OK, I never meant this to be an argument for or against HOing, I just thought the film was cool but now that it's become one I'll chime in.
The question of honor relative to the HO most often centers around the initial merge in a one-on-one. One the fight is on most won't argue with it, although a few still will. Likewise in a furball or a one-on-many most would agree anything goes.
I don't consider myself skill-less and I see the HO as simply another tool in my bag. In many situations it makes very good sense while in others it should be avoided at almost all costs. An example would be if I were flying a 190A8 and met a Spit I'd probably take that HO every time. Why? I have a huge guns advantage, I won't be able to turn with him and I won't be able to climb with him. I may be able to run from him but not if he has an alt advantage. Oh sure, I could scissor or use a rolling scissor or something to try to force an overshoot but that won't work against a good pilot and at that point I'm already in trouble so the HO allows me to dispatch the threat quickly and move on.
On the other hand, If I'm in a P-51B or an FM2 I'll avoid every HO. The 4 .50's on those particular planes, while accurate and deadly, aren't adequate for the risk involved in a HO IMHO. No matter what I'm in I'd never go head on with a BF110-G2 or an IL-2 or another huge cannoned bird.
Likewise energy states make a difference. I'd be more likely to try a HO coming down than going up.
There are many other situations where I think the HO makes sense and many others where I think it's foolhardy. Like I said above, it's another tool in the bag and it's use, like all ACM is highly situational.
My personal success rate HOing is high, probably in the 80-85% range although I only use it once in every 2-3 hours or so of flight-time and only in what I view to be the right situations.
That said I do agree that the guy who merges HO with guns spraying from 1.5K out is a skill-less dweeb.
