What is your favourite plane?

[KG_S_Kalle_Kalutz82]

Ju 87 D-5

...oh wait...

not here yet, so the Ju 87 D-3

 

Second is the Ju88 A-4, followed by the P-40 and Bf 109 E-7.

[JMan1512]

Favourite plane: Tempest Mk.v

 

Reason: So far i have only tried two planes & in this one i could understand (mostly) what all the cockpit thingymabobs & doodahs were for, other plane was a German one .

[Bremspropeller]

Which is funny, because all the British cockpits are designed like a Monty Python sketch.

[MeoW.Scharfi]

All planes are awesome, from 109 to Ju87, to P51D to P38!

 

I recommand some people who fly only one fraction to step out of their patriotic shadow and fly all of them online.

 

As human you can't decide where you are born and therefore what you will fly.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

[BlitzPig_EL]

I really need to get online more, even if just to pad my opponent's kill tally.

[Lusekofte]

Meh. Waist of money not flying all planes. 
 

[Bremspropeller]

18 minutes ago, BlitzPig_EL said:

I really need to get online more, even if just to pad my opponent's kill tally.

 

 You really do!

And thanks to SRS you can now vividly re-create the "Say again - I can't hear you" scene of Battle of Britain*.

 

 

___

* You know, the movie...

[PatrickAWlson]

On 11/3/2020 at 12:57 PM, BornToBattle said:

I’m going out on a limb here despite that I may pick up some flak (he-he) for this but for me it’s the...

 

...A-20.
 

Obviously lacks the charisma of the fighter sets, but in game she’s very predictable for me and very well-tamed. Docile, in fact. With inputs I know exactly what to expect. Landing? Ha! Practically does it herself! I I needn’t go into the sound of those big dual radials. Friggin’ awesome. Not to mention decent power for her size as well. Just love looking over at those big radials in VR.
 

So to each his or her own, but I just love the way this big bird performs, even if it is “just” a bomber role.

 

I have heard a lot of people express love for this plane, so you are definitely not alone.

[sevenless]

Well at present I have a very sweet spot for these two:

 

 

 

Maybe that will change a little once we get access to this baby:

 

Edited November 4, 2020 by sevenless

[keeno]

Hurricane!

[Blitzen]

Well as of yesterday and for the time being :

[zan64]

despite eastern front being my favorite and being a bit of a nut for the 109 knowing all kinds of bizarre information about model differences etc, if i could choose one and only one and have it too irl....

 

P-51D

 

cliche but cliche for a reason, its a nice plane to look at

[HelveticKiwi]

It really depends for me, im very much an early war fan, so i love the Hurricane and its Hurribomber configurations, but i do love doing my supply runs with the Ju-52!

[352nd_Tazman]

The Wildcat.

 

It was so much fun to fly!

 

Flying that in IL2 1946 against the Zero was such a blast! 

 

Flying in MP I had so many fun times!

 Launching off the deck, heading out to face the dreaded Zero, then returning back to the carrier. Really taught me teamwork and patience.

 

In game, the P-38. Just love the looks and the sounds of that plane! That extra engine has gotten me back to my virtual home many a time!

[Bremspropeller]

The Hurricane is surprinsingly fun. Even in a 1944 Western Front scenario.

[BlitzPig_EL]

The Hurri really is a good plane, I think mostly because it is a forgiving and easy to fly bird.  Yes it gives up much in straight line performance, but it can still hold it's own unless it faces a truly good adversary pilot.  Also it excels in the ground attack role.

 

 

BlitzPigs on patrol over the "Channel".

[Atlantia39]

Don't laugh...but I really like tooling around in the Ishak I-16.

I find the low-altitude performance very good!

[Firesilver]

Ju-87 is my classic go-to, it's been a rollercoaster learning how they did it in real life back in the 1940s!

[MattS]

I'm not much of a WW2 Germany fan in general, but my favorite planes to actually play are the FW 190s.

 

Speed, decisive armament, and responsive handling that seems to respond to my thoughts.

 

BF 109 is probably second place on pure performance (and again armament).

