Becoming a better pilot

[rabbit]

10,000 deaths = good virtual pilot ( in some  cases)

for me i think i need 20,000

SA and paitence. and sometimes SA is out the window.  when you are fighting 1v1 and ya happen to  look around in your views and see nothing for miles and then in the next 10 seconds 8 of his buddies doing the MA conga line on yer bellybutton then ya wonder  where in the hell did all of these guys pop  up from.

 as you are sitting  in the tower scratching yer head going "hummmm.... now where  did those doods come from? I know i had that guy till his buddies decloaked and gave me a 20mm enema." was clear just me and 1 nme. boggles the mind

So i conclude im a dweeb pile-it and i need to keel faster so then my paitence goes out the window on the next flight. ill do someting totally stoopid like lawn dart or hose all my ammo away on the first gun pass not hitting a thing.  most of us know this drill.

then comes the sleepless night with me laying there thinking about the night of multiple deaths. i get up and go to work the next day trying to figger out what went wrong. so AH has consumed most of my thoughts. and everything else around me goes to hell in a hand basket but do i notice NOOOOOOOO!

 the gold fish dies because i have blocked out  his feeding time to fly AH. the kids forget who i am because all they do is see me glued to  the computer flying. (last week the youngest kid asked if he could  put the cat in the microwave.) since  i dont wanna be distracted, i tell him to go ahead. because that is what i tell him to avoid the why  question and get him out of my hair.) Kids to effect you SA and i just dont like to be distracted.

the Wife moved out and i didnt notice( i forgot her name anyhow)  all of my friends think i am mad at them because i   dont return their phone calls. and my dog ran off.

my mom came over to visit and i think she might be planning one of those intervention things.( like they do for the folks that are hooked on crack or something)

So becomming a better pilot is about as painless as wacking yerself in the head with a  hammer 5 or 6 times a day without the big lumps:D

[Dinger]

My advice (pretty worthless I guess):

A. Get Shaw's Fighter Combat.  Read it.  That will give you the vocabulary to analyze what you're doing.

B. Fly a lot, but analyze what you do:
  1. Find someone else and duel.  After the duel, evaluate each other's performance.
  2. Do the same with a squad.  2v2, 3v3, whatever.
  3. In the MA, fly with a wingman, or a squad, and after each sortie, analyze what worked and what didn't.
  4. Fly TODs, campaigns and any of the other "historical" events.  Keep the film running.  Afterwards, evaluate:
       a. your performance.  What did you do? What didn't you?
       b. your squad's performance.
       c. your side's performance.
      now go look at the film, and read the AARs. Post one of your own.  Don't be afraid to criticize.  If nobody tells me what I'm doing wrong, I won't improve.

Every time you get shot down, it's something you did wrong.  Figure it out.

C. Some practical tips:
   1. Study the performance charts of the planes.  Where are you most competitive?  What sorts of tactics should you use?
   2. Dogfights are won with ailerons and rudder, not the elevator.
   3. Work up a couple of good defensive moves.  A high bandit screaming on your six puts you in the same position as a pitcher in baseball.  You have to pitch something, and he has little time to guess what it is. If you have one good move, you'll beat most of the minor leaguers.  But if you split ess on every pass, even a rookie will be able to guess what's coming and anticipate it.
   Pulling slowly vertical is a "fat pitch".  Don't hang those curves.

   4. Offense: I can't shoot, so I can't tell you much.

[senna]

Another approach may be to be more picky. This means picking your fights. Often as "virtual pilots" we dont worry about our lives so much so we automatically think all cons are the same without a face and go after the first con we see. I guess the thought pattern is, do I have more E, is my plane up to snuff as compared to his. Go for it, dude Im ded. Instead of using that approach perhaps you might try picking your fights more carefully. The concept is similar to trying to read the deck of cards when you are playing with a bunch of friends, its natural if you think about it. Go after or pursue those bandits that you feel you are a match for, let the other more dangerous ones alone. Try to figure out a system of determinging who that con below you might be or what are the chances that it can be slayed. Just my thoughts, hope this helps as well.

[Mino]

Use the FORCE!

[Nath[BDP]]

Hmm... I read Shaw's book. I find very few of his doctrines applicable to AH. I never bothered memorizing all the different terminology either, I play AH for fun, not work. I taught myself nearly everything I know... other people can only instruct you to a certain point, the rest you need to develop on your own--Your style.

I wouldn't bother trying senna's advice, only thing that will accomplish is teaching you how to have good k/d, which is an exemplar of nothing more than patience and reluctance.

[Sandman]

I think Senna offers good advice for those that "fly to live." It probably doesn't apply to those that like furballing.

EDIT: There... happy?

[Kronos]

flame war here we come.........

[Sandman]

I did not intend that has a flame. It's your $15. Fly however you like.

[Dead Man Flying]

Originally posted by Sandman_SBM
I think Senna offers good advice for those that "fly to live." It probably doesn't apply to those that like QuakeBirds.

As opposed to real life, where you could pick and choose your fights at will and egress from a fight if the odds looked too severe, right?  Don't kid yourself... those who fly to live are flying QuakeBirds as much as those who enjoy furballing, only they're playing the role of campers/snipers instead of as rocket jockeys.  Same game, different way to play it is all.

-- Todd/Leviathn

[Kanth]

That's some really good advice Apache.

I'll only add

Film and watch it to see what went wrong.

Look at the total situation before you engage.

take a fly over before you dive in, and get an overall view of the flow of the fight, then pick your targets according to your plane and fighting style. (example, blow thru or edge picking or clearing 6's as people egress)

Also realize that many times just because you see an enemy he may not be "on" you..he may not see you or be actually heading to engage someone next to you.

This goes for during the fight as well. Just because he's flopping around doesn't mean he's making any headway. His plane has no magic, which you'll realize when you fly them all or get used to fighting them all.

Alot of this is a confidence game once you get used to the planes.

Force yourself to fly differently than you normally would (if you are usually careful, go in guns blazing, if you usually do that try being careful a little more)

Originally posted by Apache
Turn off tracers.

Recognize what your adversary is doing and "get to the spot" before he does. You don't have to "stay on 6" to get a guns solution.

Fly every AC in the set and learn what they can do and what they can't. Mentally log the strengths and weakness during your dogfights, then use those.

You will be shot down. For example. Lastnight I was in a P51b fighting an La7. He was good. He took his aircraft to the deck where he knew his aircraft was better than mine. He screwed up by resorting to turn fighting instead of using the vertical. The use of flaps in the 51 got him killed. I was shot down by a spit9 5 seconds later as I was near stall speed and no way to evade.

What my mistake was, was not being shot down by the spit but being in the wrong place in a P51b. I wanted the La7 too bad. I should'nt have followed him to the deck.