Yo Camel! damn me; but I coulda died for real last night after that fight and gone out happy; win or lose.
That was clearly and by far the best stang v stang turn and toast fight I've ever had..
I'll try to get some of the highlights up here for you ... we engaged co-alt 15k south of the mountains between F6 and F5.. I'd just finished up with DoctorYo and was grabbing back to the fight at F5 when I picked u up as a distant dot. I reversed; grabbed and keeping your dot in view worked up to your alt. When we merged I misjudged your e state and you nearly killed me on the first three turns. Desperate for some e and badly out of trim I extended out and down, then settled down to work on the problem: This guys good; he's ready for me and he's not about to give anything away in the turns. (you refused to let me get into a one circle mode; my favorite; and instead kept me in a 2 circle fight with only snapshot opportunites)
We again merged; you commin down the ramp with plenty of smash on and I did a roll away (you knew it was me then; didn't yah??
) as you went by and saddled up.
Still; you carried the e edge and grabbed away and up.. and as I started to sag, I pushed the nose back down and started after you from about d3 back.. low and in trail... and you headed into the canyon. And thats when I was sure it was YOU.
Who else would take me into the ditch to die like a dawg.
At this stage we'd gone from 15k to just about 4k; and the fights been on for at least 5 min because my wep's just porked out. Neither of us have landed any real damage to the other but we've both been mauled a bit. You went to the right side of the canyon and started up for a high wingover; rolled back down to me and landed a blistering crossing shot into my ass. The ping sounds switch to "WHACK WHACK" and I know my tail is damaged.. doing my second roll-away I get some AOT on you, then you break back toward me and the scissors is started. I risk a quick 'damage check' about here and find my rudder in red.. a jab at the pedals tells me the damn thing still works tho. (gift #2, thanks Pyro.
)
Grunting and sweating; hunched over my controls and keyboard as we slice back and forth; hanging on the stall; jinking around terrain bumps and canyon walls we go at it for what seems forever. I'm cursing now, hollering and yanking.. I musta pinged my cat.. she lets out a yowl and bolts from the desk; scarin the crap outta me. When my eyes find you again you're in a beautiful stall turn crossing my six... and as we all know, in a scissors the guy that can maintain the lowest controlable airspeed gets the kewpie.. and you just crossed my tail... I'm TOAST!
Desperate and feeling stupid (damn cat,, damn flaps,, he's GOT ME!) I lunge the stick forward; praying the canyon floor is further down than it looks; stab the wep button and roll inverted; pulling like hell. The gods are kind.. I miss the floor; break your track and return to the scissors.... but not before you get the best shot of the night.. I can still see that "I'm DEAD" view, looking directly into the muzzels of those 6 smokin .50's... and you didn't fire a shot! Nothin! Nada! I'm stunned, but continue to press.. My third gift from the gods this fight.
Finally.. we began to run outta canyon floor... deceptive down there; no horizon.. hard to tell we're comming into an upslope. I start nibbiling down on each sweep of the scissors.. down.. get e.. down.. I'm watching the canyon floor now.. dividing my attention equally between you and and the planes trim and the terrain. Time for flaps about now, and they thankfully respond when I key the toggle. We're still scissoring but not as hard; we're both at the very bottom of the the e well; and my biggest worry is becoming that speedo.. "cmon.. just get over 180.. c'mon!, dammit!" Your gaining angles.. but not getting the solid hits as I jink over the cuts... pings rattle around the plane;; one more turn.. NOW! I pull up a bit and roll hard into the turn, stall horn rattling insistently as you cross my tail; I swing downslope; you're forced up the rise and I come around full circle to find you on the edge of a stall; fightin to get around nose on.. ok; I'm a hair higher now.. you're gonnna go under me... there's a gully by the canyon wall; lowest point in front of you.. you HAVE to go there.... the 30 extra feet of altitude is all I need to get the nose down and the guns on train; you turn down into the gully heading under......
The .50's chatter once at full burst and dribble to secondaires.. but it's enuff.. you're smokin.. I look front again.. the canyon wall is dead in front.. IT AIN'T OVER YET! I stab the gear key; cycle the flaps another notch and start to slide back down the slope... careful.. don't stall.. (where's that '51??) The gear kisses the slope.. I swing some rudder into the turn... she pivots, headin downhill now... the burm drops away more steeply.. the battered stang crawls reluctantly back into the air. I look back down the slope.. nope; he ain't there.. I look up.. no cons. I expand the textbox... Yup. It was Camel.
It took another few minutes to get the plane outta the ditch; retrim; curse the cat again and shout you up on the radio. My heartrate musta been off-scale.. I was gulping great breaths of air trying to not shake so bad, and I nearly wrecked several more times gettin outta the ditch afterwards.
Salute sir... I was the one that flew outta there and it was by sheer luck alone it wasn't you. I shoulda bought the farm a buncha times. Camel.. that was one heluva fight; my hats off to yah. Next time yah won't let me off so easy.
Note to all: Beware the Humped Backed Mustang inna ditch. It's got TEETH.
Hang (who can die happy now)
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PALE HORSES
"I looked, and behold; a Pale Horse, and it's riders name was Death, and Hell followed with him" Rev 6.8
