Turning & Burning

Also known as "Knife Fighting"

or "Stall Fighting"

-By Zrat

 

 

OK "Know All The Planes" thing is critical in T&B fighting to the finer degree. Because sometimes the edge that you enjoy over another make or type of fighter is only slight,, or in one specific area . Like the deference between the different makes of the same plane,,,sometimes its large other times its narrow. Now before we get started I would suggest you have these 3 things if you want to kick ass and take names.

1. A good Joystick (with good centering ,fine smooth control & hat switch)

2. A Programmable Throttle slider (with many buttons & a 2nd hat switch)

3. Some type of rudder input ,,A full set of rudders is nice ,,or program it onto your throttle slider .

You will need the 2 different hat switches to mainly program your cockpit views,, theirs nothing like 8 different views to look out of your plane from to increase your "situationail awareness". Situationail awareness is essential to survivability,,,,,You want to shoot down several enemy fighters then land,,,,,,Don't You ...here

OK , in other words know what situation you are in and to what degree , good or bad ,Sometimes you are "Going to be up Shit's Creek "<Do A evasive maneuver> but not to know that your in trouble means " You are up Shit's Creek with out a paddle "< be come a lawndarting piece of scrap metal> heheh.

I am saying this because T&B is... not only out dogfighting another pilot, because often you will find your self not only up against other T&B fighters but other Boom & Zoom planes will be making passes on you at the same time. And because Your not as fast as A B&Z plane and just as fast or not much faster than another T&B plane you must "Know All Of The Planes" in order to live long enough to kill them or till some friendlies arrive to help or for you to rescue a fellow countryman in a tight spot.

So Things can happen very fast in a "Furball" < a mass of fighters jockeying for a kill on each other> this is where your situationail awareness is strained to the max...Identifying cons by their plane type...speed..altitude...aspect to you, attitude, state of "energy" and other things like whose behind me friendlies ..? if so where how many ..? Are their hands full or are they in a position to help..? can I help them..? Am I being dove on ..?? is there a con sneaking up in my 6 o'clock low blind spot...? how many cons are on me..? what type of plane are they..? what's my best counter move..? can I drag them back to some friendlies or to the base AA ..? should I turn and burn them ..? or is retreat even possible..?...it can be overwhelming and to do all this while trying to fly in a intelligent manner can be and is very difficult,,,On the other hand if you just fly into a furball and start going after anything you probably might or even will get a kill...but that's it,,,, cause with so many good pilots on line if you don't keep you "situationail Awareness " up as High as possible when entering a "furball" you wont make it out or back to base that is A fact.

OK Now "Know All The Planes" is what its all about in T&B ,,know their Positive attributes and their negative weaknesses. Like this plane can turn but its slow or this plane cant turn as good but it can climb better ,its got better armor and guns..etc...

 

Most Turn & Burn planes attributes are

1.Very maneuverable

2.Light

3.good flat turners (Keep energy after doing parallel turns)

4.Not heavily armored

5.Do not carry heavy ordnance loads

6. Not very fast (will also "compress"<lose stick responsiveness>in high speed dives)

Here is a list of the Turn & Burn planes from the most maneuverable (in my opinion)on down with some comments on each

