It was always kind of a cheat though, don't you think? No real pilots have smoke to track their efficiency in any given manoeuvre (except the professional aerobatic pilots).
The only use I've seen for it in the past was for some online server's rules, whereby if you had your smoke on, you were landing and therefore couldn't be shot at.
Also, to make nice videos of yourself doing aerobatics. Don't get me wrong, I've done all of the above myself and enjoyed every minute, but I don't think it's got a place in the 'next generation' of combat flight sims.
