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

[Caesar 305]

Did a couple DACT fights against the Mirage F-1C 200 in the F-14A Tomcat. Standard A-A loadout on the Mirage, and an older-school loadout of 2x AIM-7E-2 and 4x AIM-9H with gun for me. I have to get back into some of the older fighters, because these fights took entirely too long.

 

In the initial fight, I figured I'd try for a two-circle engagement. This wound up with both aircraft achieving nose-on very early, and also saw the Mirage take a pot shot with an AIM-7E well inside of Rmin. The missile flew past harmlessly, and we turned into a one-circle descending corkscrew. Every time my Tomcat got close to the Mirage, he would wind up with me on his tail, just outside missile parameters (as if the AIM-9H could make the turn). Tried some vertical stuff, but nothing really worked until we both got slow enough, and on the deck, for me to drop my flaps. This got my nose around quicker than he could keep away from me and I finally got in parameters to shoot. After two AIM-9H's failed to guide, it occurred to me that guns was the only way this was going to end. He became predictable when I shot my missiles at him, and I was able to raise flaps and accelerate to within gun range. He tried a few turns, but my energy was better, and I shot him with the gun. He spiraled a few times, then blew up.

 

 

The second fight, I figured, should have gone faster, and it did...sort of. Rather than do a two-circle that would result in poor parameters and both aircraft nose-on (not desirable in a Turkey, since the Mirage F-1 is a smaller plane, thus harder to hit with gun while he could have shot me pretty easy with his own gun), I started a one-circle sustained turn fight. This also wound up turning into a long, drawn out turning match; I had nose-on first, but was too close to effectively shoot at him. He maintained his turn and I maintained mine, but the F-14A- doesn't sustain or regain energy anywhere NEAR as fast as the Turkey Beast (F-14B). Again the fight descended, I got my flaps out, then pulled 'em back in when the Mirage was defensive, then put 'em back out as the fight went back into a turning fight. I knew I'd have to shoot him sooner than later, since this whole thing would take a while to get another good shot on him, so, electing to attack with a high angle-off gun shot, I got the flaps down, pulled inside his turn for a brief moment, got the pipper just right and ZZIP! Initially I didn't think I killed him as he continued to turn for a second, then flopped over into a slow, descending spiral, the canopy missing with gun holes in the nose section of the aircraft. Ouch. His plane crashed into the desert floor.

 

 

 

 

Takeaways: The Mirage F-1C is a comparable airplane to the F-14A Tomcat in a knife fight. The Mirage driver never really threatened my plane more than once, but damn, did these fights take a while to conclude! They'd have probably been faster with AIM-9M's, and in all cases, I fired AIM-9H's at the Mirage, only to have them miss. I think if I kept the fight to even lower g, I'd have probably saved my energy better, but then I'd also loose angles a lot more, and the Mirage would have probably threatened me more. Successful, yes, but also showed me that the F-1C should certainly not be underestimated.

[+EricJ 3,935]

Since so far Libya is "calming down":

 

Me: F/A-18E Stock with 2 x AIM-9X and 4 x AIM-120.

Opposition: F-1C with guns

 

In short the Super Hornet (even stock) can out turn the F.1 as it's like an F-4 but with more power to it. Unfortunately for the Mirage its a contest of maneuverability and even a nugget can outturn it as after the merge I kept the throttle at full military power and turned into it easy. He tried to get in an energy fight but he extended and got tired of messing around and shot him in the tail with a 9X.

[+EricJ 3,935]

Me: MiG-29C with 4 x R-73, 2 x R-27R and tank (ejected before the merge).

Opposition: J-10A with gun.

