What is your Fighter Pilot personality?

[UK_Widowmaker 571]

Are you a stalker, or do you charge straight into a fight with all guns blazing?

 

Do you run when things get tight...or go down burning in a blaze of glory?

 

Stealth and surprise?

 

or 7th Cavalry charge?

 

Have you ever been absolutely honest with yourself, and thought about how long you would REALLY survive in 1917 - 1918 as a Pilot?

 

Me?

 

Definately one of Flasheart's 20 minuters!.....Posthumous DFC and a wooden box!!! :yes:

Edited May 6, 2009 by UK_Widowmaker

[Olham 164]

I'm much the same as you, Widowmaker.

When I see far away flights, that are fewer than us or even numbered, I leave any target or flight path

to check and hopefully engage. When they outnumber my flight, I am only that much more careful, that

I try to get advantage in height, and, if possible, the sun. When I reached at least the height advantage,

I still take on anything. And my best pilot always made it home after that, so far. Only problem: I loose

my wingmen more that way, and often there's no one left to report my claims.

Fighting only SPAD XIIIs, I see no problems. But I would have to act more careful again, if I should

come across a flight of Camels (they should operate in the Marne area near Reims? Don't know...)

 

I ran away only once with him. That was a flight of 4 Bristol fighters crossing overhead (we were three

Albatros DVa 200), and suddenly coming down for an attack. I lured them towards a flight of Fokker Dr.1,

and they wiped them out. But Bristols I found extremely dangerous opponents!

 

And only once, I got shot up badly by SPADs. That was after a big fight with SPADs before; those had

attacked us from above, and we were outnumbered. Only my direct wingman and I survived (no SPAD).

On our way home, with little ammo left, we got attacked again, by four more SPADs. We could kill two,

then my wingman fell. No rounds left, I tried to escape home. But you can't escape two SPADs with

anything but an S.E.5a. And we don't have them. So they caught up with me; but I just made it over the

lines, before I had to make a crash landing.

Edited May 6, 2009 by Olham

[Gous 0]

Virtual Albert Ball here..! :yes:

Thats why I think I will never survive 17 hours...

[Venator 0]

Well, correct me if wrong, but I think it is impossible to be a stealthy hunter in game. The AI has always seen me coming regardless of how I approach. The only time the AI has stayed on course was when they were tasked with a bombing run, otherwise they always turn to meet me.

 

Do I run? Only when none of my side is left. I will charge back into the fur-ball to save an AI wingmate, because I have to admit, it just feels SO real the tension trying to reach his opponent before he gets shot down. Sometimes when you do rescue him (or just shoo the bugger off his tail), it makes that victory count for much, much more.

 

Would I survive? Doubt it. I finally made ace officially with one of my pilots, but posthumously. I don't get to fly much, maybe a mission or two on a weekend. It certainly keeps the game fresh though.

[zoomzoom 2]

Absolutely Stealth and Suprise.

The only time I fight like a tiger to the last round.....is when I'm suprised!!

And I have crept up (with speed) on enemy patrols and gotten rounds into thier backsides before they turned and reacted. Takes patience....and practice.

 

 

 

ZZ.

[Dej 17]

Ardent Self-Preservationist.

 

It does depend on the machine though. I'll take on anything at equal numbers in a Sopwith Tripe or an SE5, but am finding myself more cautious in the Camel because it's less forgiving of my crap piloting skills.

 

Nevertheless, my view is that trouble will find you easy enough over Flanders Fields in 1917, without going looking for it. My objective is to finish the mission and come home... the size of my kills tally is a distant second.

[themightysrc 5]

I think I can define my fighter/scout pilot personality as downright chicken. I'm there to complete my mission if I can, and get myself back alive to fight again. This generally involves avoiding fights unless you possess a numerical advantage. Basically, if it looks like 1 to 1 odds, and I'm not facing grossly inferior aircraft, I'll stay away from it. And, yes, it is cowardly, and, yes, I do prefer fast scouts that can outstrip anything in a straight line or dive.

 

If some silly sod wishes to attack me as a heroic gesture, I'll weigh up the odds, and if they're very much to my benefit I'll have a go, but if it looks like it'll end up as a 50/50 sort of thing, I'll stay out of it.

 

Sad, isn't it?

[Creaghorn 10]

that's a good question,

 

i try to have it absolutely as realistic as possible (no tac, no labels, no target brackets, no outside view, no radar, no warnings). only trackir, my eyes, my SA, my forcefeedback. DiD (auto mixture)

i also only have one character at a time and i really really really treat him like one who can lose his life and who fights for his life and who wants to stay alive, while doing his duty. i know all my squadron mates and also see their progress. so the approach is completely different than yours, as it would be in RL. my pilot is doing his duty, without having in mind, if i die, who cares. i'll make a new one. and that approach makes you really sweat and lose weight, i can tell you, because you really care. if my character dies, i punish myself with not playing for some days because i am mentally exhausted anyway, sad about the loss, and mourn him and all the experience and details and hours i spent with him.

