In a rut and need help...

[Goth]

As it says, my performance has been severely lacking for a while now. I'm wondering if I should just pick one plane and stick with it for a while or continue to fly what I want. I feel like I have reached a hump I can't get over and I'm worried that I will forever be a mediocre pilot at best. Opinions?

By the way, don't judge me by this month alone as I just got a new stick, and we all know how badly we perform under those conditions.

[SkyRock]

Fly a spit 9 and try new manuvers everytime.  When you find some that work stick with them.  Also you can try the TA, there are good sticks that will dogfight with you and give you pointers while they're doing it.

[republic]

The best thing for me was when i began to fly in the AvA arena.  There's much more 1 on 1 interaction and easier to learn new skills.  In the MA it's hard to actually dogfight, while your chasing 1 guy there's 5 chasing you, so you have to rotate targets.  In the AvA arena, the sides are generally matched and combat takes place over only a couple of airfields.  Generally you won't get ganged up on, unless you are flying alone and confronted with a squadron of hostiles.  Stick close to your allies and get to know the awesome squadrons on both sides

Also in the AvA arena you are limited to historical planesets.  It lets you realize the benefits of a particular plane and it's weaknesses.  You get to know your opponent aircraft, how they react, and how to beat them.

[Oldman731]

Originally posted by Goth
I'm worried that I will forever be a mediocre pilot at best.  

...well....hey, what's so wrong with that?  We mediocre pilots have it the best.  When we get killed, we can say "Big deal."  When we actually get a kill - and it happens, you can sneak up on people sometimes - we can think "Ha!"

- oldman (enjoy, try them all, don't worry about whether you are on the road to being a honcho)

[mars01]

It all depends on your flying style.  

Do you always fly from an advantage?  If you like to sit up on your perch in relative safety, then you are going to sit on your plateau for a while.  You need to be challenged to improve.  I would recomend flying from a disadvantage for a while and learn how to handle a bad situation with multiple bogies.  At first you will feel like you are getting even worse, but when you back off and fly slightly better odds you will be amazed at the ease you are now handling your plane.  Your SA and reactions will be greatly improved.

Do you fly from a disadvantage?  If you are already flying into bad odds then you have to realize that you are not going to win a lot of these fights and you have to measure success in lenth of survival and kills.  The odds are against you, but this is where most of the action is.  I would recommend pick some fights with better odds for a change and you will see how flying in bad odds has made you even better when the odds favor you.

If you dabble in both maybe it is time for a little TA or even better some DA time with some really good sticks, or people at least better than you.  

The last resort is to take some time off, forget some bad habbits and come back a relatively blank slate again.

Good luck.

[EN4CER]

Take a breather and come on down to the ground. Learn to hunt Tigers in Panzers. Thats what I did and ended up loving it. I still fly when it suits me but I enjoy the change of pace.

[ROC]

Goth,

I knew this subject would come up once you stated you quit drinking

Honestly, though, slumps happen.  You know that, you've been around far too long to be concerned about a slump in your skillz.

Few of us get together and shoot each other in americas army, and spend most of our time in Scenarios.  That's a good way to unslump

[Sable]

Looking over the last three tours, your K/D is down a bit as is your gunnery, but the K/S and K/T seem to be about the same.  It also seems that you fly a little of everything.  

My two suggestions would be:

Pick a gun package to focus on i.e. .50s (the various US planes) or Hispanos (Spit, Hurri, Tiffie, CHOG) or MG151s (109s, 190s, C205).  The point being to just to spend all your time with one type of gun and get your eye really tuned in to it's characteristics to get that gunnery up.  That alone will probably help get you back to where you were.  

Secondly, I'd follow Mars' advice.  If you always fly low and furball, and feel comfortable dealing with a plane bouncing you from above - maybe it's time to start being that guy doing the bouncing a little more often.  Or if you always fly catiously at high alt but it goes to hell when you get caught low - start putting yourself into that bad position until you can deal with it.  Changing your style like this won't give an immediate payoff, but it will really improve your skills and help down the road.

[Goth]

Thanks all...it just feels like I have hit a brick wall....when Helm made me fly the spit16 in dec, my stats were good (except gunnery). I think flying that bird for that month ruined me tho.

Mars, I'm a mixture flyer. I like to furball and pounce. When I get frustrated from dying in furballs, I look for a few good cherry picks to feel good again.

I said this years ago to quite a few squad mates. I think the game is 80% mental. Why, just last week Sable, you flat out embaressed me in a 1v1. Two nights ago it was SirLoin giving me fits.

I'm thinking I need to pick a plane and stick with it for a while. Unfortunately for some of you, I am leaning towards learning the stang, which means I will be giving you stang pilots a bad name for a while

Thanks for chiming in guys.

[NoBaddy]

Mediocrity is way underrated. Play...have fun...when the fun stops...do something else.

[Schatzi]

Get a change.

Hook up with a trainer. Even if its just one or two sessions..... you might not *think* you learn a lot, but you do.

