General tips for playing

Surviving yourself

1.  Fly in flights of four or more
2. Run away frequently.  Low ammo, damage taken, outnumbered, etc.
3. If outnumbered, try to steer the fight towards your own lines so you can crash land and not be captured.
4. Do not linger over targets when performing ground attack.

Helping your wingmen
1. Give away victories every once in awhile to improve the quality of your AI mates
2. Worry more about your wingmen than the kill.  Try to keep an eye out for them in a fight and help them.
3. If you are in command and can give orders, tell them to go home when you decide to bug.  Don't let them keep fighting.

For config changes:
1. If it's fighters that are killing you, tweak max enemy fighter flights downwards.  Campaign-Configuration->Advanced Configuration->Mission Limits
2.Tweak max injury down.  It is set to "Seriously Wounded" by default.  That could result in months in the hospital.  You can set it to "lightly wounded" or "not injured".  Campaign-Configuration->Advanced Configuration->Campaign Preferences
3. If it is AAA or gunners you can use a mod that reduces accuracy.