Can you give me an example of....

[nimble]

My remaining questions are, is there a sign he is on to what I am doing and what is a con's typical counter to this?  These may not be answerable, but I thought I would ask anyway.

If you notice his closure speed decreasing it's a good sign he is either on to you or is trying to saddle up. Their typical counter is going to either be to try and saddle you by burning off their E quicker than you or try and retain the E they have. There really isn't much else they can do. This is also where knowing the difference between planes becomes important, equal pilots generally the heavier ride bleeds off E the quickest. They also have to make up for their excess speed/alt they already have on you. Trying to dump a jug/corsair/most heavy planes in a light plane like this, equal pilots, is  a good way to end up in the tower.  On the other hand, bleeding too much E in a heavier plane vs a plane that has a lot of engine power on you eventually leaves you a sitting duck, but still in a better position than the split-s stuff.

Your most important asset when you have someone on your 6 or are on someone's 6 is to know the capabilities of most planes so you can counter effectively.

[nimble]

I looked through a recording tonight, found an example. Not the prettiest by far, not even close(I missed the first shot),  but it was the shortest film I had and bed is calling.
Hope it helps a bit. Sorry about the download delay, but a minute isn't bad.

piqua.ulmb.com/AHII/overshoot.zip

[dedalos]

Thanks to everyone (except Dragon    ) for the good advise and insight.  If I understand correctly, I should try to keep nose down to keep energy up as much as possible and avoid energy wasting maneuvers (high G turns, etc) unless I am going to get a shot or I have no other option (I will get shot otherwise).  Wait for the other guy to commit then get out of his line of flight and drop back in to take the snapshot.  If he breaks away, build up E again and repeat as long as needed to get the shot or the con makes a mistake.

My remaining questions are, is there a sign he is on to what I am doing and what is a con's typical counter to this?  These may not be answerable, but I thought I would ask anyway.

Balsy: I will look you up when I have the chance and thanks for the offer.

Usually you will wake up in the tower.  If he is closing in fast and he is on to what you are doing, you will die.  No time to do anything about it.  90% of the MA guys will keep pushing for the shot.  If you happen to meet that other 10% you should have split-s ed while you could, lol.

[MORAY37]

I have been thinking a lot about the idea of "fighting up" and how it applies to situations I find myself in.  From early on in this game I developed habits: some good, some not so good.  So, I am look to improve on some aspects and want to know how to apply "fighting up" in certain instances.

Here is one that comes to mind:

Flying along a 5K+ AGL.  Con comes running up on my 6 (or from 5 to 7, let's say).  He is either co-alt or slightly higher.  He is about 1K and closing.

Now, I have gotten in a habit of rolling inverted and pulling a split S.  This will work on some, but I know there are several problems with it:

1)  I am trading of altitude for temporary evasion

2)  Bandit has alt on me (if they did not follow me down)

3)  Bandit has position on me (again, assuming he didn't follow me down, he is still on my six and higher).

I know sometimes you can just pull a high G turn, but this is not a good solution if the enemy con knows what they are doing and knows how to use vertical.

I also know I already messed up by letting him get on my six.

So, what I would like to know is how would I fight this situation up?  No trade of altitude by pulling the split S and not losing E/Airspeed for a flat High-G turn.

Thanks!

5 K in the MA?  You are purely defensive until he gets on, or below, your E state.  Average height in MA is around 8 to 10 K, unless you're rook and then you double that.  IMO 5 K is a dangerous place to be and should be pushed through as fast as possible.  At the start of any fight, you are at the disadvantage in most cases, and you will compound that disadvantage even further by split S'ing on your first evasion, as it gains you momentary divergence from your opponent, though you have made him use only a small amount of E to make you lose alot of altitude.  You've now put yourself in better E state, though, he's already winning, as he's lowered your altitude. Equal pilots... you've lost before the fight started.

Always start with a decent amount of altitude which you can trade into E, should you need to.  Get familiar with dives with power off, rudder for speed control, for engaging the NOE crowd.  Start the fight AT YOUR DISCRETION, not your opponent's.  And give yourself room.. more room than 5K.  You don't have to be an altmonkey at 15 or 20K.... sit your ride at 9K in a solid E state, and your engagements will be rewarded more often.  (and read up on ACM...  what move defeats what best.  There are pages out there with this information.. but then again.. Handholding you to better ACM might just backfire on me!!!!)