Reversals

[FBGrave]

Ok, I've been flying in AH for a few years now and I've hit the dead end in terms of ACM.
The biggest problem i'm having is during the merge:  The other guy seems to get around first no matter
which plane I fly. What am i missing here ?
Any pointers on this would be appreciated.

49Grave

[The Fugitive]

Stop doing HOs, start your turn BEFORE you merge. Dive away a bit or turn to one side or the other to get some seperation/space then turn back in before you merge.
If your wgr or the way through your turn as you merge you are that much ahead of his turn.

[The Fugitive]

"Wgr" is suppose to be 1/3 the way through the turn.

Can't edit a reply on these blackberrys doing the boards "lite" Grrrrrr

[Blooz]

Come in under the enemies tail.

That's a merge that works most every time.

[BaldEagl]

You need to get seperation, either vertical or horizontal then start your merge turn somewhere between 800-1500 out depending on what you're flying, what your oppnents flying, what speeds you're both at and what your reaction times are.  If all goes according to plan you end up right on his tail.

[lulu]

First read this:

http://bbs.hitechcreations.com/smf/index.php/topic,253819.0.html

Second:

Which joystick do you have?

Third:

Sometimes - i think it depends on planes - it is a good thing to point the plane nose behind the enemy tail
sustaining your plane by mean of its rudder.

 

[Traveler]

film every fight.  If the other guy is always getting around on you, you are miss-reading his speed.  Watch the film, review your flight, airspeed, alt changes , did you lose sight of the nme at any point.  When you did , did you attempt to disengage?  Going into the fight do you know your aircrafts performance ranges, do you know the nme aircraft performance ranges.

[AAJagerX]

If merging into what you suspect will become a turn fight, set yourself up off center (I like slightly low as well) then time your first turn to ALMOST chop his tail off with your prop.  At that point, you're in good shape unless the bandit has a ton of smash and can pull you into a rope.  9 out of 10 times, he'll do something you can take advantage of at that point, leaving you with a good shot (as long as ya work your throttle through the second turn).  The key to this type of situation is pressing the attack.  Don't let the other guy dictate the fight.

Granted, I'm not the best but this works for me alot of the time.

[SAJ73]

If you struggle with getting your nose around fast enough, it could simply be that you are going too fast.. Try a few times with a little less speed and see how much harder you can turn before you black out. But the cost of this is loss of energy.. 

Another approach is to do a full speed shallow climb after the merge, some like to do the immelman. But even a shallow climb while turning around could work if the other guy makes a harder turn. Just try to get around for another merge at as high speed as you can get, even if the other guy gets his nose around first.
If he tries to follow you up on the second merge he will most likely stall out below you, and you have roped him nicely if he burned his e at his first merge.

But if he's good he will see your move in time and save his hard turns for later..
Still worth a try though if anything else fails. 

Most guys expect a merge to be bad to the bone hard turning tho, and if you do anything else they might not recognize the move until its too late.. I've won alot of duels by simply not flying like everyone expect, and try to do confusing moves that hide my E early in the fight, and save my flaps for the kill.   

[mthrockmor]

Reading speed is important. I learned the hard way from Greebo that the overshoot is the big one. This implies you do not go head to head but turn off 45 degrees or more, let them overshoot then roll on to their tail. I'm guessing you have gone verticle plenty but that seems to work most of the time though overall I avoid HOs and have taken to BnZ.

Boo

[Noah17]

Fugitive is dead on with his comments on the merge.

I'll add a little spin of my own. So many sticks go for the HO, even some of the more experienced ones let their temper/aggressiveness get the better of their judgement at times and they fly
pipper-on/HO on the enemy. I like to appear like I'm one of these; normally my opponent accepts the "game of chicken" and fly's right at me. When I see that they've committed to this I fly at them until I get the angle and distance that looks best and then roll/pull first. Often it is the "underneath them" merge because I know I'll pull up first as they were still trying to get a shot in but, it doesn't have to be that way. If I can tell I have more energy I'll do my "pull up in front of them" merge and come down on top. It's like setting up a quick rope and at this point the fights over and he is pooping in his pants. You have to pull up earlier in the merge and regardless of how you do it you have to be mindful of what plane is against you. Doing any of the "game of chicken merges" is a no-no against cannon armed planes.

Others in the post have talked about managing separation and this is a good way to get that separation started. Like a bullfighter sidestepping a bull.

