[ACE-OF-ACES]

Why whould he drop it? He's not wrong in this case. How a plane "feels" is very important in game, on that we can agree. There are times when some subjective decisions need to be made, but they should never be made without testing the results against the known objective data.

Bingo!

Now this is not to say every page of real world data you find is perfect either! But, if someone making a flight model is going to choose to ignore the real world data, well they better have a good justification for doing so IMHO.

Take the Ki84 for example, the US tested some of them after the war and found it to have a hudge rate of climb. Now at first glance, someone might say the ingame Ki84 should have the rate of climb listed in that US test report! But, upon further investigation, you have to consider the US tested the Ki84 with US fuel, which had a much higher octain than what Japan had! So, in a case like that I would fully understand it if someone making a FM for the Ki84 decided to make the rate of climb a little less than the numbers listed in that US test document. How much less, that is debatable and a grey area, but at least they gave a reason for doing it!! Where as on the flip side, telling us it just FEELS right to reduce the Ki84 rate of climb is not going to fly with most people!

Given the variables available every FM in game is going to be a compromise.. every time you alter something to try and get something "dead on" you will cause another measure to be further off than it was before.. its a balancing act.

Exactally, and like I said, no sim ever was, is, or will be perfect! But I know it can be closer than 35% error!

I think you need to differentiate constructive criticism of Freddy's FM's from his amazing work on the 86F cockpit and in other areas.

So ture!