All I can say is........it's about f*ckin' time this conversation took place. For my money, you can throw all the candy floss you like at this sim, but if the game play sucks then what's the point?! It's the worst fault of the game; and never receives attention. To add candy alone is akin to putting a new paint job on a car with a faulty gear box. In any other field, an activity like this would be regarded as complete stupidity.
Anyone to achieve this with some measure of success would certainly receive my gratitude, which would be to regularly contribute $$ to this forum once again.
It doesn't have to be perfect; hell, nothing else about the game is, but it becomes painfully obvious to anyone who's played it long enough to notice, that the better you get at it, the better the AI gets! A decade ago when I was a poor flyer and a lousy shot, the AI didn't need to cheat!
I suggest that anyone making the attempt.... try and stop the bastards ganging up on you as well; I really hate fighting the war alone........