 

Started off pretty well as prior to the merge I ejected my tank and got into the fight. Let's see... he buzzed by me one time came around and he tried to gun me down but all I saw were tracers as we flew past. After that it was pretty much energy circle after energy circle with the J-10. I got sick of it and came up vertical and pulled back into him and I managed to pull my nose past him for a HOBS shot but yet again Russian engineering failed me as even a 9X could have gotten a kill that easy (and would have ended sooner) as he dispensed flares and the AA-11 gleefully shot those down. Eventually I managed to keep getting into circles with him (that plane has yots of it) and we passed each other with him angling for a gun kill to my tail but thankfully I turned into him and he broke off again. I fired another R-73 and missed though this was of trying my luck and didn't hit. Then I got into another circle and this time managed to get another inkling of a kill and fired. Close but no cigar as the missile tracked the flares. Taking advantage of his confusion I launched my last R-73 finally downing him.

 

The main issue is of course weapon reliability but that's the way it is. I managed to "hang and rotate" with the MiG quite well tracking with my nose as best as possible. Had I been a 1 V 2 fight I would have been a good target for his wingman. Since I had the J-10 on the defensive though I managed to survive. Overall though the MiG is growing on me as a good fighter but yeah... needs longer legs but otherwise is pretty okay.

[+EricJ 3,935]

1st bout

 

Me: F/A-18F EPE with 2 x AIM-9X and 6 x AIM-120 and one tank

Opposition: Seaqeh with 2 x R-13 Atolls

 

This first engagement with the Seaqeh shows what overconfidence can do to somebody and to make sure you're not distracted by other things and misjudging an aircraft. The fight started with me chasing the aircraft (maybe he couldn't detect me? Then again it could be his azimuth limits as I started below him. Once he visually acquired me the fun began. At the start of the engagement he started out with a couple energy circles. Both times I came over the top and tried to get a good firing solution. At the apex of the second half loop I misjudged his direction, thinking he was outbound when he was inbound. My first 9X missed clearly missing him. After that it turned into a few horizontal scissors, and then he began weaving. Maybe he was praying to Allah very judiciously as my second shot fired wide off the mark and he turned away again. This time it was either guns or AMRAAM. At first I tried AMRAAM at least trying to get a lock on him. As such the Seaqeh turns very well for its size even at low speeds and therefore when I was switching to guns I overshoot and he ends up right in my engine wake (next to last image). If he had the reflexes he could have put his 20mm in my tail and i would have been gone. Well some more energy circles and then another misjudge and my second mid-air (my first one ever was my wingman flying into me after a CAS mission in VietnamSEA map) collision.

 

The takeaway is that I'm sure most Top Gun pilots back in the day have experienced, the big bad plane overshooting and the Top Gun Instructor "killing" the pilot. But a lot of it is the low speed handling of the aircraft in the knife fight and it's insistence on the scissors fight, in which if you're not paying attention, can get you.

[+EricJ 3,935]

2nd bout

 

Me: F/A-18F with 2 x AIM-9X, 6 x AIM-120 and one center tank and gun.

Opposition: Seaqeh with gun and 2 x Atoll

 

Having learned my lesson I got my mind right and went at it again, mainly to redeem myself from the earlier bout. Anyways, launched off the deck and intercepted him as he was heading north and after getting within visual range the fight was on. More cautious this time I managed to get into a couple vertical energy fights which devolved into one horizontal scissors in which he managed to succesfully get shots off but thankfully none connected. After that he went real low and I guess was searching for me and tried to re-establish contact. From my perch I selected and fired one 9X killing him.

 

Lesson was learned from previous so it's not as bad as before but shows how paying attention to aircraft types makes a big difference.

[+EricJ 3,935]

Me: EF2000 Typhoon with 4 x AIM-132 ASRAAM

Opposition: MiG-21PFM with 2 x R-73 Archer Duds

 

Usually when I select "Soviet" as the nation for the MIG-21 I get R-73 duds (may be just on the list) so before the merge he was shooting his two R-73s at me. One missed and one connected (as I was pulling to evade I heard the hit, wasn't sure at the time if it was just a miss explosion or a real hit) and had it been a real warhead I would have been smoked. Suffice to say I had never fired the AIM-132 and was seeing if it was as good as the DID one many many many moons ago. Overall standard fare and the EF2000 handles quite well despite feeling a bit heavy on the pitch than usual but that's just my first time really doing ACM with the type. After some cicrling he extended out east and pulled to the left and headed out to sea. So I locked him up with my first ASRAAM and fired, killing him.

