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

[cougar_1979 37]

In preparation for tthat campaing, i decided to practice some more with the F86. So i flew several random missions tonight and just when i htought i had the hang og it...... i got this:

https://www.dropbox.com/s/nkwu66iqme1qmcz/Mission%20from%20Hell.MSN?dl=0

Try it if you want. I call it the mission from hell, or "how 8 average YAK-9 pilots can bulldoze over 4 expert F86 pilots any day of the week". Well....3 F86 pilots, but what is the 4th going to do when he's left all alone. The AI just doesn't seam to have a clue as to how to fight fast and high or in other words how to use jets agains small nimble props! Very often my wingmen end up with zero kills. Even when i guide them into the attac pattern, and they keep insisting on turning in the horizontal with the YAK's, at times even spining their planes of the other YAK's dpn't end up shoting them first. I tried zipping across the furball and seting up rally points by ordering everyone to rejoin. That works from time to time, but after a strike or two someone gets killed anyways cause they went low and slow and in the end it's me against half a dozen angry Soviets. And if i don't get killed myself, i often ran out of ammo before i can shoot 2-3 of the resilient busters. Not to mention that no matter how much energy advantage you have, shoting someone with guns, requires at least a dozen seconds of clear unopstructed bandit contact.....something you are not likely to get with 5-6 bandits around you. Splitting them up works sometimes, but even then i could not shoot more then 3 of them, and i lose   all of my wingmen anyway....

[macelena 1,070]

That´s how a Meteor can kill MiG-15s, 17s and even 21s. The AI is prepared for the classic DACT nightmare, a nimble MiG-17 turning inside a Phantom

[Do335 382]

cougar,
 
i tried your mission in my kaw install. i had to change the yak-9Us into 9Ps but that sure is a bunch of angry yaks. did manage to get them but lost no.4 right from the start as 4 guys congregated on his tail guns ablaze. but... i did come to realize that without a2a missiles in play, an 8 ship is very very powerful, especially when it targets player flight with priority (sometimes they dumb out...). imagine the rage when the campaign engine pits my 4 jets against 8 ship mig-15s The AI is completely useless against them, i think when faced with a number advantage they're confused/overwhelmed. what this usually results is the inevitable loss of wingie, and i have to do all the killing myself. however that doesn't even matter in this mission where the AIs shouldn't be expected to make any kills, since the only way of fighting they know is by turning and we know that doesn't work here!... also when fighting prop jobs, be prepared to shoot with a lot of deflection, i.e. go for a guns solution early on vs trying to get on his tail coz u know... he turns on a dime. shouldn't need a lot of ammo, they're quite fragile, a small burst is enough if the rounds connect. the 50cals are "pea shooters" against migs but i found them quite effective against the small Yaks and LAs. lastly patience, use pure vertical maneuvers, no hard turns etc. but sometimes it's extremely hard to get a gun solution, so consider a different entry point or switch to another target. if you lost the energy advantage, dive and then extend to use your max speed advantage, immelman back to rinse and repeat.
alas, with all that said it seemed to me that props and jets operate in different worlds, so in campaigns i mostly avoid them, unless i'm sure there're no mig-15s around.

[saisran 84]

love reading your post guys keep e'm coming... I don't have a DACT myself as i've making aces of my wingmen in campaign mode and playing Warthunder (pretty game but not really appealing to hardcore simmers, overpowered russian fighters and a lot of pure pursuit flyers which is rewarded better by the game, BNZ and Hi-lo tactics really doesn't work. Im just playing till i get that hellcat) in arcade mode. Though i don't have an actual DACT i do have a mission report. It's a near perfect intercept mission except for a short moment where im unsure if i could trust my wingmen or not.

 

Modified Campaign: 2 land based F-14 Tomcat armed with 4x Aim-54A, 2x AIM-7? and 2x AIM-9H tasked to intercept 4 Mig-27 loadout unknown.

