Dealing with the LA7 in a F6F

[AKFokerFoder+]

I do not want this to turn into another of a endless stream of perk the LA7s.  

I would like it to be some good advice on how to deal with the LA7.

Now I just may be me and the pilots I've run into lately, but it seems the LA7 pilots as a whole are getting a lot better.  It used to be that if you ran into a LA7, chances are it was driven by a bunny pilot.  I would use a SWAG of about 4 in 5 were bunnies, and just steak on the plate.  It would seem that some of these bunnies are now getting to be salty dogs, and a lot tougher to shoot down.  And a whole lot more likely to shoot me down.  I would say at least a third of them are not bunnies these days.  Or is it just me?

I am just starting to try out the F6F as hopefully a better MA plane than the 190A8.  But it is becoming very apparent to me that I will have to use simular tactics in the F6F that I used in the 190A8, or I'm going to spend a lot of time explaining to the flight Sgt why his plane is a bent up peace of junk.

I am just in my infancy of flying a more manuverable plane.  What has been happening is I have become over confident in the planes turning ability, and have been getting too low and too slow.  Low slow planes die...

Any tips on dealing with a LA7 on your six when you are flying stupid?  I mean other than reaching down, grabbing your ankles and kissing your tail feathers goodbye?

[Vudak]

Originally posted by AKFokerFoder+


But it is becoming very apparent to me that I will have to use simular tactics in the F6F that I used in the 190A8, or I'm going to spend a lot of time explaining to the flight Sgt why his plane is a bent up peace of junk.

Best and only tip I can really give you:

Spend a lot of time explaining to the flight Sgt why his plane is a bent up peace of junk.

(Altho I'm sure some good F6F sticks can give you a few tips to cut down the # of planes your messing up on him)

[Guppy35]

As a 38G driver I'm finding that I can handle the LA7 guys for the most part if it's 1 v 1.  Once they figure out you can turn inside em they tend to run for the hills.  If you are lucky they try and turn with you and then you can nail em.

it's the pack of em that gets tough

And of course the guys that know what they're doing can really control the fight with that speed in particular down low

Dan/Slack
Who still sucks at this game, but might be getting just a tad better

[Redd]

You can outturn them if you can catch them (which you can't) .

If they are coming for you avoid them for a pass or two (dodge a couple of HO's ) until they run off.


I would find another plane though, you will find the Hellcat too slow for todays MA - it's stuck in the no-mans land of too slow for the e-fighters and not turning well enough for the turnfighters.

[mechanic]

only thing to shake a decent stick la7 in a hellcat (or most planes) is to make him overshoot.

as he aproaches D800, cut power completely (assuming you arnt already at stall speed) and prepare to weave around his bullets.

judge your throttle control so you can stay with him long enough for a shot after he has blown by.

if he sticks to you, barrel roll followed by scissor, followed by barrel roll, always with him overshooting in mind.

[WMLute]

let them make a few passes at you, time them to do a reverse at @1.5 out.    If they point their nose at you guns blazing, you have a shot at killing them.  The key here is to keep E up.  I tend to do low G low yoyo's, and after they miss, I do a gentle climb to gain back potential E.  Repeat this move 2-4 times.  EVENTUALLY, after missing you over and over, the lala driver will commit themself.  This is where you have to be quick.  When they commit, i.e. not zoom up and gain distance (generally, after missing that 3-4 pass, they tend to immel hard, and are usually d1.0 out) THAT is when you do your merge, get on 'em fast, and shoot them down.  You have to be fairly quick here.  After they blow the merge, and figure out you are d400 or under behind them, they do some evasives (blowing their E) and you SHOULD have 2-3 good shot opportunities on 'em.  Generally, this is where I tag 'em w/ a deflection shot during their evasives.  You have to be quick, because when the figure out they not gonna lose you, most lala drivers will point nose down and run.  The F6f has a GREAT zero G dive, and you can stay w/ 'em and possibly get a good 6 shot as they run.

How I tend to do it anyway....

[Mitchell]

If you find the F6F too slow

Try the F4Us they are very fast, hard to compress and have dive brackes (landing gear) if you do compress they also turn and roll very well with flaps and rudder...    

In a way it is a lesser vertion of the P38 but it goes faster.

Oh, and BTW the F4U-1a is the fastest F4U on the deck and at higher altitudes.

If you are interested in learning the F4U find WideWing.

[214thCavalier]

Oh, and BTW the F4U-1a is the fastest F4U on the deck and at higher altitudes.

