Excellent Widewing, I'll bet this was an interesting clinic. Section work requires a little bit of thought and is quite an interesting and valuable although not nearly as prevalent as it should be in AH. Generally, the constant stream of dying and re-upping tends to kill alot of attempts at good section work. My schedule has been real rough but I'd like to try to pop and help out in the event on the 19th.
Here's a few things I would add, if I may.
Combat Spread: Loose deuce is typically called combat spread now (although I know loose deuce is correct WWII lingo). There are generally two types of combat spread, offensive and defensive. The difference is in separation and mind-set based on the flight's SA and threat. With little SA or a high threat the section tightens up a bit (maybe a little inside of 1k) this makes section maneuvering easier and provides better mutual support but then let's say it's just your section against another. You can switch to an offensive spread by getting further apart (1.5k to 2k). This makes the opposing section choose between the two fighters giving the free fighter an initial offensive position as they attack his wingman. Of course, the farther apart you are the less able you are to defend each other so you've got to take that into consideration and, of course, each fighter still needs to make their turns toward each other for mutual support.
Lookout: One of the advantages of section work is much better lookout but there are some priorities. In general each fighter should scan the sky "through" their wingman. For instance, the fighter on the right side of the formation is responsible for the area from his right 3 o'clock left to his 6 o'clock. The fighter on the left is responsible for the area from his left 9 o'clock to the right to his 6 o'clock. Each fighter makes occasional scans of 360 but always need to make it an absolute habit to regularly check his wingman's 6 (both high and low). There is no excuse for a section to ever be jumped by an unseen bandit.
Cross Turn: The cross turn to face the bandit should include a vertical component with one fighter doing a high yo-yo and the other a low one. This keeps both fighters out of the same piece of sky and complicates things for the attacker. The typical call from the lead would be "cross-turn now, I'm high". In a well performed cross turn the fighters are both out of phase and out of plane with each other.
Tac Turn: I don't know if you addressed tac turns but it's one of the most used means of maneuvering a section. Let's say a section spots a bandit closing at 9 o'clock. The outside fighter (on the right in this case) calls "tac 90 left now" and immediately executes a 90 degree turn toward the bandit. The second fighter continues straight ahead until his wingman is just about to cross behind him and then he executes his 90 degee left turn. This puts both in perfect combat spread facing the target. The turn doesn't have to be exactly 90 degrees of course, pilots just use their judgement (turn earlier or later) to make it work out.
Shackle Turn: Another useful maneuver is the shackle turn which is often used when disengaging and to reform the section. In this case the two fighters are heading the same direction but the wingman is behind and to the lead's right. Rather than have the lead slow down one of the fighters (usually the trailer since he can see the formation better) calls "shackle right" and the lead will make a 90 degree turn to the right while the trailing wingman continues straight ahead. When the wingman passes behind the lead the lead makes a 90 degree left turn and both aircraft are now back in a proper spread. An additional benefit is that the lead's initial 90 degree turn puts him in a great position to clear his wingman's six, particularly against those pesky LA7's trying to run him down on his low six where he may not be seen.
Phase and Plane: You're absolutely right about the "bunching together". Both fighters need to stay out of the same piece of sky otherwise a tactic used by the bandit works against both. To further expound on this, both fighters need to stay out of phase and out of plane with each other. Out of phase means they're not turning the same direction. If one's going left the other should be going right. Staying out of plane means their turn circles should not be in the same plane. If one is turning level, the other should be turning vertical.
Engaged and Free Fighter: The wingman doing the shooting or being shot at is engaged, the other is free. The engaged fighter's roll is to either get a quick kill or make the bandit predictable for the free fighter to attack. The free fighter's role is to position himself to engage the bandit for a quick kill. When he's positioned he calls "in" letting his wingman know he's engaging and the wingman can then become the free fighter. Also, it's the free fighter's job to clear his wingman's six and keep a lookout for other approaching bandits. It's usually the free fighter than is in the best position to look at the big picture and call for a bugout. Once calling for a bug, the free fighter can threaten the initial bandit to allow his wingman to disengage and once his wingman is clear he joins on him, reforming the section into spread. You might hear a call from the free fighter that goes something like this: "Four bandits north, high, bug south". This tells the engaged fighter 1) the type of threat, 2) the threat's position, and 3) what direction to escape. Once his wingman is disengaged the free fighter should call his position "I'm at your right 5 O'clock high, continue (or shackle right)".
Switching: When both fighters are engaged against equal or superior numbers there is no free fighter but that doesn't mean all they do is stay in the same vicinity. Typically, what happens in AH is both fighters end up essentially fighting two separate but overlapping 1v1's until one of them decides to attack the other's bandit. That means all your firepower and attention become focused on just one bandit allowing the second to become "free". If both fighters are trying to kill the same bandit that usually means they become in phase and in plane which makes it very easy for the free bandit to setup and attack them both. To avoid this, the fighters need to communicate. Going back to the idea that you have two overlapping 1v1's going on, both fighters should keep track of both bandits and look for opportunities to give them a good offensive position on the other bandit. Most bandits are boresighted on one guy giving plenty of opportunities for the other fighter to capitalize on. For instance, say one fighter is at the top of a vertical move and has the choice of coming off right or left. If coming off right puts him in a good position on the other bandit's high six then he should do that and call "switch". The other fighter should then switch his attention to the other bandit to prevent him from becoming free. Lots of judgement is called for here, if your wingman is two seconds away from gunning some guy's brains out already don't call switch just because you're in a good position. Make sure you keep your bandit off him so he can turn things into a 2v1. Also, remember in a 2v2 you are fighting both the bandits, not just one.
Ummmmmmm....I guess I got a little verbose and went beyond a just "few things."
Anyway, hope it helps.
Mace
