The CFS-2 Flight Deck

Edited from:
Interview of Lieutenant Commander John S. Thach, U. S.N.
Commanding VF-3, U.S.S. SARATOGA; in the Bureau of Aeronautics
August 26, 1942...

  We learned that we must shoot, not at the formation, not at a single plane, bit at a vital spot in order to bring down an enemy quickly. This tendency to shoot at the fuselage isn't so bad when you're shooting at training targets...
  Air battles are won by hitting enemy planes with bullets; that, after all, is the primary mission & unless a fighter pilot can use his primary weapon, his guns, he's of little value.
  A fighter pilot must be expert with his fixed guns. He has so little time to do his work he can't afford to miss. This was brought out in every battle we fought. These battles have been won, in my opinion, by the skin of our teeth. It was always like a close baseball game - anybody's game until the 9th inning.
  In connection with the performance of the Zero fighter any success we have had against the Zero is not due to the performance of the airplane we fly but is the result of comparatively poor marksmanship on the part of the Japanese, stupid mistakes made by a few of their pilots, & our superior teamwork. The only way we can ever bring our guns to bear on the Zero fighter is to do it when they are preoccupied shooting another one of our planes, or else trick the Zero into recovering in front of us.

Edited from:
Interview of Major John Smith, USMC
VMF Squadron 223, Guadalcanal Island; in the Bureau of Aeronautics
10 November 1942... asked about the performance of the Zero...

 They had much more performance than we had. I think they did because we just couldn't stay with them at all, and dogfight at any altitude. The only thing we ever tried to do, if they saw us before we saw them, was to turn into them & take advantage of our six guns. Then, if we couldn't shoot them down, we would go right straight ahead & get out of the way... because if we didn't... every time... they'd be right on our tail... & in a short time...

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About now you may be thinking ...why tell us about the 'real-plane' when this is supposed to be about the Wildcat in CFS-2...

In fact the CFS-2 Wildcat is as the pilots above described Wildcats for real... Fragile, & at the bottom of the fighter plane food chain... None the less it's flaws & strengths can be exploited by a good pilot, with a marksman's aim. When paired with a steady wingman with the same skills, you may indeed rule the CFS-2 sim-skies; complaints aside, the Wildcat has a forgiving stall, a healthy roll rate &, very hard hitting guns. If your lookin for a serious CFS-2 challange... strap on a Wildcat!!!

Reference:
MicroSoft CFS-2 Official Site