 

Not much to takeaway other than the EF2000 does handle quite well in the dogfight arena (though back then with DID's version it was a big difference...) and the AIM-132 seems quite a nice weapon.

[+EricJ 3,935]

And needless to say if you got one we all would like to see them...

[+SidDogg 130]

...how do you set up your sessions?

 

 

 

 

 

SidDogg

[+EricJ 3,935]

For the Super Hornet DACT I take off from the carrier and intercept always. Therefore it gives me time to setup before the fight and evaluate stuff like interception speeds and the like. Setup for head on.

 

For other more land based aircraft I start in the air and have to setup the cockpit before I begin with the opponent usually off to my nine o'clock.

 

For OPFOR DACT I have a takeoff at Guerrero Airport and then intercept head on.

 

However I don't use the Exp2 mission editor as sometimes the aircraft I wouldn't show up and therefore I use KMD because I get a 100% chance the opposing aircraft shows up for the session. Don't get me wrong the Exp2 mission editor works fine for Single Player missions but for most custom missions I'm turning back to KMD for reliability.

 

Opposing aircraft are always EXCELLENT you get the hardest setting possible. Sure you can get realistic and adjust it for national standards but then it wouldn't be anything close to fun. And as you see sometimes I give them weapons, sometimes I don't depending on my mood.

Edited February 28, 2011 by EricJ

[+SidDogg 130]

...so that must come with that new SF2E expansion pack...

[+EricJ 3,935]

Yep though you don't necessarily need it to setup a simple mission like this, KMD or Le Missioneur works just as well for SF2.

[+EricJ 3,935]

Me: F-14B (96) with 2 x AIM-7, 2 x AIM-9P, 2 x AIM-9M with gun

Opposition: F-15A (85) with gun

 

Decided to give the Turkey a better, more experienced try than taking the Rhino out for this one. After reading Ceasar's reports something must have finally clicked as I didn't force the plane too hard (though after the merge I did black out when I was trying to pull into him) and got some pleasant results. For me who's used to pulling harder with the Super Hornet and going to this aircraft, or if you're going from any light jet to a heavier jet is to "unlearn" yourself from what you're used to and take the instructor who's got more experience to heart. After the merge as mentioned I pulled up and tried to dive on the Eagle while he went his own way and I say this because as mentioned I blacked out to excessive G. After that he began the energy circle dance (not sure if the AI just "thinks" to use the weight or maneuverability advantage against you or I just kept him out of a scissors) and I came over the top and turned into him once. The second time I felt I had a good shot but misjudged again and missed. After the first screenshot the missile did track (second image) but was defeated by flares. Entered another circle and came over the top and locked and fired my second Mike 'winder from my perch. This time the missile tracked true and got him in the rear.

 

Of course my big takeaway is better energy management and less pull on the stick. Doesn't make me an experienced Turkey driver yet... but more stuff to think on for the future.

[Caesar 305]

Did two DACT bouts today with the F-14A- (A minus) Tomcat. First one was against the Tornado F.3. This wasn't much of a fight, I pulled behind him from a one-circle pretty darn quick. After a sustained 6.5g turn, I wound up saddled on the Tornado, waiting for him to stop jinking to get a clean shot.

 

 

Well, let it be known that the Tornado is a tough bird! It took three bursts of 20mm to bring that sucker down. First one zipped through his port wing, horizontal stab, and vertical stab - nothing but blown off Sidewinders. Second went through his starboard flaps, rudder and port engine. Third burst finally sheared off his tail and he spun out of control to the desert floor. Looks like I might have to try to reverse the tables and take on the A- in a Tornado.

