Pilot Wolverine's Guide to RAF Flying in CloD!

[bw_wolverine]

UPDATED WITH RESPECT TO UPCOMING PATCH INFO JUN 8th!

Well hello there!

My name is Wolverine and I'm here today to help pilots who fly the Hawker Hurricane Mk.I and the Supermarine Spitfire Mk.I, Mk.Ia, and Mk.IIa have a less frustrating and futile time online!

Now, "Wolverine," you may ask, "how is that possible with the state of things as they are now?" Well, I'll tell you in a series of easy steps that you too can follow!

STEP ONE!
Take off from Gravesend or some other rear airfield. Maidstone can be tricky, if you're a Hurricane pilot, but it can be done! The gopher holes and ridges are a lot less dangerous to you than gunfire if you taxi to the right place before taking off! This step helps to keep you safe from the 109s who like to circle allied frontline airfields like buzzards, waiting for you to show your cowling.

STEP TWO!
Start climbing! If you're in a beta patch/hotfix Hurricane, this will be difficult...but not impossible! Just pedal reaaaaaally hard and you can do it! Climb to around 16,000 feet before you get to the southern coastline. And, since you followed step one, you can take almost a direct route (with a little zig zagging) to do it. Did I say 16,000? I meant 20,000! Go higher!

STEP THREE!
Watch and wait! You've got a manoeuverable aircraft, yessir! But you've also got some kind of imaginary airbrake preventing you from flying very fast and pulling you down the moment you go level. Watch for flak, CH reports, contacts. Wait for visual confirmation, and the right moment! Unfortunately, the best time for you to attack an enemy 109 (or those pesky G.50s!) is when they're already chewing on a friend of yours. He'll be fine! Parachutes are standard issue now! Wait until he's yelling at you for not helping him and that will be the perfect moment to pounce! Issue your apologies to his missus as you bank away from hitting his killer!

STEP FOUR!
Stay high! Manage to drop down on an enemy and get him? You're not done! Get back up to altitude fast! He's probably not alone. These 109 guys, they like to work together and it's most annoying! The faster you can get back up to 16,000...er, I mean 20,000 feet, the faster you can get back to top speed, whatever that is. Has it changed again?

STEP FIVE!
Land at a rear airfield! So you've followed steps one to four and taken down three 109s in one flight. Good for you! Time to land, right? Running low on fuel and Hawkinge looks good for a pancake. Well, as soon as you get there, flyboy, you're going to see the flak! Oh no! You're low on fuel, you're probably out of your ammunition, and its possible you're damaged too. Not the best time to get involved in a low down dogfight with one of those sneaky airfield circling 109s! So do yourself a favour, pilot, and fly back to Gravesend, Rochester, or Eastchurch to put it down. A safe place to land, and a pint waiting for you by the tally board! Good show, old chap!

"But Wolverine!" I hear you saying. "BlackSix posted on June 8th that they're fixing the flight models and giving RAF pilots their long requested 100 octane fuel variants! Surely I can go back to my old ways, right?" To that I say, 'are you crazy?' If these rules work with a substandard aircraft, imagine how well they'll work with a better one! The principles outlined here are very basic air superiority rules and safe ingress/egress operations procedures, regardless of whether you have 100 octane, 87 octane, of Gordon's gin in your fuel tank.

So follow Pilot Wolverine's five easy steps and your war will be over by Christmas! You'll also look and feel great, reducing your desire to go to online forums and post about how bad things are for the Red side!

Other courses in the Pilot Wolverine series!
Pilot Wolverine's Guide to Whatever Those Colour Selections Do In the Plane Selector!
Pilot Wolverine's Guide to Pretending that the Trees are Dangerous!
Pilot Wolverine's Guide to Bailing out of your Aircraft Early to Avoid Combat!

[camber]

Beautiful, write some more guides

Originally Posted by bw_wolverine

STEP FIVE!
Land at a rear airfield! So you've followed steps one to four and taken down three 109s in one flight. Good for you! Time to land, right? Running low on fuel and Hawkinge looks good for a pancake. Well, as soon as you get there, flyboy, you're going to see the flak! Oh no! You're low on fuel, you're probably out of your ammunition, and its possible you're damaged too. Not the best time to get involved in a low down dogfight with one of those sneaky airfield circling 109s! So do yourself a favour, pilot, and fly back to Gravesend, Rochester, or Eastchurch to put it down. A safe place to land, and a pint waiting for you by the tally board! Good show, old chap!

So often I have done this...wait maybe the flak is for a departing AI raid? I'll just sneak it into Hawkinge anyway. Oh wait, tracer over my canopy.... The only thing to do then is try and suicide into a Bofors site to teach those guys a lesson.

camber

[ATAG_Snapper]

Good stuff, Wolve!

[Plt Off JRB Meaker]

This is undoubtedly the best advice I personally have ever read on the forum,when flying the Hurricane,as I do,you have to stay out of the way of the 109's no question,and the best possible way to avoid them is to gain height,height is king.

Before I read and understood this piece of advice I was just getting mauled all the time,flying around at no higher than maybe 2500ft but now even with the old Hurricane I am getting at the bombers without being menaced by the 109's.

Great stuff Wolverine,you've changed my online gameplay soooo much.

[5./JG27.Farber]

hehe that was funny. Buzzard is the LW brevity code for a friendly fighter btw.

[bw_wolverine]

Originally Posted by Plt Off JRB Meaker

This is undoubtedly the best advice I personally have ever read on the forum,when flying the Hurricane,as I do,you have to stay out of the way of the 109's no question,and the best possible way to avoid them is to gain height,height is king.

Before I read and understood this piece of advice I was just getting mauled all the time,flying around at no higher than maybe 2500ft but now even with the old Hurricane I am getting at the bombers without being menaced by the 109's.

Great stuff Wolverine,you've changed my online gameplay soooo much.

Glad to help!

It's important to note that even with the upcoming FM adjustments that should give the RAF fighters more oomph, these five easy steps are by no means rendered irrelevant. They are still keys to victory, 100 octane or no.