doing - fly straight).  Two (the Tiffy and P-400) were won by the enemy being rather stupid, one (F4U) was a nice forced overshoot.  Your plane was never really put in a tricky situation where a good dogfighter took you on and exposed another of the Hei's deficits which is lack of elevator authority.  I mean, the 61's don't have great elevators to begin with but the Hei's is substantially worse due to the heavy nose.  I'd have liked to see how you handled a Yak, Spitfire or P-39 taking you on at close quarters, but I guess you can only show what happened in the battle.  I severely doubt the Hei would have been capable of turning with them at all, or staying on their tails if you started with an advantage but weren't able to immediately secure the kill.  You've flown the plane quite a lot (and with much greater success than me I might add), if you could share your experiences about such encounters that'd be great.

 

Like me you were keeping your head down a lot, something the Hei forces on you, and being extremely careful about how you engaged.  Unlike me, most of your time was at low level making horizontal intercepts after you were forced away from altitude, which is a strategy I never employ in any plane but which you're very good at.  Also I found on many occasions that multiple enemy fighters would make a beeline for me, often flying through friendly furballs to get to me again & again, and that didn't happen to you that often at least in this vid (you got isolated attackers but not swarms).  When I flew it, I put the phenomenon down to this plane being perceived as an easy kill and thus provoking a seagull reaction.

 

One last thing, as far as I can determine the plane historically didn't have this much weight added as a result of the cannon replacing the 12.7s.  In fact whatever weight was added, was more than compensated for by a reduction in fuel tank capacity making this a shorter range interceptor.  I wasn't aware of this when I made my vid where I said it was 500kg heavier than the otsu, but I've since been corrected on that score.  Unfortunately Gaijin have this plane's FM modelled incorrectly by quite some margin, and even more unfortunately they've marked it as being complete according to data sheets so its unlikely to be fixed.  It really should be every bit as maneuverable, and as fast on the accelerate & climb, as the otsu - and if it were then it'd start to deserve its battle rating.

 

That is no problem, likewise your video provided me with quite an insight and I appreciate how we both arrived at similar conclusions concerning the Ki-61 Hei.

 

I would agree that the Tiffy pilot did pick the wrong fight, and following the first "scissor set" I was starting to think to myself that the Typhoon would try and push for a loop. However, when confronted with a series of vertical loops, I have out-foxed a Typhoon in the past by simply stalling out underneath them and using the rather brilliant rudder to continually place myself beneath them as they have tried to loop round, causing the dogfight to eventually revert into a set of horizontal scissors. The reason I did not allude to this in the review is because it has only worked twice for me, and it is very risky as the opposing pilot needs only to convert their half-finished loop into a wingover/hammerhead in order to put me down.

 

I can appreciate your point that this plane fits in as neither energy or turn fighter, indeed, this is the first plane I have found to not "fit in". As a result, I just see it as a plane whereby depending on the situation, I will just have to pick and roll with a given persona (i.e. turn or energy based fighting). I did attempt to climb to roughly 5000m in a couple of my games to see how well the plane handles up at higher altitudes. The difficulty I found in this regard was that the less than spectacular climb rate meant that planes such as Yak-3s and Spitfire F. Mk. IXs could beat me to higher altitudes, and hence the fight would become an up-hill struggle. In one game I did achieve this height, and found that the plane's performance picked up a little bit.

 

The P-400 pilot did, much like the Typhoon pilot, pick the wrong fight. I am indifferent about not being rewarded the kill, as I know I coerced them into hitting the ground. That being said, I have had a couple of dogfights with Airacobra pilots who have tried to turn with my Hei at high speed, and those who have employed their rudder controls have come close to matching me in the initial stages of the turn fight, although secondary and tertiary turns soon allow the Hei to take control of the situation if the Airacobra does not break away.

 

Thank you. I was quite proud of the kill on the F4U, and really that could say a lot for the Hei in general: nothing special, but it has its moments. :)

 

To give you an insight into dogfights with some of the big BR contenders I have had in my Hei:

• Yakovlev Yak 1Bs/7Bs/3s - These planes all come under one roof and they are a nightmare for the Hei in my experience. At high speeds (i.e. 400 km/h+), they will turn with the Hei (especially the Yak-3) if the rudder is applied in conjunction with the elevator. At lower speeds, things are pretty balanced, although the Yak can build its speed much more rapidly than the Hei, especially at altitudes below 3000m, and this means the Yak will always be able to recover its energy to stay in the fight. Additionally, it is very difficult to run from a Yak, because they are very fast whether on the level or in a dive.