 

Set off and reached way point no 2 and called in for primary target position. I got the response " 50 miles off my nose. Set the radar to 200nm scan and powered the afterburner. I wanted to close in and end the mission fast. Previous mission RC took me right in the middle of enemy airfield and boy were we surrounded! Lost one of my pet wingman wen't down after taking 3 Bandits on his lonesome and getting corralled by a bunch of -21s.

 

A min later RC called in contacts 50 miles angles 10. nosed low and radar picked up a group forward our primary. I selected the Phoenix reduced radar range to 100nm and assigned all 4 missiles. Bandits are already under 70nm from our nose. Didn't get a lock on. repeat the targeting sequence but no go. Reduced speed to 400kts and re adjusted adjust my altitude and nose angle match. 50nm and still no light indicating that my missiles have a lock. went a bit lower and pointed my nose up on the contacts and still no go. Bandits are getting within their firing range im sure as their radars are beginning to seep through my ECM. My wingie was a game fave and he got 20 kills under his belt. under 40nm i made the call to trust him and asked him to fire on my targts. He gave his affirmative but called only 1 Fox 3. I thought he was readjusting. Closed in at 35nm and still no go. One of the bandits broke formation (bandit 1) and sped up on an intercept course towards us. At this point no 2 finally called in Fox 3s  Bandit 1 was already 25nm in and the rest  under 30. Bandit 1 20nm in and the rest just about 5-8nm behind him danced on the screen while my wingie confirmed his kills. at this point Bandit 1 is too close on my nose and no 2 is too far for FOX 1. I selected the sparrow got a clear lock and 12 miles out i called in FOX 1. I tracked the Missile home while waiting for a missile warning. Fortunately, my sparrow hit Bandit 1 before he can shoot.  

 

Check surrounding for stragglers and called in nearest bandit position. RC confirmed bandits 11 o'clock 50 miles. Confirmed primary targets at the same coordinates as closest bandits. Plugged in the afterburner for the intercept. My radar picked them up at about 80Nm off my nose. about 60Nm i locked the bandits with my -54s i got 2 contacts in close formation and 1 straggler on the right. Got a good looking lock and fired my 54s. after a while all my missile hits with the first and fourth missile hitting the straggler. Radar then revealed a 4th bandit hiding underneath the stragglers signature. Called my wing and closed in. 20Nm out i gave him clearance to fire. Moment s later its FOX 1 and a little late its the celebratory cry of a good kill. got the mission accomplished.

 

 

100%  do i need to complain?

 

 

[cougar_1979 37]

cougar,

 

i tried your mission in my kaw install. i had to change the yak-9Us into 9Ps but that sure is a bunch of angry yaks. did manage to get them but lost no.4 right from the start as 4 guys congregated on his tail guns ablaze. but... i did come to realize that without a2a missiles in play, an 8 ship is very very powerful, especially when it targets player flight with priority (sometimes they dumb out...). imagine the rage when the campaign engine pits my 4 jets against 8 ship mig-15s The AI is completely useless against them, i think when faced with a number advantage they're confused/overwhelmed. what this usually results is the inevitable loss of wingie, and i have to do all the killing myself. however that doesn't even matter in this mission where the AIs shouldn't be expected to make any kills, since the only way of fighting they know is by turning and we know that doesn't work here!... also when fighting prop jobs, be prepared to shoot with a lot of deflection, i.e. go for a guns solution early on vs trying to get on his tail coz u know... he turns on a dime. shouldn't need a lot of ammo, they're quite fragile, a small burst is enough if the rounds connect. the 50cals are "pea shooters" against migs but i found them quite effective against the small Yaks and LAs. lastly patience, use pure vertical maneuvers, no hard turns etc. but sometimes it's extremely hard to get a gun solution, so consider a different entry point or switch to another target. if you lost the energy advantage, dive and then extend to use your max speed advantage, immelman back to rinse and repeat.

alas, with all that said it seemed to me that props and jets operate in different worlds, so in campaigns i mostly avoid them, unless i'm sure there're no mig-15s around.

