Hi Captain.

First off, if you're flying online, the RAF squadron has been established, and using that tag, for quite some time. You may find urself attracting some unwanted attention with that in front of your nic if your callsign isn't on their roster.

I don't know why your plane is all over the place. It should handle the same whatever view you're using. For combat, spot view isn't a very good view to be honest:-
Some pilots insist on only using cockpit view "for realism" but you will find the more succesful dog-fighters have accepted that they're playing a game and use a combination of 'HUD' and 'padlock' views.

If you intend using padlock, it's not something to be used all the time; I use HUD (heads up display) as my main view, flicking between it and padlock, as you might use the rear view mirror in a car.

Padlock is exceptionally useful for cancelling out g-effects (black-out and red-out), when you get used to it.
The downside is that all your fixed-point orientation references (horizon, sun, etc) are invalidated by it because they're no longer fixed. Padlock locks on your opponent's aircraft and it can take some time to get used to flying this way and not in a normal forward view. It took me months (lolol).

Hope this helps you and good luck with the game. I fly several combat flight sim's now and, although CFS is probably the oldest, I reckon it's still the most fun online.

Well, despite my love for it as a game, I gotta tell you that everything that came out after is more realistic. CFS2 is better, but CFS3 has awesome graphics. Also there is a whole series of IL2-Sturmovik simulators which, in my humble opinion, dwarf the whole CFS series GRAPHICally and for realism. The only problem with all of the others is that they're just not good simple arcadey type fun. I mainly play CFS1 and IL2-S Forgotten Battles, and Pacific Fighters, but for completely different reasons.
I would recommend CFS to anyone for good old fashioned simple fun but if realism is your priority, go for IL2 (you'll need a pretty fast rig to run any of them though).

ermmmmmmm......... yeh....... dunno what happened there Hagar; Everytime I posted my reply it said there had been a server error so I used my back page button and re-entered but it kept saying it. I gave up in the end. Just noticed now I came back in (lolol).

My viewing advice was only given with regards to online dogfighting, hence the reference to other online fighters.
Let's be honest; Playing offline you could fly in a 40 foot truck and it wouldn't matter which view you use with the in-game enemies (lolol).

Look me up if u make it online, I get my kicks out of teaching as much as flying these days.

nooooooo.
I figured you left it ages ago for CFS2, I meant Captain thingummy lololol

sorry to trouble you chaps again but spot view is impossible to control, i get the behind view but soon as i bank left or right or up and down im looking at the plane from diff angles even when i fire my bullits are going straight up! its like filming a footy match on a bad windy day so to speak! hee heee.

ahhh that explains it thanks i use a logitech attack 3 joystick which when flying i have to battle from keeping the plane from pulling upwards, ive tried many settings but to no avail ive heard many probs on message boards with this joystick so i gather its not very good. ive even downloaded a few profiles for the game but still it pulls upwards.(letter to santa on way )