Dr. Laplace is right about just about everything in his post, however I'd like to clarify one thing. Whether a plane is an "energy" or "angles" fighter, it must be compared with something else. The types you listed are all correct, assuming you compare the plane to it's enemy at the time it was in combat. Example: Spitfire Mk Vb vs. a Me109-G2, the 109 takes the role of energy fighter, in THIS particular fight, I hope you guys are following. However if we were to hypothetically put a Spitfire Mk IXe up against a Me109-E4 (Although obviously this would probably never happen) the Spitfire here would take the role of energy fighter simply because it's much faster, has a better climb rate, and simply produces and retains energy much better than the 109 in this matchup. The Me109-E4 would actually now be considered the "angles" or "turning" fighter, as it would have a better turning radius than the Spit IX. Realistically the only way for the Spitfire to lose this battle is to either be jumped, or get himself into a turning fight with the 109. However, what you also have to understand is that sometimes this margin between who the energy fighter is and who the turning fighter is, can be very small, or very large for that matter. One matchup that pops into my mind now is one of the greatest of all time, in the Korean War, the F86 Sabre vs. the MiG-15. In this matchup the Sabre takes "energy fighter" however by only a small margin. If the MiG-15 and F86 spot each other at a distance to engage and the MiG-15 has even 1000 feet on the Sabre, the Sabres only real option is to break as hard into the MiG as he can, then straighten out into maybe a very shallow dive and not even thinking about re-engaging any time soon, simply because the MiG actually had more energy in this situation. So as you'll find, there will be many times where you know you will be the energy fighter (say you're in a P-51D and the enemy is in an Me109-G10), however if he has an altitude advantage and comes screaming in at you, you are in a completely defensive position and aren't even thinking about shooting him down right there. Sorry if this is confusing, you may even want to read it over, but I think I've tried my best to lay out some aerial warfare concepts that if you can understand, you can definetely apply to your flying, and after much time and practice, really become a good pilot. There's just a sensation about going up for 3 flights online in about a 4 hour period, making it back to base safely everytime, unscratched( or scratched that can be very fun too) and even getting a few kills while your up. Alright.
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09-15-2009, 09:55 PM
Hybrid Mode