Well...it worked! Sort of. I got 5 of them and 3 were shared kills. I got a purple heart too! Managed to keep my wingmen alive for the most part, by not letting them engage. Ad i flew in wide energy preserving curves they had little trouble following me. I only let them loose when someone was right at my back. On of them did die near the end though .... maybe i should have payed more attention to him. The entire fight was over 30 minutes long, so there is no way i can upload it. Lessons learned, keep your wingies with you at all times and practice more snap shots..... a lot of more shap shots. Snap shots are basicly the only thing you'll get without exposing your tail to enemy fire. And in a plane without a HUD, keeping track of a rapidly closing bandit is to come at him at an off tail angle, lining up for a shot only in the last 1/2 second before you squeeze on the trigger. And i'll have to get used of shoting from all angles and aspects. BTW, i found out why they were so resistant to my fire (aside from me being a lousy shot). If you keep those .50 cals firing more then a 1/2 second or in a very hard pull, they tend to jam. So quite often i ended up shoting with only 3-4 machineguns. Not enough for decent damage i'm afraid.

 

Anyways, this mission has become my favorite workout lately. The fact of it being just a bit random every time i fly it adds up to it. They never arrive at exactly the same time or vector every time i fly it.

[Do335 382]

a lot of more shap shots

congrats mate, dog gone my vocabulary, yea snap shots it is. and wide patterns. and the whole thing takes a lot of time, one reason i avoid them... anyway glad you got em!

[Robert33 2]

Hello! New guy here. Have you guys tried a DACT with the F-104 (any version) I'm curious to see if what I've read about how experten pilots use it during exercises are true or applicable to SF as well. Unfortunately, the closest that I can get to trying it out myself is through the mobile version of SF (which is not as satisfying or (I daresay) accurate as the PC versions, I'm sure).

 

Things such as keeping the fight vertical, boom and zoom, keeping the speed at 400KIAS, etc. say that the F-104 is a formidable opponent in capable hands contrary to its combat reputation. Would you guys mind taking up the "experiment"?

[saisran 84]

Not sure if we have oe on the zipper. Haven't flown this plane since my first SF1 series

[Robert33 2]

@saisran

Thanks for the feedback. Much as I'd want (and love) to play the PC version of SF, I have to make do with its mobile version since my work demands me to be pretty much on the go. On the mobile version, the F-104 is one of the least popular planes as it is more difficult to fly and fight in it than most other jets around. Similar to its real-life and in-game reputation if I'm not mistaken.

 

And you're right about the Philippines not being that "flight-sim friendly".

[cougar_1979 37]

@saisran

Thanks for the feedback. Much as I'd want (and love) to play the PC version of SF, I have to make do with its mobile version since my work demands me to be pretty much on the go. On the mobile version, the F-104 is one of the least popular planes as it is more difficult to fly and fight in it than most other jets around. Similar to its real-life and in-game reputation if I'm not mistaken.

 

And you're right about the Philippines not being that "flight-sim friendly".

Energy tactics are almost always a bit harder to grasp then angles tactics, my guess is because they are less intuitive. In every life we are mostly used to 2-dimensional thinking and problem solving, so operating in one plane of motion is almost an instinct. Working in a 3-dimensional environment (or 4 if you take the time into effect- a must for high deflection shots) takes some getting used to. Thus most people favor angles over energy :)

[Robert33 2]

Energy tactics are almost always a bit harder to grasp then angles tactics, my guess is because they are less intuitive. In every life we are mostly used to 2-dimensional thinking and problem solving, so operating in one plane of motion is almost an instinct. Working in a 3-dimensional environment (or 4 if you take the time into effect- a must for high deflection shots) takes some getting used to. Thus most people favor angles over energy :)

 

That's true, angles fight is the natural tendency for most folks. it takes a bit of experience to get used to :)

 

In keeping with the DACT topic, I'm sharing a video of my latest "sortie". Yes, it's from the mobile version of SF (and I am well-aware that there are a good number of folks in this forum that look down on it) but do cut me some slack since its the version of SF that I can properly enjoy with my current lifestyle. In my DACT report, I'm using an F-104S against a bunch of MiG23s and MiG17s.

