SF2 Series DACT Reports And Related A2A Discussions (Game only)

[saisran 84]

 

 

I wanted to try something different...

 

In an alternate universe where missile technology was never touched, aircraft made their advances but dog fights with guns remained the only option.

 

 

Along the border between east and west; a Mig-29K Fulcrum and a FA-18F Super Hornet entered into a jousting match.

 

They passed each other and its fights on.

 

Taking full advantage of its higher thrust and lighter frame, the Fulcrum pulled its nose high into a vertical loop. On hes way down he spotted the  Super Hornet Rounding a turn underneath him. Fighting to stay concious he kept pulling harder with a quick snap of the the stick to the left he placed hes lift vector onto the Super Hornet and found himself inside its turn. The Super Hornet tried to hide in the clouds but the patch wasn't big enough to hide. He's now on the Honet's six and shadowing its every move. Inching closer and closer into the piper the Hornet's fate is sealed. The hornet tried one last attempt to break but it only made itself a much bigger target. A short Squeeze of the Trigger and he's gone.

 

A Victory for the Eastern Knight. However, rest will come later and he's attention is drawm to his RWR receiver that has kept on ringing the entire time he was engaged.

 

He called on to his comrades to locate the enemy but no one seems to know where this mysterious treat is. It was minutes later when the ground control lady finally announced the bearing and distance of the enemy and sure enough after another minute a blue plane streaks past him and they entered in a right hand turn each trying to get an advantage. The adversary seems to be a Delta but is much bigger than any mirages hes seen. Not only that, this plane also has two engines. "Is it a new plane? No. It can only be one thing. It's an outdated F-14 with its wing swept. Ha! What can this huge and lumbering intereceptor do against the Fulcrum. They should have sent an F-16 instead!"

 

But to the Fulcrum's surprise he was unable to close the gap to the Tomcat by following its turn. As hes slowly loosing energy he opted to gain a bit of altitude to have an advantage. Dropping he's nose he maneuvers himself behind and underneath the tomcat. gaining significant energy in the process that he can use to curl inside the Tomcat's turn. However, the Tomcat dove, gaining a bit of seperation, it snapped its wings and cut sharply underneath him. Straigthening itself it once again made a break to a right hand turn gaining a good deal of separation in the process. The fulcrum jammed the throttle forward and gave chase. With he's superior thrust to weight advantage he was able to close the gap in an instant. He had to the tomcat on hes sight and he fired he's cannon. But the Fulcrum missed and the Tomcat was suddenly right by his side and it cut across and underneath him and from where he stopped he now poised to cut right back and place itself behind him. The Fulcrum quickly made a hard break towards the Tomcat and roll inverted to deny him the position. The reversal placed the Tomcat high and the Fulcrum low with enough separation for the Fulcrum to breath. "This Tomcat is clearly not to be taken lightly." Looping up and following the Tomcat on its dive, he was once again able to use his agility to bring himself behind it. Carefully measuring hes stick inputs, he was able to stay on the Tomcat's six and on its next reversal, he was able to put the piper right on the middle of the Big Fighter. A generous amount of pressure on the trigger and he got the Victory.

 

 

 

He was on the runway when the news of the FA-18F being shootdown reached him and he was on course to intercept the enemy when the news of he's friends F-14Ds defeat reached him. Heart heavy with loss he vowed to avenge his friend. Streaking through the clouds he spotted a Mig-29K Fulcrum. Dropping to its altitude,e he circled around it to announce hes presence and to indicate that the fight is on. 

 

The Fulcrum managed to get behind him during the intial turn. Judging that he's plane is still too heavy with fuel the Western Knight. Made a series of tight spirals and split S to shake the fulcrum and gain an advantage over it. After several merges where he glares at the fulcrum canopy it made a mistake trying to follow the Tomcat's tight loop and crashed into thbe dessert floor. "What a stupid mistake." realizing that the opponent just now cannot be the one that shot his friend he went on to hunt for the real culprit. 

