Kind of a newbie here and have a few questions:

Working on US planes and got the A4 early in a pack as a reward a while back. I noticed the research for it only goes up during realistic battles after I joined a squad. 10,000 research in 390,000 to go. What's the fastest way to grind it out and finally get it unlocked? Once unlocked can you fly without having the tier unlocked?

Also, I keep getting thrown into lobbies with early WW2 jets that completely smoke me trying to fight in a p51 or 63. My battle rating is 4.3 depending on what I bring. What gives? Just an unlucky set of lobbies over the weekend?

Any US prop plane suggestions? The P51 and P63 are great but feel like they run out of steam in a dog fight really quick. Someone can typically close the loop on me pretty quick.

Thanks for dealing with my ignorance. Appreciate you.