Tips for someone gravitating towards the ground attacking?

[Loonsy]

I've flown fighters for the vast majority in pretty much all the sims I have, but I don't have much experience at all flying them online against other people, I find that doing so can be pretty frustrating and stressful which is why I'm starting to enjoy ground pounding more. I like how it's more laid back until you reach your target, maybe it's knowing to expect enemies instead of getting shot out of nowhere or the rush you get from dodging AAA and enemy fighters while getting bombs on target, but I'm gradually moving towards ground attacking 8) But that aside, does anyone have advice for someone who's not totally unfamiliar but still fairly new when entering the ground attack role? I'd love to get my hands on the Ju-88 because it looks like it fills a void left by the Ju-87 and the He-111 but I don't know if I'm ready to drop that kind of money for 1 plane. I was also thinking of waiting for the Hs-129 to be released if I can purchase it separately was a collector plane, what should I expect from it? Dive bombing was always an appealing idea to me and I love reading about the good old dauntless (obviously I'm REALLY excited for the upcoming pacific theater) but I'm having trouble with the stuka, I just can't get over the awkward time delay between pressing the bomb release switch and waiting for the "arms" to extend for the bomb to drop, I tried using sound cues in the cockpit but they seem to be misleading. Lastly did anyone find themselves gravitating towards one plane as their main platform? I'm testing them all out currently and I really enjoy the Il-2 and its 37mm pods, but its bomb load feels lacking compared to the stuka, and the Pe-2 and He-111 feel like very different aircraft so I'm not sure which one of the two I prefer. Combat sims in general seem to be very fighter orientated and I can't find nearly as many resources for ground attack, so any advice or thoughts are greatly appreciated, thanks!

[JimTM]

The IL-2 Stormovik Wiki has a section on Ground Attack. There's currently a level bombing guide and a resources section with links to further information.

 

Happy ground pounding!