Understanding the Plane/Pilot Dynamic Objectively

[Zazen13]

Outstanding post...

I think it hits 100% right on in every aspect. It's funny reading your thoughts because in some ways it mirrors my own but from a different perspective. I simply cant shoot...period. My gunnery is always pitiful, has always been pitiful and inspite of my ongoing positive thinking will invariably be pitiful. I also cant fly for beans. What I mean by that is that I simply cannot find that feather edge that the great duelers can. I'm certainly competent ACM wise and my thinking is reasonably good...if I can out ACM the other guy I'll win pretty easily...but when it gets really down and dirty and reaches that white knuckled on the edge stage I end up like Maxwell Smart {"Missed it by that much "} more often then not.

So I've evolved to the point where I realize that my "strength" is "non edge of the envelope ACM" where I can hold my own with 80%+ of the population. My thought are that those with either natural gunnery or the ability to put a given plane "on the edge" progress quickly...but I also think that those who aggressively pursue both "snap shots" and "bleeding edge ACM" learn those easier then those who chase "SA" and "managing the fight". By the time I became a trainer I had reached the conclusion that the F6F, 109F, 205 were the ideal beginners planes because they "forced" both gunnery and "feather edge disipline" to a degree.

But in the end I think your spot on in the sense that each player has to find a style that complements there skill set and provides a reasonable level of satisfaction. Most of us that "burn out" (been there a bunch of times) do so by chasing a "holy grail" of percieved need or by becoming so stale and set in one play style that bordom sets in.

My gut feel is that good gunnery is the great equalizer, a good shot will beat a great stick most of the time and a great shot will beat a great stick almost 100% of the time. ACM trumps good SA...and "edge of the envelope" trumps ACM most of the time.

Great insights, thanks for this.

If you've ever seen the movie, "Good Will Hunting", there's a part where he is at an outdoor cafe table with his girlfriend and she asks, "How is it that you can do these biochemistry equations in your head in a few minutes, but it takes other very smart people 2 weeks". His reply was something to the effect, "When Mozart sat down at a piano, he didn't have to be taught how to play, he just played...When it comes to this sort of thing (mathematics) I just play."

My flying is like the flip-side of, Will Hunting. I'll use music as an example. I play the Saxophone, but I am not musically inclined. I play technically well, but very mechanically. I read the notes on the page and key the notes on my instrument almost as if I were taking dictation or something. I have no inborn intuitive understanding of music. I learned to play by learning the fundamentals and applying them in a rigid and practical way. There's no "feeling" in my music, I cannot evoke or invoke emotion with it. It lacks the human element, it's as if a computer were playing the Sax. That's because I am not a "natural". Just as I am not a natural pilot in the same way you describe yourself. I fly mechanically as if I am reading from a textbook. I got better by studying books and filming people, then emulating what I saw truly gifted flyers do on the film. I have no intuitive "feel" for it.

Everyone has things they just "play" like Will Hunting and mathematics, Leviathin and flying or me and Gunnery. Everything else we endeavor to do  is accomplished by sheer mental effort, perseverance and willpower, with no assistance from God given gifts.

[Shane]

My flying is like the flip-side of, Will Hunting.

Mine's more like "How you like them apples?."

and just because it fits here, too, kind of..

Self-taught... never even read Shaw... still haven't, lol, but over time I casually surfed "ACM" sites to put names to the actual manuevers I had already been doing. I've never been hesitant to push the envelope in all my rides, or take chances (still, 3 v 1 doesn't need to become a freekin' castrati hordelet v 1 yanno?) even if I often got burned, something which I still do. I'm not a true furballer- I'm more of a lone wolf on the fringes, trying to drag victims away from the fur, or interdiction near enemy bases.  Flying with and against better players in varying situations has been a boon, as well.

I've been relatively blessed with an innate sense for SA (I *do* see the guy who's probably gonna kill me, but more than likely I couldn't get out of the way in time, or wanted to get a kill,) manuevering and in RL i'm a decent shot, but my AH gunnery has always been mediocre (can we say nose bounce at lower speeds?), fortunately for ya'll. 

But the one piece of advice (given way back in AW3 on Gamestorm by KAK3) that helped me most was about lead turn in the merge.. starting *before* we actually crossed.. and the timing involved with various aspects of net-lag, i.e., starting the move when the other guy was still about 1.2k away.  This has been reduced somewhat with better overall internet connections by a few hundred yards, around 800/1k-ish.  And with HOs enabled, it's safer for the most part than getting too close in.

If we all had perfect zero lag, or in the DA with someone i knew wouldn't HO, I'd start the move as close as 300-500yds away.

I still use(d) this concept in the DA when I had people start their zoom up around 1k out while I went  into a flat turn -  allowing them to roll, spot and drop back down in the slot with a better guns solution - in range as opposed to out of position.

Back on topic... it's all fun.  I know people have their limitations; my only issue is with those who don't at least try and find out what those limitations are.

[Zazen13]

Back on topic... it's all fun.  I know people have their limitations; my only issue is with those who don't at least try and find out what those limitations are.

Yes, Shane, I totally agree there. As in my wall/door metaphor in response to Slappy. If you never grope around in the dark and find the wall, you'll probably never notice it's actually a door when someone/thing turns on the "light", so you will fail to walk through and expand your horizons.

But, that brings up a great point. Everyone owes it to themselves to eventually maximize their potential, wherever that mysterious bar may be. But, there is also a time and place to make that the goal unto itself. Developing skill in AH or anything for that matter, is a nuanced orchestration of reinforcing what you already know with practice and trying to incorporate new techniques or elements into your "game". At some stages of development it's actually better to reinforce those things you have already have a grasp on than leave that "comfort zone" at a critical juncture in your development in an effort to incorporate elements you are not really ready for.

For Example....

It's kind of like math, it builds on itself. The only way you will get good at math is sheer repetition. The only way you can get to more advanced math is by mastering the basic math. I might be innately capable of being a calculus wizard one day, but it would be ridiculous for me to try to learn calculus without first learning my multiplication tables.

So, it can actually cause problems if you try to coerce people into developing more quickly or "out of order" in terms of the logical, progressive cultivation of the various skills needed for profiency in air combat in AH.

[BnZ]

Fun? I find AHII fun for about 20 seconds after "SYSTEM: You shot down XXXX"*

Whereas I find being shot down depressing for about...well, I'm not sure theres a time limit.

Comparing seeing the "XXXX shot you down message" to accidentally dropping a cinderblock on my toe, I find the latter at least 10 times less unpleasant.

Objectively, I can't win, I might as well try to get rich by playing roulette in Vegas.

However, here I am still.    What a rotten thing hope is...unkillable is the notion that perhaps *someday* better equipment, more practice, etc, I shall clear entire arenas of bandits and grown men shall speak of me in hushed whispers. Like the "jackpot" for the guy who just bet his house-payment at the tables, this draws me back.

*Note, these calculations exclude the fun to be found in BSing with the squaddies, which possibly brings the Fun vs. the "I hate this %@%@$^@#$%^ game" balance closer to being positive. Or, to speak in business terms, at least going bankrupt very slowly. For me, that is a victory. 

[Dawggus]

BnZ, I find the BSing with Squadmates the most fun as well ... along with flopping around in the mud with my A5 .  Zaz, very good post!

Cya Up!

Dawg

[Zazen13]

BnZ, I find the BSing with Squadmates the most fun as well ... along with flopping around in the mud with my A5 .  Zaz, very good post!

Cya Up!

Dawg

Hiya BFD!