Re: Why cant i shoot anyone down?
 

I don't get it, are you saying that if you are in the rear gunner position you should aim BELOW a plane trailing you? Or lead it in the direction its moving? The few times I've gotten kills is when the enemy is off to one side and almost stationary from my point of view. In those cases its only a second or two before I can shoot him.

Re: Why cant i shoot anyone down?
 

This is interesting. I think planes are far too easy to shoot down when in another plane. I can shred any plane in half a second with the FW190 and in 1.5 seconds with a Spitfire or Corsair. 2 seconds with a Zero. The planes are made of paper they are so easy kill. Not that easy when a skilled pilot makes it hard to hit them, but if you DO hit them they are pretty much dead.

Re: Why cant i shoot anyone down?
 

I once destroyed a plane with a jeep on Gaudalcanal, albeit an accident. I was casually jumping my jeep off the hills as I sometimes like to do and he swooped past me as I was jumping and I hit him and we both blew up. I thought it was funny, but I got mad cause I was also enjoying jumping the jeep off stuff.

I was also wondering are the ammunition loadouts for the planes right? Just seems like on some planes 900 or so rounds seems like nothing. You get in one prolonged dogfight and youre outta ammo sometimes. Or if you have trouble with a medium bomber and use up a ton of your ammo. I thought theyd have more ammo than what they have.. maybe that's fixed in .6 or maybe I dont know what Im talking about.

Re: Why cant i shoot anyone down?
 

i've killed plane with detpacks, he was just flying a little too low to the ground, trying to kill our with his proppellers.

Re: Why cant i shoot anyone down?
 

and if they go low enough mines will kill em :P

Re: Why cant i shoot anyone down?
 

about the original topic, its lag. if u make ur own server, u can shoot ppl down by aiming right at them, because u have no lag, but if it is not ur server, u have to aim in front. it was annoying when i first started playing too. try making ur own server and when someone comes, u will see its quite easy to down them. just remember to aim in front in public servers. hope this helps and hope someone at FH fixes this if its possible.

Re: Why cant i shoot anyone down?
 

You have to consider the physics of the trajectory. If the enemy is directly behind you and you are a rear gunner, then yes you fire directly into the plane. If you are pursuing another plane then you have to take into consideration that you both are moving and calculate a proper lead. If you are aiming at where he is when you pull the trigger, by the time your bullets reach that spot the target has moved to another point in space. You have to shoot at where the target is going to be when your bullets reach that point, not where he currently is. This is why computing gunsights were invented. Airspeed of both planes, deflection, wind, air resistance and gravity are all factors you have to take into consideration. The farther back you are from your target, the more you have to lead. He climbs, aim above him. He dives, aim below him. In a turn, aim in front of him. If your targeting reticle doesn't change, then you are not hitting the target. ADJUST!! I love the planes with both MG and cannon. Fire both at the same time and you can really shred the other guy. For bombers, target the engines to get the fastest kills. I haven't played Bocage since the new patch. I hope the flight characteristics have been fixed for the P-51. It took forever to turn that plane before. I know the Mustang was much more nible than depicted.

Re: Why cant i shoot anyone down?
 

I know people will argue this but at low altitudes the P51 flew like a brick, a fast brick but at high alititudes it ruled the skies.

The RAF combat trials for most WW2 planes are freely available and they show direct comparisons with similar planes, both allied and axis and are an interesting read.