 

Sure enough, he met another Fulcrum in the air. Wanting to kill the Fulcrum with hes not and not with the ground he took the fight high by beginning with a vertical maneuver. He pitched up in climb and seeing that the fulcrum is making a wide climbing circle. he tighten his pull and completed a tight loop. Flaps down to enable hes Tomcat to curl tighter. Trading energy for nose position. He pitched and roll hes tomcat towards direction he expect to find the fulcrum at the end of the maneuver. The fulcrum passed him over head on its way to its dive cycle. He yanked the stick and throw it hard laterally and giving the rudders a workout he rolled the tomcat and swing the nose down. pointing down ona steep angle. he caught the fulcrum infront of him. With the help of God's G he was able to put hes vector on target pull out of the dive and still sustain enough energy to answer whatever maneuver the fulcrum will try next. Following the Fulcrum on a right hand turn he managed to curl inside its turn by maintaining hes optimum corner velocity. Angling the nose down and raising it up quickly. he set himself up to take a snapshot but he missed. However, this sent the fulcrum on a downslope and with hes tomcat on a climb he still has the advantage. By Climbing high, rolling inverted and pitching sharply on the dive he was able to stay behind the fulcrum's 3/9 line poised to capitalize on the latters eventual mistake. Nose down to gain speed and nose up to gain altitude, all the time keeping the nose threathening. it was a lengthly cycle but patience was a virtue. The fulcrum was in a tight turn on hes downclyce and since the Tomcat has the altitude advantage he can afford to turn as tight. Out of this tight turn the Fulcrum went up pass hign above the Tomcat... hes slow. The Tomcat Rolled itself inverted and pulled tight on the tight for an abrupt Split S in hopes that the maneuver will allow him to level of behind and under the fulcrum. As it turns out the Fulcrum still has enough energy and agility to break into the Tomcat and on its dive they passed each other canopy to canopy going on the same direction. However, as the Fulcrum is gaining speed as it dives and the tomcat is essential on a climb, the effect was that the fulcrum was placed once more in front of the Tomcat. The Tomcat which has now expend more than half it's fuel load is a much lighter and more agile aircraft. Rolling around the Fulcrum as if to draw a snare around it the Tomcat found itself in the saddle. Maintaining lead position he tried to predict the tragectory of hes rounds and let some rounds lose. Realizing the difficulty of the task, he let off enough pressure to allow the radar to gain lock. Closing the gap even more and pulling tighter he once again has lead. But none of the rounds seems to connect. A few more burst and finally. He was able to damage the fulcrums engines and rear controls. With the fulcrum loosening its turn a minute adjustment and a long burst. Vengence is now served!

[cougar_1979 37]

Some tough fights there! Did the radar refuse to give you a lock?

[saisran 84]

I was pulling too much lead. So the radar is missing the target. Just had to let up a bit allow the bandit to move up.

[ShrikeHawk 384]

Lately, I've been trying West fighters versus West fighters. In this one, eight Saudi Arabian F-5Es (no RWR, no decoys) matchup against eight Israeli F-4Es. This combat went like most: victory for the player's F-5s but four at least are always lost.

 

 

[cougar_1979 37]

Good flying! I wanted to do some if it myself last night, but my NF5 install decided it should stop working (it crashes during quick and instant action mission creation) so for the time being i'm stuck with premade missions. With my bandwidth it will take some time before i d-load and reinstall.

[Caesar 305]

Very nice flying there!

[ShrikeHawk 384]

Same scenario. This time I'm flying a Kurnass. The F-5Es are surprisingly good at chewing up F-4s, but that was with the player's flight. I thought while the player is flying the F-4 we could tear through the F-5s like a hot knife through butter. Not so. It's funny how very different the design approach is for both aircraft, yet pitted against each other both sides get their licks in. I lost three F-4s during this mission.

 

A pair of Mig-21s stumbled into the mission after the F-5s were gone. Icing on the cake.