 

I like the P-51 for performance but its weapons let it down. P-47 and P-40 are dogs that are nice for transportation but that's about it.

 

P-39 and Spifires are too sensitive in the pitch axis for my taste.

 

Tempest is amazing but I think it's probably not accurate for the reasons that others have mentioned in other threads.

 

Hurricane is too early to tell, but I like its handling. It's not fast, but it sure is slow LOL.

 

Soviet planes are nice enough, but after spending more time in the German and Western Allied planes I have lost my taste for them.

[NO.20_Krispy_Duck]

I'm not sure why, but I tend to like older stuff. WW2 is an interesting period to me, though I gravitate more to WW1.

 

For what we have in IL2 BoX: P-40 and Hurricane

From IL2 FC: Bristol F.III or Sopwith Camel

Rise of Flight: Nieuport 11, Sopwith Pup, FE2b pusher, Spad VII (just too hard to decide).

 

[oc2209]

6 hours ago, MattS said:

Soviet planes are nice enough, but after spending more time in the German and Western Allied planes I have lost my taste for them.

 

I like the La-5FN because it's very effective, but I don't enjoy flying it. The ailerons are too sensitive, and despite the leading edge slats, it doesn't turn as smoothly as a 109.

 

The Yak-9 (plain) swung me back to Russian, though. While I was initially put off by the light armament versus the 9T, I've grown used to it and am much more effective with it than when I started. I also, believe it or not, greatly prefer the default iron sights for the plain Yak-9. The sight picture is much better for deflection shooting, and overall aiming. While it's worthless for 250m+ sniping, you shouldn't be trying to snipe with the Yak-9's guns anyway; too little ammo to waste it that way. For deflection shots at close range, and pointblank shots up the tail to kill the pilot, the iron sights are great. I've managed to cut my ammo expenditure per kill down to almost 109 levels. When I first started, I'd waste half of all my ammo, at least, just for one kill.

[Pikestance]

Currently, the 109 G4. 

 

For WWI, I like the Albatross D.Va. Nice all around plane. 

Edited November 24, 2020 by [=PzG=]-FlyinPinkPanther

[jollyjack]

On 11/4/2020 at 6:44 PM, Bremspropeller said:

Which is funny, because all the British cockpits are designed like a Monty Python sketch.

 

Hopefully Cleese is not at the wheel ...

 

 

BTW My favs vary a lot, but i am a less serious gamer without the urge to trim all those plane particularities ...

 

Edited November 19, 2020 by jollyjack

[dburne]

Spit Mk IX for me hands down.

[Noisemaker]

4 hours ago, jollyjack said:

 

Hopefully Cleese is not at the wheel ...

 

I doubt Cleese would fit into most of the cockpits!  Besides that, I'd rather have Cleese than some other British comedians (cough, cough, Rowan Atkinson, cough, cough).

[NO.20_W_M_Thomson]

I favor the Bristol and camel in FC and the P-38 and soon to be mosquito once it comes to Il2, That's the plane I'll be in majority of my time or I'll be escorting the mosquito in the tempest maybe the P-51.  

[=MOCAP=Thaddeus_Darwin]

Definitely the Hurricane for me... Been waiting for it ages and now it's here I can't get enough of it...! Maybe not the best all-rounder but pretty handy none-the-less.

 

P-40 is my other go-to - apart from that, the P-38 and Mustang are a couple I'd like to get to better grips with.

 

Eventually I'll get to have a go in everything - might find another favourite (or two)...!?  

[Groove_GFA]

I dedicate this post to the P-40 - an aircraft that frustrates the hell out of me. It's engine management hell, turns like crap, and it takes its sweet time in a climb.

 

My story all started because I refused to ease into this. I needed the most realistic experience possible. I did a few training flights in the U-2VS, then dove right into online (had a fun experience in what was probably 2 or 3 hours total time on the Finnish Virtualpilots server). In fact, I flew with Thaddeus_Darwin and his P-40 on that server. I love your passion for the plane Thaddy - it inspired me to stick with it! We should fly again soon!

