You can both adjust the realism of the flight model in the preferences with even the intermediate not having nearly as much of a problem of noses dipping the second you let up the controls, and use keys listed in the manual to track various things negating somewhat the limited viewing capability of a screen. This is at least the case for RB3d, don't know for sure about the other versions. Manual included in the local files folder for the game.

Thanks but I have moved on to Over Flanders Field between heaven and hell 2. Must admit in many ways its the same game and I have the same issues. Trouble is situational awareness and only way to solve that is playing in VR. A keyboard can never even kind of realistically represent a head swivel, to much reaction time to take into account. So guess im just saving up to play in VR with foot pads, and again a joystick. If you like this game though I HIGHLY recommend checking that game out.

It sounds like you need to work on your dogfighting mechanics and also your joystick setup. When I play RB3D or any other flight sim for that matter, set up hot buttons and use padlocks. Just like a real pilot turns and moves their head constantly while in combat, I'm constantly hitting buttons and looking around as well. For RB3D specifically, make use of the the Threat (T) and Dogfight (D) keys, these will keep the target aircraft padlocked and you can focus more on flying the plane. I alternately switch between forward views 1 and 2, and D and T padlocks many times during a dogfight. Once I get the target in my 10 o'clock to 2 o'clock position, I just switch to my forward cockpit view and that usually is enough to engage, I might need to switch to D padlock if they maneuver away from me. Its fairly easy to keep track of targets once you master this system. However, one needs to have command of their aircraft and be able to fly it when you're not looking out of your cockpit in forward view all the time. This takes practice.

You don't need VR- just get a headtracker like TrackIR or something like that. Problem solved.