....Machine guns!

maybe what you were noticing was really that most pilots are just circling around in a furball hoping to get a lucky strike. That doesn't happen so much when the skill level is higher. there was a meet here a couple weeks ago that attracted several of the nations top pilots. These guys are at a level where they can just pick a target and stay on them until they have the streamer. they were so good that it was really difficult to get away, no matter how hard you try, or what your plane was capable of. Now thats combat! it was a thrill to watch, far better than scale. it is possible that Nerf combat (slower planes) might make persuit-type combat more accessable to the average pilot but it still is going to require a lot of skill and practice.

Nerf class isn't established here, maybe it'll catch on soon