Lt. James Cater

We all have one major pain of an enemy aircraft that is your absolute worst nightmare. While multiple types can pose a threat there is always one that is above the rest and just happens to be the worst thing that can appear. For me it is the MIG-19. Since reinstalling WOE and adding NF4, I've been flying the 62 campaign and the 19 is what does the most damage. Example, at the moment i'm doing recce work in the RF-84F Thundeflash. So far i've gotten jumped by Mig17s once and did the most obvious thing, punched tanks and went for the deck at full throttle. Below 2,000 ft i was able to stay ahead of them until they broke off, so i know i can outrun them. 21s i consider harmless unless they catch me asleep. Atolls can be dodged quite easily and some 21s don't even have a gun. But MIG-19s? In the Deuce, the 19 was easily the biggest headache. It's fast, climbs good, manuvers well, and has a 3X30mm knockout punch. Whenever we had losses you can bet that the 19 did the most damage. One put an end to my second campaign in the Deuce. Sure, i shot down a lot of them but i always did my best not to engage close in with one. Now that i'm in a RF-84, i positively dread the thought of one on my 6.

The neatest little touches that you never expect!

Someday in the future i'm going take the plunge and buy a seriously high end system. Gaming on budget models sometimes is a drag.

I agree with Macelena. If you can have Mavericks available they will do the trick.

Take care of your pilots by not exposing them to unnecessary risks. If the mission objective is complete and i know more enemy planes are heading towards the area than yes, i will send them home if i know they are low or out of ammo. Alternately, i'll call for a regroup and lead them away from danger.

I wouldn't exactly say that. In two WOE campaigns flying the Deuce i probaly shot down a third of my total kills after they turned back. In one case i stalked a MIG-19 for about 70 miles before i had him right where i wanted. I figure it depends on what year and plane you are flying in as well as what kind of enemy plane you are dealing with.

A last example on how how good certain AI pilots can be... #4 from above? I had him as an element leader on a mission over Brandenburg and he got 4 kills. I on the other hand, not only failed to scored but was shot down by a MIG-19 and captured! In total i had 5 AI Aces in my unit (35th FIS). Just goes to show what can happen if you take care of your people.

Did a Recce mission yesterday and took along some fellows. Flew high and fast and right at the objective a pretty good dogfight was going on below us. I set the flight loose and down we went. When all was said and done, we got 5 kills. Both me and my #3 (also an Ace) got one apiece. My wingman bagged three 21s to to make ace! #4 didn't fire a shot. Since he currently has 4 kills, i'll fly him until he gets one.

The tactic i prefer in the Deuce is the Rollercoaster. It varies depending on what's chasing me, but spiral climbs and dives, immelmans, breaking back and going past them head on, circles, horizontal figure 8s, etc, etc. All while heading back towards friendly lines. If there is one of our bases nearby i'll take them at low level right over it. If i feel sporting, i'll double back and do it again. If at all possible, hit burners and try to climb as fast and as high as possible. The main goal is to keep them at full burner and get them towards a bingo state. When they are worn down and head for home, stalk and shoot.

Oh yeah, VERY big difference! A big enough difference to keep you alive (depending on the aircraft).

One thing i like to do at the moment of decision is to order my wingman to attack the target i have chosen while everyone else engages (air or ground). In the case of A2A, getting quick attention on the enemy gives you the inititave as well as concentrating fire upon the foe.

It takes some doing to get the best out of your Squadron. At the moment, i have two AI aces in my F-102 outfit in WOE and about a half dozen with 3-4 kills. With a single exception, everyone has scored. And believe me, it's not easy in the Deuce. For starters, are you doing everything possible to get the maximum advantage? You always have to think about that when planning the missions. For example...A basic thing, do you note the direction and distance from the nearest enemy bases to where you are going to operate? Also, are you manuvering your flight(s) into a position of maximum advantage at the (possible) moment of engagement? How about knowing the the envelopes of the aircraft and weapons that will be brought to bear in an engagement? Knowing what both you and the enemy can and cannot do helps immeasurably.

An exercise in futility. I've actually had friendlies fly right on by while my Squadron was involved in a furious fight withn a few miles from them.

In the US the series was called "Star Blazers". I remember it well because it used to run in the mornings before i went to school. Now that i think about it, i was watching it back around 6 or 7th grade A few years ago i found one of the DVDs in a video shop and so relived the memories! Here's a link to the official site http://www.starblazers.com/department.php?page_id=125

It happens on occasions. I've had misses using textbook setups. Also, was the Mig just flying straight and level? Or was it breaking at the last moment?