 

my current pilot (in my universe) begun his career as Flieger in relatively new formed part of Jasta 5, jasta hajduk in september 1916.

that's a bunch of croatians, who volunteered to help the germans, similar to escadrille lafayette. as i joined there were some more experienced pilots who had the status of german officer. but in fact the whole group did not have the same rights as the german pilots. we have our own quarters and officially are not allowed to join the officers mess where the germans are. as a matter of fact within the time more and more german pilots joined our small mess, because they heard the music and the parties we held. some guy named göring never joined. i don't know why. we heard him complaining about the jewish pilots. we, although beeing all catholic, were quite happy this fellow didn't join us. while we drank selfmade grappa from the grapes we received from the local farms, this dude was constantly seen drinking some stuff from small bottles. he thought nobody would notice, but we knew, and were betting what it is.

the first flights were without any events. i saw the battles below but hardly anything in the skies (no radar, more clouds, no aids, only own sight, so by far more formations passing unseen). once we saw a formation and stalked them, but after a while we lost them in the clouds.

after about the 8th mission we suddenly were attacked by a group of nieuports. before i knew what happened all of them were downed. couple flights later, i was able to make one stink, but didn't see him crash because i was distracted by another enemy who tried to get behind me. i didn't claim him because i didn't see him crash. never found out what happened to the enemy aicraft.

the squadron was equpped later with the brand new Albatros DII scouts, but we of jasta hajduk had to stick with the Halbs. only the german officers were allowed to fly them. later, when the first dIII's arrived, we still had to use the halbs. only for some days we were allowed to fly with the dII's. but it was quite a surprise when someday new dIII's were delivered, and we were allowed to paint them with our jasta hajduk markings.

so the time went by and i was able to get a claim confirmed, when i shot down a two-seater over my own airfield. he went down in flames and i felt pitty for the poor inmates. but that's war.

the parties in our mess went quieter because some of our group did not return within the time and the enemy traffic in the air increased immensly (it's so cool to spot enemy formations by yourself. completely different feeling of immersion and thrill).

at the end of the year my older brother also joined the group.

right now it's mid of april 1917. i have right now about 165 hours flight and 17 confirmed victories, my brother has 15.

so far i was lucky and was never shot down. only twice i had to crashland. first time everything was fine but the second time, in end of jan.1917 two triplanes were pounding on me and when i landed i had my jaw broken so i had to spend about 2 weeks in hospital.

now in mid-april it's very tough to survive, but i am still alive, so far. the attitude of beeing the hunter stalking and searching enemies are gone at the moment. right now we are the prey. we will see.

 

i didn't want to talk about my current pilot (my best so far) because i am supersticious, but as there is a topic about it i wanted to share my experiences and my point of view about this wonderful sim.

 

creaghorn

[UK_Widowmaker 571]

Creaghorn...Fascinating read!... You have taken Immersion to the next level my friend!

[Hasse Wind 46]

i have right now about 165 hours flight and 17 confirmed victories...

 

Good God! You probably have more flight hours on that single pilot than I have on all of my pilots combined! And that's a ****load of pilots, overwhelming majority of them dead and buried.

 

So most of the time my style is definitely too aggressive for my own good, especially if I'm flying some superior scout, such as the Nupe 17 in 1916. Going against hordes of Eindeckers in the Nupe feels like I can win the war single-handedly, and really looks like that for a while, until the one fatal mistake happens...

 

But I do try to change my methods according to the situation. I have a long-lived (for me at least) Pfalz pilot still going, even though he has over 20 hours already. But I've been extra careful with him. And it actually helps that the Pfalz is not very good in its job in 1918, it forces me to behave carefully.

 

I have no idea how I would have managed as a real WW1 fighter pilot, but I know for sure that I wouldn't be anywhere near as reckless as I'm in flight simulators. Having fun is OK in a computer game, but risking your life and the lives of your comrades by doing so in real life is something completely different.

[UK_Widowmaker 571]

I have no idea how I would have managed as a real WW1 fighter pilot, but I know for sure that I wouldn't be anywhere near as reckless as I'm in flight simulators. Having fun is OK in a computer game, but risking your life and the lives of your comrades by doing so in real life is something completely different.

 

I think that sums it up quite nicely!.......

[sitting_duck 3]

CHARGE!!!!!!

[SirMike1983 3]

Depends entirely on the situation:

 

If it's a scramble mission I just charge in because that's all you really can do. You take off and attack and hopefully land correct side up later.

