A critical reason that Latrobe can win at fighting crowds is that his gunnery is spot on. I can maneuver in a similar manner to Latrobe does in some of his videos and still find nothing but frustration because I cannot kill as quickly. As always in multi-bandit situations, it is a matter of time.
And that is what makes the whole thing silly. People vote overwhelmingly to keep the MA a big free-for-all that is inherently random and unfair, and then object when people don't fight according to whatever guidelines they are embracing at this moment in order to have a pretext for complaint.
Not to be rude, but Latrobe is virtually famous for his skill, especially in 109's. He's easily top 10 AH pilots overall. Again, not to be rude, but who the hell are you?
I'm sure you've had those moments where everything you do is golden. I've had them before; everyone who's been around a little bit probably has. My occasional bouts of savant-like skill doesn't make me anything more than average.
Mob justice, oh THAT is known for being fair and objective. Actually, the "justice" is oftentimes dispensed very unevenly. Take Bozon for instance. If you fly more or less directly towards him, he will more or less brutally shred you in his Mossie. I've seen him do it. Not a hated man here on the BBS.
He's also not posting these "neener neener, look at me, I'm not "quite" HO'ing, I'm beyond your criticism despite asking for your opinion!" threads. So 1) he's not being antagonistic. 2) he doesn't seem to have an inflated self-image. 3) he's also a damn fine stick in a difficult aircraft to be good in.
Were he to go around acting like Skyyrr in an La-7, I'm sure he'd be pretty widely disliked.
And besides, unequal justice is better than an utter lack of justice. May not be perfect, but it's also a lot more practical than punishable rules, and the best part, there's actually a chance of it happening.
If Skyyrr gets "unfairly" targeted... I'm kind of okay with it.
So dogma holds that it is both easy to avoid the HO and easy to inflict MAD upon the HOer. Why complain about HOs instead of selecting either of the above options?
#1 is a rather simplistic and narrow view, and ignores circumstance, which is not negligible.
#2 is not a good option because it almost always results in death and a wasted sortie (and even worse, my limited, irretrievable time).
The BEST timing on a rope actually consists of falling on them when they've run out of maneuvering speed, but BEFORE they've actually gone nose down. Then they have no chance to avoid. Your angulation guidelines would preclude many such shots.
I would disagree. Ideally you come down such that they are showing you their top/bottom at around D-600. This prevents people like you and Skyyrr and Bozon from wildly spraying fire as I pump lead into your hopefully out-fought carcass.
Also it would preclude certain shot opportunities on the scissors. I once had someone criticize me for a shot I took in a flat scissors, on the basis that he woulda/coulda/shoulda have pulled nose-on and shot as well. ??? How am I supposed to know the difference between a situation where the opponent doesn't have the turn rate available to point his nose at me, and a situation where he does but chooses to not do so? They look the same on the screen. If I see that someones nose is going to come around on me, I profile and jink. At best, not taking every shot you can get costs time, which as I've already pointed out, is often a fatal mistake in the MA.
I'd say you're scissors aren't working real great if they only got you a head-on.
Speaking of which, how is he reasonably supposed to avoid you? If it's like I'm picturing your two flight paths, it would come up rather abruptly, where there's not much room to maneuver.
Also your dilemma is why I try not to ho. Rather than assume everyone is going to Ho, I've decided it's irrelevant; I'm good enough I don't have to.
No, I still participate in ACM in the MA. Knowing it is a part of being effective, after all, and effectiveness (killing more than you die. Or at least as often) is more fun than the opposite, I find. It is just that I'm realistic about expectations. I'm don't expect to be able to fight it as a series of formal duels without interference, so I adjust accordingly. I acknowledge that if I allow myself to be anywhere in front of the nose of any plane, especially gajillion cannon birds, it is my fault if I get shot down, ESPECIALLY if I'm in something uber-maneuverable that can easily avoid. As a corollary, I don't rule out using any technique that may be effective or simply fun. Like the example I used earlier, if that spitfire wants to whip around and point his nose at me instead of evading, I will fire and laugh maniacally all the way back to the tower.
So you've moved from flying for fights to flying to have a good K/D
? Sorry, I just can't get behind that. Anyone can have a good K/D if they always have multiple squadies with them, or fly with the horde, or just always run when they don't have a clear advantage. They don't necessarily have to kill a lot, or even be a particularly good pilot; they're simply relying on crutches to make up for a deficit in their own skill, rather than getting better.
There's a reason they don't use batting tees in MLB.
Besides that, my time is at a premium. Flying around not taking fights for fear of not having a good K/D is just illogical for me, too say nothing of suicide-inducingly boring.