 

 

Takeaway:

I tried doing energy tactics (at least as far as what the mobile version allows)... I must say that the F-104S, while meant to take down Soviet bombers can actually tangle with fighters akin to US Navy F4Js. I tried to keep my speed during turns at the F-104's so-called magic number, as written by Sharkbait and other prominent F-104 veterans, of 400-500IAS. Worked like a charm. The F-104 definitely loses on the instantaneous turn department but is on top when it comes to sustained turns. Also, the 400-500IAS magic number still gives the Zipper enough speed to out-climb opponents, evade a missile if need be, and still have enough speed boost to run should the going get ugly.

 

Now for the Sparrows... as the F-104S is concerned; slow to lock and whenever I fire it, hitting a maneuvering target is pretty much a 50/50 proposition at higher levels of the game...

 

Again, this was done with the mobile version and as most flight-related mobile games are concerned, its more of a turn and burn affair. I would appreciate it if someone would make a Zipper DACT here in SF2 as a comparison.

 

Cheers

[Caesar 305]

Robert,

 

Thanks for posting.  Haven't seen much of the mobile game; though this forum is centered on SF2, it was interesting to see that fight, and it's always good to see new people posting their fights.  I think the best guys to bring up an F-104 would probably be Macelena, Streakeagle or based on what he's posted so far, Cougar.  Streak doesn't usually post in here, but it seems like those guys have a good handle on the pre-Teen-series fighters.  I'd humor your request, but I focus almost entirely on the F-14A/B/D, and branch off into the F-16, A-4, and F-15 every once in a while, so I don't think I could give the Zipper a fair assessment.  Even the F-4, if you look back, I get bagged in way too many times, which must be fairly humorous to the guys who spend a lot of time in the virtual Phantom, saying to themselves "what the hell are you doing there, Caesar?"

 

Any takers for the Zipper in SF2?

[+daddyairplanes 8,928]

Zipper tactics without heavy modding would be simple.

1  dont stray too far from home, or at least a friendly airstrip

2  hit whats in front of you.  they weren't known as the tightest turners  and even transitioning from the horizontal to the vertical has proven interesting. buuuuut.......

3  boom and zoom!  gawd they go fast when they want to,  so after the engagement (what ever teh results)  best to beat feat and let the enemy wonder wha teh hell happened.

 

of course my assessment  is mud mover driven,  but if a Mig is in my area in the Phantom or even the SLUF i might just add to my A2A score.  but the Zipper and  the Thud,   hit the deck with your hair on fire (unless you are fortunate to be blessed by rule 2)

[Robert33 2]

Robert,

 

Thanks for posting.  Haven't seen much of the mobile game; though this forum is centered on SF2, it was interesting to see that fight, and it's always good to see new people posting their fights.  I think the best guys to bring up an F-104 would probably be Macelena, Streakeagle or based on what he's posted so far, Cougar.  Streak doesn't usually post in here, but it seems like those guys have a good handle on the pre-Teen-series fighters.  I'd humor your request, but I focus almost entirely on the F-14A/B/D, and branch off into the F-16, A-4, and F-15 every once in a while, so I don't think I could give the Zipper a fair assessment.  Even the F-4, if you look back, I get bagged in way too many times, which must be fairly humorous to the guys who spend a lot of time in the virtual Phantom, saying to themselves "what the hell are you doing there, Caesar?"

 

Any takers for the Zipper in SF2?

No worries regarding my request. I was just wondering if there's a Zipper driver nearby, since I've noticed that most online pilots prefer one other aircraft and so forth over the Zipper for rather obvious reasons. From what I understand so far about SF 1 & 2, they are "study" simulators that allows a person to fly with their plane of choice in detail so specializations are bound to happen.

 

@daddyairplanes

Tried those tactics back in the days of Jane's combat simulators. Apparently, the Zipper is best used in a team.

[macelena 1,070]

Will do, can´t promise much because i don´t have much time and wont have until christmas, but i will have to download a modded version, the stock F-104s are modded much better than they were in RL and i will have to relearn it a bit.