 

 

 

 

Second DACT was F-14A- vs. F-15A. This fight I had to take more seriously, since the F-14A- doesn't have the thrust to accelerate with the F-15. Variable geometry is the name of the game, but I'm also a lot heavier than the F-15, so I'm going to be burning more energy anyway. For this fight, I had loaded up my Turkey with 2x AIM-54's on the glove pylons 1B & 8B, 2x AIM-7's at stations 3 and 6, and 2x AIM-9's on stations 1A & 8A. Why the heavy loadout? I'm not entirely certain. Suffice to say, I had beaten the F-15A in the past easily enough only packing AIM-9's and the gun. By the way, this fight took place in 1976, so no all-aspect AIM-9's.

 

 

The fight started off with a one-circle, and I was inside the F-15 in no time. The problem was that, thanks to the TF-30 engines, I couldn't sustain my turn much longer before the Eagle began out turning my Tomcat. I sustained my turn, but the Eagle was getting away; not good if he could keep his turn to get on my tail. I rolled the Tomcat onto its back and pulled into the F-15 to get gravity to aid me. It worked, but the F-15 was still turning better, so I performed a second iteration, again getting near-nose on. We were now down in the dirt at about 5,000 feet, an area where the F-14A has a decided advantage in the real world according to its aviators ("Fight the F-15 below 18,000 feet in an F-14A") and in the sim world, it seems to be the same way, since I was now locked in another one-circle, but was neither gaining, nor loosing advantage against the better powered F-15.

 

 

I reversed into a two-circle fight and curled inside of the F-15 who initially hesitated, pulling away from my turn to gain some separation, then pulled back into me. I got angle off and hit him with a snap-shot of my gun. We were very slow now, which is why I took a shot with the game data in the lower left. I continued my pull into him after the snap shot connected (notice flaps down). The Eagle wound up electing to go vertical, exposing those huge Pratt and Whitney engines, and I fired both of my AIM-9H's. The AIM-9H, by the way, likes flares. First one didn't even guide, second one started to guide, but the F-15 unloaded and deployed flares, which fooled the missiles.

 

 

I was now chasing the F-15, not gaining on him well enough, but getting to AIM-7 parameters. The Eagle was just outside of Rmin, so I fired a Sparrow. That missile went stupid, so I fired the second one, which also went stupid. I had two options now; cut power and wait for the F-15 to get outside of 1.2NM (AIM-54 Rmin) or try to close again and gun him. I went for the latter option. I had the F-15 saddled, and every time he tried to pull into me, I followed him without issue. After some pulling and unloading, I got the F-15 lined up and gunned him.

 

 

This second fight again illustrates how much better WVR the F-14B is compared to the F-14A. In the B, I can beat an F-15A, C, or otherwise pretty darn quick (reference last page for example). In the F-14A, the plane needs to be lighter (loadout wise), and the energy burns have to be far more calculated. The F-15 simply has superior thrust compared to the F-14A, which is why I tried to shoot him with the AIM-9's as he climbed; no way I'd be able to fight him in the vertical. This particular fight was entirely offensive on my part, but it took a LOT more work to beat the F-15 than it took in an F-14B, or a more lightly loaded F-14A-.

[+EricJ 3,935]

Me: F/A-18E Stock with 2 x AIM-9X and 8 x AIM-120, gun

Opposition: Tornado ADV

 

I had previously done a DACT with the ADV before and put simply I got annoyed and just shot him down. So as Ceasar reported above the aircraft in AI hands isn't very impressive. So anyways got to the merge and he overshot me and I turned back into him. At this point or so he extended to the north and I honestly had a perfect shot. There is no doubt in my mind I could have splashed him as I tracked him for at least a good minute if not 45 seconds. Instead I played with him some more and got back into the fight getting closer to him. At that point he turned and got me in a horizontal scissors and nearly clipped me. I managed to stay out of his gunsight fairly well up into that point but he bled speed and I pulled the stick into my lap heading for the ocean and he tried to cut me in half with his Mausers as also I was fumbling for a guns kill instead but he almost got his... After that near miss in two ways he turned away and I turned back into him firing one 9X and shooting him down.

