This past weekend I had one of those great, white knuckle, death grip on the stick, heart pounding fights that get the adrenaline flowing. I had tagged along with a mission to attack a vbase nearby hoping to catch a few bogies coming to help for the adjacent airfield. After catching a couple singles coming in I happened upon a F4F(FM2) and a P-51 who had just knocked down another knight. The P-51 was lower than me, the FM2 slightly higher but was at the top of a zoom. I figured I was slightly +E on the FM2 and if I kept the fight in the vertical I might be able to stay out of reach of the 51 long enough to tackle the wildcat before having to worry about the 51. Things didn't play out according to plan when the P-51 displayed an aggressiveness that you don't often see. How the P-51 (Fugitive) flew this fight is actually why I wanted to bring this film to the Help & Training section.
By the 00:12 mark after I merge with the FM2 I already see the P-51 has reversed sooner than I anticipated a disturbing trend that would play out for the remainder of the fight. Again at the 00:36 mark he's pushing the fight. By being this aggressive he is adding another variable to my decision making process that will have ramifications later in the battle. 00:52 you see the first affect that Fugi has on my decisions. I have a chance here to potentially finish off the FM2, I land a snap shot and could have possibly followed him long enough to get the kill. However because he was aggressively pushing the fight early I have to check the 51's location instead, you see this by the slight roll to the right. I'm fully expecting to see the 51 coming in on me.
As it turns out the 51 didn't immediately reverse back into me but extended a couple K to reset. Ultimately it didn't matter one way or other because I loss the chance to possibly finish the FM2. At 1:40 I have to again abandon the FM2 and deal with a P-51 crawling up my six, I lost track of the 51 and wasn't quick enough getting sight of him again and it's costing me. Again the aggressive maneuvers of the 51 even if he's not landing damage is changing the fight I'm not getting any rest at all. 02:33 in what is now a well established and very disturbing pattern I have to abandon my maneuvers against the FM2 and deal with the 51, every time I felt like I was getting somewhere there was the 51. By 03:10 I'm just about out of altitude and options I try a desperate move to get the FM2 out in front knowing that if it doesn't work I'll be essentially hung out to dry with no E left. Watching the film I don't think I would have been able to get the nose up enough to get a shot but the point is moot because there's the 51 again pressing the issue.
This is not a comment or complaint about fighting a 1v2, both Surfinn and Fugi flew very well, I knowingly went into the fight and I have no complaints or regrets. I sat in the tower for 5-10 minutes afterwards just getting my heart rate back down with a huge grin plastered on my face. What I want to emphasize is how Fugi's aggressiveness was a huge factor in the fight, even when he wasn't actually in a firing position I always had to keep track of where he was and he again and again forced me to change my decision making process. Most 51's extend too far which would have given me a few precious seconds where it was effectively a 1v1. By keeping the pressure up I constantly had to contend with both cons.
<S> gents that fight made my week.
http://www.mediafire.com/?my5zxu84do3f23c