 

The basis is speed, of course. Pretty much what DA said. Of course, regarding their use as a team, i´ve always favoured it to lure enemies into my tail or my wingmen tails so they have to mimick a F-104 performance, giving others the chance to catch up with them

[cougar_1979 37]

Robert,

 

Thanks for posting.  Haven't seen much of the mobile game; though this forum is centered on SF2, it was interesting to see that fight, and it's always good to see new people posting their fights.  I think the best guys to bring up an F-104 would probably be Macelena, Streakeagle or based on what he's posted so far, Cougar.  Streak doesn't usually post in here, but it seems like those guys have a good handle on the pre-Teen-series fighters.  I'd humor your request, but I focus almost entirely on the F-14A/B/D, and branch off into the F-16, A-4, and F-15 every once in a while, so I don't think I could give the Zipper a fair assessment.  Even the F-4, if you look back, I get bagged in way too many times, which must be fairly humorous to the guys who spend a lot of time in the virtual Phantom, saying to themselves "what the hell are you doing there, Caesar?"

 

Any takers for the Zipper in SF2?

I would surely like to give it a try, but unlike the cold war era F-4s and F-8s or early post WW2 era jets, i must admit the century series is sort of a blind spot in my overal plane knowledge. I know very little about their perfomance and practically nothing on their combat capabilities. If someone knows a good and faithuful iteration of the 104 though, i wouldn't mind trying it out. I like experimenting with new planes

[Do335 382]

The zipper! Traveling on the road so not flyable the next week or so for me, tho remembered and digged out a good post by a former pilot.

http://www.f-16.net/forum/viewtopic.php?p=6798#p6798

 

(The numbers for flame out landing was especially scary for me at that time doing some reading up on the F-16 SFO. If I interpret right he was referring to the high key and it was 15000ft 260kts for the zipper, vs. 7000ft 200kts (iirc) for the viper....)

Edited October 11, 2014 by Do335

[Robert33 2]

@Cougar

If I'm not mistaken, there's a good number of Zipper mods in this forum. The latest and most updated seems to come from the Italians; understandable since they were the last to operate the Zipper and arguably fell in love with it.

[saisran 84]

Took me a long time to do this fight. I can't find my old copy of SF1 good thing Wrench made this http://combatace.com/topic/57393-flyable-f-104s-for-sf2/ (For all wanting to fly the zipper). Also scanned a wiki article for the best match. Settled for a Farmer (don't have the Chinese version).

 

Playing arcade mode in SF1 was night and day to playing simulation mode.

 

First fight. I was testing out the limits of the zippers FM. as it turns out, it can't turn for anything. The phantom is like flying a saber compared to this. True to the articles read, you can't give the game zipper any hard angles. (really you cant give it any angles).  And you can't slow down either. 

 

 

 

However the zipper is fast. It climbs like a rocket and accelerate like an arrow. And flying wide circle at mach speed should be able to get you in a good position for an -H winder. The -B winders wont do you any good.

 

 

I did 2 more fights after this but i didn't record the videos. I was able to use the vertical a bit and managed to make the mig overshoot by using a huge difference in our climb rate and elevation. unfortunately my gunnery isn't good enough for a snapshot, so winders it is. Fortunately, tracked good and true.

 

I tried to go in a turning fight on the 4th engagement. pulling on the stick and raising the zippers AOA the plane will vibrate. ignoring it can put you in a spin even at 500kts. Ignoring it and allowing your airspeed to drop to 200KIAS WILL put you in a spin. Pulling hard also wont make the zipper turn faster. Each time i do this the mig gets right behind my six. The good part about this jet is once you jam the burners in and put the nose low. you can get 2m of seperation from the bandit in just a few seconds. Keep flying straight until gives up chase and circle round for another shot.

 

Will be going after the Mig-21s soon and see how it turns out.

 

P.S.  a better aviator might be able to do more with this plane i i ever could. But one thing is for sure this plane will be really fun to use going after Bombers. High and fast is where this plane shines!