  As a result, to beat a Yak (concerning the Yak-3 here as the worst case scenario), I have two approaches. The first is the risky head on, where I will snap roll off to the side 1.0km and try to turn in for the head-on a 0.5km. This provides me with a very tight firing window, after which I will try to break off to the side again to avoid the collision. The logic behind this is that the Yak has all of its armament based in the nose, whilst the Hei has its main armament: the 20mm Cannons, in the wings. To hit me in a head on, the Yak has to point its Centre of Mass directly at me, whilst I just have to partially bring my Centre of Mass onto target to begin to score hits, as a result, if I can shake the Yak's approach "off-line" in the head on, I can score the killing blow or at least perform critical damage with less risk to my own plane.

 

  The second approach is essentially to try and cause the Yak to overshoot. If a Yak gets onto my tail, or begins to win the turn fight, I will point my nose towards the ground and dive; rolling constantly to try and shake off his/her aim. The idea behind this is that at speeds exceeding 600km/h, the Yak experiences roll rate lock up, the Hei does not, and so once I am at 700 km/h, I will attempt a half loop (using the rudder to force a quick change of direction during the maneuver if needed) in order to try and force the Yak to either over-shoot (via energy loss), or loop in the wrong direction due to their weaker high speed roll rate. If this works, I then usually have a window to place myself into a firing position behind the Yak, or to break away before the Yak becomes aware of my position.

• Spitfire Mk. Vb/Mk. IX - This is probably my worst case scenario in the Hei, because the Spitfire (the Mk. IX in particular) represents a plane which can do everything the Hei can do, if not better. The only discrepancy between the two is that the Spitfire has a poor roll rate above 550 km/h and so I have to abuse this factor once again alike in the case of the Yakovlev Yaks. The difference however, comes in the temperament of Spitfire pilots: a good Spitfire pilot (in my opinion) will not employ their landing flaps unless they absolutely have to in order to keep behind a target at the cost of a large amount of energy. The majority of the Spitfire pilots I have defeated have all made the mistake of turn-fighting with me with their landing flaps from the start, meaning that they essentially replicate the poor energy retention of the Hei in their own plane and essentially have compromised their ability to turn with me in successive passes.

  For those who have been rather clever, I am going to be honest, I have just run. If I see a Mk. IX in the distance making its way over to me, and they are either above me or at the same altitude as myself, I will just turn and run, because if I try to turn fight, the Spitfire will simply keep going, and even make turns which also increase the altitude of the fight (i.e. spiral helix) causing me to stall out and perish following a wing-over. If they insist on chasing me, I will go for the dive overshoot and use that to fire off a burst (if possible) and just continue to break off. I sometimes go for it when facing a Mk. Vb as the energy retention on the Mk. Vb is rather questionable, and it becomes a competition of who can use the rudder more efficiently to bring themselves round onto target.

• P-39s - Most of the time the dogfight will boil down into a situation as depicted in the video against the P-39D-1 (P-400). I will dive and try to force the "terrain overshoot", or I will just confront the P-39 head on, snap roll out of the way of incoming fire and try to turn fight. If the P-39 goes vertical for a Hammerhead/Wingover, I will try to break off, pull some distance and then turn back in for another pass/turn fight. I have taken out a number of P-39N/Q pilots through a sequence of head on passes by merely spraying ammunition at them from 0.8-0.6km, and gradually weakening their plane.
• P-63s - These are a different story, usually when I face one of these, it will be on my tail when I recognize its presence, and it will normally have tried to dive on me. I will try to use my superior roll rate to pull off a Split-S and then follow this through into a loop to cause the Kingcobra to overshoot. If this is not possible, then I will attempt a similar trick to that performed on the F4U-1d in the review video, as getting the M4/M10 Cannon to hit is rather difficult for even the seasoned pilot.

