A6M Zero turn too tight?

[Bolelas]

Sorry, but here comes a silly question: is there any difference between online and offline flight models of the game?
I donk think there is, but is so much stuff i am not aware of...

And allways learning!

[fruitbat]

Originally Posted by Bolelas

Sorry, but here comes a silly question: is there any difference between online and offline flight models of the game?
I donk think there is, but is so much stuff i am not aware of...

And allways learning!

No.

[IceFire]

Originally Posted by Bolelas

Sorry, but here comes a silly question: is there any difference between online and offline flight models of the game?
I donk think there is, but is so much stuff i am not aware of...

And allways learning!

No difference... but in general humans tend to get the most out of the aircraft in terms of outright manoeuvring. The AI is better at engine management but humans seem to make the best out of turns.

[IceFire]

I've never had any concerns about the Zero and it's turn. Outside of the Ki-43 and Ki-27... the A6M Zero in all variants was considered an excellent turn fighter and it had almost no equal in close in fighting.

Such was the disadvantage that other fighters had that tactics had to be developed to defeat the Zero. USN pilots developed the Thach Weave to counter the Zeros incredible horizontal turn rate: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Thach_Weave

[JtD]

nic727, if you are flying as nic1 and yesterdays experiences led to this question - what you've seen yesterday is absolutely realistic A6M performance. No buggy flight model, no cheating by the players.

The wing and wingspan of the A6M are about as big as that of an F4F, but the plane is only two thirds the weight of an F4F. As the lift the wing produces has to support all the weight of the aircraft, and therefore the A6M turns very much better than the F4F.

Do you know the phrase "turn and burn"? This phrase was coined by the US pilots in the Pacific, pilots who tried to turn with an A6M would usually end up burning, because the A6M was such a good turner. What you need to do is to fly hit and run style combat, where you attack from an altitude advantage, fire at the opponent, and then run away.

This is boring when flying alone, but very efficient in team work. If the enemy is not starting to chase you, you can gain some altitude, turn around and come back for another pass. If the enemy is chasing you, your wingman has an easy target on your six.

Anyway, A6M3 vs. F4F is pretty hard for the F4F, and I'd recommend you the P-40 when you have the choice. It can't nearly take as much damage, but it is faster and can extend safely if necessary.