Ronin posted 01-19-99 12:44 PM ET (US)        

Being the budding E-fighting dweeb that I am, I have been reading all I can on E-fighting. Something everyone says is to not do any high-G maneuvering, because this bleeds E away. OK, what constitutes high-G's? Is two G's high? Is Five? Opinions, anyone?

Thanks

-ronin (99th Dragons)

[A Ronin was] the ideal fighting man - ideal because [he was] self-reliant and self-desciplined, therefore unpredictible in combat and always in a state of readiness.

-from "Secrets of the Samurai: The Martial Arts of Feudal Japan"

funked posted 01-19-99 01:27 PM ET (US)            

Well for a given speed and altitude, and plane configuration (throttle, fuel, ordnance) there is a certain number of g's you can pull in a turn that will not cause your energy to decrease. This is called Sustained G's. Above this you will bleed E either by slowing or descending, below it you will gain E by either acclerating or climbing.

As an E-fighter, you only want to exceed sustained g's when it allows you to get a decisive advantage (i.e. nice guns pass) on the bandit.

Unfortunately we don't have the plot in our hand showing what this g-level is! Unless you want to do a LOT of test flying, you have to learn to estimate it by trial and error. But if you are pulling more than 3-g's it is safe to say you are blowing E!

One time you can exceed sustained g's is at the top of a zoom. First of all, you've already stored a bunch of energy by zooming, so you've got some to burn. Second, when you make a downward turn (e.g. you are inverted and pull back on the stick), gravity will add an extra g to your turning ability! So the plane can be losing energy at the rate of a 3-g level turn, but because of gravity assist you are actually making a 4-g arc.

Finally, BUY SHAW'S BOOK! Fighter Combat: Tactics and Maneuvering. He's got a whole lot of material on this style of fighting, as well as very simple and clear info on the physics involved. His explanations are much more thorough and well-written than my own.

Funked Up

=925 CABS=

Mors Ab Alto!

shok posted 01-19-99 03:46 PM ET (US)         

There were some E-M charts for a few Warbirds a/c posted in CombatSim a while back. Have you guys seen this?

http://www.combatsim.com/htm/nov98/energy-man2.htm

It seems that the energy preserving turns are usually in the range of 2-3 Gs only.

jedi posted 01-19-99 05:49 PM ET (US)            

A simple rule of thumb is the "90-degree rule." Never turn with your opponent for more than 90-degrees of turn. Figure out how long it takes to turn 90 degrees in your favorite plane at attack speed (300-400 mph, depending on the plane). Then count to yourself that many seconds. Be disciplined and come off your target rather than continue the turn. Of course, if you get a shot somewhere in there, take it :-)

90 degrees is just a starting point. In the Corsair, unless I'm engaging a Mustang or FW, I won't track a target for more than about 45 degrees of turn unless we have a big numbers advantage.

Also, remember that going to 0 G with max power will rapidly rebuild your energy reserve. You can use this in sustained climbs (briefly) or in dives to gain back the E that you lose while manuevering.

--jedi