A while ago, I was flying on my stock p-47n. I was trying to solo cap the airstrip, but there was an Akira A6M5 there. Instead of crying about cash grabs and unfairness, I shot him. He went down to about 30%, then began to outturn me. So I turned around and boosted as fast as I could. He shot me to about 50%, then I left his range. A while later, I turned around, and deleted all that was left of his health. Even though he was specced and had a special pilot, I won. On a stock plane with no equipment.
If you try hard enough and play your plane to its advantages, THAT is what makes you win.