Edited October 13, 2014 by saisran

[zwz 0]

Has any one tried a F-18E (Non EPE) vs Su-27 or T-50? That would be interesting.

 

Eric has done that against a Su-30MKI in 2011, but still lacks detail in his report.

 

Also F-18e VS f-35a would be interesting because both excel in low speed turning and sucks at transonic acceleration. 

[saisran 84]

Took the zipper out against a Mig-21MF with Atolls.

 

3 Fights. 1st one was this vid. have an SA advantage due to the RED infos (cheating). Swung round wide. Mig never saw me until it was too late. First winder was a misfire (didn't have tone)

 

 

2nd fight was a 2v1. To my dismay the Mig-21s are very capable of catching the zipper past mach 1. The Fm on the games model seems to be limited to mach 1.3 and i still haven't been able to reach numbers close to mach 2. Ended up with an Atoll on my ass.

 

 

 

3rd is this vid. 2v2. Wing lost control and crashed during the furball. I ended up taking both Mig on. Swung round wide at near mach speed. They never saw me until i was under 5m off their six. 1 bandit tried a gentle break to the right i had tone and Fox 2! Sent a second Winder for good measure. Splash 1! The 2nd bandit was in a dive breaking left. With  gravity to aide me in my pursuit. I dove down and turned as hard  as the zipper can manage. Got tone and got too excited. I took a shot which will never hit. Tried to turn tighter. Got tone But i know now that the old winder won't be able to make that turn. The bandit rolled to his right and pulled up. I know that if i overshoot i'm dead and instinctively i also know that he may cut across my screen pulling that maneuver off. Pressed the trigger for 2 seconds and prayed. Mig- pulled up straight into the path of my cannon shells and its splash 2!

[cougar_1979 37]

@Cougar

If I'm not mistaken, there's a good number of Zipper mods in this forum. The latest and most updated seems to come from the Italians; understandable since they were the last to operate the Zipper and arguably fell in love with it.

There probably are, but i have very little drive space and even less time to try them all out, so i usually follow the advice of the more veteran members here on which mods i should try. Reading the link that Do335 posted, i have a feeling that fighting with the Zipper against pretty much anything from that era, would greatly resemble fighting props in an F-86 (BTW, last night i got 4 of them for only 1 of the friendlies damaged-3 were downed by me, before i ran out of ammo, 1 by #4). Stay fast, wide strifing runs, lots of vertical (but not at the expense of too much IAS) and practice the high deflection shots.

 

Has any one tried a F-18E (Non EPE) vs Su-27 or T-50? That would be interesting.

 

Eric has done that against a Su-30MKI in 2011, but still lacks detail in his report.

 

Also F-18e VS f-35a would be interesting because both excel in low speed turning and sucks at transonic acceleration. 

I flew the F-18E against an immensly overpowered Super Tomcat, and it seams like a good plane. There is a difference in how you fly NAVY planes, VS how you fly AF planes and this falls well into that category. You conserve your energy and bleed it off only in well timed well articulated presses, in which you use your superior lift curve (nose pointing) and pitch authority to keep the bandit under threat at all times. You down him by either cutting into every turn he makes or by forcing him to bleed off too much and then droping on his six. The reasong why you conserve your energy for the most part, is that (in this sim rarely, but a human pilot would) the bandit can push for the vertical if you are too slow and reverse on you. However as long as you are in the high 300's to mid 400's you can follow virtually everithing that flies for the first 2-3 presses and maybe even gun them down, or get a good winder tone on climbing bandit against a clear blue sky.

