AvA again

[CAP1]

ok guys....and gals(silat and mensa   )

 i just did a little quick story, again, i took it, and put it around a couple of screen shots from the single flight i had in ava. i will be returning. hope you all enjoy.

the CO gave us our orders. just the two of us were to load extra fuel, and rockets. the nazis were getting close to the river, and there was enemy aircraft
expected. intelligence was that there would be at least one bomber attack on our base, and at least 30 fighters escorting them.
 we were to avoid the main battle, and look for stragglers, or nazi fighters picking our guys out of the fight.

 we preflighted, made double sure our drop tanks and rocket tubes were secured properly, and removed the safety's from the rockets. they were now
hot, as soon as we would turn on the switches.

 it was hot..it was the thing i hated most about this god forsaken place. hard to breathe, and it deteroriated our p-38s performance. it was comforting
to know that the enemies me-109's and fw-190's suffered the same as our aircraft did.

 we climbed in, our crewchiefs helped us strap in, and then stood at the ready as we fired up our machines, listening to the beautiful music of four allisons
roaring to life. a quick cursory check of the gauges, radio check with the tower, and each other, double checked the charts, and taxied to the end of the
runway. i made sure to be at the very end, so i had every inch of tarmac to accelerate, considering the temps this morning. i got the clearance from the
tower, visually checked that nothing was coming down the runway from either direction(we just lost 1 pilot, and 2 aircraft last week due to an incursion),
pulled out, and slowly pushed the throttles forward. quick scan of gauges, confirmed oil pressure, and temp ok, coolant right in the green, and
accelerating as best as could be expected. she picked up, and as soon as the wheels were in and closed, i turned north, and climbed at 3,000FPM.

 my wingman caught up to me, and we climbed to angels 23, as the reports said the enemy was expected that high. level cruising, we crossed the river,
into enemy territory, keeping our heads on the swivel.
 bill(my wingman) radioed, and reported oil pressure loss on #2 engine. he decided to keep with me, until the oil temp. started to get a little high. i told
him he'd better return to base, and he peeled off, heading south back to the base.
 now, my head was really on the swivel. i rechecked my gauges, as i was now hyper aware of them, due to bills problems. cruising along listening to
the comforting drone of my allisons, i start to pick up some radio chatter, but i can't make it out. i double check to make sure my guns are on, and ready
for combat.

 after a few minutes, i catch a glint at my 3 o'clock, low. i turn in that direction, being careful to not head straight to it.as i get closer, i can hear the pilots
working together in what sounded like a very large fight. i was able to see they were down around angels 10, and was suprised they were so low. i guess
they got bounced, and the fight went downhill a bit.
 i descended to angels 20, and double checked my harnesses, switches, etc. these kinds of situations always scared me. literally. when there was a large
group of german fighters involved in a fight, there was normally always one or two that hung out above the fight, looking for stragglers. my urge was to
dive right into the frey, and help my countrymen. my brain wouldn't let me, and i am thankful for that.

 it was rare that i had opportunity to see an ariel fight from outside, and as i looked for the high germans, i became transfixed on the fight below. it looked
like a dance. a ballet almost.  it was actually quite beautiful, to watch how they maneuvered their aircraft so smoothly, and gracefully. you would almost
think that they were not trying to down each other.
 then it caught my eye........a glint. same altitude as me, about a mile out. i couldn't make out what it was, but it was circling the fight just as i was. i would
imagine he saw me at the same time that i saw him, as the aircraft suddenly started getting bigger.

 oh crap!! i though.....here he comes. i turned to his general direction, pushed the nose down slightly for a little speed, and tried to set up for a lead turn.
i was denied that turn, and we passed each other at about  400 yards. i immediately went up, and as i watched him, i rolled slightly, to keep him in the
center of my view. he passed so quickly, i was unable to id what i was fighting against, thus i was slightly unsure of what his capabilities were. i knew
the best thing for me to do, was to establish myself above him, so as i came over the top, i rolled out, and looked for him.

 DAM!! lost him. now, i;m swinging my head this way and that, scanning the sky for my adversary. where the hell did he go?? i roll my p-38 right a few
degrees, then left the same, to look in the blind spots created by the wings, and those massive engine nacelles.

 there he is!! my 10 o'clock low, coming back up at me hard. i know i can't make the turn into him in time, so i turn away, and up again. he thought he had
shot lined up, and misjudged his speed i think, as i look out the rear, just in time to see his nose fall over. it is at this time, that i id his craft. it is a ME-109.
 crap. those things can turn like spitfires. i need to be careful, not letting my lightning get too slow, and not falling into the trap of trying to turn too tightly
with him. i've lost many a friend that fell into those traps with 109's.
 as he stalls, i pull the throttles to idle, and kick hard left rudder with all my might, trying to bring the nose down. i almost got a shot, but he recovered quicker
than i had expected. dam. i fell right past him, and looked back, expecting to see him lining me up. he wasn't, thank god. he didn't have enough airspeed
to get his nose on me. i pulled back up, as he headed away for separation.
 this pilot knew what he was doing. he knew better than to let me get guns on him while he was slow. he was good, not one of the inexperienced
pilots that the luftwaffe has been trying to throw at us as of late.
 i turned to follow him, as i didn't want to give him a chance to breathe. i was nearing 500mph, and catherine was shuddering. she was telling me that
we were nearing compression, so i pulled the throttles back a little, and lifted the nose, to control my speed. he pulled back up into me, and we remerged.
 once again, i was able to establish a slight altitude advantage over him.  this guy was too good. i saw him stall again, and took advantage, and got rid
of my drop tanks. now i could maneuver better.
 i look around, and here he is coming back up. he spoils my shot again, with a slight roll, and a slip to the right, causing me to overshoot. thankfully,
i had enough energy to maintain the high ground. he dove for speed again, but i saw it coming this time, and was able to score some hits, convincing
him this was a bad idea.
 as he made the most incredible turn i've ever seen, i could do nothign but point my nose straight up. coming over the top, i stalled, and when the nose
dropped, there he was, crossing my sights. DAM!! little rudder to the right to get lead.....throttle back......FIRE!! i let loose with a full 2 second burst,
unleashing the full fury of catherines 4 50 cals, and her single 20mm cannon at less than 200 yards. there was no way that anything could survive that.