 

As Ceasar mentioned above the ADV isn't the most dangerous opponent in the skies (it's missiles if it had any would have been) but he didn't press the attack too well so I shot him down easy.

Edited March 1, 2011 by EricJ

[+EricJ 3,935]

Me: KF2 Hammer with 4 x KF2 18km IRMs and 2 x gun

Opposition: Mirage 2000C S5 with tank, 2 x R530D and 2 x MICA IR

 

At the start the Mirage did "detect" me but I think it was an issue of the stealth properties as it turned into me and then turned away heading north so I had to turn into it and get close enough for it to "see" me visually. After that the fight was on and we began the turn fight. The Mirage as a target (just like when you're flying it) immediately goes into the energy fight. Overall for the first half of the engagement I kept off the burner as initially I had some energy but then it decreased. But before that I got into a horizontal scissors and mindful of the last few times in this situation I merely swung with him not letting him A) Get close for a mid air and B) not overshoot. I successfully did both easily and worked for guns kill but no joy. Really my intent was to see how the KF2 18km missile really handled and having looked at the stats through the respective data_ini I was a bit leery with a 5 degree FOV, which is only better than an AIM-9A, which with a max turn rate of 50gs... makes it HOBS capable but the poor FOV ruins it. My guess the design intent is that of course using the stealth properties it needs only to be able to intercept it catching the target unaware. Anyways after that I got into another energy fight and this time came over the top, using AB now that I realized that I need the energy. I brought my nose parallel and fired, missing. Not to miss again I tried gunning him down but again no luck. After another scissors he managed to turn away and then extended and then I turned into him and shot him down finally with another KF2 18km missile.

 

The only thing I can takeaway is that the KF2 is very maneuverable and once I got myself more energy turning with the M2000C was near flawless and easy to pull into. Only thing is that even though a 9X has a wider FOV its still able to miss as you've seen before. However I do have a better feeling of confidence in my weapons that have that capability versus this weapon. So after this I'm going to mod the FOV a bit and maybe get better results down the line.

Edited March 1, 2011 by EricJ

[Heretic 2]

Can I request a setup?

 

F-105D vs MiG-21F13

 

I just want to see if there's any chance of bringing one down in a fist fight ('winders allowed nonetheless) instead of running scared when seeing one.

Knowledge needed for campaign play.

[+EricJ 3,935]

Specific loadout? If you're going north you're going to be carrying bombs or tanks or Shrikes so the more specific the better.

[+EricJ 3,935]

Me: F-105D (66) with two tanks, 2 x AIM-9E-2 and 6 M117 bombs and gun.

Opposition: MiG-21F with 2 x Atoll and gun

 

I have SF2E so I "have" the F and the -105D. Anyways.... the long and short of this engagement is that the F-105D is of course OLD and therefore does not have the maneuverability to handle the lighter more maneuverable Mig-21. It's simply a bomb truck so fighter like maneuverability isn't in its design. As back then aircraft were single role. You had attack planes, and you had fighter planes. Today you have attack an fighter planes. The best anecdote of course is the Super Hornet versus MiG-21 fight. It's 15,000 pounds and I'm an even 53,000 pounds and I'm turning along with it so it's also the technology. Suffice to say I spent fourteen minutes turning with it on my tail. As you can see in the screenshots I'm removing stuff like tanks and bombs. If you're going North and you have the mission editor, assign yourself an escort flight or hit the deck and pray they follow you and smack the ground. Plus remember back then 'winders were rear aspect so you're not going to have the ease of a kill as people do now. The rest of the images show the 14 minute fight in snapshots of trying to get into firing position. After a few gun passes the MiG also fired both Atolls which thankfully missed, as you see in the screenshot with the speed actually there I was a sitting duck but after another turn and burn he decided that he was going to go home and tell his buddies that he nearly shot down a Thud. I did manage to try and snapshoot but still the 9E doesn't have all aspect capability so yeah... I missed. As he left the battlefield I slowed down, got a tone and lock, firing and getting my first Vietnam-era kill even though it was in SoCal.

