Continued...
I'm basically setting up the majority of my MA 1v1's using one of just a few "formulas", and I'm looking for certain patterns/moves/approaches by my opponents (what I see as "behaviors"). I try to set up opportunities for my opponents to exhibit the behaviors I want. In doing so, I'm setting them up to step into one of my traps.
It's basically the same thing I do when I train my raptors... I set up opportunities for them to exhibit the behavior I want to see. With the birds, I reward that behavior. I'm quick to change the situation slightly if I need to before I see behavior I don't want, or if I suspect the bird won't exhibit what I want so that it can be rewarded. I "head off" undesirable behavior, so that the desired behavior becomes much more likely, or maybe even the only likely behavior I'll see. In falconry, it allows me to reward.
In AH, I do the same thing more or less. I set up an opportunity for my opponent to do something, and try to sculpt the situation so that there are fewer choices, and the one I want to see is hopefully more likely.
First, I try to set up one of two basic nose-on merges with three variations.
In the merge I want to dive (I begin as soon as I decide I'm going to attack; I'm still 5.5K out or so), pick up a bunch of speed, and pass under my opponent. As we pass, I want to be angling upwards by 30 degrees or so, while he's still in a 30 degree dive (or so). As we pass, I DO NOT take my eyes off of my target (most will fail at this).
This merge will elicit one of just a few responses from most pilots (i.e predictable behavior). The vast majority of MA pilots will happily merge like this, and will begin an immelman as they pass above me.
A really inexperienced pilot will actually begin his immelman early, before he even passes by me. I'm waiting for this, but don't see it too often. When I do see this all I do is pull vertical which places me about 200yds off his tail. He's dead. I think pilots begin doing this when frustration sets in following being beaten by this merge too often. They don't realize that my lower position and the sloped angle of our merge is what's allowing me an easy victory. They seem to think (I did as well...) that the trick is to get around the immelman quicker than your opponent, so they start the immelman early...
The next option is that they go past before pulling the immelman (by far the most common). This is what I plan for, and if they do it they've already stepped in my trap...
The set-up for this is the initial merge angle (me going uphill, him going down; also, think back to my earlier post, where I mentioned that I want my opponent to dive past me, to a point below me, and then zoom back up). If my initial heading was north, an immelamn reversal puts me headed south (opposite for my opponent). In order for me to do that, I only need to pull a 150 degree immelman (I "cheated" and was already 30 degrees nose-up as we passed). On the other hand, my opponent needs to pull 30 degrees nose-up to return to level flight, and an additional 180 degrees to complete the same reversal... Who's coming around quicker?
There's more. My opponent was in a dive as he passed me (i.e. still accelerating). I'm nose up, so slowing down. We're both above corner speed (so both will be limited in our ability to pull a sharp turn), but while I'm reversing I'll reach corner quicker, so will have a smaller turn radius. On the other hand, he's more limited than me due to his speed. He has to reverse 210 degrees to my 150, and he'll be doing it with a higher speed/larger radius.
There's more. From what I've seen with a TON of people I've worked with in the TA is that two things are the "norm" during my opponents immelman. One, he's not making any attempt to watch me as he pulls his immelman. He's watching out of his front view (or front-up view) and hoping to reacquire me as he completes his immelman. And two, he can't see me anyway because he's almost blacked out in his turn (at least with half or more of his view closed off). That's three things in my favor so far, no matter what plane he's in.
The end result of all of this is that I'll generally come over the top of my immelman, roll wings level, and fire into his cockpit as he's still only partway through his immelman. A variation is that my timing is off. If that's the case, I may pull tighter (slower speed, but smaller, quicker reversal), or pull less tightly (faster, more retained E, slower reversal with a larger radius). Or I may miss my shot, and pull for a second immelman to come back around behind my opponent.
As far as predictable behavior goes, when my opponent is about vertical in his immelman he'll reacquire view of me and react. Most pilots won't know what to do, so you'll see some form of panic. They might lock up, and just continue doing what's already getting them killed, or they may try some last squirm of one sort or another. They don't have all that many options at that point, so if your gunnery is decent the fight is over.
An easy variation of this begins exactly the same, but is less aggressive. I like to use it on a plane that's faster than my F4U (a pony, or 190, maybe) that I suspect will not commit to a hard immelman (often, I've been trying to draw him into a fight, but he's "lurking" above an won't commit). The merge begins exactly the same, but I don't bring my nose up, and I just continue to fly past, watching for his immelman in my rear view. If he flies past, I just keep going , and gradually turn back for another attempt. Sometimes it takes a few tries to get him to pull the immelman. If he pulls the immelman, I just keep going until I'm about 2K out, and then begin a climb. He comes over the top, and is on my tail 2K out, but quickly closes to 1.5K. It's just a rope at this point. Keep my angle steep enough that he continues to gain (slower now, though) to keep him coming. Don't get my angle too steep though, or he'll catch me... I want him to stall out, or at least founder about 600-800 behind me just as I go vertical and begin dropping flaps. Done just right, he's nearly stationary as I shoot through his cockpit.
The last variation I use a lot is more risky, and is for the guy who knows better than to let me have the advantages of the merge. You recognize this guy because he's aggressive on the initial dive (just like me) and fights for the bottom of the merge. It's a dangerous variation, because a guy like this knows enough to be a real handful. On the other hand, he's predictable, and can be set up... You need to kill him quick though...
It's a fun merge though, and if you lose it's just a game, right? The merge works quite often though, because it's not predictable, while his reaction is... I like to set this guy up to beat me on the first merge, so I can beat him on the second, and get right close on his tail for a shot.
To do that, I "fight" for the bottom position on the merge. You have to look like you want it! Let him "win" the bottom position, but make him think it was grudgingly! As he goes under you, he'll pull up into his immelman and almost always be blind to you for a few seconds (read above). He's drooling... He's got you right where he wants you. His confidence will make his actions predictable. He's done this A LOT in the past; he'll do it again...
The moment he goes under you (while he's under you), roll hard left and pull a hard FLAT reversal. You CANNOT go up, at all. You must stay below him. You'll lose sight of him, but you know where he is/will be. He'll lose sight of you, and you won't be where he expects to find you. As you finish your reversal, locate him above and in front of you. He'll be most of the way through his immelman when he spots you (I can almost always see his plane roll a tad as he does this, lol). When he sees you, it's almost a guarantee he dive in for the "easy kill". As he does this, I pull up to pass under him (this is merge #2; I'm below him, heading up, he's above me, nose down, teehee!). I "lost" the first merge, so I could "win" the second... In this second merge, he'll almost always pull up in an angular zoom the moment he passes by you. This isn't a great option for him. You won't have much speed at this point, but will be able to roll and you'll be bringing your nose down by this point. The effect is that you can roll right onto his tail at about 100yds. He has too much speed left, and can't turn tight enough (he can get away if he keeps his nose down, but almost never will). By pulling up like that he stays close enough for you to stay with him, but can't maneuver well enough to get away. Clear as mud? It's a tough one to describe. If I can get into the game again soon I'll try to film it for you.
