LOL, sounds good to me- throw in some pints of bitter, grill and some steakes and your on...
You don't want to get me started on- flying talk. I wasn't trained extensively in ACM. That is to say I was an a-10 driver, ground pounding is my forte. We had quite a bit in flight school, but not to the extent viper drivers or air superiorty drivers get. The hog doesn't make a great dogfighter- unless your up against a C- plane
Anyhow here are my thoughts on a "clean pass knife fight"
The first 5 seconds might not see one side or the other being shot down, but it almost always sees one side irretrievably lose angle. Once angle is lost it is most difficult to regain the advantage. The pilot with an angle (position) advantage has a huge edge. He has much improved visibility of his opponent, and can therefore anticipate defensive maneuvers and therefore maintain position. For this reason (and as most pilots are painfully aware), once an veteran opponent "saddles up" on your six, its almost impossible to shake him.
When a nose-to-nose merge commences, by definition, neither side has an angle advantage. The combatants look to immediately maneuver to gain angle. After angle has been gained, it can be built upon until enough angle is gained to obtain a on-six gun shot, or less ideally a deflection shot or snap shot. Both fighters can often begin this fight before the merge, and indeed the smart pilot will try to set up his move well before the merge.
How do you set-up before the merge?
Glad you asked....The Lead Turn: A very important merge tactic is the "Lead Turn". It is a very simple stratagem on the surface. Instead of waiting for the actual moment of the merge to begin the reverse, the pilot performing the lead turn anticipates the merge and begins to reverse before the actual merge takes place. This means while his opponent is still flying straight, he is already starting to turn - beginning the fight for an angle advantage early in the combat. How you can accomplish this is with rudder, if you fly a plane with definite rudder control, begin a high speed "crab" in the direction you intend to turn.
Ok set up my merge what do I do as the merge begins? The merge takes place as the two planes noses meet- Do not wait until the tails pass you have lost criticle time. As soon, as the none of you plane is paraell to the opponents nose FIGHTS ON! Begin your ACM's
Stacking the Deck - Ok I am going to tell you something here not many other pilots will tell you so keep this one near and dear. Establish some vertical separation before the merge. When a new pilot begins a head on merge with a veteran pilot he may notice that the veteran pilot is always trying to get underneath him! That is, the veteran is trying to establish vertical separation and will try to actually be beneath the other plane as the merge develops. The main reason is that vertical separation enhances the effect of the lead turn and allows the pilot to be more aggressive in the execution of the lead turn. The vertical separation created by the veteran in this scenario acts as sort of springboard for his attempt to gain the angle advantage. Not only can he begin the lead turn earlier, but the vertical separation established also means that as he begins to pull up into his opponent, the vertical separation he has established enhances angle gain. Yes, this goes against the he-who-is-higher-wins rule. Trust me, you want to be about 5-12 degress of angle verticle under your opponent. When both pilots know this its qutie a battle for the upper hand right from the start.
Energy fight...
A good energy fighter pilot is hard to beat. A high wingloading aircraft is the energy fighters best friend, low g- high loop will deplet the opponent of energy and leave him in a desprate stall as you put lead through the canopy. The 109 is the best energy fighter in the game, flown right you are unbeatable.
So, how do you energy fight?
Refered to as Boom and Zoom? not really Boom and Zoom is defined as extend and come in at high speeds for nose on nose shots. It works against newer pilots but vetrans will almost always match the boomers energy state at that point it a level playing feild and the better turning AC will win.
The energy fighters main goal is to wear down the better turning planes energy state, force him to extend, dive or pull away in an effort to regain energy, then come in for an on-6 shot. This takes a while to do and you have to be very good at judging the other guys energy state.
Biggest tip, think of it as chipping away at the stone instead of splitting in one wack.
The best teacher for becoming an energy fighter, hours behind the stick. No othe way to do it- its not going to magically happen by reading text.
A flying partner- get yourself a partner to fly with. Fly cleen merges and just try to gain the shot- without shooting! Just call out, "Firing solution" that means your are 99.9% sure if you pulled th trigger for a 3 second burst you'd blow big holes in his plane. Then stay on him, let him try to get way find out how many times you call "Gotcha"
Before you make an error and he gains the firing solution.
Formation flying- this is the best teacher for judgment of the other guys energy state. You are constantly trying to match another planes speed and AoA. I'm not talking abut trick flying, Just start with straight and level- then turns. Until you can fly tricks.
Hope this helps you all out.
LOL.