[+EricJ 3,970]

In defense I haven't thought of fighting an Su-27 at all with the F/A-18E or F (My chosen ride) non-EPE due to at that time still getting used to fighting AI.  I'd be lying if I said i've done it because I uninstalled SF2 a while ago, been re-focusing on DCS and Arma 3 so for the most part I've put my years in with SF2 and while I love the community (I've been lurking more recently, haven't forgotten about all you), there's nothing new about it anymore and TK is still sticking to his guns so...  But... man off the top of my head the Su-27 will be a good opponent and yeah I may have to reinstall SF2 to figure out what to say, but no promises.  Best thing to do (what I did however) was to start within one mileish of each other facing away from each other and then turn into each other and go from there as from what I remember (vaguely) is that the engines give the Su-27 more power but it all depends on what your thought process is too.  Sometimes I like to play (or it plays me depending on type) with the opposing bird to work out it's flight regime and sometimes its so easy that shooting the opponent down is for mercy rather than any real tactical reason.  Besides saisran or Caesar could do one, though I may have to get off my ass and do one... I'll have to think on that though.

 

But... remember the non-EPE version doesn't have the "push" the EPE version does so at low speeds you're better off or using 9X's or if you want to go old school it's a matter of getting the right position for the shot and if my mind remembers correctly the AI has better (or no) G resistance so he'll push you harder than you're used to.  As fighting Su series (later versions like the 30MKI I briefly dealt with) have more maneuverability and more push, so the best advice is to work your corners and angles for a shot.  Again a 9X helps tremendously as with 9Ms or earlier you're better off putting the Flanker in the HUD and popping him from there.

Edited October 13, 2014 by EricJ

[cougar_1979 37]

 

3rd is this vid. 2v2. Wing lost control and crashed during the furball. I ended up taking both Mig on. Swung round wide at near mach speed. They never saw me until i was under 5m off their six. 1 bandit tried a gentle break to the right i had tone and Fox 2! Sent a second Winder for good measure. Splash 1! The 2nd bandit was in a dive breaking left. With  gravity to aide me in my pursuit. I dove down and turned as hard  as the zipper can manage. Got tone and got too excited. I took a shot which will never hit. Tried to turn tighter. Got tone But i know now that the old winder won't be able to make that turn. The bandit rolled to his right and pulled up. I know that if i overshoot i'm dead and instinctively i also know that he may cut across my screen pulling that maneuver off. Pressed the trigger for 2 seconds and prayed. Mig- pulled up straight into the path of my cannon shells and its splash 2!

Loved that snap shot mate!

[+EricJ 3,970]

Okay well... I had an old installer saved so installing SF2 NA wasn't too hard to do.  Figuring out the controls was... been a while... And I felt kinda bad as really you're looking for help and I can't be rude and not do it.

 

3 x engagements F/A-18E Block I with 4 x AIM-9Ms (first time), 8 x AIM-120D, last fight, 4 x AIM-9X, and 8 x AIM-120D, and guns all the way (non-EPE) against Su-27 with Gun, and R-27 and R-73s

 

Overall the Flanker will pull you into a turning circle in which he has better thrust to weight ratio, or he'll turn better than you.  Break out of it by leveling and go vertical and come over the top, by that time he'll reverse into you and try to spike you with his gun (saw some tracers....) and you'll get a shot in but at those speeds it'll miss or it'll overshoot him and you'll... miss.  I managed on the third try (had to figure out the damn padlock again...) to land three 9X shots on him but the damn thing kept flying so... yeah take that for what it's worth.  You'll really work hard for a gun kill and again while I don't like guns (I'm spoiled...) I do like missiles and missiles that hit, and kill, but the Flanker is a hard kill so you have to work it and manage your energy, while it's setting up for a gun pass on you (I got a lot of radar lock on tones). I know its going to be short and slightly cryptic but overall...

 

Takeaways:  The Su-27 manages to push a lot of energy when in an energy circle, and the lower thrust of the Block I (or II) non-EPE doesn't match the pure power that the ALF-31s (I think I got the name right) put out that the Su-27 simply overmatches you in a dogfight.  In all three instances I got shot down on a gun kill by the Flanker (again a lot of rust came off... quick) but if you can spike it with AMRAAMs, do it.  If you need an EPE report I can get it.  This isn't the BI Forums where everybody thinks they know everything, so if I came off rude cougar my bad, just have to get re-used to real simmers and people who are pretty cool all over.

 

And haven't watched the videos yet saisran but doing good...

 

And some screenies of the last attempt.

Edited October 14, 2014 by EricJ