Tactics

[+Dave 2,322]

My tactics I have been using for years. That's why I live long (virutally speaking of course)

 

The Bomber Intercept:

 

Bombers are a pain in the ass especailly with a sting in its tail. If you can take them out BVR then do so with extreme predjudice. However if you are in a early jet and have guns/rockets or Aim-9B's [Roll Eyes] you need to think about what you are doing. Use the Aim-9B but remember its tempermental and you may get into range of its tail gun before it decides to lock. Not good.

 

Taking them head on works but you have to be quick because your close in speeds can be up to 900 kts. You do not have time to line up and think; you have enough time to get a few rounds off then break. Always break low and away to the left or right to avoid breaking low and behind only to get your ass shot up by the tail gun.

 

Finally bombers en mass are trouble and I only recommend this tactic for the experienced. Break them up and separate them into ones and twos. Without the mutual protection of each other, they can be picked off one by one (in addition to their bombs runs are now hosed) I take a tactic from the brave British airmen during the Battle of Britain. They would dive through a formation of He-111's, it is crazy but nothing will break up a formations faster. Timing is everything in that tactic. Another plus side to that is if you have an over zealous escort chasing you and he forgets rule #1 of my thread on A2A tactics, well he can end flying into one of his own bombers. See a 2 fer and you didnt even fire a shot.

 

Air to Ground Tactics:

 

On a ground attack mission, I send my wingman in with me after the primary target. My other 2 planes I have them loaded up for A2A and have them provide cover for us. The 2nd flight I send to attack all ground targets. They keep the SAM's and the AAA busy while the wingman and I go in after the target.

 

In a CAS situation load up your wing man well. Lots of CBU's then play FAC for him. After he has expended his ordinance have him cover you then you go in and clean up. If you have another flight have them loaded for A2A and have them provide MIGCAP for you. Mind you if you are in an A-10 do not do this with your second flight, have them go after TOO (targets of opportunity) Migs show up....BUG OUT!

 

Rule of thumb and I stress this (coming from real world pilots) You only make one pass at the target, expend all your ordinance and bug out. Use your pre planned egress routes if you miss you miss, so what. Get to your rally point recall your flight, go home. Better to be a live pilot then a dead hero.

 

A2A Missions

 

Keep your wingman with you as much as you can. Then send the rest to break them up....CRY HAVOC AND BRING FORTH THE DOGS OF WAR...is how I fly A2A missions.

 

#1 Fly aggressive - just watch your six! Target fixation will kill you. [Cuss]

 

#2 Watch your six and you buddies six. Getting a Mig off your buddies tail is more important than scoring for yourself.

 

#3 Know when to run. 20 Mig17's vs 4 F-4's = NO GOOD use your speed, extend and escape. He who fights and runs away will live to fight another day.

 

#4 Know your plane, you arent going to out turn a Mig-17 in an F-4. Use your speed, boom and zoom. Or the long arm of the law rule....if you can kill him from 20 miles away, then do it. If you get into a knife fight just because you are just looking for it...be prepared to ride the silk elevator. Be smart...

[Hengist 0]

My bomb delivery tactic is based on things I've read about Thud ground pounding, as that's all I do in this sim (ground pounding that is, not just flying Thuds). To be honest, ground pounding is all I have done for years in any sim. The following tactic seems to work quite well in WoV/SFP1.

 

*Let down to 2k before IP.

*Set bomb delivery parameters and arm.

*Punch fuel tanks off at IP.

*Turn on the QRC (if applicable).

*Approach target area.

*Light the burner and take the flight up to a 10k perch.

*Order attack.

*Invert and Barrel roll in.

*Dive at around seventy degrees on target area.

*Stabilize whilst heading down the chute.

*Sight target.

*Release bombs as low as possible.

*Egress low on full burner (500ft).

*One pass 'n haul ass, get out of Dodge, Ham 'n Jam, Wham bam thank you Mam... etc.

 

Dropping the last span of a bridge.

=======================

Well it works for me.

 

When you take it up, as a 'rule of thumb', try and make it as steep as possible, you're going to be fairly close to the target by then. I usually climb aggressively, once I can visually identify the target area, say around five miles? You can always use the TACAN or Red Crown to confirm distance to the primary target.

 

As for when to roll in, well you're pretty much going to be right over the target area when this happens, say three quarters of a mile @ 10k?

