Originally posted by stantond
Yes, I will run to ack on occasion. It's how I play the game.
To be honest, everything possible to screw up, you screwed up....
Why run for the ack? You had every opportunity to engage with no disadvantage. In fact, Rascal's speed on the initial merge would have worked against him.
When you did maneuver, you consistently turned nose low, while Rascal typically went nose high. Turning nose low increases your speed, at the cost of widening your turn radius. When Rascal reversed after extending away from the base (nothing special about his reverse, other than a lot of yawing due to what I believe is a twisty stick), you did nearly a Split-S off the merge and positioned yourself perfectly for Rascal to drop right in behind.
I noticed that both you and Rascal had a hard time keeping each other in sight. Nothing will get you killed faster than losing sight of the enemy.
Instead of concentrating on killing Rascal, you were most worried about being shot down. Other that losing sight of the enemy, few things will get you in deeper trouble than to flying with a defensive mindset. My advice to any AH2 pilot is not to worry about what the other guy is try to do to you, but to focus on what you are going to do to him. The best defense is always to attack. Force the enemy to maneuver and you create the possibility that he will make a mistake, or at least you will discover how good he is or isn't.
Here's a suggestion: Come to the Training Arena and spend some time with a Trainer. You need to have some other mindset beyond running for your life. If you like the F4Us, get some time learning what they are capable of and build some confidence. Likewise, you will learn how to handle a merge without panic.
To be blunt, a skilled F4U driver would have evaporated Rascal within seconds of the merge. He showed little aggression until after he saw you were not interested in engaging. Had you simply made a climbing turn to the left, dumping a notch or two of flaps, you would have cut across his turn and been in a firing position within 10 seconds. He didn't even know where you were, he was looking all around for you.
To Rascal's credit, we was at least somewhat aggressive thereafter, but you allowed that.
Schatzi is absolutely on the mark when she says that poor E management, equally poor throttle and flap management and a lack of aggression did you in from the start. That and not having a constant visual on Rascal.
Don't get down on yourself though. Everything you did wrong serves as a lesson. Most of these things can be corrected, or at least mitigated if you want to make the effort. This is why you should spend some time with a trainer in the TA, where making a mistake has no consequences beyond some non-lethal holes. Make a mistake and simply try it again and again, until you get it right. The TA is a place where you can gain experience without feeling bad about yourself. Heck, if you're not augering from time to time, you're not trying hard enough. Plus, some of the best F4U drivers in the game are Trainers. There are also some non-trainer volunteers who are outstanding pilots and are always willing to work with any player. You can always look up Nomak for a DA session. Nomak is an excellent teacher and a heck of a pilot (and a damn fine fellow too). Put in some effort and you'll reap rewards immediately.
My regards,
Widewing
