Tracer50 good session.
Find another new player to practice with. Learn to fly as a team. It's your best strategy for the melee arena.
Here's a review of what we covered to help you keep the many new things in mind.
Lead pursuit reduces range and sets up crossing shots.
Lag pursuit maintains or increases range and facilitates joining flight paths.
Don't turn without a reason. Don't lose altitude without a reason. Altitude is expensive. Spend energy wisely.
Lead turns rule. Turn first but not too early.
Gunnery is recognizing the correct sight picture. It takes practice to recognize the bandit's range and aspect and remember the correct sight picture for it. Getting closer makes it easier.
Know your aircraft well at minimum and maximum speeds.
Turns require radial g. Available radial g is determined by speed. More speed equals more available g. Speed plus g equals turn rate.
Turn rate and turn radius are both important considerations. A radius advantage is good for a head on merge but if it turns into a tail chase you'll want a turn rate advantage.
Corner speed in AH3 is the slowest speed that allows 6 g. Corner speed provides both best turn rate and smallest no flaps turn radius. Maintaining corner speed requires gravity to assist with thrust in a descending spiral.
Know what speeds and g you can sustain in a flat turn.
Don't flat turn unless you're too slow to go vertical.
Know your minimum entry speed to complete a loop with/without flaps.
You won't hit the target in a BnZ if you can't put the aircraft where it needs to be. Trim for high speed. Remember AOA is a speed control. Setting trim sets AOA for level flight at a particular speed. Setting trim to your max speed makes control easier at max speed.
When you're close to the ground trim for your current speed so you can safely center the stick.
Practice looping with and without stall horn/stall buffet while watching something outside the cockpit.
A hanger flying exercise to appreciate trim: Fly straight up as high as you can until you stall then reverse and fly as fast as you can through a hanger. Continue while gaining altitude with each pass. Trim for max speed so you can be easy on the stick going through the hanger.
My youtube link shows various stalls and recoveries you might enjoy.
