Drills to Improve

[Changeup]

I wanted to start a thread that would get a list of drills new players and returning players could look through to improve.  If you have a drill you were taught by someone or devised on your own, list it here with an brief explanation of how, what it will help improve, and why it's important.

[Changeup]

Vision:  Offline or a High field in the DA

Improves your ability to use your hat switch coordination to not lose sight of your opponent and gives you a heads up on your blind spots in the plane you have chosen.  Also can help learning how to fly forward while looking aft.  Also helps improve your views if blind spots can be corrected.

Pick your bird and take off alone and stay around 1500-2500 feet.  Stay over the airfield and fly.....but never take your eyes off the radar tower....ever.  Dive on it, fly by it, roll around it, fly over it inverted, pull it vertical...just go nuts but don't ever take your eyes off of it.

Teacher:  MugZ

[Wiley]

One I was taught was to take up your plane of choice and fly level, trying to go as slowly as possible while keeping your wings level.  I find it useful to learn what happens to each different aircraft when it stalls, and allows you to be ready for those characteristics when you're stall fighting.  You can then use your experience to anticipate what is going to happen next and move your controls to counter it rather than reacting to what the plane does then moving your controls.

Doing this at different alts can be useful too.

Wiley.

[Rob52240]

Go to the TA, with a buddy if possible.

Do a few quick divebombing runs with an air start.

Then with a buddy use the air start feature to begin at 10K and turn on lead computing gunsight. 

After about 10-20 minutes in the TA you are ready to practice killing in the MA.

[Mongoose]

  These drills are for use in offline practice, to learn better how to control the plane.

After you have shot down the drones several times, try flying in formation with one. Get on his four or five o'clock, and see how long you can stay there.  It is harder than you might think.

Fly through the hangers.  In one door, and out the other.  Start with the large bomber hanger.  Once you are comfortable with that, fly through the smaller fighter hanger.  This builds good plane control.

Get in a jeep and drive around for a while.  Do some sight-seeing at the different bases, and the town.  Then when it comes time to attack, you have a better idea of the targets you are trying to hit.  Besides, it gives you an appreciation for the detail that Hitech and crew have put into this game.

 

[skorpx1]

When you're team is going to take a base, send one or two guys over and have them circle the field just outside of ack range. This prevents uppers and it adds to the intimidation.

[deadstikmac]

What I did for 40 hours or so one week a few months ago...

(I did this in the MA @ an airfield way away from combat because I thought someone told me the fuel burn in the TA is much longer than in the MA. Plus the added excitement of not being in the TA and crashing ect...)

~ Aircraft of choice.
~ 100% fuel.
~ No External Ordnance or Droptank.
~ Start when "OTR" (on the runway)
~ Finish AFTER Tanks are EMPTY by way of gliding "Dead Stick" to a stop on concrete somewhere on the airfield.


Objective:
Using the Radar, stay Under the Top of the radar tower. Circle as close or tight as you can too Radar.Do Not exceed a altitude higher than the TOP of Radar Tower, doing so is a Fail.

Hoping to:
Wake up your throttle hand and start using it during "angle fighting". One thing I can say in the MA is this... If you are in a turn fighter and get into a fight with another turn fighter, the first to use flaps usally wins. If you are in a turn fighter and someone is BnZ you... If you can make that attacking pilot get into an extended turn with you... Well you should win or make your odds much better. On top of learning to "feather" the throttle. This exercise will help you take a plane into that stall environment and learn to do everything there. Everything you can learn at the extreme end of aircraft performance will help you more than I can put to words.

Speed is not of importance. Focus on staying as close as you can through out a full circle. Use an object on the field to check your start and completion of said circle.

Think that is beneath you then do it inverted. Also add rolling elements into your turns. Do some knife edge work using that rudder. Turn only with rudder. Expanding on the simple goals of staying as close as possible and under the top of the tower will do a lot for you.

Just alone the confidence with flying that low to the trees is invaluable.



Hope this helps.

