Posted by: A-wing, Jg51

Date: January 25, 1998 at 17:24:52

Message:

Ok, so now I know that only Red pilots can read this, it is safe to devulge key secrets to succeeding in the air-war.

1. ALWAYS attack the contact with the highest altitude. Attacking anything else will result with the higher up contact decending onto you with a decided advantage. I usualy cruise over the top of the furball to scout the other side and make sure that there isn't somebody on the other side who will dive out of the stratosphere when I least expect it.

2. Never attack a fighter that has more altitude than you, or perhaps even a co-alt contact that is moving a lot faster than you. Your going to be riding around on a fighter that handles like a lawn mower and the other guy WILL get you. Run away. Thats right. Run away. Better to preserve your kill score than die for nothing.

3. Don't dive straight down onto enemies. If all you can see is ocean and dirt in your forward view, your gonna have a really bad shot to hit him and will end up alot lower altitude than him. If you do decide to take this aproach, know that the only real course of action you have after diveing right past him is a pull up and extension away from him. Be ready to co-alt fight him now cause you just wasted alot of your altitude advantage for only a little speed. Dives and climbs mean 20 degree dives and climbs, not 90 degrees.

4. You don't always have to be going MACH 1. Your throttle moves back and forth for a reason. If your closing onto his six-oclock position and the distance readout is clicking off faster than your bank account ammount on April 15 your going to have only a fraction of a second to shoot. Slow down with throttle back or flaps. If there are lots of enemies around, then your going to need all the speed you can get so DON'T slow down. Forget what I just said and stay alert for somebody on your own six.

5. In headon situations, attack if got great big guns, dodge if he is the one with the bigger gun. With showdowns at high noon, the bigger gun wins. Thankfully the big gun fighters are also the worst turn fighters (Bf110, Fw190, P47) so climb a little up around the side of them to give them a horrible shot at you and start working around onto thier six.

6. You cannot win against 3 to 1 odds.

7. Always attack the most dangerous enemy first, i.e. the highest alt, uber-fighter. Mop up the rest afterwords.

8. If you get jumped bad, you win by escaping. Never push a bad position.

9. Fly one aircraft exclusivly. Fly them all to get a feel as to what advantages and disadvantages each has and exploit your advantages and avoid his. If your faster, use your speed, if your the tighter turning guy, turn, if your the bigger gun, go for the headon shots, if you can climb better, climb, if he compresses easier, dive to the deck and splat him against the dirt (a memorable fight in a Fw190 vs a 109). Get to know your favorite ride inside and out.

10. When attacking buffs, pull up to an even altitude at his 2 or 10 oclock position out side gun range at D15. Turn into him and pull in rapidly on his six and blaze away at on secion of his aircraft only. Spreading damage evenly between both wings and his tail will waste ammo and time. Completely saw off only one part of his plane, a wing or the tail fins. A loss of any one of these three parts means he will no longer be able to fly.

These are some of the principles that I fly by and have been making me a better pilot.

Of course, I never mentioned team tactics, but that is classified information to be shared by my squadron mates only. (evil grin)

Maj. A-wing, IV/Jg51

Posted by: jedi

Message:

: OK. Here is this one you've got all the advantages possible. Energy and so on above the furball,You can pick your engagement.Now what do you look for and why do you pick your target over another one.And how do you initiate your bounce..... looking forward to this one :-)

Learned these from ridin along with a couple of masters in the Hog...

--Keep your speed between 300-400 kts. Most of the planes you will be attacking are slower, so you will be able to extend, but you don't go so fast that you can't shoot.

--DON'T TURN! At least not more than 20 degrees or so. You're trying to come in on someone who doesn't know you're there, not someone who's maneuvering hard to avoid you. You have the energy for multiple passes. If you piss it away, all you can do is run.

--Look for targets who are attacking someone else. Their attention is divided between their prey and their six.

--If your side has a numerical advantage, extend more UP than OUT, so you can keep the pressure on the outnumbered foe by reattacking quickly, rather than allowing them to become offensive as you extend out of the fight. If they have the advantage, use your speed to extend OUT first, then UP when out of range, and come back at high speed, looking for that preoccupied target.

--Old Air Warrior trick: attempt to line up an attack on one of your allies who is in the furball. Just about the time you reach d8 or so, guess who will magically appear on your buddy's six, your 12, range d4?

--Look for buddies dragging out of the fight. You can often create a 2 on 1 or 2 on 2 opportunity away from the rest of the furball, with yourself in the catbird seat. Your pal who is 1v2 and in trouble rapidly becomes your ace in the hole once you schwack one of his pursuers.

--jedi