I prefer to fly the F4U and because it rolls well for a quick direction change; these tactics get results. If you have misjudged your enemy in the "pull up merge" it's easy to quickly roll inverted and pull down a little then level off. At that point you're moving in the opposite direction from the enemy at high speed and they never got a shot at you. You can go to friends, go home, go to the bar....... whatever.

I hope this is useful.
 

[mtnman]

Fugitive is dead on with his comments on the merge.

I'll add a little spin of my own. So many sticks go for the HO, even some of the more experienced ones let their temper/aggressiveness get the better of their judgement at times and they fly
pipper-on/HO on the enemy. I like to appear like I'm one of these; normally my opponent accepts the "game of chicken" and fly's right at me. When I see that they've committed to this I fly at them until I get the angle and distance that looks best and then roll/pull first. Often it is the "underneath them" merge because I know I'll pull up first as they were still trying to get a shot in but, it doesn't have to be that way. If I can tell I have more energy I'll do my "pull up in front of them" merge and come down on top. It's like setting up a quick rope and at this point the fights over and he is pooping in his pants. You have to pull up earlier in the merge and regardless of how you do it you have to be mindful of what plane is against you. Doing any of the "game of chicken merges" is a no-no against cannon armed planes.

Others in the post have talked about managing separation and this is a good way to get that separation started. Like a bullfighter sidestepping a bull.

I prefer to fly the F4U and because it rolls well for a quick direction change; these tactics get results. If you have misjudged your enemy in the "pull up merge" it's easy to quickly roll inverted and pull down a little then level off. At that point you're moving in the opposite direction from the enemy at high speed and they never got a shot at you. You can go to friends, go home, go to the bar....... whatever.

I hope this is useful.
 

Your "pull up in front of them" merge is suicide if your opponent is paying attention.  Just saying...

[mechanic]

Your "pull up in front of them" merge is suicide if your opponent is paying attention.  Just saying...

+1

I was thinking the exact same thing as I read various posts.

Turning before crossing enemies 3/9 line is effectively offering your tail, not merging (or more accurately even, it is offering a belly shot before merge, as you are not holding your nose head on and the enemy has a free shot on you).

[Noah17]

Like I said "If I can tell I have more energy" I might do this. It's an attempt to outzoom/rope. If I go up and the other guy follows but doesn't have a head of steam to follow; he hangs himself.
If he doesn't follow then I'm above him and I have options. The rate of closure in the head on makes for a difficult shot, if you suddenly pull up this is normally enough to entice someone to try and follow you. He is after all barrelling in on you in an overly aggressive way. You don't do it without the E advantage, you don't do it against cannon armed planes, you don't do it in the middle of a furball with bad guys above you and, you have to time it right. If you wait until your about to collide it's too late.

A rope is performed when someone is on your tail. In this case I'm offering my tail on purpose; the merge comes when the opponent passes under you pulling hard and bleeding E which is what makes it easier to perform. If your opponent is determined to shoot you down or ram you which happens all the time; he'll probably yank back on the stick as hard as he can when he can't keep you in his gun site. This happens all the time. If he doesn't pull...Fine, you're still above him and have options.

Passing the 3/9 is the merge, it's not necessarily the right point to start your turn. In fact I think you're late unless the other guy does the exact same thing but has a slower turn rate than you do. Then it's just one merry go round until your on his tail; but by then you've wasted E and may be a sitting duck for someone else. If you wait til the 3/9 line a better turning plane is already inside you. If you wait til the plane passes your 3/9 in a HO that means you've collided. If you manage separation properly in an E plane vs. a TnB plane your hoping he makes a mistake by yanking the stick and then you use the vertical to win. The same tactic will work for an E plane opponent if you have more E than they do.


There is a universe of possibilities, this is just one.

[BaldEagl]

Like I said "If I can tell I have more energy" I might do this. It's an attempt to outzoom/rope. If I go up and the other guy follows but doesn't have a head of steam to follow; he hangs himself.
If he doesn't follow then I'm above him and I have options.

The only one who's going to follow you up and hang themselves is a two week noob.

When you zoom up in front of him he doesn't have to pull nearly as hard as you do.  He can be gentle on the conntrols and cut the angle for a crossing shot at your belly just like a slower football player can cut the angle to catch one who's faster.

If you live through this you're opponent won't have had to use as much stick as you and therefore will have bled less E and begun to equalize the fight.  If he misses and isn't into continuing the engagement all he has to do is level after the shot and fly away while you bleed even more E coming around.

It's never a good idea to give your enemy your belly to begin a fight.  You're better off to go low under his nose or barrel roll around the HO attempt.  If you had more E to begin with you still have it and that gives you options rather than handing options to your opponent.