My thoughts start with what mechanism will facilitate fun playing.
WoG is elegant with respect to this. Therefore, I would start with a similar system as
WGS, play one, plan one, or some similar schema that captures the nature of the planes of the period. Take the fast plane going full out, and its fast straight would run the length of the card, thus determining the ground scale. As you stated, doing the math for the rest of the maneuvers is not too difficult once the given speeds for the planes are agreed upon.
I think if ground scale starts the conversation, you could end up with a less satisfactory maneuvering system. So I suggest starting with discussions of mechanics, and go from there; the ground scale will take care of itself. So it is not that ground scale is irrelevant; I think it is not the starting discussion.
Does that make sense?
As for 1:200 incompatibility, it is folks prerogative if they want to mix-and-match, even though scale inaccurate. All you can do is state the systems are not compatible and let folks do as they will. As has been pointed out, there is already a supplier (AIM) of 1:200 post-WWII planes.
Now, for the range ruler and shooting ...
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