 

With regards to the seventy degree dive angle, this is my favourite angle to dive at, but again, the differing battle conditions i.e. SAM's, may make me not climb as high, or too high and undershoot or overshoot my roll in on the target, which consequently affects my dive angle (it's that damn Trig' problem I have, curse you Trig'). This often prevents me from achieving my favoured optimal dive degree.

 

In the picture that I supplied with the post, I would guestimate that I was diving in at around seventy (or possibly eighty) degrees there. Try checking left and right Canopy frames against the horizon for a 'degree' reference point. I've read accounts of forty five degrees too near vertical dives of ninety degrees being preferred in real life, but if I try for seventy that normally works for me in the sim.

 

Above all, try to be as quick as possible when performing this type of manoeuvre. Your main concern should be to minimise the amount of time you're exposed whilst in the SAM danger zone. From pull up, through to rolling in and bomb release, this should only take seconds, rather than minutes, to perform. The whole manoeuvre should be done in one, continuous, smooth action... if possible.

Edited May 21, 2005 by Hengist

[+Dave 2,322]

These are random tips directed at new players (I saw a few post today)for getting more shoot downs. If anyone is intereste in these files I mention below. E-mail me at mk2(at)bellsouth(dot)net , or leave your e-mail addy here.

 

How can you actually score more kills?

It?s all in learning how the weapons work

 

I fly with the following settings:

 

Flight: hard

 

Weapons: hard

 

Ammo Usage: hard

 

Everything else including enemy skill on Normal. So let?s do those settings first.

 

Now I hate the cones, and the crappy radar on the top right and the target info lower right, so I tweaked my own hud data ini. I am including it in the zip file mentioned above, you can place it in your flight folder and try it out, and remove it if you do not like it. The radar is set on normal for this hud data (make sure it is set on normal).

 

Next step:

 

Get familiar with the ?T? key. This targets your next enemy in visual range. It places a rectangular red box over the target (using the above settings). This is great if you have bad eye sight like I do as you will be able to pick up the red box when otherwise you would miss the target against the background or down low in the weeds etc.

 

Now lets move on to weapons selection. Arm the weapon you want, lets talk about the radar guided missiles first. Turn on the Radar. You can set it to search and hit the corresponding key to change range (I find this useless unless I am trying to pop something with an Aim-54 from very far away) usually I set it to bore sight as I am within 10 miles when I run into the enemy. If you are on boresight and you keep your nose pointed at the enemy (hopefully by now you have hit T key and placed a rectangular box around him) a yellow diamond will appear. At this point, if you are in the envelope where you can fire the missile, you do so. If you are turning?.you have to wait for a cleaner shot, one that will allow the weapon to guide. Once you fire , you must keep your nose on the enemy to maintain lock.

 

The IR missiles are a bit different. I found that the growl it makes when it is locked is real weak. I always miss it when wingmen are screaming and the afterburner is on, so I tweaked my own file (back up your original , and place this one in your sound directory, it will be included in the zip). This file really GROWLS loud and there is no mistaking when you have a lock. I find that different weapons require different angles. When I fire an early model Atolls for example, I like to be slightly above or below the plane and I have to fire it almost when I am at his 6 o?clock and he is not moving much, it has a real small launch window. The modern IR missiles require you to lead a bit (to help the missile out) depending which way the target is leaning.

 

So lets recap:

 

Get your settings the way you like them but I find the above to be the best for new players who want realism but flexibility to learn how to play.

 

Familiarize yourself with the ?T? key

 

Familiarize yourself with switching Radar to ?Bore sight ? mode.

 

Familiarize yourself with switching from weapon to weapon.

 

Here is one I did not mention before, familiarize yourself with turning on ECM, also if you are flying a plane that does not have chaff and flares, I include a step by step in the zip to add chaff and flares to any plane you want to add it to (courtesy of Eagle).

 

Ok this is the most important one. When you go to the control section to set all these keys up, find the command that is defaulted to F4 on your keyboard, it is your padlock target. I set it up on my joystick. When I click it my eyes go right to the target and I can keep a visual on him while I am turning and burning. If I need to orientate myself again, I click on it again to look forward. In a dogfight I usually go back and forth, back and forth. This will take your head out of the cockpit and keep it where it belongs, in the fight.

 

Also, when you are a point blank range, switch to guns, make sure the command is on your joystick, so you can get to it quickly.