how ya get that close

[discopants]

how the hell do you  guys get close enuff to shoot??  ive just been playing and the other  planes  just seem twice as fast as  mine??  why oh why and how oh how?

[Schatzi]

Welcome to the world of human vs human dogfights .

The problem youre running into is a very common one. It has mostly to do with 3 dimensional thinking (geometry) and Energy considerations (youre blowing off all your E maneuvering and thus run out of speed very quickly in every fight).

Here are a few "Getting Started" Links I collected over the time:

A very good, short explanation of Murdr on "Energy".
http://trainers.hitechcreations.com/emanage/emanage.htm

This are short rundowns on basic maneuvers:
http://trainers.hitechcreations.com/maneuvers/maneuvers.htm
You can download Aces High Film demontrations on some of them on the homepage http://www.hitechcreations.com under "Downloads - Films".
A very good exercise for Immelmans/merges is shown in this film: http://trainers.hitechcreations.com/files/murdr/immelexcer.ahf
While when in an actual fight, youll probably not fly the maneuvers "textbook" but rather fly in a way/direction that gets you where and when you want to be, its always good to know them (if only to be able to name them). Also, flying them "correctly" - for example in flat turn dont loose altitude or in an aileron roll dont change your flight path heading (ie nose always points to the same spot) - will practice your command of the aircraft and hones your inputs. Flying aerobatics and through hangars for example can also be a fun way to learn to controll your plane finely.

This thread points to an article (with films as demonstration) that explains the immelman turn on merge, and why it is the best option:
http://www.hitechcreations.com/forums/showthread.php?s=&threadid=186602

Also, id like to stress again how important views (and keeping your eyes on your opponent) are - LOOSE SIGHT; LOOSE FIGHT! Knowing where everyone around you is (enemies as well as friends!), what they are doing and where they are going next is called Situational Awareness (SA) - most important factor in winning (or loosing) a fight. I would say about 80%, if not more. After all, you cannot evade (or shoot for that matter) an enemy that you dont see.
http://www.netaces.org/ahview/view.html#title

Generally, lots of reading, practicing and most importantly HAVING FUN doing it will help you improve fast. Also, do not forget to record your own flights for later "analysis" - its much easier to judge yourself *after* the fact then in the heat of the fight .
http://www.netaces.org
http://trainers.hitechcreations.com (The official homepage of the Aces High II Trainer Corps - a collection of our help files)
http://www.hitechcreations.com/forums (get an account there, very good Help and Training as well as Tech Support section).

If you already have an Online account: I will be in the Training Arena later tonight (Euro evening) - you can just look me up there. Use / key to open chat and type a message to make yourself known, ENTER to send.

[Murdr]

Here is an updated link for the one schatzi posted

http://forums.hitechcreations.com/forums/showthread.php?s=&threadid=186602

[Schatzi]

Thanks Murdr, updated .

[FBplmmr]

dont try to just move your gunsight onto the target.. you have to put yourself in the plane and fly it into position.   think fluid movements through 3 dimensional space.. nose down plane goes faster nose in other directions slows down

[Murdr]

Originally posted by Schatzi
Thanks Murdr, updated .

Thank you.  It dawned on me that I had to update the links on the trainers site when seeing that.

[Schatzi]

Originally posted by Murdr
Thank you.  It dawned on me that I had to update the links on the trainers site when seeing that.

It reassures me somewhat that im not the only one that had a DOH! moment just now .

[Mace2004]

Originally posted by discopants
how the hell do you  guys get close enuff to shoot??  ive just been playing and the other  planes  just seem twice as fast as  mine??  why oh why and how oh how?

What are you flying?  If it's a Hurricane then everyone else IS twice as fast as you   The great equalizer though is that your cannon rounds are twice as fast as they are

Seriously, it's what the others point out.  GI'mATree and E.  Even a Hurri can chase down a 262 if you start with a slow 262 and the Hurri's 5k above him.  The challenge for the Hurri is to think ahead and maneuver to a position above where the 262 will be.  Same thing is true for catching bombers.  Too many people just climb right up at them when the smart thing to do is look to see where they're going and head there yourself instead of directly at them(geometry) while climbing to a position above them (e management).  You do that and bombers don't seem so fast.

[titanic3]

just use auto pilot if u have an enemy on ur tail. That's wat i do in my plane everytime, if the enemy catches up, i just pull up, do a roll the plane, dive down, and pull up at last minute. Then enemy just end up right in my crosshair.

[trotter]

A good rule of thumb when you start out is to start to notice which planes are below, level (co-alt), and above you, and never chase the planes above you. Eventually this will change, as you get better at estimating your Energy state, their Energy state, and you will know which of those above planes you can safely catch without stalling out, and still have time to nose back down before you get jumped by his buddies.

As for now, understand that planes higher than you may seem tempting, but usually to a bogey in the area (often it is that very pilot above you) you just look like a big fat target when you nose up and get slow.