 as we passed, i saw his canopy come off, along with parts of his wing, and landing gear. i pulled back up, and as i looked out at his now disabled air-
craft, i was actually thankful to see this pilot get out. i circled, and watched his parachute blossom a few thousand feet below me, and was happy.

 this knight of the sky deserved to live another day. he was a worthy advesary, and it was pure luck that it was him, rather than i hanging below that
silk canopy.

 feeling totally exhausted, i turned catherine south, and headed for the river. 20 minutes later, i stood on the tarmac, next to catherine, listening to
the exhaust manifolds "crackle" as they cooled down. it was then, that i realized that i was literally soaked in sweat.

 i thought back to that fight. i was glad to survive, and i was more glad to see that pilot get out of his wrecked aircraft. i wondered what it would be like
to be able to meet him, and enjoy a beer with him. by the way he handled his aircraft, it was obvious that he had a love of flying, as i do.

 maybe someday. i walked back to my quarters, not even noticing my crew chief trying to call me, and wanting to know why i still had live rockets
 in the tubes. i passed out on my bunk.
pics to follow.

[CAP1]

some gun camera stills.

first tickle to try and slow him down....


he turned, giving me this quick shot, which i almost missed....


this was the death blow. there was no way any aircraft could withstand the full fury of 50 cal and 20mm at less then 200 yards.

[Jonah]

CAP, please please please tell me where in the republic of new jersey i can find these drugs 

[Oldman731]

i just did a little quick story, again,

Thanks!

- oldman

[LLogann]

Great writeup CAP1!!!

AvA doesn't get enough credit.  And even when people complain about the MA, they still never go to AvA.  This should be fixed!!!

And yes, I will freely admit I ignore it as much as everybody else.   

[Dichotomy]

nice 

[IrishOne]

cool write up      the few times i've flown in AvA i had a blast.  good stuff 

[CAP1]

Great writeup CAP1!!!

AvA doesn't get enough credit.  And even when people complain about the MA, they still never go to AvA.  This should be fixed!!!

And yes, I will freely admit I ignore it as much as everybody else.   

 thanks guys. i had been, but with all the talk, and then the added temptation of the twin rivers map, i HAD to go check it out.

 when i get into the right mood, i kinda like writing these little sortie accounts.....

 i hear rumors of a possible ground attack mission in the near future.  

[oakranger]

WTG on the write up up, CAP1!   

[Changeup]

Pretty damn cool Cap....the AvA is a great arena and I plan on being there more often.

Changeup

[CAP1]

as silly as it sounds.......i do get a little more "into" it in there. it can be nerve racking. in a good way.

 i like it so far. it puts my mind to work a bit.

[Changeup]

as silly as it sounds.......i do get a little more "into" it in there. it can be nerve racking. in a good way.

 i like it so far. it puts my mind to work a bit.

Damn straight it does....that's the difference and the challenge all in one.

Changeup

[Puma44]

Great description, Cap! Sounds like you've been there, done that.

[CAP1]

Great description, Cap! Sounds like you've been there, done that.

i sometimes wish i could say i had been. i admire those guys like no others. i know/knew a few fighter pilots in rl, a top turret gunner, a phantom driver from vietnam......i manage to get them all to talk. sometimes they don't want to, but eventually, they slip into the past a little, and talk to us.

 the phantom driver i know is a marine. he's the guy that took me up in his super decathalon. he came to our CAP squadron, and talked to the kids about his service.
 one of them asked him if he was ever scared, and what was the hardest mission he ever flew. he told them that only a liar would say that he was never scared in that situation.....and he was on every mission. his hardest run was in support of ground troops, flying low, below the cloud cover. he came in, was lining up for a run, and took ground fire. one single bullet hit a main electrical harness in the belly. he lost most everything.
 he climbed above the cloud layer, got out his charts, and pointed himself in what he thought was the right direction. when it was time to descend, he was at 400ft before he broke through the clouds, and a couple miles past his base. he couldn't get his ords off the wings. he had to pull the emergency gear handle to get his gear down. he was lucky to get back, and on the ground.

 i met a bombardier from a b17...flew 23 missions before the war ended. he came to cap for us too. he still had the piece of shrapnel that nearly killed him.
 one of the mustang drivers in our r/c club passed 2 summers ago. he used to talk about the mustangs, how they flew, how he used to make sure he burned off the aft fuel tank first........

  when we get these guys started, we all gather 'round like a bunch of ten year olds, all googly eyed and entranced listening to them.

 one of the things that really struck me, was tom. he told us he cried when he had to give up his mustang at the end of the war. he was attached to her, and they had been through a lot together.