You don't need to become skilled to a certain level before being trained or accepted as a wingman.
You just need to find a "buddy" to fly with. It helps if that person flies similar planes as you, in a similar style, and is a "team player". I will say that you BOTH need to have VOX. Typing comm is much more difficult. At some point you will want to find a few people you recognize, and latch onto them. Joining a squad will also give you access to more friends and information.
Your skill level will improve faster with a partner. Exponentially so if that partner is already "skilled". You learn by getting into bad places, and living. You don't learn by quickly dying, and then flying back. Not at first anyway.
It sounds like your SA is off to a pretty good start. It will get better. Not right away. I'd add things like- Number of friendlies near you, their plane type (try ctrl-I, but BE SURE to put it back to "normal" when you are done. NOT "No Icons", hehe), their basic altitude / E-state, and even their basic level of skill and willingness to help. Are they heavy if in fighters? Or looking to fight? Are you loaded with enough fuel to fight? Ammo? Too much fuel?
Enemy planes- same thing. You can get a rough idea as to the skill level by the way they fly, but for a long time yet, it will be too late at that point to do you any good. You can figure out which enemy pilots in particular, and what plane they're flying if you can decifer the chnl 200 bantor.
Where is your field? Alt? Enemy field? Alt? How far to each? Basic idea of enemy vs friendly #'s in sector. Where is the basic fight in relation to the bases? Fighting in the middle is going to get you swarmed. Hunting on the edges is more productive, and far less hazardous. (Early man figured this one out when hunting large herding animals. It still works. Bison look harmless enough- until you poke one with a pointy stick.) Is this a furball? Or a capture attempt?
SA starts close to you. Even from inside the cockpit, and then goes outward. The closest stuff matters most, but the stuff you can't see can still get you killed. In my opinion, SA is the most important thing you have going for you. It will take years to really develop, and this is a long list. You won't get it all right away, I'm just telling you what is going through my head constantly, almost casually, when I'm flying...
If you see me in the MA, just holler. I'll let you wing up with me for a while if you want. Forewarning- you can fly anything you want, but I only fly the F4U's. I also switch country I fly for, depending on what the numbers are and where the fights are.
MtnMan