  Oddly enough I have never experienced "seagull syndrome" in any aircraft (minus when flying my Wellington...let's not talk about that  ;)s ), and the Hei was no different. I usually kept getting one plane casually drift over to me to try and make a pass. It may be due to pilots assuming the plane is a Ko/Otsu and hence an easy kill. I have had a group of enemy fighters pin me down on a neutral airfield, and that was something I deserved as I decided to turn 180 degrees out of a 500 km/h zoom pass, a big mistake!

 

Concerning the historical weight addition/reduction of the plane. I could not find any major sources highlighting this, and the little notes I had suggested the Hei was merely an Otsu with the 20mm Cannons, hence my assumption of an increase in the overall weight of the aircraft. If you have any historical data/documents available concerning this, I would love to read them as I could not find very much on the overall nature of the Hei by comparison with the Otsu. I personally feel the BR of the plane should be 4.0 to bring it in line with the A6M3, as until you unlock the Ki-84 Ko, this plane is the only other "fighter" option to the Reisen.

 

Thank you for your post, I apologize for my wall of text, although I hope it has been as useful as your words have been for me.  :salute:

[long5hot 7,302]

^^ what a brilliant post!  I only regret that examples didn't occur in your featured battle, would have loved to have seen them, but everything you say makes a lot of sense.  Thanks for the wall of text, one of the best I've ever read on these forums :)

[Kazumi_ 6,575]

Can you review the Bf-110 C-4?

[tx141 815]

^^ what a brilliant post!  I only regret that examples didn't occur in your featured battle, would have loved to have seen them, but everything you say makes a lot of sense.  Thanks for the wall of text, one of the best I've ever read on these forums :)

 

Thank you. :D

 

The odd thing is, in the games where I ended up having to dogfight with more serious competition, I would finish said dogfight only for the game to end well before I could get close to my Ace (i.e. due to resetting my energy state, landing for repairs etc.). I am tempted, once I have finished the review index to at least 90%, to start a spin-off "dogfight" series where I depict some of the tenser moments from my fly-outs in Arcade Mode and provide some post-game analysis. Although as I say, this would be a project far off in the distant future.

 

Can you review the Bf-110 C-4?

 

Added to the request list, thank you for your suggestion. I will try to get this done for a week or two from now. :)

 

Update 25.08.2014:

• The late Tx's Tips Episode 4 - Choosing Upgrades has finally been uploaded; you may view it using the embedded link below, or via the link in the original post.

[media='315x420']http://youtu.be/D6xMe5ORm7M[/media]

 

• My next point of call is reviewing the A6M3, the review should be up by Wednesday at the latest.
• By Friday I shall be uploading a channel update video to outline current developments, and I shall relate the "review" related items into this topic.
• On the whole, this week is going to be a bit more relaxed just to change up the tempo and give me some time to finish off upgrading planes such as the Yak-3P.

All the best, and enjoy the final week of August!  :salute:

[Bramborough 376]

Good upgrade video.  My research methodology is almost identical, with similar thinking behind the prioritization.

[tx141 815]

Good upgrade video.  My research methodology is almost identical, with similar thinking behind the prioritization.

 

Thank you. :)

 

To follow this tutorial video, my next episode will outline how I deal with what I call "Stock Syndrome" (i.e. taking your brand new "stock" aircraft into a game as the top plane in your line up, hoping to earn a significant amount of Research Points) with a bit by bit break down of my decisions and my thought processes.

 

A6M3 review tomorrow!

 

Stay tuned folks!  :)s

[Boban_Rajovic 2,179]

A nice Red Alert 2 soundtrack at the beginning of the F-8 review.

 

I'm surprised that you haven't done a F-4 review... also, how about a Me 410 B-6/R3 review?

[HochgeborenKlown 1,276]

Thank you for the upgrade video...I have been upgrading all my planes performance and survivability first and when done with those, upgrading ammo, gunz, and pods...My reasoning being that if I am fully upgraded for flight that would give me the advantage over any other plane that was not fully upgraded yet...I also reasoned that while not optimal, the default ammo will still kill planes, just not as quickly and effectively but I was willing to trade that for being able to outmaneuver those dastardly red pilots...I will try your way with a 50% and a 75% plane and see what the difference might be...It would be interesting to see which line of upgrades works best...Maybe we need to call the guys from Fact or Fiction to demonstrate...As always, brilliant videos...Cheers!!