 

So can you bring it down in a fist fight? Not with rear aspect only AAMs and if you manage to ambush him yeah but if you got the fuel then good luck!

[Caesar 305]

Damn, EricJ, congrats on the MiG with the Thud!

 

Two engagements here, one from 1974, one from...well, since the F-35A isn't in service yet, we'll assume in some alternate reality where the Turkey Beast still flies. Anyhow, first engagement was in an F-14A against the nimble A-4E Skyhawk.

 

Fight 1 Loadouts:

F-14A: 4x AIM-7E-2, 4x AIM-9H, gun, no tanks, 75% fuel

A-4E: 2x AIM-9H, guns, no tanks, 100% fuel

 

This fight started with a one-circle at 5.5g, until I got nose-low and could bring the A minus into a more proper 6.5g sustained turn. The Scooter's and Turkey's turns got tighter until it wasn't a circle as much as a flat ellipse, and both of us ended up nose-on. Like the Mirage, I know the Scooter can zap me nose-on easier than I can zap him, so I elected to perform a high-g barrel roll over him. As we passed, it occurred to me that even with the TF-30's, the F-14 could fight better in the vertical than the A-4. Solution, begin a loop!

 

 

 

The A-4 did not follow, but instead continued straight, and then rolled and pulled left. I had gained 2 miles of separation and was above him. VSL-Hi, AIM-7E-2 selected, and FOX 1! I had the feeling it'd miss, so I switched to guns. That loop had burnt some good energy, so I know I can't start turning with the A-4 right off the bat, but I've got gravity helping me, and "High Angle-Off" enters my squash. Scooter-Echo is still locked up, I stand on the rudder to the left and give the Turkey some pull. Viola! That looks about right. Pull the trigger and the Scooter gets Swiss-cheesed, catching fire. The Scooter driver holds it for a second and I pull up and into him. Just as I get nose on to reverse, he punches out and the Scooter begins to break apart, eventually crashing into the desert.

 

 

 

Second engagement was F-14B (96) Tomcat vs. F-35A JSF. Now, I'm a fan of the JSF, and having not flown the bird in a while, wanted to see what it could do.

 

Fight 2 Loadouts:

F-14B: 4x AIM-9M, gun, no tanks, 75% fuel

F-35A: 4x AIM-120C, 4x AIM-9X, gun, no tanks, 100% fuel

 

Typical one-circle, and I'm gaining on this sucker heavily. As I get nose-on, I get intermittent warnings from my RHAW gear - that phased array can see HIGH! It didn't matter, as I pulled into him hard. Right here, I could have shot, but he suddenly jinked, then pulled hard into my turn. I had to release a bit since I had just brought my energy down to about 380KIAS, and he rolled back into me. He wasn't threatening yet, but I again got the intermittent warning. I used gravity and full blower to regain energy a bit, and we did two iterations of a horizontal scissors. What I noticed was that the F-35's instantaneous turn rate was pretty damn high, but it wasn't sustaining its turns as well as the Turkey Beast.

 

 

This turned into a descending one-circle fight after I performed a low yo-yo, and the JSF kept turning to the left. Now it wasn't energy loss that was hurting me, but rather, my Tomcat was sustaining energy too well! The JSF was getting inside of my turn because I was pegged in an 9g turn at Mach 1.1, and at low altitude and high airspeed, the Turkey's engines start putting out a LOT of power (real world, 32,000/lbs per engine at .9M at sea level!) We are down in the dirt, and I cut the throttles to try to expend some of my energy and get the fight neutral.

 

 

This worked, and the JSF began to loose his edge, then lost neutral, as I slipped in behind him. At about 20 degrees angle off, I fired an AIM-9. The JSF driver deployed flares, but the missile couldn't turn enough to hit him. I plugged the blower back in to sustain the 350 or so KIAS. This put me very close to his tail. At about 10 degrees angle off, I fired my second AIM-9M, which also missed (tracked initially, but went for flares). I closed, thus, to gun him. I was gaining, and didn't want to overshoot, so I pulled into a high yo-yo. After reaching the bottom, the JSF driver tried to break right, then straightened. I could see I was getting close to overshoot, was on my side, and stood on the rudder, electing to let the stream of cannon rounds do the work as my nose sliced right through center mass of the F-35. After the hit, I pulled hard, since I initially didn't know if his plane went down (last pic). He was going down, indeed.

