I had an epiphany the other day. Actually, another player brought it to my attention. As some of you know I started a new squad several weeks ago with the idea of flying bomber groups with escort fighters into the Strats to create high altitude furballs (I love a realistic bomber interception defended by escorts).
And we've had some good turnouts for the pickup missions, except we're having problems retaining escorts for future missions. We throw a big darbar and attract LOTS of interceptors. We have had some great furballs where the bomber formations are knocking down the 163's and 262's that blow by the escorts (one mission we shot down three 163's and one 262). Our escorts seem to fair as well as the prop interceptors (giving as good as they take) and we're bringing about 50% of everybody home (bomber and escort pilots).
The interceptors are always there when we throw a big darbar (I assume for the potential bomber nom-noms), but many of our escorts won't go back the next night or later that week. We had one excellent squad escort us one night and I thought they did great, but when I asked the CO if they wanted to do it again several nights later he gave me this candid answer: "Can't fight up there! Planes handle completely differently. I can hunt bombers up there, but dog fighting is a different story. We were struggling. We'll work on it and have another go at it some time in the future."
"Up there" was 25k.
Maybe we just haven't found the right guys yet. But the question also occurred to me "are fighter skills in AH so tuned to lower alts that they aren't used to their plane's handling in the thinner air?" I'm not asking this sarcastically, but as an honest question. The CO's response took me by surprise because they are Pony and P-47 guys with a number of Top 100 and 200 pilots in their squad. They are good sticks and those planes were designed to fight up there.
Am I looking for the 3 horned unicorn in looking for escort pilots with 25k dog fighting skills? I'm a mediocre fighter pilot and admit is it more difficult up there, but I just assumed the full time fighter guys in the high alt design planes would have dog fighting wired up there.
I wasn't going to comment on this post, as I thought you were directing it at some other country besides the Rooks, but what the heck? I am ET37, commander, 94th Bomb Group, (Devil Dogs), and I make a point of flying at least one high altitude mission every week. I have been for the last month or so, insisting on B-29's, as long as people have the bomber points for them. I only post the mission with out checking the formation box, so if an player doesn't have the points for a 3 a/c element, they usually have enough for one a/c. I always take a formation, I just spawn out on the runway which I have posted in the mission and wait until it launches.
Now, we have had some really good fights from 30K down to 10K while on these missions and the folks really enjoy them.
I would love to have a standing arrangement with some Knight or Bishop group to meet one night a week at 28 to 32K, complete with bombers, to have some high altitude fights! Great fun
One other note you might want to make: Every Tuesday night at 9PM, EST, in MLW arena, I will be posting a big mission as I have described above, so watch for the dar bar and come running! (Now, I won't promise that we will always be in bombers, as I can box and step climb my formations to where you think it is bombers, but might be 262's, 51D's and 47M's, so if interested in a high altitude fight, just PM me and we will work out the dualing ground).