[Bramborough 376]

@HochgeborenKlown,

 

I think the counterargument in favor of prioritizing Offensive Belts would be:  Your stock plane definitely isn't going to outmaneuver many enemies, not even with the first few performance upgrades.  Therefore firing opportunities will be less frequent, shorter in duration, and sometimes not quite optimal regarding distance and geometry.  So when you DO get a chance to put rounds on target, every bullet counts...and you don't want any of them to be ball ammunition.

 

Note we're mainly talking about 1st-tier upgrades here, in most planes' research trees.  It's not really an overall prioritization of "guns over performance".  It's a discrete choice among (typically) Fuselage Repair, Radiator, and Offensive MG.  The two first-tier performance upgrades offer very little; their only real value is to serve as a stepping-stone to higher upgrade tiers.  The Offensive MG belt, on the other hand, has a significant tangible value on its own.  It would be a different proposition altogether if upgrades like Compressor, Engine, or Airframe were available at the first tier.

 

I stated above that my research priorities have been "almost identical" to those presented in the video.  Well, the reason for the "almost" is that, like you, I've been a performance-upgrades-first guy.  It has been pretty common for me to take Fuselage Repair and Radiator as my first two choices.  My first reaction to OP's video was to attempt articulating to myself an argument for researching that way.  I couldn't do it; quickly realized that tx141's first-tier research prioritization is sound.  Offensive MG gives most bang-for-the-buck.

[HochgeborenKlown 1,276]

@ Bamborough, Excellent, I am looking forward to changing my upgrading sequence (Had to get that word in) and hearing that you are also now a fan just reinforces what I was leaning towards after watching the upgrade video...I also learned that I dont have to start with fuselage repair every time, dint know that before...Cheers!!

[Bramborough 376]

Lol yeah, I upgraded quite a few planes before realizing "Oh...I can click on a different mod before taking it into the first battle..."

[HochgeborenKlown 1,276]

Lolz, I just finished going thru all my planes and changing the research starting point for them...I have a bunch that I have researched, brought but never flown other than in test...Sometimes finding things out like this makes me feel like:

http://i.imgur.com/gsFmkLj.jpg

[tx141 815]

A nice Red Alert 2 soundtrack at the beginning of the F-8 review.

 

I'm surprised that you haven't done a F-4 review... also, how about a Me 410 B-6/R3 review?

 

Thank you, and I am glad to see someone else realized where the music was from. ;)

 

I am gradually working my way round to reviewing the F-4, especially now that I have reviewed both the F-1 and F-2 variants, allowing for a progressive approach to the reviews. I will place the F-4 on the request list, although due to its rather commonplace appearance in most BR 4.0-5.0 matches, I will not being prioritizing the review until a later date.

 

Concerning the Me 410 B-6/R3, I have had requests to review some of the Me 410 series aircraft. I have all of them unlocked, but I have not got around to researching their upgrades. I will add the B-6 to the request list, and since I have had a number of requests for German heavy fighters, these planes will be moved to the front of the queue for review.

 

Thank you for your input. :)

 

Thank you for the upgrade video...I have been upgrading all my planes performance and survivability first and when done with those, upgrading ammo, gunz, and pods...My reasoning being that if I am fully upgraded for flight that would give me the advantage over any other plane that was not fully upgraded yet...I also reasoned that while not optimal, the default ammo will still kill planes, just not as quickly and effectively but I was willing to trade that for being able to outmaneuver those dastardly red pilots...I will try your way with a 50% and a 75% plane and see what the difference might be...It would be interesting to see which line of upgrades works best...Maybe we need to call the guys from Fact or Fiction to demonstrate...As always, brilliant videos...Cheers!!

 

No problem. Haha! Or we could break out the Mythbusters? :P

 

In order to explain how my approach has come about (something I omitted from the video as I wanted to see the responses I got first), one has to consider the overall changes in the nature of dogfights between say: BR 1.0-3.0 games, and BR 5.0+ games.