 

Edited February 13, 2016 by ShrikeHawk

[cougar_1979 37]

I finally got to do some flying of my own and boy am i rusty........ but more then rusty, i am stupid. This is one of my favorite cold war scenarios, SE Asia, 1974, 4 Navy Phantoms VS 6 MiG-17s. Limited war ROEs, thus no firing before the contacts are positively identified as bandits......... Here is the first engagement:

We make contact at 10 nauticals, and i lock in the first contact to have a better SA on him at 7. Ordering my wingman to cover my six and rolling into the contacts. At around 2 nauticals away we make a positive visual ID, they are 17's and like a mindless block i order my entire wing to attack. What follows is a disaster of biblical proportions. I kick off my bags and pull into the vertical to get above them and get some separation for my missiles. No guns on these babies. As i roll over the top of the egg, i start hearing "i'm hit, i'm hit"..... I dive in on one of the Migs and try to roll into a good Winder position. As i finally get a good tone, i hear another I'm hit call......and my 9 goes wide because of the bad angle and separation i had while launching it...... The Mig screams by me and try to bring my nose around in a wide turn. As i slowly reacquire a target my last wingman goes to the maker.....or the Viet Cong..... depends on what you believe in...... Meanwhile the Mig and me cross our paths once more. I dive after him and finally have him above me near the sun. I wait for a bit to get a good tone.... i fire..... and hit him just as a tracer knocks me out of place...... with all those bandits flying around, it's not a big surprise i guess........ and it's what you get for being stupid.......

Time to apply what we have learned......... The Migs are smaller and more nimble. Even more terrifying, they have guns. We can't afford to engage them heads on, not while restricted with our BVR missiles. So my plan is to take both sections in a fast merge right past the Migs and then extend into the Sun. As soon as enough separation has been made in both horizontal and the vertical, we gonna swoop in on them, missiles blazing. Time to earn our money.

To shorten the video, this one starts when were are already around 2 nauticals away. We make the ID, let them pass and i roll left, taking both sections with me. We slowly extend into the Sun, and when i think we have enough room to turn into them, i order full attack. I drop the bag, roll over and dive in on them. I get my first Fox 1 on  a contact dead ahead. The missile goes stupid so a decide to go after the padlocked Mig. And it is hell i see bellow me. Four Migs are chasing one of my Phantoms. I try to intervene, but it's too late, he bites it. As i maintain my pursuit i can see tracer hunting me down from 10 high. This looks like it's going to be short rerun of the previous hop. I can see the bandit in my rear view mirror, but fortunately he isn't able or willing to stay on me. I lower my nose to pick up some knots and get myself more defensible when i find a Mig on my 12 high. I pull into him, get a good tone and let him have one of my snakes. And it's splash one! The first catch today..... I immediately go after the second one, but this time the missile is not able to track. Bad angle on this one. I should have been more patient. The second one follows the same pattern. I finally get a grip of myself and roll out of plane two times until i get a good angle. Fox 2! And splash 2! I am out of 9's though...... Not sure if i should hit the deck and bug out, or try to reengage with Sparrows. Just as i'm about to sh** my pants and blow i hear a Fox2, followed by a splash call. If those buggers are still into the fight, i am not leaving them alone. More Fox calls from the second section as i try to see if my radar contact is a friendly. Both my Phantoms are to the far right of me, so the fire is a go. Fox 1! No lead..... Fox 1 again, and this one tracks true. Splash 4! With 4 bandits down for the price of my wingman and no more missiles left, i decide to call it a day and bring the rest of my flight home.

[ShrikeHawk 384]

Great vids, Cougar! I think you're a little too hard on yourself in the first one. Sometimes wingmen get themselves shot down too easily. I think you did much better in the second one. Extending and coming back is an excellent way to fly in the Phantom.

[cougar_1979 37]

Great vids, Cougar! I think you're a little too hard on yourself in the first one. Sometimes wingmen get themselves shot down too easily. I think you did much better in the second one. Extending and coming back is an excellent way to fly in the Phantom.

