I have not really seen any actual "true" tail slides done in Aces High in quiet some time.....
I have never taught or instructed any players to use a "TailSlide" while in a dogfight, I have only encouraged any of my students to learn how to do a proper tailslide to learn extreme sensitive control over their flying abilities and what they could achieve over learning how to push the envelope, etc.....
on many occasions, mainly back around 2005 and earlier like 2001, etc... I had several players I took to the TA or DA to teach them how to do a proper Tail Slide.....
A proper "TailSlide" to me is going straight up completely vertical using just a slight bit of aileron control to keep the fuselage from torquing/twisting as the plane slowed to "0" IAS ( Indicated air Speed -> the white needle on mph gauge )
Then once one has reached that point of no forward climb , they use NO rudder, and use very slight aileron input to keep the aircraft from spinning/twisting as the plane slides downward vertically ......
EDIT:I typed so fast, I left out a small but important part, one would also need to use some very minute input in regards to elevator control/authority to keep the plane from nose-ing forward or flopping backwards...... use looking out of your right view or left view, to use the horizon to keep your plane perpendicular or in other words completely vertical....I would first ask them to try and drop (slide backwards vertically) say somewhere around 150 feet to 300 feet........... then I would try to get them to practice more and try to reach 500 feet to 1,000 ft, etc....... before the airframe would nose over or flop backwards or twist off to one wing or the other.....
none of this was taught to be used in BFM/ACM ...... it was taught to teach the person how to gain as much total control of their aircraft and nothing more
one person I recall showing them this, was Greebo, after he asked me how I got lucky and out maneuvered his F6f5 with my F4U1 in the MA....... btw , I did not use a tail slide "per Say" on him.......... we just went to another arena and we practiced some stuff....... heck that was like 11 or 12 years ago if my memory serves me right........
their are a lot of others out there, who I showed this to, but I would never teach or encourage one to use a tailslide to try and do/use in a dogfight..... however learning to climb straight vertical, all the way until your speedometer reaches "0" is a good way of learning how to hang on the prop, in which can sometimes lead to what people might refer to as a Rope or Roping someone......
That is how I view and think of a Tailslide maneuver........ use it to learn control over your own plane and your own skill of flying said plane.......
There is so much to learning what one's own aircraft platform is and isn't capable of doing..... the thing is 95% or more never take the time to push their plane to it's limits/capabilities....
my thoughts anyhows
Hope this might clear up some of the "TailSlide Confusion" posted in this thread...... but probably won't, heh
TC
