 Unfortunately, this was already in demand for many other aircraft, so the Ha-41 was chosen as the best powerplant.In order to achieve its design goals, the wing area was relatively small leading to a high wing loading and a comparatively high landing speed that could be daunting to the average Japanese pilot, who was more used to aircraft with a low wing loading like the Ki-44's predecessors, the Ki-43 and Ki-27.The first Ki-44 prototype flew in August 1940 and the initial test flights were generally encouraging, with handling considered acceptable considering the high wing loading.