 

That aside, I'm a rationalist--

 

my plane, my ammo/fuel/damage, our numbers, our altitude

 

weighed against

 

their planes, their numbers, their altitude

 

AI combat:

 

The plane type is probably the biggest factor I consider (along with whether I have ammo/damage to my plane). I'm willing to take on more Eindeckers with fewer Nieuports, for example. But if it's Nieuports vs Albatross aircraft, then I would avoid getting involved when out numbered. It's a little checklist I do before engaging, if I have the option. In some situations the choice is made for you because they're close and above. In those situations you just prepare for the attack, or dive for cover if you have friendly lines or help nearby.

[Creaghorn 10]

Creaghorn...Fascinating read!... You have taken Immersion to the next level my friend!

 

 

thank you very much, sir.

for sure a good portion of luck is involved too.

i try to follow some simple rules.

i try to avoid enemy territory as much as i can. if i am in enemy territory, chasing a scout, and he descends to lower altitude, i'll leave him because i don't want to get a lucky shot in my petrol tank or other important parts from ground units.

i only attack after checking the situation around me. after doing this i am checking the situation again. where are near enemies? who is higher than me? which enemies are not inbound in some fight? where are my mates? how many of them? which type? how many of us? then i attack or i try to help out other mates.

if i find myself alone i try to gain altitude and go on with my mission or go home, constantly checking my six.

i am permanently scanning the sky and the ground around me. especially my six about every 5 -10 seconds.

if i get hit somewhere, i only fight if absolutely necessary. otherwise i avoid them.

i try to get to open fields or near ground units in case i have to land. when getting hit once or twice and my controls are affected, my fight is over and i'll shake dust.

i only fight when advantage is on my side. not only for the first pass but throughout the whole fight. i only fight when beeing sure i'll get out healthy. when i got surprised by enemies, and i have to fight, i didn't do my job as leader good enough. then i pray.

 

in short. no potential target is worth to give my life for.

[griphos 0]

Yes, I want to grow up to be Creaghorn!

 

I've been changing. I started as a point my plane directly at the first enemy I see sort of pilot. Now, I am more....ahem.....strategic, shall we say. And as for sneaking up on the enemy, it seems to me I never can if they have height on me, but I often will surprise the little buggers when they are flying low and I'm up in the clouds. I've dove on whole flights and gotten shots into two of them before they seem to notice I'm there in the past.

[Canvas Wings 1]

What is your Fighter Pilot personality?

 

 

Well a damn sight more cautious since I started flying this sim!

 

I play dirty when I can, go head to head when I really have to. In a tight spot, run if I can; fight if I have to. Slowly un-learning the cavalier attitude of RDB days - developing a really healthy respect for those AI flyers.

 

As for a real-life career, who can tell? Especially since accidents took out as many pilots as enemy action. Thank heavens that isn't realistically simmed in the game. Although it happens... it happens; my longest surviving DiD pilot cashed in when his camel mysteriously put its tail up and did a full speed nose dive on take off.

[Olham 164]

Very interesting thread!

You're a really grown up fighter pilot, as Griphos says, Creaghorn. Wish I could be more like that.

But I'm getting better, I think.

What help/instruments/labels etc. do you use in f(l)ight, Creaghorn?

[cptroyce 0]

In OFF I am more cautious then in RL; strangely enough.

 

For most of my life..be first..be fast..be finished..seemed to have served me well.

 

Royce

[Hellshade 110]

I'm the kind of hunter that sees the enemy, sends in the wingman and circles wide to try and find a lone EA a bit outside the furball to engage. When they (Enemy Aircraft) are working in pairs or are in general close proximity to one another, it's too easy to pick up someone on your six while you are target fixated, even for 10 seconds, on his friend. So I'd rather go home with 1 kill to submit than go down in flames with 2 or 3 kills that I won't live to toast to my wingmen about that evening. That said, once the battle has begun, sometimes your prey leads you right back into his friends. Chasing a wounded Alb back into a hornets nest of his very angry friends in hopes of finishing him off isn't wise, but does happen.

 

There is one interesting thing I noticed that happens though. When I shoot enough holes into someone and I know they will eventually crash (burning engine, long slow descent trailing smoke, etc) I know in real life I would probably have mercy on them and not "finish them off", but in the flight sim I tend to put a few extra rounds into them to make sure they go down. Apparently I'm a bit more blood-thirsty as long as it's only "virtual" blood. In real life, I'd look over the side of my plane and see how far down they have to fall and, imagining the terror that must be in the EA pilots heart, leave him to save himself as best he can instead of absolutely sealing his fate. Then again, if I'd just watched one of my own real wingman go down in flames, I might feel differently and do exactly as I do in the flight sim.

