Thread about the 109

[CaptainDoggles]

Originally Posted by Binnies

I actually did download in pursuit from this forum blackdog but I've yet to read it. I"ll be sure to read it soon. When doing high or low yoyos I should try and maintain speed right? Often when I do them my speeds seems to drop quite a bit (sometimes resulting in a stall even) because I tend to turn quite tight.

A high yo-yo is used to prevent yourself from overshooting. If you're going to overshoot you need to slow down, but simply cutting throttle isn't good from an energy perspective, so what you do is nose up to trade in airspeed for altitude. This slows you down, but allows you to cash in your saved-up altitude for speed at a later point.

A low yo-yo is the opposite; you use it to increase closure on a target. So you dive to gain speed and then end up slowing down at a later point (but closer to your target).

So no, you should not expect to maintain speed in a high or low yo-yo maneuver. If you're stalling at the top of a high yo-yo you're probably either letting yourself get too slow (stop climbing a little sooner) or pulling too tight on the stick (think "graceful"). Possibly both.

Generally speaking what speed would be good for engaging other aircraft? Should you run when you get below a certain speed or something?

When I'm over enemy territory looking for targets I tend to cruise in the 350-450 km/h range. It's about finding a balance. If you're too fast you'll overspeed if you try to dive on a bandit below you. If you're too slow you might get caught by a higher or co-altitude enemy that you didn't spot.

During combat I'm usually too preoccupied with keeping my eyes on the bandit to have more than a vague idea of how fast I'm going, really only looking at the airspeed indicator when I get slow, to make sure I'm at best climb speed or best turn speed.

Sadly there is no magic speed under which you should disengage and above which you are safe. Air combat is highly highly situational so there's no one-size-fits-all answer. Rather than disengaging when you get to a certain speed, think of it in terms of having or not having the advantage. Fight like a wuss: if you lose the advantage it's time to retreat. Only people eager to be shot down engage on even terms.

If you read that post of mine I linked to I talk a lot about doing sustained climbs; those are usually at 200-250 km/h IAS which is pretty slow. But when I'm performing those maneuvers and using that tactic my mental state is one of being on the attack, not on defense. I'm above my prey, patiently biding my time until conditions are right to strike.

With the 109 you should avoid tight turns preferring wider turns right? So you keep your speed up.

Sometimes a tight turn is called for if it'll get you the firing opportunity or get you out of somebody's sights, but generally speaking yes you should prefer wide, fast turns because the more G's you pull the more induced drag you develop, and therefore the more energy you burn.

What you don't want to do is get into a flat turning contest with the RAF fighters. The Spitfire and Hurricane both turn very well in the horizontal plane, so why play the other guy's game? Make him play yours and fight in the vertical.