I was never a spit pilot but for the past tour and a half, I have flown the spitIX & V almost exclusively.
What I have noticed is some tactics I have learned NOT to use against the spit.
A Typhoon at 12k at my 10 o'clock at 2800 yards. I am at 8k at approx. 300 TAS. I see the typhoon’s left wing dip slightly so I know he is making a turn for me. He is of course diving because of the difference in altitude; therefore I assume an increase in his speed. He looked to be going fast anyway.
I turn to him but do not climb nor do I pull into him. I’ve also rolled slightly left after the turn to keep my lift vector pointed at him. I’m looking at him with the forward/up view.
He doesn’t turn into me for the HO as I was expecting. When I see this, just as he is about 500 yards out, I roll away to the right then turn to the left, nose down slightly, but I don’t enter full blackout. I don’t like flying blind no matter how short the time. When I come out of the turn, the typhoon is 600 yards away and leaving me in the dust.
I roll inverted, nose down slightly and watch the typhoon as he continues his dive. As he is 1800 yards from me, he begins to climb back up. I roll back upright and level off quickly, trying to beat him to the point I think he will come out at when he reaches my altitude. Nope, spitIX just not fast enough.
His next move was his mistake. He continues his climb and starts bleeding his energy, whereas I stay level. He then goes into a right chandelle. I smile here. All I have to do is cut the corner, nose up and blast him. Worked well. If he was insistent on reversing his course, another maneuver would have worked better, especially with a con climbing up your 6.
Another encounter was just after the typhoon kill. I am rtb at 2k and see another typhoon 2800 yards and closing. I also see a fellow rook at 3500 yards or so behind the typhoon. I am wondering if the countryman knows I’m in front of the typhoon when I get a 6 call from him. Good. I tell him I am reversing. It was my intent to time my turn so that I and the typhoon would come out in front of the fellow rook. I blew it. I started the turn too early and turned too hard, thus the typhoon didn’t follow the complete turn. I am now traveling on my original path again and accelerating, still at 2k or so.
Here comes the typhoon again, lol. I turn to the right once more but by this time my countryman is causing the typhoon all kinds of trouble and the typhoon turns. I have turned approx 180 degrees when I see a KI61 coming right at me. His profile appeared that he had dived so I assumed he had a lot of smash. I go into a hard Immelman. As a matter of fact, when I am going up, I look to the right and see the KI61 pass right off my right wing, still on his original flight path.
I come out behind the KI61 less than 1k away (elevator authority in the spit is awesome). The KI61 didn’t alter his flight path. Apparently he didn’t know where I went. He then turns slightly left (advantage spit) and I close on him. He starts to deepen his turn so I just lag pursuit, not even thinking about a shot. We do at least 2 complete turns (advantage spit). I wait for his e to bleed. We are slow enough now that I begin to go for a guns solution. The KI61 tries to reverse his turn and I see his right wing stall. Got him. I finish him as he is trying to recover.
I’ve had some other interesting encounters but this post has gotten too long. I’m sure if anyone has bothered to read this, they are bored speechless.