Plane make and type or mark Positive attributes Negative Attributes
Nakajima KI-43 Hayabusa "Oscar" This plane can out turn any plane in the game,Can take 2x as much damage as a Zeke ,very low stall speed ,Has WEP Very lightly armed 2x 12.7 mg's (50.cal)
Mitsubishi A6M3 Zero   Best turner of the zero's 20 x 20mm,very good climber,lots of 7.62 cal ammo ,turns extremely well "Paper plane" 2 hits can and do kill it ,loses it awesome maneuverability at med..-high speeds(290 +), No WEP,Slow except in A dive,compresses in hi speed dives
"Hamp" Mitsubishi A6M2 Zero  Very good turner ,good climber,2x20mm ,lots of 7.62 ammo,turns extremely well "Paper plane" 2 hits can and do kill it ,loses it awesome maneuverability at med..-high speeds(290 +) will lose engine power in negative (G) maneuvers, No WEP,slow except in A dive,compresses in hi speed dives
Mitsubishi A6M5 Zero "Zeke" The zero with the most HP Eng & Armor,20mm guns are A little meaner than the others too,lots of 7.62 ammo,good climber,turns extremely well "Paper plane" Its a little more armored than its brothers (and you can tell the diff )But any sustained fire will tear you apart, No WEP, slow except in a dive,compresses in hi speed dives
Grumman F4F Wildcat  Turns well , can take a good amount of damage Slow ,climbs only fair,no cannons,no rearview
Kawasaki Ki-61b Hien "Tony" Very agile for its speed Turns almost as well as the spit VB and better than the IX an XIV Fast climbs well, holds energy won't compress in a dive easly the 4x12.7 mg's shred *vary dangerous plane No cannons, not as fast as late war planes
Super Marine Seafire Mark II Turns Very well,the best tuner of the Spit's,Can take off from the CV,2x20mm2x303.,Faster than a Zero It's better tuning ability is often negated by the higher HP Eng of the MKIX's when going Spit Vs Spit,Not very fast,Not much ammo for 20mm's ,can only sustain med.. damage
Super Marine Spitfire Mark V Turns Very well,,2x20mm2x303.,Faster than a Zero Not very fast,Not much ammo for 20mm's
Super Marine Spitfire Mark I  Turns Very well,climbs good Slow , only has 303.cal mg's,can only sustain med.. damage
Super Marine Spitfire Mark IX  Turns Very well,,2x20mm2x303.,Faster than the zero and V spits,climbs fast Not very fast in level flight,not much ammo for 20mm's
Super Marine Spitfire Mark XIV Turns Very well,,2x20mm2x303.,this is the King of the spits ,4-bladed prop ,massive HP output,Fast as can be,can run down unwary B&Z planes *vary dangerous plane Can't turn like ,the rest of the spit's,
Grumman F6F Hellcat Turns good,dives great,fast ,50.cal guns shred from a distance,can carry 2x1000lb bombs No rear view, only 50.cal's
Hawker Hurricane 1 4x20mm,turns well climbs fair, Not able to withstand many hits,slow,very little ammo for 4x20mm's
Hawker Hurricane Turns well,climbs fair,8x303.mg's Not able to withstand many hits,slow.only armed with 303. mg's
Nakajima KI-84 Hayate "Frank" Very Fast, turns well,climbs good 2x20mm hi- velocity cannons<2x as good as the zero's 20mm's>*very dangerous plane Not much ammo for 20mms'can only take Med... damage
Yakovlev YAK-3 Fast ,Climbs Very good, turns good,best rear(6)view in the game Just 1x20mm & 2x 7.62Mx and not much ammo
Lockheed P38-L Lightning  best turner and performer of the 38's can carry lots of ord.,climbs good ,2 engines(can fly on one) Big target,tail elevator can't take much damage
Messerschmitt BF-109F "Franz" Best T&B plane of the 109's climbs like a MoFo(Is the best climber in the arena) great vertical control, faster than all the spit's except the spit XIV Can't turn as well as the spits,just 1x20mm& 2x7.62mg's

 

T&B is a "Energy" and A "Turning " game. While their is no direct formula for success in T&B fighting .....there is a series of counter measure & and opportunity presentation decisions being played out during a engagement.......

ok "Energy" is how much speed or altitude you have or don't have on A opponent....You can convert Altitude to "Energy" simply by diving to gain speed... Again "know All The Planes " thing comes into play...diving away from a opponent who is in A B&Z plane is not the best move because they will catch you in a dive with no problem ...& on the flip side diving in pursuit of a B&Z plane <FW F4u P47 ect.> will just leave you compressed and low after they pull away from you ...<if they are diving from a hi alt... you can catch them if their low and can't employ their speeding dive escape>... While if a High B&Z plane dives on you the best move is to dodge their attack .

In A T&B Vs T&B duel "energy " can mean the difference between life and death. I can't stress the importance of "know all the planes " thing because you must know when your at your "stalling " point and if you approached the fight with more or less "energy" than your target .

Also ignoring you "situational Awareness" by finishing off a Apt pilot by cavorting and wriggling on him until you guns find your mark and finish him can cost you your life ..this can't be helped sometimes ...and its fun as...aah crap finishing off a tricky kill .The best thing to do is take the best" quick mental picture" of the "Situation" before you start your pursuit......and as with all tactical information images during wartime ..Current is better... as the time passes from the last time you had a chance to take A good look at your situation... its changes more and more ...the better your observation of your quick snapshot, the better you prediction of the situation unfolding behind & around you, The best thing to do is check your 6 periodically while chasing your selected target especially if your "Quick mental picture" was full of enemies at different angles.

Another thing is now that flaps are modeled correctly you can't move them at average cruising speed ..butttt when dogfighting comes down to you and another plane <especially if you in the same plane> doing flat turning circles trying to gain the advantage.....your speed drops down to around 200-160mph or less more than low enough to employ a quick drop of the flaps to decrease your tuning circle....ah ha hehe .....I have wasted many a good pilot who is too lazy to use flaps in a low speed turning fights ..NOW this is where the slight advantage is all you need to win ..I will do a list rundown for this maneuver with some hints and do's and don'ts its really a thing you have to practice and to to have good "situational awareness" cause putting your flaps down in a tight circle turn will decrease your turning circle but will drop you to near falling out of the sky stalling speed ....witch leaves you very venerable..

