What's with the HO stuff?!?!

[HFMudd]

Or at least that was what I was hearing and awful lot of on channel 1 while the MA was down.  

What a crock...

Frankly I was dissapointed that the P-40's were not trying to shoot my Zeke on the merge more than they were.  

Look guys, the P-40b has a pair of .50's that can reach way farther on the merge than the 20mm on the Zeke.  The Zeke has no armor to speak of and a single .50 hit is all it is going to take to start it smoking.  Game over, at that point you win.  It is *not* like you are going HO with a 190 for Pete's sake!

Fly to survive, make your pass, take your shot and extend.  If the range is over about 200 when you are extending and you hear pings, turn just enough to throw off the aim since those are just a pair of MGs.  Don't panic and turn hard since that is just what the Zeke is hoping for.

With the P-40e introduction I had better be seeing a lot of shooting on the merge followed by a *small* jink to stay away from the 20mm and an extend.  Keep your speed up since I know the shot is coming and will take advantage of that during my reverse (Ya ain't doin' no lead turn if you shoot on the merge.).  If I have anything more than a snapshot as you extend away I will be very cross with you.  Lastly, more than anything else I will upset if I catch you down in weeds trying to play fair.

Now back to our normal anti-HO diatribes...

[ergRTC]

Yeah good advice mudd.  I was doing some pretty intense HOing with av8r today.  He had the zero and I had the 40e.  I could not get a ping on em.  He got some healthy hits on my plane but I was able to ditch it on the field.  We musta started at 13k and had 5 or 6 passes.  

I think it is fun, before when I was no good at it, or didnt understand how to do it, I would get pissed too.

What really turned me around on it was reading all of the historical accounts of HOing.  This was a historically valid form of attack for american planes, and germans for that matter.  We had big beefy planes which could put a whole dumpload of lead in front of them.

[Kweassa]

Very true.

 In most cases, HO is not what a pilot would go for eagerly, because in a HO encounter between heavily armed planes the risk of mutual destruction is very high. Pilots learned and trained combat maneuvers to minimize their risks and maximizes opportunities, and no pilot would dare to willingly jeopardize his plane and his life on a dangerous HO pass.

 However, when there was significant reason to believe that one side of the HO may win with very high, confident probability, the HO becomes a valid, lethal tactic against weakly armed planes. Particularly US planes against IJ planes.

 Seeing all those absurd nonsense over CH1 ranting about "lame HOs".. how can anyone possibly forget that HO takes two, is beyond me. You can't be hugged someone without hugging someone.

 Frankly, a simple move will in almost everycase let your plane move out of the way of the HO... and if the other guy is lucky or skilled enough to get a front quarter shot into a plane moving away in a HO, I say he deserves that kill.

[daddog]

Agreed 100%.  I H/O often, usually lose, but I try anyway.

[ergRTC]

the thing i like about it is that you know the enemies e state is SHAT if he reverses on you.  Nice way to escape if you ask me.

[Xjazz]

S!

I try to avoid HOs everytime, because of my bad karma or something...
I use HOs only if I have huge gun advantage or Im outnumbered or I have low E-state... Hey wait, I HO all the time!

When the HO is prety much last possible offencive&defencive move, I allways try to use short HO instead of classic blow through HO.

Classic HO:
Dead straight & level to the merge.
About d800-1.2k distance pilots open fire and guns blazing all the way trough the merge and over... Sky full of trackers.

Short HO:
Swinging litlebit here & there to the merge.
Fast aiming about d800-1.2k distance & 0.5-1 sec fire. Immiedetly pull barrell roll, lead turn or push under to escape dive.


Short HO works nicely against over confident big gun planes. "Chinken watermelon against cargo train? Anyone? Im so bad!"


BTW
Once I get called as a HO-Dweep because of deadly hi front quater snapshot... Pardon?!

[Oldman731]

Originally posted by HFMudd
Or at least that was what I was hearing and awful lot of on channel 1 while the MA was down.  

What a crock...

Very likely a lot of the HO complaints are from ex-aw folks.  In AW the hit probability for a head-on was turned way down, very intentionally, to avoid Joust Warrior and to encourage ACM.  It was still possible to get a HO, but it was really gaming the game because you were banking on pure luck.  So:  HO people were, in a Shane-ism, lamer tard slobberdonkey dweebs, and we still tend to think that thought when we see a HO, even though AH is very different.  What to say, old prejudices die hard.

- oldman

[Dennis]

I never played AW, and I still thing they're lamer tard slobberdonkey dweebs.

But I understand the rationale for taking them.  I just assume on every merge that the nmy is going to try a HO shot, and try to set up accordingly.

Not always successful.

Splash1

[Sakai]

Originally posted by Dennis
I never played AW, and I still thing they're lamer tard slobberdonkey dweebs.

But I understand the rationale for taking them.  I just assume on every merge that the nmy is going to try a HO shot, and try to set up accordingly.

Not always successful.

Splash1

It depends a lot on the CT setup as well.  La7 versus German Cannons, not a bad matchup for face-fights.  The P-40E versus the A6M2 isn't a good matchup for the Japanese.  The 6 .50s shred that paper zeke and the P-40E can engage or withdraw at will due to its vastly superior speed.  

In most CTs, it is not an issue, especially Spits/109s/190s/La5-7s--as the plane survivability and armament are fairly well matched up.  But Japanese planes--excepting the Nik monster--don't HO well with US Iron.  Survivability is the biggest issue.  Last night any P-40 that got dumped off my tail tried at least once, usually repeatedly, to force the HO on me, so you're always flipping to avoid a headon because you are hopelessly outclassed in same in a zeke.  However, when a guy is in a three to 1 (like P-40s often are), I expect him to take every shot he gets!  When it is one on one, I like to see flying as opposed to jousting.  This could well be my AW bias, as Oldman pointed out.  When I am the one on the end of the three, I think face studmuffinging is basically for bellybutton monkey rutabagas who would be bullies if they weren't such cowards that had obviously sold their manhood years ago for peepholes in Veterinarian OB/GYN clnics.

;-)

He he, top that one Shane!


Sakai