So I’ve just hit Tier III in both the US and the USSR recently, and I’ve been having a lot of fun with the prop dog fights (when I can resist diving into the fur balls) and while I know I still have quite awhile before I get to Tier V I’d like to finally settle on a nation.
Like I said, I’ve been having fun with the props, but I’m looking ahead in the tree and imagining learning to fly the jets. And then even longer from now, I’m imagining having to deal with radar and missiles and feeling a little intimidated.
Are either the US or the USSR better for learning to fly the early jets, or does it not really matter which one I pick? I’m not really looking for who has the EASIER jets, necessarily, but rather if one would be better than the other for learning the best habits and techniques that would help me later on in the upper tiers.
My second question: is one or the other better for learning to fight with radar? Or are they both about the same
I play both US and USSR (up to rank 8 on both, but more progress on USSR overall). Overall, the jet tiers for those two nations are obviously well filled out with diverse and excellent aircraft, but keep in mind that the general combat style of US and USSR aircraft deviate in tier 5, as they are designed with very different combat roles and doctrines in mind, and the difference only widens the further you go down the tree. I think its easier to mention my personal favorites in tier 5
For USA:
- F-84G - good acceleration and agility for straight-wing jet + multirole capability if you want a good CAS as well. BR 7.7 is a mixed bag of uptier and downtier though.
- F2H-2 - similar flight performance to the F-84G at a slightly lower BR of 7.3, good cannon armament
- F-86F - retains energy well, is quite agile (excellent roll rate and good turn), weak acceleration and 50 cals at 8.3 hold it back though. Also its wings can snap if you use hydraulic boosters
For USSR:
- MiG-9/L: best straight-wing jet for the BR (7.3) in the Soviet tree, and heavy cannon armament that takes time to get used to but slaps really hard.
- Yak-15P: its a Yak-3 airframe with a jet engine strapped to it. Great fun to fly especially at BR 6.3, but you have to be very conservative with how you expend your energy in fights against props + your low ammo on a single 23mm.
- MiG-15bis: mainstay 8.3 fighter. Same guns as MiG-9/L, slightly smaller than F-86 makes you a bit harder to hit, great acceleration in comparison to the F-86, vertical maneuvering is the way to go with this one. Beware of slower top speed than the F-86 + controls stiffening at high speed. Also a poor roll rate at any speed, Sabres can catch you in a scissoring fight.
Depends on what you mean. Radar is not really relevant to combat in Air RB (except in niche circumstances) until you unlock aircraft capable of guiding radar (SARH) missiles, and at ranks 6 and 7 I’d say USSR and US radars (and SARH missiles) are equally crappy, although US is better than USSR in this regard.
- F3H Demon is the lowest BR (9.3) airplane to get SARH missiles in the US tree, the AIM-7C. I’ve never flown it myself but I don’t hear good things about it
- F-8E Crusader (10.3) is the superior choice to learn SARH combat using the AIM-9C. Substantially better flight performance and countermeasures.
- MiG-21SMT (10.3) has a pretty weak radar, and R-3R missiles that are equivalent to the AIM-9C. But its a highly capable supersonic fighter, equipped with R-60s (highly maneuverable rear-aspect heat seeking missile) and one of the strongest choices in rank 7 USSR.
- MiG-21S (9.7) is premium, same radar as SMT, but lacks countermeasures and doesn’t get the R-60’s the SMT has.
Overall, I think you can learn a lot of things from one tree that translates to any other tree in the game from my experience. But every nation has its niches and quirks unique to them. Good luck with your grind
1 Like
how do you use hydrolic booster? is it holding S to turn harder the way
No, its just an upgrade unit you can find in the “modifications” tab. Every upgrade you own can be optionally uninstalled (and reinstalled) as you please. Removing boosters allows you to do hard turns with less worry of ripping your wings due to over-G, its a problem with the F-86 and A-4 for example
1 Like
F3H is ass, at 9.3 its already stinky because the plane bleed quite a bit of speed when you turn and due the 10.3 black hole you’re gonna get uptier 90% of the time and you simply cannot do shit at 10.3 br. the AIM7C is also really bad, really short missile burn time, low speed, doesnt turn for solid 2-5 second after launch (I forgot how long exactly) and even then it doesnt turn all the way, the the G load slowly ramp up, so you can only kill someone who is heading straight toward you and isnt turning.
1 Like
Wow, thanks! This is a lot of great info. I might just go ahead and put in the time to unlock both the F-84G and the MiG-9/L, everything you listed sounds pretty fun.
1 Like