Called the "Pony" by many warbirders, this plane is all about speed and putting out a wall of lead with its 6 .50 cal machineguns. These are mounted 3 to a wing, and when you first hit the firebutton they sometimes don't fire in unison, but rather one wing at a time, which yaws the plane back and forth, considerable reducing accuracy. To cure this, stab your secondary firebutton real quick just after takeoff, just enough to fire the guns on _one_ wing only. Now when you fire away with all guns at once, they'll be much better synchronized. This works with all MG-only planes.

The pony is fast. Even though the Fw-190 D9, the Yak-3 and the Ki-84 have better acceleration, the pony is still faster in level flight. It takes a while to reach top speed, though, so I recommend that you don't chase Doras or other fast planes around unless you already have an energy advantage, as you most likely won't catch them before they reach safety at their home field. Now, the speed of the P-51 has one other neat side effect. It can _climb_ doing 250 MPH or better (though the ideal climb speed is about 200 MPH), which opens some interesting escape possibilities. Using this ability you can outclimb spitfires, Fw's, almost anything, and whatever manages to keep up with you alt-wise will still be left in the dust, since they will be going much slower to achieve the same rate of climb. Don't try to outclimb anything at slower speeds, though, as your climb rate goes down drastically as the speed drops below 170 MPH or so.

The pony has a lot of guns, but each does very little damage, so you have to be a decent shot to get kills in this lady (or spray and pray a lot). I prefer to be at range 3 or so before opening up, even in a fast BnZ pass (at most I might start firing at 400 yards), with convergence set to 300 yards, so ideally I should be firing from D2, just as it switches from D3 in order to get all guns on target. Still, if you look at my gunnery it's usually around 8-10%, mainly due to Pilot Induced Oscillations (waving the stick around wildly, throwing off your aim). Use small, smooth movements when aiming in the P-51 and your nose will stay where you want it.

The best way of lining up a shot is to come sweeping down underneath an unsuspecting enemy, while still maintaining a good energy advantage in case you're spotted, and then come back up onto his low 6. If timed right, you'll be going a little faster than him and be climbing slightly. Make sure your trim is neutral or slightly nose down, as it's much easier to adjust pulling the stick than it is pushing it, then line up and wait for the distance to wind down from D3 to D2. When it does, give him a burst until you reach D1 (about 1-2 seconds if you're not going too fast) then pull up above and watch him either explode, shed a vital surface or at the very least dive for the deck in panic, letting you reengage or leave at your leisure.

The "Iron Dog", as most pilots call it (especially after they try to fly it and find that they attract NME like a cow pie does flies) is not fast, not nimble, and doesn't climb, nor turn well. The one thing it has going for it is the spinner-mounted 37mm cannon, with 30 rounds. This can often be enough, though, expecially if some dweeb in a Zero decides to HO you, only to get a rather closer look at the tip of a 37mm shell than he would have liked. One shell usually does it, although large bombers (like the AB-17) can take three or more if you don't aim properly. The hard thing about killing buffs in the P-39 is that the turbosupercharger designed to give it superior high alt performance was removed before it went into production, and it's real hard to get up high enough to bounce bombers. In group operations, the "dawg" really shines, though, as it's a rock steady gun platform, and was made for strafing. The cannon usually finishes of an ack placement with one or two shots (if you hit it, that is) and buildings and towers seldom require more than one pass. The rate of fire is also quite good compared to the B-25's 75mm cannon, about 1.5 rounds a second (I think, haven't timed it). Now if ICI would fix the bug that takes away its autofire capabilities, it'd be even better. When you're out of cannon shells, the .50's and the smaller MG's in the nose can also be used for strafing. In all, an excellent ground attack plane, but get fighter cover if you're planning on returning home.

The "Hog" is similar to the P-51 "Mustang" in many respects, but its gull wing design and bigger engine makes it somewhat different. For starters, it has a tremendous amount of torque, making it hard keep straight on takeoff and at low speeds. It also has a prominent nose, making carrier landings rather challenging. The wing and aileron design does however give it a magnificent roll rate, especially at high speeds, and that's where the F4U is really most comfortable. Like the Mustang, it turns quite well at speed, but more poorly when slow, and it has the same type and number of guns. The somewhat poor rear view limits Situational Awareness a little, but can be overcome by yawing (time to get those rudder pedals :-) to see around the tail.

The Hog is a good BnZ plane, but doesn't turn real tight, and has vicious stall characteristics, which in real life earned it the nickname "Ensign Eliminator". Keep it fast, don't turn, and preferably fly with a wingman so you can check each other's 6. It's also pretty good at divebombing, and carries 2 1000lb bombs or 10 rockets. Don't get above 400 MPH in a dive though, or you'll never pull out. Use flaps and gear if necessary to slow down.

This model of the famous zero has slightly better guns than the A6M3, but still outturns most planes in Warbirds at low speeds. The zero is not a good plane for BnZ flying, as you lose most of the control authority above 250 MPH, and it doesn't perform real well at high altitudes. Turnfighting, though, is what this plane was built for, and in most cases you can just point the plane at the enemy and pull on the stick until you've got a shot opportunity. Unfortunately this maneuverability was achieved by leaving off most of the armor and not using very heavy armament, so you don't want to get hit in a zero. Any kind of hit is likely to take out something important, like the elevator, or the pilot. Therefore, when in a furball (which is where the zero is the most fun to fly), don't fly straight and level if you can at all avoid it. Keep turning and twisting, and they'll (hopefully) never hit you. Still, if you choose to fly this plane, landing is something you'll rarely experience online.

One little trick against BnZ passes is to dive under the nose of the attacker (and I mean _way_ under). He usually can't compensate enough to get a good shot, and even if he does, if you're low and slow (which is where zero's are at their best) he's in grave danger of augering in if he steepens his dive. Once he passes overhead, or preferably a little before that, pull up into a vertical lead turn, and try to hit him in the 2-3 seconds while he's still in range.