No doubt, the most successful axis fighter in the game is the Fw-190A-8, at least in multiplayer. In quick combat mode, I prefer the 109, which otherwise is barely usable against a live pilot in multiplayer games.

In quick combat, the opponents fly with very poor tactics, always engaging in turning dogfights, even when they're outclassed in turning radius and maneuverability. This way, it is possible to survive against a horde of up to nine opponents. The 109s have a good top speed, an excellent rate of climb, and the fact that with it's direct injection, it can dive with negative-Gs without loss of power give you the ability to disengage without trouble if an enemy is on your tail. But things are different when you're pitted against a human opponent. It becomes very difficult for the 109 to outclass the more maneuverable allied fighters because it needs a lot of anticipation and careful planning to compensate for its handicap in turning fights. The display of the enemy aircrafts in multiplayer being bugged, they appears with a scale reduced by two or three times, making it impossible to see more than a dot, even at short distance : you don't see the enemies well enough to be able to anticipate their moves, and so, the superiority one enjoyed in quick combat is reduced to nothing because of this problem that Microsoft never cared to resolve. But thanks to Bill Potvin's utility setscale.exe, one is now able to modify the size of the aircrafts and make them appear at the right size in multiplayer games. Alas! it seems that none cares to use it to correct this situation. More on this later...

If one fly an airplane that is inferior in some respect to its opponents, the only solution is to avoid theses situations where the 109 is an easy prey. Whatever airplane you choose, the key is that you've to use your plane in a way that negates your opponent's advantages, and emphasize your plane strongest points.

 

The strong points to use to your advantage:

With the 109, it means that turning dogfights are to be avoided at all cost: you've a rate of climb better than most of the others planes, use it to disengage, gain altitude to a favorable position, choose a victim and dive on it, picking up the speed that will permit you to break the engagement, and climb again to safety. Since almost everyone prefer to use the Hurricane, take advantage of your superior speed to do hit and run tactics. The Hurricane is inferior to the 109 in almost all performances respects except its superior maneuverability at lower altitudes, and its better turning radius; so never fight at low altitude, and never enter a turning fight is a must. During the battle of Britain, the RAF pilots flying the Hurricane had a hard time trying to catch the 109s flying at higher altitude, making diving surprise attacks, and climbing again to safety, unchallenged. Try to conserve your energy, trading speed for altitude, and using your superior altitude to gain speed and close for the kill. Theses tactics are applicable to all Luftwaffe fighters, but it is even more true for the 109. Never turn keeping the same altitude; if you want to reverse course, do either an immelman to get higher at the same time, or do a split-S if you're high enough and want to gain more speed. But beware: you can out dive most of the allied fighters, except the P-47 having a better acceleration. When you climb, watch out for the P-38 that can easily keep behind you.

You can shake any opponent by pushing the stick forward suddenly, and applying full rudder and ailerons: the Spits or Hurricane trying to follow this maneuver will have their engine cutting in this condition, giving you enough time to get away. In order to have their carburetors still feeding the engine, the Spits and Hurricanes will need to roll inverted before going in pursuit, still giving you the time to escape. But you need to have enough altitude to do so; try to keep your altitude advantage at all times, because altitude is your passport to safety if you're in a bad situation.

An other good point of the 109E, though not so obvious, is when you fly in turning fight against Spitfires: the Spit can out-turn the 109 easily almost all the time, but the Spitfire have more dangerous characteristics in a stall; it is easier to recover in the 109 in a G-induced stall, whereas the Spit will readily enter a violent spin in this conditions. In order to get the necessary lead to hit you, the Spitfire will have to turn sharper, and may stall if not flown carefully. Of course, this will happen only with the flight model set at the maximum realism setting. Besides don't rely to much on this, because if flown by a determined and confirmed pilot, the spit will rarely make you this pleasure. But this is something that is very likely to happen if you're engaged near the ground by someone who takes any chances to get a kill. Stalling a Spit in the vicinity of the ground leave very little room for recovery.

