Originally posted by meddog
I've been reading all of these replies and I have come to only one conclusion. Chk 6 calls are not about self SA. Giving chk 6 calls is about common curtisy and desciency, it's about working together as a country, knowing that if your countryman gets shot down no matter how poor his SA is, it's only going to make your job more difficult. I will also agree that while your zigging here and zagging there in a heavy furball it's very difficult to watch every body and if I miss some one than I appologize. But there are certain times of the day when a certain group of knights do not give out chk 6's and I can't understand why.
Something else that annoyed me today was when I was D150 from an LA7 getting ready to make the money shot and some dweeb comes in from my high 6 in a faster airplane and steals the kill. As soon as the LA7 goes boom, I look behind me to find a Zero d350 off my tail. Why didn't this guy cover my 6 and go after the Zero inteade of stealing my kill? If I see a countryman chasing closely behind con and another con is manuevering behind him, I'll go after the 2nd bogey while giving a chk6.
How I came out of it with only losing a rudder is beyond me. But it kind of goes to the self centeredness and greedyness of this game and the lack of working together as a team that all 3 countries complain about .
No doubt checking your own six is strandard operational procedure for anyone with average SA. But, not everyone's SA is created equal. I've known guys who are brilliant pilots with good gunnery and decent SA up to a point. You put more than three enemies in their general vicinity, however, and they get sensory overload. Not everyone's brain is inherently efficient at multi-tasking. That great pilot with below-average SA is a tremendous asset to me in a fight, I want him to live. Do I give him a check 6? Yes. Why? Because I want him to survive in order to enhance my own effectiveness and that of my team in this localized area. One more friendly zipping around is that much more potential SA overload for the enemy.
Some people have enough SA for themsleves 10 enemy and 4 or 5 friendlies in their area. Those people can hand out check 6's like candy. Just realize not everyone is so well endowed with SA. But, certainly, those that can encompass several friendlies within their sphere of SA should hand them out liberally. On the other hand, don't be particularly upset if you don't get one, chances are the friendly you were expecting it from was as oblivious as you were to the threat.
Zazen