Thanks mate....... i really should have known better by now. I know the AI handles different planes in different ways, but there is no way it will handle the F-4 against the MiG-17 adequately on its own. I guess, when i gave the attack order, they just broke as hard as hard as they could and were sitting ducks afterwards.....

So.... i feel responsible.... I'll try to remember this the next time i fly similar scenarios.....

[saisran 84]

Great Flying Guys. Man. I really need to get that new drive to rebuild my install.

[cougar_1979 37]

Great Flying Guys. Man. I really need to get that new drive to rebuild my install.

What happened to your HD mate?

[saisran 84]

Just had a couple of Check Disk error during boot up and figured its time to upgrade the main drive to a faster 1TB. Im just waiting for my order to arrive.

[ShrikeHawk 384]

Eight F-4Bs meet eight Mig-17Fs.

 

Upon getting a visual confirmation I had time for one sparrow launch before the merge. Splash one!  I fumbled with the MFD (keyboard) and was a tad late telling my flight to attack. My wingmen flew just great during this mission. I ended up flying in wide circles and drawing the interest of the Migs. That made them easy prey for my flight members. I launched another sparrow with poor firing parameters and it went stupid. I followed with a heater and downed number two. We started playing "drag-n-bag" with the Migs. They'd chase me while I sought long-ranged targets for sparrow attack. The Mig behind me went up in flames while I downed another with a sparrow. My bird was sluggish with the Mk 4 gun pod and I was regretting not telling the ground crew to remove it. I moved in on a Mig for a 'winder shot when he put on the brakes. He got too close for heat, but perfect for guns. I was happy for the gun pod then. I went after other Migs but my wingmen were getting busy. They flamed the last two.  

 

In this mission, I think I did my best work as a decoy. Migs take preferential interest in the player aircraft. All I had to do is fly near to get their interest, then run for it. My speed kept me safe. The Migs chasing me in a straight line just became easy targets for my flight. The "Catch Me If You Can" maneuver works out great for the speedy Phantoms when egaged with 17s.

 

Edited February 17, 2016 by ShrikeHawk

[Toryu 156]

For fans of MigBusters improvement to the ThirdWire F-104 FM, here is something you will want to check out. I should have picked up on this a long time ago as I fly the type relatively often but I think Saisran gets the credit for noticing that something was not quite right. [a post somewhere on this forum, I think.]

 

Anyway, I decide to do an F-104A fighter sweep mission to practice some boom and zoom, which I suck at, but I'm going to really really try harder to keep the speed up and not get tricked into a turning fight. So, I was at least keeping out of trouble but noticed a certain lack of performance regarding the supersonic behavior at low altitude. Took a quick look at the data ini and didn't have to look far. The first thing I saw was this:

 

[Fuselage]

ModelNodeName=Fuselage

HasAeroCoefficients=TRUE

CLa=0.1991

CD0=0.0241................ Yikes! Way over the top!

CDL=0.0001

Cm0=0.0007

Cmq=-2.8225

Cmad=0.4620

Cyb=-0.1991

Cnb=-0.3795

 

That CD0 value is a carry over from the original ThirdWire FM. I doubt it's an accident, I assume ThirdWire put that large number there to counter some of the over performance with their original F-104 FM. In the SF-1 series, the F-104G was player flyable but a realistic F-104 FM would probably be too much for most people [still is for me] so they went with something easier but not bad in a relative sense.

 

After a quick look at some tables in a NASA document called "Quest for Performance", here are a couple of total CD0 values that some smart guy calculated:

 

Quest for Performance Total CD0 values

 

F-105D = 0.0173

 

F-104G = 0.0172

 

Here is what ThirdWire is using for those two types:

 

ThirdWire Total CD0 values

 

F-105D = 0.0159

 

F-104G = 0.0312........Yikes!.....Again!

