Want to know how best to fly your plane?

[mondo]

This has been a great resource for the IL2 community for many years. These two sites contain the actual performance data of many WW2 aircraft produced by the manufacturer or airforce they served with.

So if you want to know what heights planes get the best performance, what can out turn or out roll different planes at different speeds, how much ammunition planes can hold, fuel consumption, correct super/turbo charger switch over heights, stall and landing speeds and combat evaluation reports etc check out these sites:

Repository of official performance tests for most WW2 fighters:
http://www.spitfireperformance.com/

Site specialising in 109 data:
http://www.kurfurst.org/

[juz1]

thanks for link..I'll be passing this on to a few RC nuts I know.


you know your planes...do you have any links to decent summaries of dogfighting strategies? I have a couple of hours on a Cessna and a rudimentary understanding of flight physics but never been in a sim dogfight.

thanks for your kind attention.
________
Ford ikon picture (http://www.ford-wiki.com/wiki/Ford_Ikon)

[mondo]

Some of the information on the http://www.spitfireperformance.com/ site has combat evaluations.

Most of the RAF aircraft reports contain them, they concentrate on dealing with specific opponents and how best to maximise your performance against them i.e. Spitfire IX HF vs 190A4 for example.

Robert Shaw wrote Fighter Combat: Tactics and Maneuvering which is pretty good but its a hardcore text book! Youcan learn allot from just wikipedia on manouvers like hi and low yo yo's, scissors (if you want to fly a fast rolling plane like a 190 or P47 you have to learn the scissors!) and thatch weaves for instance.

To be honest sim combat is like real combat except you life isn't on the line and you can hit refly but theres some golden rules to fly by in sims which don't require complex strategy, just common sense:

no1. SA Situational awareness - your more likely to get shot down by a plane you don't see rather than the one you do see. Trim your plane up and never stop looking out the window. First person to see an opponent is usually the first person to open fire. Even better get a wing man to help you look.

no2. Speed and heigh is life - Trim out your plane to cruise fast and maintain height. Being low down and without energy is the worst possible situation to be in.

no3. Get a wing man or be a wing man - Even if your some kind of uber pilot, you'll have a better kill/death ratio if you fly with another person who your in communication with. Its also a much more rewarding experiance to fly with another person. Even the crappest pilot will do well with a wing man as long as you compliment each other.

no4. Target fixation is bad- Three points here: 1) When you've unloaded some rounds into an opponent, if they look like they are out of the fight then leave them be and get back your height and speed, chances are they will crash or bail, get your height back so you don't compromise yourself and 2) Chance is that people saw your tracer rounds, this can draw freindlies and enemies 3) Chances is are the plane your chasing is actually bait and his wing man is right behind you lining you up.

no5. Don't be an ass and shoot someone elses kill - Happens allot online. Someone will set an enemy on fire, dewingthem or cause them to bail and then someone else on your team will try to pump some rounds into that dead plane to get the points. This is BAD SHOW and a waste of ammunition. Remember support team mates, don't try and compete with them. They'll in turn return the favour.

[Hineni]

There are two books I would recommend. The first is Robert Shaw's Fighter Combat: Tactics and Maneuvering.

http://www.amazon.com/Fighter-Combat-Tactics-Maneuvering-New/dp/0870210599/ref=sr_1_4?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1248438284&sr=1-4

While more jet oriented, it gives a valuable history and summary of dogfighting maneuvers and tactics from Boelcke's Dicta to the present.

The second book is Wolfgang Langewiesche's Stick and Rudder.

http://www.amazon.com/Stick-Rudder-Explanation-Art-Flying/dp/0070362408/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1248438478&sr=1-1

While not a book on dogfighting, it was written during World War II by a former Corsair test pilot. In a very easy to read fashion, it gives valuable insights on how aircraft maneuver, and what can go wrong.

[guiltyspark]

ya , the most important thing is keeping your head looking for planes

[haitch40]

yeh always fly with a wingman good for gettin bandits off ur 6

[fritzwendel]

Here is a good resource for various maneuvers as well:

http://f15eeagle.tripod.com/manu.html

This web site, as well as the Kurfurst site, has helped me quite a bit.

Hope to see you in the 360 skies above Redmond!:-P

[haitch40]

the 1 bit of advice i would give some1 about dogfightin is
there r no rules u can do what u want but remember the enemy can do what he wants

[David603]

From my experience of playing flying games on consoles, a lot of people don't seem to realise that they are fighting in three dimensions and play the game like a FPS. As a result there are lot more easy kills than skilled opponents.

[P-51]

From my experience of playing flying games on consoles, a lot of people don't seem to realise that they are fighting in three dimensions and play the game like a FPS. As a result there are lot more easy kills than skilled opponents.

What you mean? A 2D dogfight?
Chris

[David603]

What you mean? A 2D dogfight?
Chris
Well, you will see a lot of fighting done with no regard for altitude or energy, and many don't use any combat manoeuvre more advanced than a banking turn with the throttle pulled back. You might as well be dueling with MG equipped motorbikes on a field if you don't use the vertical dimension.

[P-51]

Well, you will see a lot of fighting done with no regard for altitude or energy, and many don't use any combat manoeuvre more advanced than a banking turn with the throttle pulled back. You might as well be dueling with MG equipped motorbikes on a field if you don't use the vertical dimension.

Haha, now that I'd like to see! Hmmm I seem to be guilty.. Any tips or vids?

[mondo]

Haha, now that I'd like to see! Hmmm I seem to be guilty.. Any tips or vids?

Start with the term boom and zoom in a google search and go from there. ;) Next check out what a rolling scissors is. Then probably then look at hi and lo yo yo's. Once you've learnt about those and given them some practice you'll be picking off all the n00bs going round in circles cutting the grass. :)

[P-51]

Sir yes sir! Ill start right away sir.

[haitch40]

Sir yes sir! Ill start right away sir.

lol
here is a good 1. If u supprise (i aint spelt that right have i) a more agile enemy and ur on their 6 and they pull up to loop DONT FOLOW THEM! instead bank left or right and swing round if the enemy aint seen u do this u got a kill comming ur way

[sasquatch]

While digging around for some info, I found this:
http://web.comhem.se/~u85627360/(There is a link to download the .pdf.)

Being the flight sim noob that I am, I found it to be pretty helpful. It is a hefty amount of reading though.