The A6M could ‘outdance’ pretty much any fighter the Allies had, it’s why tactics changed to boom and zoom. So, to say the Spitfire is overrated because the wrong tactics were used is a little unfair, the Spitfire could outturn most Allied fighters.
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Thank you. That makes me feel better and closer to my dad, who flew the F4U. However, I think I read somewhere on here that there was a 1000lb difference between the two variants? If that’s true, wouldn’t it make for differences in flight behavior? Thanks again.
I’ve had a lot of trouble with taking off in the Spitfire (handling the hard turning behavior when torquing up – roughly 5/6 of my flights so far have crashed on takeoff), which makes me worry if the Corsair is “more difficult” that I’ll never get in the air. Can you describe what sorts of things are difficult about flying it? Is it the take-off? The landing? General speed and temperature management?
1000lbs? Maybe MTOW, but for sure not DOW.
I have both and the Corsair is just cooler and more fun to fly. The spit is awesome and takes a little practice with TO and Landing and Flys really well.
The Corsair is just a whole different feeling for me. Feels more real and more rewarding to fly. Now if they can just fix the AOA on the Corsair I will be extremely happy.
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I haven’t flown the Corsair yet so can’t directly comment other than the couple of video reviews I’ve seen… my comment about difficulty was more in reference to systems depth requiring a little more effort in reading how to operate it and keeping an eye on things rather than flight characteristics.
From my playing so far the spitfire is very straightforward. Certainly it can be a bit of a handful on takeoff but that’s mostly just a question of practise and technique really (and avoiding strong crosswinds!). Once up in the air you can really abuse it in terms of prop rpm, manifold pressure etc and it doesn’t mind so it’s very easy to play around with while just enjoying the sights.
For an example the Corsair seems to have oil and cylinder head temp well modelled and if you don’t know how to operate it as regards prop rpm, manifold pressure, oil cooling flaps and cowl flaps then the engine will detonate on you. If you don’t mind spending a little time reading through the manual and learning the operation of the aircraft then you’ll probably find more to enjoy on the Corsair.
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nod thanks! Sounds like a) I just need to practice takeoff more in the Spitfire, as I already know 
and b) the Corsair will be a lot of fun, but I’ll have to read the manual
I can work with that. 
It seems to me that it was yesterday that it was on TV.
Personally, I find the Spitfire more detailed, knowing that I play in VR, I also feel more comfortable in the cockpit. I really feel like I’m sitting in the seat, instead of the pilot.
While the Corsair is like the planes in the television series, it’s the big, rustic machine that has seen it all, repaired over and over again.
I feel less comfortable in the cockpit, the first time I have the impression that it was not on the right scale. (And besides, I had little doubt …)
To have the gaze in front of the lined glass plate, I have to be seated 20 cm / 7.87402 "from the seat, and as much from the backrest. What bothers me is that in this position, it would be impossible for me to be able to hold the handle, or so with your fingertips.
If I really sit in the seat (In VR), I have my gaze in the dials, and I do not see anything in front of me.
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The Spitfire benefits greatly from a combination of nostalgia and its strong association with the defense of Britain and really Greatest Generation Britishness as a whole and its iconic status relies a bit more heavily on that than it does its actual war record and service history as others have pointed out. Nothing wrong with that and it is still THE MOST ICONIC British military aircraft ever, though it earned that more through the media and general public perception than the Corsair or Bf109 for instance.
The Corsair’s claim to fame is a bit more balanced in that it had an absurdly good kill ratio and with the Hellcat was the backbone of the US military in the Pacific Campaign. Like the Spitfire is linked forever in public consciousness with the Battle of Britain, the Corsair is with the Pacific theater. Despite the Hellcat having an even better record than the Corsair, the Corsair likely benefitted in the public consciousness for its extremely unique and really quite beautiful shape which, personally speaking, I would not say about the Hellcat which looks more like you strapped a couple wings on a beer keg.
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I’m not sure that’s a good way of judging accuracy. While yes, DCS IN GENERAL is the benchmark for realistic military flight, that absolutely does not mean all of the planes available are. There have been some real stinkers in DCS and still are. Unless a model has been pretty specifically vetted as the gold standard for that aircraft, I’m not sure you can just default say that because the Spit in MSFS doesn’t feel like the Spit in DCS, that the MSFS isn’t accurate. There are plenty of DCS planes, including modern jets that suffer from particularly annoying bouts of unrealistic behavior.
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That’s great news from my perspective. Thank you!
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Not sure if you understood my post as intended, since that’s basically what I wrote and all prop driven aircraft in DCS have very noticeable shortcomings in their flight models.
Your quote referred to an unrelated post btw.
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My bet would be what they meant was there was a 1000 lb difference between the F4U-1a (or maybe even the birdcage F4U-1) and the F4U-1D (FG-1D).
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I guess I didn’t. I need to get off the computer. I got my 2nd Pfizer shot early this morning and I’m pretty fuzzy up top. Sorry about that.
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FIFY
I just finished the book “Check Six” about the P-47 in use by the USAAF in the Pacific. Excellent read and good history as the pilot was involved from pretty much the start of offensive operations till nearly the end (212 combat missions, just about all in the razorback P-47). Granted, the USAAF also used the P-40 and P-38 in the Pacific theater, and the P-51 at the very end (the author switched, unwillingly, to the P-51 in April 1945).
TOTALLY what he said
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This may help in your Choice of Aircraft.
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100%
Still totally getting both.
Good video. Nice to see the engine management of the Spit being discussed. Looking forward to FlyingIron bringing an update with proper engine management for their Spit.
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gettin both, already bought the spitifire anyway
and the worst is, i expect A2A to give us their own rendition of the Spit in time…and i know i’ll buy it too.
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Yes, having owned the A2A Spit, the FI Spitfire was a teeny-bit disappointing in that regard. It’s still fun, but, I missed the engine management you had to do with the A2A model. But, really, the FI Spitfire is still fun (except for the fact that the first and only time I flew it my computer crashed to the point I had to recover the computer, the OS had to be repaired, but I don’t know if that was the fault of the Spit, might have been because I was flying in Britain), and I don’t really hold that against it, it just is what it is and I don’t regret purchasing it.