Why are the AI planes always faster than me?

[moeburn]

First of all, let me say thanks for the latest patches, they really got the game from a stuttering 5 FPS to a playable average of 30 on my PC. Unfortunately, I had no idea if they would actually work before buying the game, maybe you guys should consider releasing a benchmark demo of your latest patches like HAWX 2 and AliensVPredator did?

My question is, whenever I fly any plane, my AI counterparts seem to zoom right past me, while I struggle to catch up to bombers. I have 'complex engine management' turned OFF, because I have absolutely no idea how mixture, prop pitch, radiator and such work, so I figured that meant the game would automatically choose the best settings for me. If that were the case, wouldn't I be able to fly at least the same speed as the AI planes in my flight group?

[EDIT] Couple more questions, I can't seem to figure out how to turn off the distance labels above the aircraft in CoD. There doesn't appear to be any control for it in the control mapping section.

And if anyone has any guides on how a newbie like me can learn to control the complex engine systems, I would love to learn!