 

Anyway, life happened, I got busy with work, family, and returned after something like 4 months. I started a campaign on the most realistic settings I could, spent about 30 minutes training as a "refresher" on takeoff/landing procedures (thanks Requiem), and dove right in the campaign.

 

I'm not the best pilot, don't have a lot of seat time, and I'm still not an ace. I've damaged a few 109s, tried to stay with my wing as much as possible, and my only aerial kills are a pair of 111s in 7 missions total.

 

Yet, I continue to fly the P-40 with confidence because it seems to get me home. I think there is something to this aircraft's reputation for durability. 

 

-Groove

[US103_Baer]

 

Edited November 22, 2020 by US103_Baer

[MaxTurn]

I only fly against AI and so stay away from the P-40.  Unless things have changed in the recent revisions, I think the plane could not have been such a "dog" and think the limits on the V-1710 are not realistic.  One argument that I think was on the forum but I can't find was about the maximum boost possible with the Allison.  I found this letter which I have been unable to upload as a PDF and or even as a 7-zip file.  I pasted the first page and the entire document can be found at:  http://www.wwiiaircraftperformance.org/P-40/V-1710_Service_Use_of_High_Power_Outputs.pdf

 

I am interested in finding if there is any other reliable historical records indicating that this was an actual practice.  If this is redundant I apologize but I did search the forum. 

 

 

[69th_chuter]

 

The Russians overboosted the heck out of the P-39 admitting that if they operated it "by the book" it would have been a dog.  So the engine life was reduced somewhat, they had a war to fight - lol.

[BlitzPig_EL]

The Allison report about over boosting the V1710 in the P40 has been known for a long time.  And fully ignored for that same long time...  Sadly.

 

The limits we have currently in the game were set for training in the US to keep rebuilds down to a reasonable level, and is not indicative of how these engines were operated in the field.

[MaxTurn]

 

Since the Allison powered (according to what I have read) about 60 percent of all U.S. pursuit aircraft in WWII then it must have been better than the model in IL-2.  I just did a quick mission in Wings over T. and the P-40 is like a totally different plane.  One of the two models is wrong or maybe I am just an Idiot.  I consider the two probabilities as being equally supported a priori.

 

Edited November 23, 2020 by MaxTurn
spelling

[Motherbrain]

Ju87. Alway loved the Stuka. Always will.

[zan64]

3 hours ago, MaxTurn said:

 One of the two models is wrong or maybe I am just an Idiot.  I consider the two probabilities as being equally supported a prior.

 

Haven't played it in Tolbruk, not only would I be interested to see which is more accurate, I got the A2A P-40 for prepar3d (by the way its free as a gift during covid times! before was $50) but havent had a chance to compare it to IL2 

 

not to derail the thread, so like to add while irl mustang is my favorite, in game it is the I-16, just fun and rewarding to fly and fight in

Edited November 23, 2020 by Esel_kong

[BlitzPig_EL]

Just for an experiment, go set up a Quick Mission, go to the "Realism" tab and tick "Invulnerable".  Then take a P40 up and run it at the kinds of manifold pressures that they actually used in combat.  That is how the P40 should be.

[Mollotin]

9 hours ago, BlitzPig_EL said:

Just for an experiment, go set up a Quick Mission, go to the "Realism" tab and tick "Invulnerable".  Then take a P40 up and run it at the kinds of manifold pressures that they actually used in combat.  That is how the P40 should be.

 

Well p40 is facing 109s that are limited by "gamey" engine timers too. While i support this idea that engines should be able to maintain "emergency power" longer than currently - i see why developers decided to make it the way it currently is.

[BlitzPig_EL]

I don't.

 

 

 

Edited November 24, 2020 by BlitzPig_EL

[Cleo9]

On 11/2/2020 at 12:27 PM, Adj said:

Fw 190 A3

Plenty of ammo and a hefty punch

 

 I concur. Gotta give my vote to the FW190A3. Heavily armed, fast and agile 

 

[Rjel]

Just out of idle curiosity, does anyone know what the average number of flight hours that a P-39 or P-40 survived while in Soviet service? If the airframes only lasted say, a hundred or two hundred hours in combat on average, there would be little reason to baby the Allison engines.