Wrong, have you forgotten the F4U-4 which is faster than the P51 at all altitudes ?

[AcId]

I'm sure he meant non-perk hogs.


but as an ex-dedicated F4U-1 driver (still do from time to time) the best defense I had against LA's if I was caught low and slow was it's low speed maneuverability with flaps. If they didnt overshoot but instead tried to follow for a shot 9 times outta 10 they augered.

[gofaster]

Originally posted by Guppy35
As a 38G driver I'm finding that I can handle the LA7 guys for the most part if it's 1 v 1.  Once they figure out you can turn inside em they tend to run for the hills.  If you are lucky they try and turn with you and then you can nail em.

it's the pack of em that gets tough

I've found this to be true with the P-38L, too.  I love it when the LA-7s realize they won't out-turn me so they extend out, turn around, and try to HO my P-38.  

I haven't tried it in the 38G and J yet.

As for the Hellcat, I've found that it'll bleed E pretty quickly.  Some weaving and kicking the rudder should force an overshoot.  Just make sure you have some altitude underneath you so you can dive and get your speed back.

[humble]

Originally posted by Redd
You can outturn them if you can catch them (which you can't) .

If they are coming for you avoid them for a pass or two (dodge a couple of HO's ) until they run off.


I would find another plane though, you will find the Hellcat too slow for todays MA - it's stuck in the no-mans land of too slow for the e-fighters and not turning well enough for the turnfighters.

Actually I think the F6F is just fine....

Foder....

I think the biggest transition is going to be going from the rollrate/throttle/snapshot mentality of the A8 to more off an E to angles mentality. I normally dont have a lot of problems with lala's in a Ki-61 or -1 hog (1 on 1). The key is to get them aggressive and then whack em. Personally I use the drex "covergence of E" thingie....basically get em into a semi saddled position then force em out in front. I'll see if I have a decent clip or two that shows what I'm talking about....

[AKFokerFoder+]

Originally posted by Mitchell
If you find the F6F too slow

Try the F4Us they are very fast, hard to compress and have dive brackes (landing gear) if you do compress they also turn and roll very well with flaps and rudder...    

In a way it is a lesser vertion of the P38 but it goes faster.

 

The hog has a lot of things I like, such as roll rates, smooth handling up to compression, it manuevers exceptionally well at high speeds.

What I didn't like was that I had a couple of Spit5 outdive me. I mean, I am plunging down from over 10k to the deck, plane screeching and moaning, compressed so bad that it will only respond to trim controlls. I barely missed augering in. I was a 50ft, looked back, and the Spittie who started following me from 1.5K back was now D400 and still gaining.

A little while later, another Spittie (not sure which one did the same thing, only I started from 8K, and he had  mabe 2K on me. I wasn't compressed, but screeching of frame stress was quite loud. He was closing fast as we hit the deck. The spittie finally got me as I tried to roll and force an overshoot.

No Non perk Spittie could touch my A8, and I always thought that the Hog was one of the premiere divers in WWII.

[Howitzer]

I fly the f6 quite a bit.  I tend to take things situation by situation, but here are a few things that I like to use when talking about f6f vs. la7.  

1. He's faster than you, and can maneuver well when he's faster.  You need to keep him turning with you.  If he decides to run, the fight is over, and no kill for you.

2.  la7 will tend to snaproll at 150-175 mph, especially in a hard turn, this may give you a moment to capitalize

3.  F6 has a great reversal if you pull a high left yoyo while adding rudder.  That nose will literally flip right over the body of the plane.  

4.  You are better at low speeds than he is, and your flaps are WAY more effective.  If he gets behind you (this works better on the deck), cut throttle and keep him scissoring.  Either he will overshoot you because he's going too fast, or he'll cut his throttle, pull to hard, and auger.  If you keep him going back and forth, you make a tough target, even though you may lose a few pieces.  What lute was saying works well too... best chance to kill this fool is under 175mph in my opinion  =)

[dedalos]

Great answers, but I think he is woried about the LA7 pilot that knows what he is doing.  That means, the lala is not about to overshoot and it is not going to turn fight.  I think that when two equal pilots meet, the better plane will win.  Now if the better plane is already on your six, all the talk about how great you and your plane are is not going to help mach.

key words: lala pilot knows how to fly lala.  Equal pilot skill.

[AcId]

In that case, barring any mistake on the LA's part you can be pretty much toast. The best you could do is HOPE he augers or overshoots but if he's good he'll just dictate the fight until he gets his shot.