Merge question

[mauser]

I've got a typical situation that I run into a lot lately:
Get vis on a con, who spots me and comes toward me.. direction doesn't matter, and con is usually co to higher alt. My limited expeience taught me not to run, but instead to head right toward the con to force a merge. At about 1.4k prior to the merge, I often begin evasives by rolling out of plane wrt to the incoming con's wingline.. I pull more G the closer the con gets. I do this because I used to get burned when the con would open fire at this point. Generally, I don't open fire in HO's since I only carry 2x20mm in the 190s and I try hard not to fire unless under 400 yds. Anyway, if the con went for a straight HO, they would just blast by me and I would either extend or begin a reverse right away. However, if the con doesn't go for a pure HO and instead opts for a bit of vertical separation and then a split-s followed by a dive onto me, I get into trouble often. That's probably because in pulling the G to evade a possible HO attempt, I'm a little too slow (usually 200 mph) to quickly break into the con as it dives onto me. A snapshot from any cannon armed plane usualy removes something vital from my a/c at this point.
This situation gets worse for me if I'm flying something less maneuverable/keeps E worse like the A8 or probably a P47 I imagine. In something like an A5 I usually still have enough E to evade both a possible HO and a diving attack.. just that the A5 is a little too slow to catch some of the other aircraft if I gain position on the con.
Anyone out there got some advice for this kind of situation? Although I fly the 190 most of the time, it'd be great to hear from anyone who flies something that has similar characteristics.

mauser

[flakbait]

Avoiding a head-on can be easily done by performing a barrel roll. You and another guy coming HO, start a left-handed barrel roll. I start mine around 1.2k and end up rolling around him. Usually he flys straight ahead and I end up just under his former flight line. Give me some time to work out a graphic and I'll post it showing what I mean.


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Flakbait
Delta 6's Flight School
"For yay did the sky darken, and split open and spew forth fire, and
through the smoke rode the Four Wurgers of the Apocalypse.
And on their canopies was tattooed the number of the Beast, and the
number was 190." Jedi, Verse Five, Capter Two, The Book of Dweeb
 

[Jekyll]

Mauser.. there's SO many answers and options to what you are saying that it'd take pages to write them all out.

Let me just say 2 things first off.

1.  If he's higher than you you're not obliged to force the merge.  By doing so you are already starting at a disadvantage.  Disengage if you can and come back once you've negated his alt advantage.

2.  If you ARE forced into a merge, you're gonna need all the maneuverability Kurt Tank gave you... that means airspeed!  NEVER CLIMB TO AN OPPONENT!  Don't use high G maneuvers in defence unless you absolutely, positively have to.  You want to make sure you always have at least enough airspeed to drag your nose pure vertical.. just in case your opponent blows his pass and gives you the chance to force a vertical overshoot.  So keep your speed up at all times.

Sacrifice altitude if necessary ... being at 15000 feet and 180 mph is not as good as being at 12000 feet and 300 mph.  Being killed at 15000 feet just means you have a longer ride down in your chute  

I'm based in Brisbane, Australia.. so I'm a few hours behind you.  If you wanna catch up in the TA on weekends I can show you what I mean.

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=357th Pony Express=
Aces High Training Corps

[SKurj]

I am no hotshot by any means but based on what I've read...

As stated above:  NEVER CLIMB TO A FIGHT!
If you are below 250 in a 190 and the con is above you, force him to come to you, turn away from him and start a gentle dive if he's not close.
 By extending abit, and gaining some speed you will equalize the e states abit.
If he's in a spit or 109 or other plane that doesn't roll well at hi speed, by forcing him to chase you, you can get him going too fast for his own good and force an overshoot at his gun pass.

I find if the con is high and dives in for the HO i will keep nose down abit gaining some speed and jink to cause him to miss, alotta the inexperienced guys will try for the HO and then burn alot of E trying to reverse on you while you extend and zoom, revesing the tables on him.

Generally.. in a 190 you shouldn't be the one engaging the hi con +)  Let them engage, once they've blown E, either use it to kill him, or extend for a position of advantage.

AKskurj

[flakbait]

Tried making a ribbon pic of what I'm talking about, but no luck. Here's what you do:

1) Enemy 1.2k out, start a barrel roll by throwing the stick a little left (or right) and applying up pressure on the elevator.

2) Enemy 600yds out, you should be coming over the top of the barrel roll.

3) Enemy right infront of you. About now you should be just under his flight line. He'll blow past above you, while you're no more than 500 ft under your original altitude.

If he dives in on you just barrel roll it. It'll work if you've got the speed. Break-turn into his reversal or go vertical to get out of his way. This tactic generally ends up in a stall-fight if he knows what you're doing.

-----------------------
Flakbait
Delta 6's Flight School
"For yay did the sky darken, and split open and spew forth fire, and
through the smoke rode the Four Wurgers of the Apocalypse.
And on their canopies was tattooed the number of the Beast, and the
number was 190." Jedi, Verse Five, Capter Two, The Book of Dweeb
 

[mauser]

Thanks for your replies guys...
Here's a film I took of one engagement that's similar to what I described: http://www.pixi.com/~brlau/film16.ahf  
The con started a little bit higher than me and was in my 2 oclock area i think. Avoiding actual HO's aren't much of a problem now, as I will either barrel roll or jink a little. But what potentially happens after that has gotten me (unfortunately I didn't film it). Here, I got the overshoot a couple of times, but couldn't do anything with it. But in later incidences, the con is also diving on me inverted, but was wise enough to chop throttle I think. Couldn't get him to overshoot that way, so he stayed glued on my tail till he took something important off.
So if a con is quite high above me, I should not climb to him. And only after he gets closer I should break into him whether it be a horizontal or vertical break correct?

I'll try to find you guys in the TA if I get the chance too    

mauser

[This message has been edited by mauser (edited 12-26-2000).]

[This message has been edited by mauser (edited 12-26-2000).]

[This message has been edited by mauser (edited 12-26-2000).]