I've posted a couple AH films here in the Films and Screenshots section of the forum which you can watch and study (read some notes below first):
http://bbs.hitechcreations.com/smf/index.php/topic,379560.0.htmlThe first film, called "190D9 dodging", was posted by MtnMan a while back in a thread talking about defensive maneuvers. In this film, MtnMan is in a lower, slower Corsair and defeats multiple attacks made by a BnZing 190.
It is a good example of several of the things mentioned above. As you watch the film look for the following: rolling your
lift vector into the attacker, making a
slightly nose low break turn back into the attacker,
tightening the break turn as they close, rolling to
point your 3/9 line at the attacker at the point of overshoot, pulling into the
vertical to stay out of plane and defeat their shot attempt, then
rolling back into the attacker to attempt a reversal.
This film is also an excellent example of what to do if the attacking BnZ fighter DOESN'T fall for the Barrel Roll Defense (doesn't try to follow you through your break turn, doesn't dump his E and doesn't pass below you during your reversal attempt). The BRD will not always work if the attacker maintains speed, rolls away from your reversal turn, doesn't pass under you, and goes vertical to maintain his energy advantage. You will see this repeatedly in this film. The attacker doesn't make the mistake of falling for the Barrel Roll Defense reversal and doesn't give MtnMan a shot -- however MtnMan defeats all his attacks and survives the encounter.
When that happens, it might take several defensive merges before the energy difference is small enough to get more aggressive on your reversal attempts. If the attacker never dumps some E to pull lead for a shot, he can continually reset but he will also have a hard time killing you. This can often result in a protracted stalemate. As the defender, one thing to consider is that if the attacker never makes a mistake or never fully commits, you can be defending for a while -- plan accordingly and perhaps make your post-merge extensions in the direction of a friendly base or toward friendly fighters so that the attacker has to get impatient or run the risk of getting into a bad position himself.
A few tips on watching this film and using the film viewer:1) Initially use External view mode -- the rear view in the Corsair is not good from the default position, so you will have a much better perspective from external view. You can always go back and watch it from cockpit view once you have a good idea what the maneuvers are that he is making.
2) Select "Use recorded views", as this will show you what the pilot who saved the film was looking at. Also, turn on Icons and Trails.
3) As you watch the film (or in your second viewing of it) PAUSE THE FILM a few seconds after each attack pass. Switch to Fixed view and move the sliders around until you can see the trails. Notice the flight path of both attacker and defender. This will help you visualise what the defense breaks look like in 3D space.
4) While pausing after each attack run,
also note the speed and altitude difference between attacker and defender. What you should notice is that after each subsequent pass, the attacker has slightly less of an energy advantage compared with previous attacks. As the defender, this is what you are trying to accomplish -- when the attacker has less and less energy advantage to work with, it may open up opportunities to get more aggressive in your reversal attempts.
5) Lastly, watch the film from the attacker's point of view. This will give you another insight into the fight. This is a little trickier however, as the views are not saved for the attacker, so you will have to manipulate the views yourself.
The second film is a short clip showing a Barrel Roll Defense and snap-shot. It is of me being surprised/bounced by a P-51 (I think I was looking at the map to navigate our flight out of hostile territory when I got bounced). I perform a quick Barrel Roll Defense (break turn left and barrel roll over the top) and the attacker in this case
does not roll away from my BRD, passes below me and into my guns for a quick snap-shot.
Hope this information helps!
<S>
