A little bit of mid-day fun.
Started off with the Masha. Decided I wasn't really going to pay the iron price for the spec wings, so I paid the gold price. A speedy turnbuild, with LWWF, LWPU, polished skin and uprated engine. Like the stock Masha, except more. First flight with the spec build reveals that my previous impression of the unspecced plane being sluggish was pretty accurate. It is now much more spritely. It also turns VERY well, and will compete in it's white speed range with everything but Goblings and Yak-19s. Get the speed down into the yellow, edging into red? It turns REALLY well. Stupid Archipelago map, two CCs, two airfields. It was a air superiority win, with the poor unspec P.228 driver on the other side wondering what just ran over him, but it was mostly the fact that I was able to cap the near CC really quickly, then use my speed to get over to the far CC before it was capped, and turn it around to blue. Once we had both CCs, I just defended the one closest to the red spawn, and it was game over.
A little bit of Swallow action, first with the Me-262 HGII. I haven't flown this guy in a while, and needed a little bit of my HF mojo back. Top tier on the map with the dam on it, near where the plant is? I can never remember the name of that thing. Mountains, both CCs in valleys... Anyway, matched up against a spec Ho-229 and a spec P-82B. As per my usual, I F2d the map to send planes toward the plant, and went along for the ride. I was expecting the bot bombers and GAA to show up, but I was NOT expecting both the Ho and Twin Stang. That was fun, just because I had the speed to get it done, and they couldn't jink out of the way of those 30mm rounds. I legit felt bad about keeping the plant away from them all battle. I'm not sure what they could have done against me, other than both of them F3ing some bots to help out. But then MY Twin Stang team mate cleans up the rest of the map. The HGII is pretty good at T9, and those guys didn't have an answer. If it had been Rei or Nue, the outcome might have been different...
So, the next battle had me in the Me-262, and I brought R4Ms along. The Ho and Twin Stang that had been on the other team last battle was also on the other team this battle. I had a spec RB-17 on my side, and we got to, again, fight over a plant - this time on an Albion map. Rockets to the face is always fun. For me, not them. ;) Mr. Ho-229 was not pleased. Played the high-low game to a win. Did not get a chance to try out the Swallow's hidden talent, but the T9 bird doesn't have it.
Since I was feeling like I needed to do some Goose hunting, I broke out my Ki-102. My first battle felt like I was swimming in jello after all the jet fightery goodness I had been doing before. Getting the 57mm to hit took me the better part of half the battle. The Me-410 on the other side made a satisfying BOOM when a shell connected. A close win, with me floundering around like I'd never flown a HF before.
One more Ki-102 battle before taking a break:
Scorching Sands, 2 military bases, two airfields, one central garrison. A-26B, Spitfire I and SE-100 humans on the other side. The two humans rounding out my side: Bf-109E and Hurricane II. Superiority win, cursing from the Invader player, and a low-level snapshot BOOM on the Shitfire to flip the central garrison. VERY satisfying.
But no Geese were spotted. I almost drug out the P-38F, just for grins, but decided I had clubbed enough seals for the day.