1.When the dogfight progresses to stallfighting flat circles both of you looking for the advantage <you should be well into your stall horn by this point> Put your flaps down....<*Also hit your WEP if the plane your in is equipped, this will allow you to put the flaps all the way down ,,,do this one notch at a time to test the water so to speak.. 109's and p-38's will lose control on the last notch especially 38's>

1.5 Now each plane has its own handling characteristics and number of flap settings ...some planes like the spit are not that friendly to this maneuver<mainly because of the 1 flap position up or down>.While planes like the 109,P-38,ki-43,ki-84, & zero, respond extremely well because of their multiple flap settings. <using flaps against spitfires in a 109 is the ace up the sleeve of the 109 as well as the 109's cousin the Ki-61b>

2. keep pulling at the same rate ...you will hear the whirling of the flap gears ...Don't pull into the turn to much harder although you will hear the stall horn let off some ...just increase it slightly give it a second to do its work ...sometimes you can go 2 notched down right off and really surprise them but watch out for your own stall..<* also if you are using rudders during this maneuver try and rudder down slightly below them this will further decrease your turning circle.....* as well as your airspeed>

3.Now this has one of 2 effects on them ..they either can't believe your gaining on them that fast because you were matched before and keep trying to circle around on you ....in this case take your best shot usually you will be so close their going to receive quick massive damage...Or they see you about to tear them to shreds and do A evasive maneuver like a negative G or scissors or something...This is where you have to be very careful not to pull yourself in to a spin or a stall by maneuvering too quickly to re acquire your prey. put your flaps back up a notch at A time and reacquire them <also always check your 6 before re tailing a plane after a long engagement>

4.Their dead .... flaps up check 6 and either WEP away or get evasive and reacquire another target.

Also..

Some planes like all of the US F- series planes have no or obstructed rear 6 o'clock views...others like the p-40 p-47 and p-51b,& some others have partaily obstructed views...the p-38's are hard to see out of all over realy..but its still not as bad as looking at a seat cusion ..hehe. on the other hand planes like the FW-190 or the Yak's have a clear view of thier 6 o'clock postions and you must sneek up under them when your closing slowly and don't have a lot of speed <"energy"> on them . In gemeral apraoch from the blind spots as much as possable....under thier belly is a defenate blind spot, Your not going to be able to get under them alot cuase thier always scanning ahead of themselfves and you will find yourseld diving from behind alot <where they can see you>,So <during a med rage furball with a few gaps of inactivity> the best place to attack so they can't do a counter move till it's too late is from the 8 o'clock and 4 o'clock positions...the rear flank quarters are accesable by hitting the 1 or 3 key on the keypad on your keybord ...but lots of pilots will just check the default views looking straight off each wing , staight back and above views. this leaves a big hole in thier "menatal picture" at thier rear quarters and its your job to fill this void for them hehehe..

 

Here's some general tips

Use surprise to your advantage anyone not paying attention to their 6 is a prime target...Including you!

Watch your 6!! don't rely on others to call six calls all the time ...typing a flying is a bitch as you know hehe.

Call 6 call's save your Buddies ass... just make a effort sometimes it saves them sometimes its too late but letting them know your on the prowl too helps the moral of you fellow pilots

When you are being dove on by a con at a higher alt <not extreme just higher > go head on to them try and go under their nose like in front and under .

Always deny them a shot use their approach against them.

Use your rudders and lead them with your fire early... on head-on joust like < passing side by side> passes if your not in a collision like head to head pass.

Needless to say "know all the planes" to employ your advantage and deny them theirs.

Try and help out friendless and use you fellow pilots to your advantage <as well as field or CV AA> make them bleed their "energy" tracking you and drag them to some of your kill hungry countrymen.

Hang on till the bitter end... I have flown out of situations that boggles the mind....An at least make them use up their ammo especially if your defending your own field cause it will take them several minutes to get back with more ord and ammo...

Also they don't know how much ammo you have ...you can still cause havoc with no ammo ..!! heheh scare them off your fellow pilots....it works believe me.

Don't be afraid to try and ditch... just try and be slow and don't impact the ground hard when you touch down.

You can use the terrain to shake cons "Maneuver Kills" are some of the most satisfying there are heheh..

Learn what works for you.. don't try and force yourself into a mold of somebody else idea of how you should do things ......

 

Well that's a basic rundown of some of the tips I know , Turn &Burn fighting is full of unpedictable's and success can only be achieved through taking advantage of A opportunity and denying the enemy one. Knowing all the planes really counts cause you must know when you have a opportunity and when you don't .....And when your about even don't forget to use flaps heheh.

The unpredictability of dogfighting is what makes it so much of a rush.. But through careful countermeasure and reassertment techniques you can prevail. As you gain more experience you will know when to assert yourself and when to deny the opponents a opportunity to get you in their sights...

"War is A series of blunders and mistakes ... The side who makes the least mistakes wins"

"Know All The Planes"!!!

 

-Zrat-