 

ThirdWire CD0 values always seem to be lower than the reference values I find but don't really think it's a big deal in a relative sense. The excessive CD0 value being used for the F-104 is a big deal with the improved MigBuster FM though. With that FM running closer to book values, you will want to adjust the CD0 values closer to book values as well.

 

Here is what I suggest is a "Legitimate" fix for MigBusters "Legitimate" improvement to the ThirdWire F-104 FM:

 

To fit in with the other ThirdWire airplanes you will probably want a total CD0 value that is less than actual. Using the ThirdWire F-105 as guide, a total CD0 value of 0.0158 for the F-104 would be appropriate.

 

[Fuselage]

ModelNodeName=Fuselage

HasAeroCoefficients=TRUE

CLa=0.1991

CD0=0.0099................Changing fuselage CD0 to 0.0099 gives a total CD0 value of 0.0158, including wings, vertical stab and horizontal stab.

CDL=0.0001

Cm0=0.0007

 

If you're interested in testing the more realistic CD0 values:

 

[Fuselage]

ModelNodeName=Fuselage

HasAeroCoefficients=TRUE

CLa=0.1991

CD0=0.0113.................Changing fuselage CD0 to 0.0113 gives a total CD0 value of 0.0172

CDL=0.0001

Cm0=0.0007

 

These changes put a lot of "Zip" into the Zipper. I find I can work the Mach 1.0 to Mach 1.3 zone much better and with better energy retention. I have also seen some occaisional super cruise behavior. I think the real F-104 could do that to a certain extent but not sure of the details. It also stays supersonic much longer after coming out of afterburner. If heading downhill you can save a bit of fuel while maintaining supersonic speed. I still find it a difficult plane to do air to air with. After unloading the Aim-9B's  and not hitting anything, I'm left with a gun and a plane that zips around really good but doesn't turn very well. If you get a gun angle on the opponent you probably won't have it for long so good gunnery skills required. Still, it's 10 tons of fun!

 

 

The F-104G should give you a sustained turn-capability similar to a hard-wing F-4, which means about 6-7g sustained at 450KIAS, 50% internal fuel, below 10000ft.

 

The trick up the 104G's sleeve was maneuvering-flaps. The limits of the takeoff-position were:

- 450KIAS for extension

- 540KIAS extended/ retraction

 

The Mach-limit was 0.8 or 0.85 (depends on the source).

At least one F-104 (actually a CF) went supersonic with maneuver-flaps out - it was a supersonic test-profile and the pilot wondered at about M 1.3, why acceleration didn't go as planned. He retracted the flaps and proceeded on to M2.

 

A long time ago, I had a flight-model that was ok-ish and close enough for me (I even stole the pitch-up behaviour from the F-101 and added a little post-stall gyration-fun), but the countless ini-writeovers after patches stole the fun and I stopped optimizing the FM.

[cougar_1979 37]

A post long overdue....... Two of these hops are uploaded for months now, i just never got the chance to post them here.

In the first two hops i was fishing for Flankers over Central Europe in the 90's...... this is what i got:
HOP#1

4 F-14A's, two sections armed for CAP, 2x 54's, 3x 7's, 2x9's and 2 bags. Got our first contact at 50 miles. Com chatter indicates missile exchanges, but at this time i have no clue what the parties involved are. As an overall leader i assign targets to my squadron and engage at around 30 miles with the Phoenix. I have no idea what the contacts are and i don't want to risk a merge with 29's or 27's. With section 1 low and section 2 high we get the bandits on our 2. We get 3 confirmed splashes on our first run before closing in for Sparrows. At around 15 miles the hostiles paint us with their radars. When breaking through the 10th mile i give one of my Sparrows to the leading contact. 470 kts airspeed, angels 9, bandit high above the horizon. At the time i thought of this as perfect Sparrow parameters. Splash 1! As we break through the 5th we finally have visual, MiG 21's! My wingmen continue engaging at close range as i scan the radar and the sky for targets. MiG31's! Dead ahead. These guys take priority. They must have masked their approach with the 21's...... but haven't we been fired upon....? I try to engage the leading Hound with a frontal aspect Mike, but the closure must be too high. Or maybe it was the sun at 2. I go into a high Yo-Yo and emerge at his high 6. Fox 2 again. This one homes true and it's splash 2 for me. .... slight digression as i admire the scenery....... looking for more targets..... F-14....blue........ and then, there it is, the second hound, 10 o'clock! I send one of my cats at him. And he's down for the count! That makes 2 Hounds and 3 Fishbeds confirmed.  Being out of missiles (by mistake loading 1 instead of 3 Sparrows) and not wanting to eat any SAM launches i decide to get my boys back and head for home. 