The tactics to use are the same with either the Bf-109E or the Bf-109G, with some variations in relation to the differences in performance between the two aircrafts.

 

The situations where you'll have to be careful:

The "Emil" is lighter, and so more maneuverable than it's "Gustav" counterpart. It is easier to fly than the heavier G model, and is more forgiving. But the "Gustav" is faster, and have a better armament, being a far more dangerous opponent in head-on attacks.

The head-on attack:

With the 109G, you'll find yourself many times in the situation where the only attack you can make is from ahead. With it's powerful weapons, the G-6 is very dangerous for it's foe (beside, the correction for deflection shooting is easier, and you're more likely to hit the foe). But with a fire rate inferior to the enemy, you'll have to aim very precisely because you can't afford to spray a large area like the others, hoping that you'll hit by sheer luck while saturating the airspace with your bullets. But don't press the attack to close, or you'll have no time to break away from your target: midair collisions are frequent. The best thing to do is to have some sideslip (which helps the opponent to miss you) and fly to the side of your enemy, instead of directly toward him, and firing at him from the side. You'll have to train hard for deflection shooting, for you'll need to be able to shoot at the enemy from every angle, and in every flight attitude, because your less maneuverable plane would not allow you very often to get in a perfect firing position.

This requirement is part of the pleasure to fly the 109: it is a great satisfaction when you start to be able to register hits from the most unlikely position, and not by luck, but because your aim was good.

The dive:

An other major cause of crash result from the tactics to be employed with the 109: most of the time you'll dive on your foe from a higher altitude, in order to gather the necessary speed to break away after your attack and to climb again to safety; but the 109 accelerate like hell in a dive, and at higher speeds, the controls are very hard to move, and if you make a power dive, chances are that you won't be able to pull-up in time, with the earth rushing toward you with terrific speed. So watch your airspeed indicator carefully, and dive at full throttle only when you've plenty of altitude to recover. Always trim your airplane tail heavy before the dive, it helps in the recovery. As soon as you're climbing again, trim it again for level flight, because you may not be able to dive in an inverted loop if your plane is still trimmed with the nose up. Don't hesitate to use the trim as much as you need, you can make faster maneuvers this way.

In a dive, unless you've plenty of altitude to plan your recovery, never exceed 400 mph (644 kph) or it will be very difficult to pull-up. If trimmed properly, at 644 kph, you won't black out in the pulling up. Past 850 kph, the airplane will rarely respond, so think of retarding the throttle before the dive (at 750 kph, full right rudder is required in a real 109 to hold the airplane on a steady course, and both hands are needed to hold the forward pressure on the stick).

Don't forget a real 109 needs at least 700 m altitude for a split-S: Always keep at least this altitude in reserve if you need to escape. At higher speed, you'll need more altitude than that. A real 109 needs more than 1000m to recover from a dive past 750 kph. At 350 kph, with the aircraft correctly trimmed with the nose up, CFS 109 needs at least 700m to recover from a split-S.

Some numbers to keep in mind at all times:

Bf-109E:

Takeoff speed: 110 kph

initial climb rate: 3420ft/mn (17.37 m/s)

6.1 mn to climb to 5000m

25s to make a 360° turn at 1000m

Dive-bombing with the Emil: dive at 45° for low and medium altitude at 600 kph; and for high altitude at 650 kph

Bf-109G:

Best gliding speed: flaps 15°-20°, engine off, prop in full decrease = 270 kph. 2500m altitude=+/- 20 km glide

Takeoff speed: 150 kph with the flaps set at 20°.

More than 450 kph needed for an immelman.

At 350 kph, at least a 700m altitude loss during a split-S

Best speed in combat: 450-500 kph (or more!)

best climbing speed: 270 kph giving a 17m/s climb.

Approach speed: 200 kph

Max. speed at which the A/C will still respond: 850 kph

 

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Comparison of CFS 109G versus the real thing