Victory to the Viper

Since World of Warplanes Update 2.0 hit the North America servers, I have been waiting for a certain moment.

I think it has finally arrived!

Like many others, I have gone through my hangar, testing previously acquired aircraft out in battles, taking note of any changes and examining those results. However, to sweeten the pot, there are quite a few giveaways going on to collect new planes and take to the skies in those, even ones I never laid my virtual hands on before.

One such example is the Bell P-39N-1 Airacobra, available from Alienware. In the pre-2.0 days, I wouldn't have considered getting this, the XFL-1 nor the Soviet P-39Q-15. The game didn't favor low altitude aircraft best suited for maneuvering combat, since they would be nothing more then circling targets for the high flying, dive, shoot and climb predators.

I should know, I spent a great deal of time in the closing days of 1.9 in planes like the Mustang, the Ki-88 and a few others. Now, things are very different.

Not only has the "Turn and Burn" playstyle finally come into it's own, it has done so with a vengeful awakening.

I first noticed it with the tier V Bell XFL-1. Although I tested this plane out before in previous Common Test servers, I never put one in my hangar. As a giveaway, I couldn't resist the temptation and I have been rewarded very nicely. Then, I took the chance on redeeming the code for the tier VI Bell P-39N-1 Airacobra....

A newspaper clipping from a scrapbook I started as a kid, showing Bell Fighters at the airport of my hometown (long before I was born), part of the Northwest Staging Route, ferrying Lend/Lease aircraft from the Continental United States, through Canada to the Soviet Union.

Needless to say, I have liked the look and lore of this aircraft for a very, very long time, but stayed mostly quiet about it, since they didn't really much of an impact or place in the game before and no real appeal or incentive to get any of them.

Now, I have two with one more to go.