HOP#2
Same mission (hunting for 27's)

GCI calls for contacts at 25 miles. We get locked on immediately. Right from the start this indicates more then 21's...... I assign targets as we start the missile exchange..... at this range it must be 29's or 27's. My Sparrow is launched at 430 knots, slightly above horizon, angels 10. A bit slow even by my old standards....... I try to bring teh contacts on my 10 as i preemptively kick countermeasures...... you gotta love these new launchers, much better count, much better defense. One of my wingies got a splash! I get my second Sparrow out, this one at over 550 knots! Needles to say, this one strikes right where it should! Splash one! As we close for the merge i give my final commands and engage the enemy formation....... it's Fulcrums!!!! This going to be one hell of a fight! I let them pass and try to turn above them so i can assess which one poses the greatest threat or is the easiest target. I lock on the leading MiG and let my final Sparrow fly. 360 knots, 6 o'clock high. less then 2 miles separation. The altitude must have helped and it's splash 2!. 3 Migs down..... I immediately padlock the trailer that seams to be going for one of my teammates. I'm not alone though, it seams like i have someone on my 6 as well. My hope is that as long the targeted Mig maneuvers hard so will i, thus denying the trailer a good shot. As he levels off, i give him one of my snakes and kick a bunch of flares as someone launches a missile at someone! Splash 3! With 4 migs down, it's mission accomplished, but we are not alone yet, I go nose low to gain some energy for defense and scan for bandits. It takes a while to find another Fulcrum, but get my Mk I at one at 3 o'clock...... finally...... But it seams like i have one on my 6 again..... I launch my second winder at what seams to be even   better parameters...... .and this one fails. I manage to connect with my cannon though, if only for an instant. We are in a rolling scissors for a few seconds and i get him on my 12 low. I try to et my number 2 to help my out as i'm out of missiles, but he has his hands full. In the meant time i kick flares as i have no idea i'f i'm being shot at or not! I try to extend away to ..... Jesus Christ! Tracers! I go for a hard left to through any bandit off my trail. I get the section 2 leader to engage my current one, so i can focus on finding the sneaky one. ..... and someone bites it! No matter what i do, it seams like i can't get him of my tail! I finally jettison the bags, to get some extra pitching authority and reduce drag! I try hard breaks, extensions, going over the top (of the egg).... nothing helps, i just got get visual on him.... And then finally, after loading my jet at over 450 knots (more like 470) and doing a hard right break, there he is at 4. But one of my boys gets him! 5 MiGs down. The skies seam clear and we head for home..... the mission report says 8 Fulcrums were in the air at one point. In the end, 5 of them won't be returning home. But #3 bought it as well :(

HOP3 is from last night, as i tested the latest upgrade.

This is the first one of the six BVRs i had against the Big Bird. One on one, 30 nauticals. 4 Sparrows, 4 Winders setup on both, mid 80's.  He manages to launch first, but i doubt he had good parameters.    I kick chaff as i try to get my nose on him. I finally got him at 15 miles, dead ahead. First Sparrow away at 480-490 knots, Second at 520 knots. I extend to the left and keep kicking chaff. And then one of his Sparrows nearly hit me at 3:30! Finally launching my 3rd one at 590 knots, just as his lost shot missed. And then he exploded. From my previous 4 engagements i knew i always miss the eagle in these situations and i was ready to go for the merge. I thought i was just lucky. But then i flew for the sixth time. I launched my sparrows at above 500 knots each (520 and 560) and lo and behold. I got him again. So yeah..... one learns new stuff every day. If only i knew this several months ago when fighting those Hounds and Fulcrums......
 

