Truisms for newbies and returning Air to air pilots

[nopoop]

After being back after a lot of years here are things I have learned in the last six months.

1.  There is a much smaller group of air to air pilots than there used to be. Of those many  are VERY good pilots.
2. You will die a lot.
3.   I suggest base defense of incoming attackers. This will get you up to speed with using your views in a multi target environment where they have the advantage. You will die.
     The purpose is to set your hair on fire and see how long you can last. Get your views to be second nature, learn your plane and maybe get a kill or two.
4.  Then find a con in between bases. If you are at 5000 feet, He will be at 7. If you are at 7 he will be a 9. You're at 10, he will be at 12. Co-altitude ?  He'll have a friend that will
    arrive just as you get on his six. You will die..
5.  If you get to his 6, miss the shot, he'll dive, if you follow, his friends will show up. And you will die.
6.  NEVER EVER take a head-on. you will die from getting shot or collide. You will die. I'm probably one in thirty or better..
7.  NEVER fly into the flack.  There are some 88 gunners that are nails.. You will die.  If you are in a group that is taking down flack., you have a chance.
8.  In a multi plane engagement call out the sixes
9.  Take enough fuel. Nothing worse than having a good sortie and running out of gas.  I always have a drop tank.
10. Until your gunnery is good fly cannon planes. Snap shots in a 50cal plane when your gunnery sucks put you where all the cons friends can kill you because you chased him down
     to kill him with your second or third snap shot.
11. If a carrier is in a turn, wait for it to straighten out before your take off roll. Or ?? gamble you're an ace with a rudder ?  You probably aren't, and you will die.
12. If you want to GV ?  There are GV'ers that will spend an AFTERNOON sitting in their tank waiting for you to play. You will die.
13. The option in all of this is you can avoid most of this stuff if you fly a P51 at 19000 feet, cruise around and avoid any chance of a real fight and live.

But what fun is that ?

[Oldman731]

     The purpose is to set your hair on fire and see how long you can last.

This is the best summation of how I find AH happiness. 

Thanks for these observations, Nopoop.

- oldman

[nopoop]

The best times I have EVER had playing this game was when I was in deep with my hair on fire in a furball !!

I would add that if the plane you WANT to fly is a Corsair or a P47 I suggest spending time with a trainer. If you go it alone to wing it, you wont just die, you will be eaten alive 

[Eagler]

Carrier liftoff is easy if you down flap a couple of times, wep and rudder your way off the deck...what the cv is doing will not matter


Eagler

[Arlo]

11. If a carrier is in a turn, wait for it to straighten out before your take off roll. Or ?? gamble you're an ace with a rudder ?  You probably aren't, and you will die.

Flaps are your friend (even or maybe especially if you're loaded down). 

[Worid]

Thanks nopoop I really needed a good laugh!!!!!

SALUTE!

Worid

[Dichotomy]

so you're saying you will die more than you live?  Pretty standard from what I remember

[Prayer]

I had a good laugh reading this. Makes complete sense though.  Really giving me second thoughts constipation. I was really building up this Rocky/TopGun moment in my head movies on my return

 VR has to be amazing though…. I got out as tracker IR was just becoming a thing

[Puma44]

Always a good, survivable idea to continually check your own six, especially deep six.  Amazing how some will get all twisted out of shape when they get shot from behind and no one stopped what they were doing, and made a “CHECK SIX” call for their furball.  Yeah, nice to have outside help but, foolish to depend on someone else and then get a helmet fire because it doesn’t happen.

ALWAYS check six, and belly check.  Guaranteed there will be someone lurking there and stalking you for a kill.

CHECK SIX!