Originally posted by NHattila
was good to have ya in for a bit preon, but i hardly ever see solo time. you must be on at different times because i'm always messing around with squaddies. S! and hope to see ya back.
Oh, I'll be back, but I think I define solo time a little differently. My test for whether or not I'm flying solo involves answering this question: "At this point in time, if I were jumped, or I see a target of opportunity, is there somebody that I can immediately coordinate with to ensure victory?" Most of the time, whether in combat or not, I'm only flying
near squadmates, but not with them, so the answer is usually 'no'. I've always loved flying with the Hornets, and they fly together as often as any of the best squadrons right now.
Unfortunately for me, the bread and butter of AH squadron operations these days is to pick a target and have everybody grab a plane with some bombs and take it there when they can. This is due primarily to the mechanics of the game (lift whenever you want). When TOD comes out, fights will become mass en mass instead of trickle en trickle (or flood en flood). This will (hopefully) encourage mission organization that takes time on target, layered CAP, and coordination with wingmen into account.
Until that time, I find myself flying without any kind of coordination or strategy, nor am I flying against a coordinated enemy. I'm simply flying alone into a cloud of fighters, attacking the ones that open themselves up to me, and trying to take advantage of friendly vectors to keep my tail clean of badguys. In the end, even though I may be with a swarm of squaddies, I'm still flying alone.