 

/salute

Hellshade

[SirMike1983 3]

I've long found the analogy of flying fighter aircraft being like hunting to be laughable. It would be more like hunting if they gave the deer a gun too. But I don't know too many bucks who carry a pair of machine guns with them. <br /><br /> I think to survive for very long you need to either be very lucky or somewhat lucky and tactically-minded. I was never very lucky, so I have to be tactically minded (as I set out above). Thanks to it being only a sim, it's more fun than unnerving.

Edited May 7, 2009 by SirMike1983

[Creaghorn 10]

What help/instruments/labels etc. do you use in f(l)ight, Creaghorn?

 

 

none,

 

i try to have it absolutely as realistic as possible (no tac, no labels, no target brackets, no outside view, no radar, no warnings). only trackir, my eyes, my SA, my forcefeedback. DiD (auto mixture)

 

what probably helps me is, i always lead and clouds are set at 5. so because i am looking for specks with my human eyes, and not AI with super eyes, i pass more enemies unseen. with cloud setting on 5 the chance to miss enemies or beeing missed is also increased (AI can't see through clouds, neither do i). of course the chance to get surprised is bigger, but that way IMHO is the most realistic. right now in mid april 1917 it's bloddy hell to go to a sortie. there is almost on every sortie enemy contact. but from sept. 1916 throuh the winter the weather was bad and airtraffic less. that probably gave me extra flying hours.

[Duce Lewis 3]

#1 goal is to accomplish the mission

I try to avoid combat enroute to the target but then I'm looking for a scrap homeward bound

However, if the enemy gets the advantage, the mission gets abandoned, then just try to fight our way home

 

I'll take on up to 2:1 odds directly

Anything greater than that then I'll try to stalk the prey

Turn away, go for altitude, look for help, then bounce them

In the end, my goal is a good scrap

 

Had a good representative mission tonight

It was a balloon buster with 4 wingies (D7's)

2 Camels popped up high just as we approache the target

Was going to fight through them when 4 more popped up behind them

 

6:5 odds, they've got a big height advantage, and they're between us and the balloon ...not good

Angled off to port about 20 Deg, away from the 4 Camels and outside the 2 Camel formation

It worked somewhat, the 4 flew on, then the 2 Camels dove on us

Targeted the balloon and set 2 wingies after it then led the other 2 after the Camels

 

They weren't much trouble as we chased them down to ground level

The wingies got 1 and I sent the other down with an engine fire, pouring smoke

Looked over and the balloon was in flames too ...Great no losses either

 

Formed up and headed home

Crossing over the lines 4 Biffs showed up and bounced us

Spoiled our day but good too!

I got 2 and a belly full of lead

Flight was totally scattered and I limped over our trenches and found a field

 

Can't wait to do it again!

[Gous 0]

Creaghorn this is amazing! I cant believe someone has reached so many flight hours. Congratulations!

My biggest survivability problem though, is enemy Archie. How do you avoid enemy AA fire? 70% of my pilots so far are dead because of Archie and ground fire and 30% from enemy aircraft fire.

[Olham 164]

Yesterday, I made a flight like that, Creaghorn. All switched "OFF".

I like the feeling much better, of course.

But it came to a nasty disadvantage, when I tried to fight a Nupe 17 (in my DIII).

Whilst I couldn't find HIM half the time - despite TrackIR - the AI pilot knew exactly my position, always.

Whereas, in real life, the other pilot would also loose visual contact sometimes, and need to get new orientation.

So, I switched "labels" on (but didn't feel good with it).

 

I assume, you would have tried to climb away from that; to get full overview about the situation.

And I know, that's what I should have done, instead of turning with a Nupe.

[Creaghorn 10]

Creaghorn this is amazing! I cant believe someone has reached so many flight hours. Congratulations!

My biggest survivability problem though, is enemy Archie. How do you avoid enemy AA fire? 70% of my pilots so far are dead because of Archie and ground fire and 30% from enemy aircraft fire.

 

 

hahaha, thank you very much, gous, .

 

no target fixation

no target worth enough to give my life for.

 

i think what saved me so far is i'm flying for the german side, so i'm not too often in enemy territory. if i am, then i absolutely refuse to go to low altitude. i try to shoot the enemy down while beeing high. if he descends, then i am not target fixated but let him go. see you another day.

archie didn't came near to me yet. i am constantly zigzaging. i must admit i feel very unconfortable seeing the puffs around me over enemy lines. some days ago one of my mates got hit and went down. it's tough to avoid archie and still concentrate for specks and enemies and not getting surprised. on ground attack missions i make one pass and i am gone.

my own archie is bringing me more headache. when i chase somebody and we end up just over treetop level and archiegunners are trying to hit him, but not with deflection bursts but directly aiming on him, more puffs are around me then around the enemy. in that case there is nothing much you can do. just pray and make the kill as fast as possible so the archie ceases around you.