 ~<Deadstik



 

Hint: You control the altitude of your aircraft with the throttle when full flaps are deployed and your aircraft is close to stall speed during level flight, not so much with your elevator.

[Changeup]

These are all awesome...I've tried a couple and they're tougher than I thought they'd be!  wow.

[Changeup]

Trimming your plane:

Plane of choice, 100% fuel WITH DROPS if available.  Then with no drops.

Take off and slow to full-flaps speed.  Drop your flaps and see how slow you can fly and for how long by TRIMMING YOUR NOSE DOWN.  In a lot of a/c you can actually trim almost level with full flaps.  WIthout drops, begin to make turns at your slowest achieved speeds.  Then try to roll it inverted by moving the trim up AND down.

During an angles fight, flaps cause the nose to jump up and it stays up....flaps down/trim down allows you to keep your nose on the target at ultra low speeds so you can be deadlier, quicker.  Perfect for use after a fight when you've got no E and some score monkey decides to jump you while your getting your speed back up.  You'll be surprised how slow some will fly and how much more control you have with the pipper with the nose trimmed down.

[morfiend]

 Use your plane of choice then take off at a base,TA is best for this,do figure 8's inside the base.you cant exceed 150 mph,I drop gear so they break if I go too fast,and you cant climb or drop more than 1000 ft. The slower you can fly the better,this will help with low speed handling and control. 

  Try it,it aint easy!


   

[Patches1]

An exercise I like to do is to go to the TA and take up an F4U-1 (not the -1A) Corsair with 100% fuel, take off and climb to about 1000 feet circling the field, and then make a landing approach, but roll inverted and see how close you can get to the runway inverted without crashing, and how far along the runway you can hold that position; then roll out at the end of the runway and do it again.

I like the drill Changeup post about keeping the Radar always in view whilst flying. Another method is to loop through a hangar whilst always keeping the hangar in view during the entire loop and see how many consecutive loops you can do.

I also recall a drill that Tequila Chaser (TC) posted a few years (?) ago about learning to do Spilt S's over the runway using the runway as a guide that you had to stay aligned with at all times. Perhaps he may come in here and post that drill.

[Scotch]

After a half rack of beer I am nearly invincible.

[Changeup]

The Barrel Roll

One of the best BnZ defenses out there when the con is behind your 3-9 line and coming fast.  Depending upon your ability to keep your eyes on him, this drill could help you nail him immediately by using a nice, coordinated barrel roll and an accurate snap-shot.  Choose any plane you like and get it up to 1500 AGL.  This drill also gives the feel and direction for setting up a scissors if the con's E was misjudged and he's slower, this will let you roll right into him.

In the TA, type .target 200.  You will see a giant target appear on your starboard (right) side.  Turn into the target and get your speed up.  Then, cut throttle by 1/2 and with your pipper, draw a circle around the outer circle of the target.  You'll need rudder and aileron and watch your speed drop.  As you come to full circle on the roll, increase throttle and check your speed again.  When your good at it, you will have lost about 100 kts at the low point and gained about 50 kts back which should keep you in the sweet spot for maneuvering should it be necessary.  Be sure to work the rolls in BOTH directions.  Don't get predictable

Teacher:  MugZ

[deadstikmac]

~ Plane of choice
~ No external load out
~ 50% Fuel
~ Start when OTR
~ Finish when Tanks Empty by way of "Dead stick"


Objective:
"Touch & Go" Take off any heading, keeping gears and flaps FULLY EXTENDED through out entire exercise. Breaking Landing Gear is automatic fail. Encircle airfield and do 10 "touch & go". Start out with 10 in a row, working your way up to being able to run a full tank out of gas doing touch and go's.


Hope this helps.

 ~<Deadstik




 
Turn on smoke in the TA by pressing the [R] key. This will help you track your aircraft movements.

[kilo2]

Any time that I get into a rut with my gunnery I go shoot drones. Just go offline and shoot drones for a short time relax and go back into the MA.

It can really help.