[cougar_1979 37]

That randomized Flanker hunting mission from above (that kept giving me Foxhounds, Fishbeds and Fulcrums, finally bore fruit! 4 of them!

My flight is this HOP is just one section me and the wingman. We make contact at 25 nautical miles, angels 12 and are almost immediately alerted to missile launches without being actively locked yet. AMRAAMSKI's! After designating a target to my #2, i turn on ECM, launch my 2 Buffaloes on two separate contacts and start doing evasive maneuvers (which mostly consist of launching chaff, diving into the clutter and switching between 2 and 10. 17 miles for the contacts my wingmen buys the farm! I'm all alone now against multiple contacts. At around 14 miles away and angels 5 i get my first confirmed splash....... and the second one! The sealed 54's worked! I try to get my nose on the remaining contacts and get my RIO to lock up one of them. 11 miles from the contacts, 1000+ knots closure and then a FOX 1. As i toll back into them it's splash 3! Now there is only one of them left and i can risk the merge. A merge against 2 of whatever these birds are (Fulcrums or Flankers), is suicidal at best when alone.  5 miles into them and i have a visual, it's Flankers after all. I hug the ground to make it as difficult for the remaining bandit to lock my up and prepare for the merge my turning into him and launching every counter measure i have left. I let off another FOX 1. It misses, but so do his! I roll over while supersonic and try and aggressive left break to get an early nose on. I get my nose first on him and launch my last FOX 1 at just one mile away and a closure of over 1000 knots.......It just barely misses but the explosion is so close it might have actually cause some damage. In order to keep the initiative i continue the hard break and settle on his 6. FOX 2 at 0.8 miles, but it's defeated by a generous amount of flairs. FOX 2 again, but this time i am probably too close. I switch to guns and try a guns kill. However, i have managed my energy so well, i didn't notice i am still over 500 knots! Needless to say, i overshoot but i immediately go into a high Yo-Yo and roll back on his 6. 3 bursts later (the first 2 are for tracer orientation - after all i'm still rusty and the new gun sight feels a bit different) and his down...... splash 4! Now if only i can find a way for my wingman to survive this ordeal..... 

[Caesar 305]

Very nice flying.

[cougar_1979 37]

Very nice flying.

Thanks mate! I got a bit lucky when that last 77 detonated just behind my tail

And my gunnery skills need improvement...... but the AIM-7s and AIM-54s did well.

 

 

I decided to go back to my previous DACT experiment and finish the Hornet iteration. Only 2 birds left to fly against, the Su-27 and the M2000. These hops are against the Flanker. I made 3, but the first turned out to be a draw (we both ran out of ammo and fuel....well i got out of fuel )

I uploaded the 2nd the 3rd one...... this is the second one..... (recordings start just before the merge 10-15 miles away, to save on time)

 