 

In the former, the dogfights usually end up as tightly cut turn fights, and as a result, your "stock" aircraft will tend to get longer periods of time to engage a given target simply because the energy levels of all planes depreciate, and such turns expose the full profiles of enemy aircraft for three second periods (if not more). As a result, default ammunition can make its mark despite its weaker belt composition on the whole. A prime example of this is in the LaGG-3-8, where its  default belt, half-composed of FI-T rounds, can kill fighter pilots very easily. However, what I would like to highlight here is that the planes you see and fly all match up rather equally with specific traits starting to show (i.e at ~ BR 1.7, the Ki-43 can out-turn the F2A-3/P-36C, but not by the massive margin that a BR 5.0 A6M3 Mod 22 can out turn a FW 190 A-5), and so the need for performance over armament, in my opinion, becomes less important. Additionally, the development of dogfights at high altitudes (i.e. 4000m+) only begins to occur at BR 3.0 (with the arrival of types such as the P-400 and BF 109 E-3), and so the need to unlock the Tier IV performance upgrades as rapidly as possible is dropped to an extent.

 

Indeed, by prioritizing performance, you gain an advantage over the opposition by enhancing the traits of your plane, but as your traits are not definitive in their extent, the "rush" for performance is mitigated somewhat.

 

In the latter, the situation is the reverse, and I found this last night when flying my "stock" Ta 152 H-1. Whether I am facing jets or props, I no longer have the ability to essentially glide into a wide-spanning furball whether the game is a Domination or Ground Strike match, as the planes I face now have major performance differentials to my own plane. Now, the significance of the Reisen/Spitfire's tight turn circle is much more important, as is the monstrous climb rate of the F8F-1 or the BF 109 G-10. Since I have to essentially research ~12,000 RP per upgrade in tier I, with this increasing up the Tiers to 18,000 RP in Tier IV, I have to prioritize the ability for my plane to damage foes over the plane's performance, as until I get that Tier IV engine injection, I am never going to become truly competitive in the performance category.

 

However, I have digressed from the main argument; the shift in traits between planes becoming more prominent means that I have to catch my opponents off-guard, I have to make the most of very limited firing windows (i.e. less than three seconds in most cases) whereby I no longer have the ability to pick off an opponent in full profile, but I instead have to catch them mid pass, whether it be in a dive/climb, or following an energy-bleeding turn. It is then the case that I have to flee, as otherwise I will, in most cases, place my plane in an energetically un-favourable situation (the Ki-61 Hei is a brilliant example of this when "stock") and be shot down rather quickly.

 

Essentially, it becomes a question of what the pilot can do to exploit a situation based on their experience, rather than the nature of the plane they are flying.

 

Ergo, default ammunition can (as I have found), leave one frustrated as they executed their pass well, but insufficient damage was done to net "critical" if not a "kill". To compensate for this, you have the ability to research the belts early on - once I obtained my 20mm belts for my Ta, I found that whereas my passes would achieve a critical/kill roughly 40% of the time, this percentage was now raised to roughly 70%, accounting for errors I make per pass (etc.). Moreover, early performance upgrades (i.e. Tiers I-II especially) cannot compensate for the lack-luster performance of a "stock" aircraft in my opinion, this can only be achieved by a pilot utilizing their experience and applying the under-developed strengths of the plane in order to combat the distinct traits of a given foe, which come to light at higher battle ratings. Additionally, good awareness will permit one to gradually build altitude over time, and for the pilot to know when to drop altitude due to enemy fighters achieving air superiority (as will be highlighted in my next two tips videos).

 

Hence, why I personally prioritize the belts before performance upgrades.

 

Apologies for the long reply, but I hope this provides a better insight to my approach.  :)s

 

Update 27.08.2014:

• A6M3 review has been completed, this plane is quite the improvement on the A6M2, and you may check the review out using the embedded link below, or via the link in the first post.

[media='315x420']http://youtu.be/7Zkzi7JAF18[/media]

• My next review will be that of the I-185 M-82, as I have yet to get all the upgrades for the Yak-3P. The I-185 review will be up by Tuesday of next week as I have a busy weekend ahead.
• Channel Update coming by this Saturday, and I will relate all the important information into the topic.
• Updated the request list.
• Tx's Tips Part 5 - Stock Syndrome will be up by the end of next week, this will discuss how I go about my business in a standard game with a stock plane.

As always, thank you all for your continued support. Take care and good luck in the skies!  :salute:

Edited August 27, 2014 by tx141

[Der_Kompressor 9,185]

The A6M3 video is quite insightful.  I always wondered why I see so many A6M3 and so few A6M2.  It seems the former is a far better plane due to its energy advantage.  The improved roll rate is also attractive cause the A6M2 rolls so so so slow.