I've had so many missions of that sort that it's hard to find the absolute worst. Flying A-6s off the USS Independance, i took off with a flight to knock out a target on the Vihn harborfront. No big deal since i really wanted to hit the "Arrowhead" about 40 miles south on the coast. The initial mission is easily done and so i get everyone together and down the coast we go. Arriving overhead i check out the targets (multiple AAA sites) and go to work. The first indication of bad news is a frantic call from my wingman. I look up from my own bomb run and see his plane going down in flames. OK, that's life in a combat zone. A few minutes later i get a call from #3 that he is taking damage. Checking up on #4 i get no response. After expending ordnance and recovering back at the Boat, i get news in the debrief that #2 was shot down (which i already knew) and that #3 and#4 both crashed within seconds of each other. Considering that conditions were as favorable as can be, i've always wondered just how things could have taken such a rough turn.

That's because i never thought i would have a square chance in Hell flying a Deuce. In the mission shown in the pic above i discovered a new trick that led to two kills. Got a DFC for it too!

Take em' out of their element!

How often does that happen? As of now, the only time i get slowed to nearly a standstill is multiple CBUs or B-52 formations dropping. Other than that i'm fine.

I've done "Aces of North Vietnam" and believe me, easy missions will be few and far inbetween. The best thing for you to do is to ignore the US fighters, go after the bombers, and run like hell for home. A few MODs i would suggest to go along with the campaign.... http://www.megaupload.com/?d=WXLP610P http://forum.combatace.com/index.php?autoc...p;showfile=8008 http://forum.combatace.com/index.php?autoc...p;showfile=8573 I don't know if Jaeger's Mod is still there. If not, PM me and i'll see if i can find it in my (disorganized) file collection. It'll make a world of difference to your AAA defense.

It was enough to make me read the "Beavis and Butt-head" Wiki while i was finishing off a couple of slices of pizza. Anyways, i just got done with a recce mission... Now this is what i mean by aggressive. After completing the mission goal i stalked a radar contact that turned out to be a pair of Mig19s and got one. A wild fight soon broke out which also involved a Hun and that enabled me to set up an AIM4-F for the kill. After that i went back to altitude and began stalking another contact that i thought was a pair of IL-28s. As it turned out i was quite wrong, twas a pair of Mig17s and i never even had a chance to set up for any kind of shot before they turned around and it was on. They must have been low on fuel because they only chased me for about 20 miles or so but it got close a couple of times. I finally got room soon after the pic followed by full burner for altitude. After that i said to hell with it and went home.

Now that the the comedy (if it could even be called that) is done... The condition of your Squadron is a lot more important than it seems. Back in NF2 i had a a guy in an Eagle unit who was so good i kept him flying long after he should have been rested for a prelonged period. Well, he finally was shot down and killed. Achieved 38 kills before he went. Right now i have a real hard charger but he's been dragging lately so i gave him the last two sorties off. I do Recce misions solo so that gives everyone a chance to rest up a bit.

For me it has got to be the AI. The enemy AI is now amazingly agressive compared to how things were some time ago. Flying the Deuce, i've gone from being the aggressor to being defensive in a matter of seconds on intercepts and being kept that way for prolonged periods. The escorts will turn to engage in a heartbeat if they spot you. If you fire a missle at one from their rear quadrant at long range, don't be surprised to have it head on out towards a Mig, only to have a miss as the Mig suddenly breaks. Even the IL28s refuse to act like sheep anymore, jump them hard enough and they will sometimes go defensive rather than keep on like a target session as it was in the past. On the pro side the friendly AI also seems to have improved. Yesterday, i flew an intercept and dispatched 12 aircraft since the target was only about 40 miles away and i figured that some of the pilots needed the experience. Rather than a quick out and back, it turned into a sizable furball in which i was fearful of my fellow pilots since not only were we in planes that were not built to dogfight (F-102s) but everyone had AIM4-Fs except for me (all Gs) and the enemy were all in Mig17s and 19s. I pretty much resigned myself to a lousy day. Not only was the mission accomplished, we had 19 kills to 5 losses. I did not score at all but several pilots went on a tear. At one point i was trying to outclimb a pair of Mig17s and within 30 seconds both were shot down. The same pilot got them along with two others to make Ace. Flying Huns in the past i never would have dreamed of such an outcome. In the same scenario i would have expected an almost complete wipeout. The really great thing was that only one of the five lost was killed and two were wounded. Gotta love the long term implications.