 

 

 

In the latter case, the Tomcat's better thrust to weight helped me to keep the energy where it needed to be to beat the F-35. What I noticed during the scissors was an initial nose-buck, followed by a slightly less extreme sustained turn. The initial buck seemed to be an attempt to get into AIM-9X parameters early, but thankfully, it didn't work for him today. The A-4, just a nasty little bastard if you let it get you down on energy and fight its fight (turning).

[Heretic 2]

Specific loadout? If you're going north you're going to be carrying bombs or tanks or Shrikes so the more specific the better.

 

Actually, it's more a matter of going east. ;)

 

 

But mucho thanks!

 

Backs up my campaign findings. I usually try not to bother with MiGs upon ingress and leave 'em to my escort, but once I'm eight M-117s lighter, I try to fist fight with the Thud if the situation demands it (MiGs all over my wingies, more MiGs than friendlies). While I can engage and disengage MiG-17s at will to a certain degree (as long as I don't lose too much speed and keep it in the vertical), I find it next to impossible to tangle with -19s and -21s. I've managed to kill one of the former after a lengthy - nearly 1 on 1 - dogfight, but no joy with the latter.

Even when going home, the -21 remains dangerous as I usually have to let the M61 do the work ('winders are useless in '62 and I tend to fire 'em as a distraction in dogfights), which requires sneaking up and constantly muttering "I'm not a 105 crawling up on your six, you don't see me". Needless to say, this hasn't worked so far and I'll be damned if it ever works.

 

So I guess the lesson for me here is: Bore the other one so much that he wants to go home and keep your -9Bs for exactly this moment.

 

Thanks again!

[+EricJ 3,935]

Good point :)

 

And no problem!

 

As for the maneuvering and such I really don't have much experience (that was my first dogfight in a Thud) so I've dealt with MiG-21s in the BVR front which in reality isn't much when you've got an AMRAAM and he's got Atolls

[Heretic 2]

As for the maneuvering and such I really don't have much experience (that was my first dogfight in a Thud) so I've dealt with MiG-21s in the BVR front which in reality isn't much when you've got an AMRAAM and he's got Atolls

 

Well, my aim in that campaign is to survive till I can get Phantoms. And then survive till I get the version with a gun. And then I won't have to worry about the Fishbeds anymore. :D

 

 

P.S:

Has the SoCal terrain ever been updated for SF2?

 

Might surely be nice to take stuff up against other, actually friendly, stuff and go Top Gun on it. *Chuckle*

[+EricJ 3,935]

I think somebody more experienced in the Phantom can give a report as IMHO its good for a bomb truck and that's it.... Bur that's my limited experience rather than an opinion with the Mig Killers on the forum...

 

But yeah I've done that already and most of the bouts have been with friendly stuff against friendly stuff. so you'll see more though I like to vary it by using the Fulcrum..

[+EricJ 3,935]

Year: 1969

Me: F/A-18E with 8 x AIM-9G

Opposition: Mig-21F with 2 x Atoll and gun

 

Just did a quick "What If" fight with the year same as the one set from the F-105 engagement just to see how things would work. Made it to the merge and he was high over me as he overshot. I turned around back into him and he went low and from my perch I took my shot, shooting him down. Went kind of fast but the contrast is obvious that turning into the MiG while so light was not very difficult at all and I took so many missiles on the expectation that the G would be useless. Quite obviously I got lucky since he lost sight of me and I could have handled him in the dogfight. Sure I should have played with him but I knew I had him cold and broke even on my first shot.

[+EricJ 3,935]

As far as SoCal being updated I don't think so as I updated it on my own.