As always i build as much energy a possible and then cut the throttles at 10. I wait a bit after his first launch and then start doing evasive. After spuffing his attacks i roll over and an inverted dive to pick up some energy and cut into his circle. However, by this time i've already lost him. I then go vertical to try and get a good overview of the situation (hopefully he is not low and behind me, looking up) and there he is.... 11 low..... and going up. I try to anticipate where he will turn up and be there first, but i start blacking out so i must relax the stick a bit.... we go into a nose on nose vertical circle but try as i may, i can't seam to settle behind him. I try something different..... i unload.....build some energy and then try to get my nose on him for a gun kill...... My aim is not so good for this high deflection shot though, so i miss and he recovers...... After 2 more full revolutions we end up nose to nose again. But we also build quite a bit of separation so i try my luck with a forward looking winder shot. He does as well be our closure rate is so high, we both miss. I immediately go vertical and try to exploit an opening, but his turn rate is so high i just can't get an angle. It becomes clear to me that i can't out sustain him in this plane, not at any airspeed useful for a missile shot, so i try to deliberately convert this fight into either a flat scissor or nose to nose one circle...... I am too fast on my first try and he ends up nose to me first...... but not enough to get a good shot away. His 77 misses again.... I reverse, cut low to the right, get my nose on him...... fire my gun..... and miss again! Being low on speed and not having enough time to recover, i decide to dive in throttles low, and stay inside him no matter what..... We cross, him high, me low..... i reverse again...... and again we cross...... 3rd reversal........ 3rd cross....... and now he seams to have slowed down significantly...... i go up for a vertical circle and he follows and kisses the sand! Should not have tried that stunt in that big heavy bird i guess. But flying him into the ground is not as satisfying so we come to hop3:

 

 

Same arrangement, same merge....... only this time i don't even try to enter a sustained turning fight with him. I'll just take every snap shot i can take. That means, building up my energy and then spending it wisely...... the first try doesn't work. Two half circles later i try again..... and miss again...... For a short time it looks like i can maybe settle on his six but then he starts recovering and moving further and further again....... so i let him go and unload for a 3rd go. And the third time is a charm....... good nose up, pulling lead....... and he splashes right in front of me.........

 

Takeaways......... don't use the Hornet as a sustained turn fighter...... again......... even against a Flanker, it works better as a nose pointer.

Well..... just one more plane to down..... and i think by now i already now how this is going to pan out. Another sustainer after all...... M2000.....

 

[saisran 84]

Way to Fly and Fight! Can't wait to get back to playing.

[Caesar 305]

Group 4v4.  2x F-14B and 2x F-8J vs 2x Su-33 and 2x MiG-21Bis

 

[saisran 84]

Its been a while... FJ-3M Fury Vs Mig-21 

 

he passed over head and i pulled my nose up thinking that i'll meet him going round top and i was surprised to see him low going going in the same direction as i was. I rolled my wings and pulled on the stick hard to bring my nose back down, blacking out a little in the process. He was cutting right so decided to roll and loop my bird up top to Keep my position and energy advantage. I tried a couple of shot but they didn't connect. A couple more loops and two premature launches of the winders (just wanted to get them off). With the winders gone i can now focus on the gun. Trying my best to correctly guess the right lead i fired some shots which didn't connect. He tried to lose me by flying low and i countered by going up. He then took a left hand turn slowly trying to gain altitude. I was in my turning circle and i got plenty of energy to keep up with him little by little i reeled him in until hes big enough for a sure shot.  Pulled the trigger and boom.

 

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tIcmlL7L6_8

 

 

Second flight, the initial engagement was boring as the bandit only ran. But the rest of the flight was more interesting. I kept pushing beyond the enveloped and kept losing control over the bird. luckily i was able to recover to regain position and splash all known hostiles. GTG so this is it for now.

 

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6KXM2ajMlMI

[zwz 0]

Hi,

Recently I read from a F-35 report saying that F-35 could use a turning technique called "pedal turn" to sustain an astonishing 28 degree/second and this technique has been proven useful in DACT. Pilots describe it to be an abrupt pedal input under high AOA. I wonder could you do this maneuver in this game? What is the speed loss/altitude loss?

 

Edited November 3, 2016 by zwz

[zwz 0]

the image is done. Upload again

[JosefK 911]

F-35A vs. Su-30SM

Well I decided to finally dive in here after I got some video.  But I have this mission between four F-35As, a whole load of Il-72 Candids and two Su-30SMs.  

The Su-30SMs over their forward base on the Kurils...

AIM-120 away!

One Flanker still there.

Decide to close in and turn on the gun camera:

Scratch one Su-30SM Flanker!

Really amazed I got the kill in a head-on pass and not a single Su-30SM missile or bullet fired at me.  Expected to be in a swirling dogfight there!