I did the opposite of what you did. I stuck to one plane (Spit5 in the beginning, later the HMk1). Now i have a hard time getting comfy in other planes - because as much as it hurts me to say this: The HMk1 definitly has its limits in the MA. Nevertheless.... if i need a "comfy plane" i hop back in my trusty Hurri and get a few kills to boost my confidence.
Yes, sticking to one plane has its advantages. It gives you more time to think/feel about your flying, just because you dont need to think about your tool (it becomes sort of an extension of yourself). You know your planes ability, you know your own - makes it easier to tackle tasks that are unfamiliar (ie get better )



And apart from all that. Dont hurry yourself. IMHO plateaus are a neccessary part of the learning process. The brain is an amazing CPU, but it needs to defrag its HDD every now and then. Needs time to sort all that info it soaked up. Free up memory for new learning processes.
Think of it like that: How long have you been flying AH? How long does it take till a rookie becomes an experienced Air Force pilot? Now i know that AH is more simplistic that real Air Combat, but it still demands a lot of physics, tactics, mathematics, geometry, imagination, .........

[Goth]

Well Schatzi, was just watching a show last night, on of all things PBS, and they were talking about memory and the brains power. Basically, they were saying it's the plateaus that one learns, not the peaks. So I guess the saying is true, getting there is all the fun.

Oh, and another btw issue. I think I have been flying AH since tour 13...and I flew AW for 2 years before that. Thought I knew how to acm until I got to AH and spent a good month learning that I didn't.

I'm really good knowing all the planes, flying their strengths and knowing the weaknesses. Yes, I will push the envelope, and sometimes push beyond that. Heck, I've learned a few things watching people like Drex, Morph, Levi and luckily since he's in our squad Zaphod (although he whines like a girl when he is being chased).

I have to say I'm really disappointed in my gunnery. I know all the aspects of what I should and should not do. I've been working on improving gunnery for well over a year now and I feel like I am sliding backwards. I know in part it is due to recent frustrations. Once again, I think this is where that 80% mental comes in.

And sometimes I just over think things too much....need to just have fun like some of you have been saying.

[FX1]

H2H for me is my testing grounds. their are some good sticks in H2h but most are below par. Go in their and have some fun fly different plane and the ammo load is always 300%. Two hours in a good room is like 1 day in main. Also what i like their is no vox (: When i take a brake from the game for a day our two i fly in H2H without tracers. This helps get my skill level back up because you can spray lead so their is no need to rtb. Try it one night. Personal best was 56kills no vulches no realoads in a spit 5.

[Zaphod]

Originally posted by Goth

I'm really good knowing all the planes, flying their strengths and knowing the weaknesses. Yes, I will push the envelope, and sometimes push beyond that. Heck, I've learned a few things watching people like Drex, Morph, Levi and luckily since he's in our squad Zaphod (although he whines like a girl when he is being chased).

I have to say I'm really disappointed in my gunnery. I know all the aspects of what I should and should not do. I've been working on improving gunnery for well over a year now and I feel like I am sliding backwards. I know in part it is due to recent frustrations. Once again, I think this is where that 80% mental comes in.

And sometimes I just over think things too much....need to just have fun like some of you have been saying. [/B]

I do noooooooooooooooooooooooooooo ooooooot

Now that that little bit of false propaganda is taken care of, this is what I like to do to improve.........

Get in a plane that you enjoy flying, stay in same.  Once you are very familiar with a particular ride you will find yourself doing things in it that you never thought you could.  You can then adapt (to a varying degree) this information to any plane you want to fly.  Think about all of the folks you consider to be very good in AH...I can rarely think of them without thinking of a plane that kinda "goes" with them, or maybe two planes.
 
Find situations that are challenging for you.

Don't worry about dying...at all.  

When you get shot down (should happen most of the time if your doing the above correctly) think about what specifically got you killed.  In other words don't generalize with something like "multiple nmes vs you".  Instead think about what specific thing(s) you did or did not do that resulted in your death.  Usually it will be something like...I spent too much time looking forward, I missed a snapshot, I keyed in on one guy, I lost track of an nme etc (or more likely a combination of the previous).

Once you identify what the problem(s) is (are) conciously work on them.  Think about it as you enter the fight, and during the fight.

The main thing is find *challenging* situations.  If you always set yourself up to win (too easy) or lose (too hard) it's difficult to improve while having fun.  

Last but not least....check the ego at the door.  I am rarely concerned with what the "other guy" thinks of me.  Every now and then ego kinda jumps up but it's becoming more and more rare.  Which means I'm having more and more fun.  In fact if you're truly evaluating every flight (win lose or draw) then you must give credit where it's due....in my case I give LOTS of credit lol.

Zaphod

P.S. hopin I can get back in the game some more before too long.

[68DevilM]

Originally posted by Goth
As it says, my performance has been severely lacking for a while now. I'm wondering if I should just pick one plane and stick with it for a while or continue to fly what I want. I feel like I have reached a hump I can't get over and I'm worried that I will forever be a mediocre pilot at best. Opinions?

By the way, don't judge me by this month alone as I just got a new stick, and we all know how badly we perform under those conditions.

ahh the ah pilot block.....comes in cycles......try try again, if first ya dont make it, then take a break for longer than a week