I spent over an hour in the TA with a player who wanted to learn BnZ technique. We worked on basic BnZ setup and the need to "pin the enemy down" to prevent him from recovering E.
Some players stick to the method of high-speed passes, zooming very high again and repeating this. The problem is that it is not very effective as it allows the target to recover E and, if he's smart, slowly eat away at the attacker's advantage. Pure BnZ is a rookie's game. They have no other plan beyond the initial pass. If the enemy is caught unaware, he may get a kill. If not, he will probably not get the kill.
Using a BnZ attack to set up an E fight is what the more experienced pilots do. Transitioning from BnZ to Energy fighting has been described by Humble previously. You cause the enemy to burn E avoiding your BnZ, but you zoom only high enough to reposition for another, almost immediate attack while the enemy is still maneuvering and slowing. This second attack is what "pins him down" and bleeds off his speed to a point where he is unable to execute effective out-of-plane maneuvers. At this point the attacker transitions to angles fighting and goes for the kill shot.
There are several ways to counter the BnZ attack. I will often Spit-S onto a heading that is the reverse of the attacker. If he's carrying a lot of speed, he has no chance at a gun solution. Should he roll and follow, he will end up below and ahead of you as his speed will work against him. If he doesn't roll, but climbs out straight ahead, you have increased separation and probably have some speed built up yourself. if he reverses and comes back again, you now have the ability to meet him nose-to-nose on a merge. Granted, he will still have more speed than you, but you are well on your way to equalizing E states. Again, if he is doing the standard lazy BnZ drill, extend out a bit and immelmann back toward the enemy. Go for another nose-on-nose merge. If the guys goes for the HO, duck under his nose or barrel roll. Rinse and repeat until you have roughly equalized E states.
The Split-S evasion method is useful against the BnZ transition to E fighting by allowing you to evade without giving up speed. Naturally, if you are already low, a vertical Split-S isn't an option, so adapt to the circumstances.
Just remember that there are a lot of factors involved. If you are on the deck and already slow, an average pilot can kill the hotdog pilot simply because the hotdog has few, if any options. Mitigating issues include heavy fuel state. Nothing eats performance more than heavy fuel loads. Especially in US aircraft, with their huge fuel capacities.
Whenever attacked by a higher (and consequently faster) fighter, your two primary goals are to evade and to equalize E states. You can gamble on forcing an overshoot, but you had better not miss any shots that present themselves. Or, you can work at equalizing speed and take away the enemy's largest advantage. Either way, you should practice this as often as possible.
My regards,
Widewing