 

Still looking forward to a Tempest Mk II and Griffon video!    :yes:

[tx141 815]

The A6M3 video is quite insightful.  I always wondered why I see so many A6M3 and so few A6M2.  It seems the former is a far better plane due to its energy advantage.  The improved roll rate is also attractive cause the A6M2 rolls so so so slow.

 

Still looking forward to a Tempest Mk II and Griffon video!    :yes:

 

Thank you. It came as a shock to me at first how different the A6M3 is from the A6M2, although having performed a quick test flight of the A6M5, I get the feeling the A6M5 is going to be even better!

 

It will be a while, but I will get them done as soon as I can.  :)s

[Der_Kompressor 9,185]

Thank you. It came as a shock to me at first how different the A6M3 is from the A6M2, although having performed a quick test flight of the A6M5, I get the feeling the A6M5 is going to be even better!

 

It will be a while, but I will get them done as soon as I can.  :)s

Historically the A6M5 is supposed to have marginally better durability than the earlier Zeros.  They have some cockpit armor and some units even had self sealing tanks.  I have no idea if this is implemented in WT or if it will make a difference though.  My guess is "no" for the latter.  At that BR there's just way too many quad cannon planes.

[Aceplayer 361]

Hey Paul

Maybe you could put the BR (or tier since it does not change) after the plane name?

Thanks

[tx141 815]

Historically the A6M5 is supposed to have marginally better durability than the earlier Zeros.  They have some cockpit armor and some units even had self sealing tanks.  I have no idea if this is implemented in WT or if it will make a difference though.  My guess is "no" for the latter.  At that BR there's just way too many quad cannon planes.

 

True, I guess its maneuverability is going to have to be pushed to the limit! :D

 

Hey Paul

Maybe you could put the BR (or tier since it does not change) after the plane name?

Thanks

 

Hey Aceplayer,

 

Thank you for the suggestion, I will do that from now on and amend the Battle Ratings/Tiers of the planes that have already been reviewed. (Will be done by the end of the day)

 

Update 30.08.2014:

• As promised, my Channel Update has been uploaded and may be viewed here. As well as giving you all an update into what has happened over the last month or so, it also demonstrates how two Typhoon Mk. 1B/Late fighters can cause utter carnage if employed as a Boom and Zoom pair.
• I cannot embed it into this post simply because it would be a digression from the main topic.
• If you do not have time to watch it and would like to know the main points relating to the AB reviews series, please see below:

1. Having achieved a Youtube Partnership, I am now beginning to monetize my work, and I will use the money I earn to purchase premium planes so that I can review them for you all. I will not be reviewing national copies of aircraft (i.e. FW 190 D-9 on the Russian side) as these will be reviewed under their respective nations in the series.
2. I currently have 500 GE, meaning that I can purchase the Wirraway for review. If you would like me to review the plane, please let me know!
3. With the summer season coming to a close, I begin my first full time job two weeks from now. As a result, the review schedule will be reduced to one review per week as of the 15th of September, with the review most likely being uploaded at the weekend. Additionally, the frequency of Tx's Tips will be once a week from that date.

• I-185 M-82 review shall be up by Tuesday, and I have finally finished upgrading the Yak-3P, so expect that to be up by Thursday.

As always ladies and gentlemen, thank you all for your continued support. Without you all contributing together, none of this would be possible.  :salute:

[Blastmaster1972 1,235]

 

1. I currently have 500 GE, meaning that I can purchase the Wirraway for review. If you would like me to review the plane, please let me know!

 

Yes please! Personally I really, really like the Wirraway. It's a bomber that can be a fighter, and a fighter that can be a bomber!

 

Would be interesting to see what you make of it!

 

Kind regards,

 

Jos

[Blastmaster1972 1,235]

Just watched your channel update/Typhoon video.

 

You mention that you want to donate some of your Youtube earnings to charity, but you don't have a specific charity in mind.

 

My suggestion, to keep it in the spirit of the game, is to donate to organisations that restore/fly/display historical planes and/or tank museums etc that restore & run historical vehicles.  :salute: 

 

Kind regards,

 

Jos