wing stalling on purpose?

[revi]

does anybody use an induced wing stall / spin as a tactic in dogfighting?

[Sw@tLorD]

I try to avoid that. Because when you are spinning, you are an easy target. And sometimes it is hard to recover from.

[Avimimus]

Too low a velocity and a larger cross section generally characterise high speed stalls and can allow an opponent to make a slight roll, kick the rudder (thus rapidly moving the nose sideways) and fill you with rounds. Basically, its suicide.

That said I have deliberately "departed" (ie. high speed stall/spin) in order to escape an opponent who is at a very close range (too close to be able to effectively follow me without winding up in the same situation).

I also regularly induce a partial stall of one wing in order to enhance the aircrafts roll rate (usually this is possible only in one direction due to torque and is only possible in some aircraft) and to bank the aircraft at speeds where traditional controls are ineffective (eg. at the top of a rétournemant/hammerhead/immelman type maneuver). I do this all the time and normally induce them to "warm up" prior to combat.

[Skarphol]

Sometimes when I have an opponent on my tail that is hard to get rid of, I deliberately go into a stall in order to get rid of him. It works fine, and if you start to recover imediately it's not all that hard to get out off it either. It you start the spin by pulling up sharply while banking hard, you don't have to loose much altitude. I usually fly the Bf-109, I know this is harder with other planes like the P-39.

Skarphol

[K_Freddie]

Do it on many occasions, but only when the other plane is close.
Doing this also allows you to slow down faster, causing the other to overshoot.
If you control the spin enough, you can put it into a curved spiral, making it difficult for the other to aim.
:)

[Feathered_IV]

I'll use it in turn fights when things are desperate. Especially if there is handy cloud cover to drop into. As Freddie says, it works well when the enemy is close. Best not to do it when facing more than one opponent though...

[DKoor]

From experience, although it may seem ridiculous, in the game you'll often save your head by stalling...
Stall means that the guy on your six has 2-3 seconds max to correct aim and hit you + you are quite crappy target to hit considering your non-predictable
flight path (you are still traveling, or better put - falling from the sky at speed ~150km/h), so he still need to provide small deflection on you...

Of course it's a no-no if you are below 1000m, because if you get hit it's likely you'll never recover afterwards.

And I agree with others, it's really only viable if E/A is all over you, close up.

[BadAim]

I stall the inside wing in the early oscars all the time. With enough practice you can "plant" your inside wingtip and whip around it like a sling shot, kind of a midair piruette. To the plane chasing you it looks almost like you change direction instantly and your suddenly coming back at him. If your quick, you can shoot your opponent in the face on the way by, or if your opponent is cool and not suprised by this manuever he might return the favor. It's a calculated risk, but really the only way to fight in an oscar as just about anything is faster than you are. This can be done in an Oscar II but is WAY more difficult as it has a much harsher stall then the earlier birds.

[IvanK]

To those that say they deliberately "stall one wing" how do you do that , what control inputs do you use to "stall" just one wing ?

[BadAim]

Any spin is a stall of one wing, as is a hammerhead. It requires the input of all controls. If you wish to argue the fine points of what is and is not a stall, you may go ahead and do so, I won't participate.

[IceFire]

To those that say they deliberately "stall one wing" how do you do that , what control inputs do you use to "stall" just one wing ?

Lots of different ones but the key is in the rudder work. I find the rudder is key to keep the nose pointed in the right direction.

I've used all kinds of stall techniques to try and get out of harms way. Usually they are last resort and they almost never work but occasionally it helps me out. The best is the spiral with a dose of hard rudder which makes the plane half spiral and half spin...not a good idea to keep going but in a pitched defensive move with some altitude for recovery it can shake the opponent.

[Avimimus]

I agree. Its also good to remember that speed matters (aircraft handle differently at high speed, in a dive etc.) and that sometimes the controls used can be counter intuitive. So, experiment.

[Wolf_Rider]

Wing stalling on purpose?... you bet :shock:

[Wolf_Rider]

Any spin is a stall of one wing, as is a hammerhead. It requires the input of all controls. If you wish to argue the fine points of what is and is not a stall, you may go ahead and do so, I won't participate.


I always thought a "hammerhead" manouvre was a controlled turn using vertical climb... rudder the wing over, then dive.

It's amzing to watch magpies doing these kinds of manouvres when battling invading mynor birds (hassling little blighters they are) , to protect the nest.