clearing my six

[4343]

I like to think of myself of a good dogfighter, at least, when im on the tail end of things in a spit or a yak, but i can't shake anything of my 6!  at high altitude u dive, at low if ur fast and their slow, you climb, but how do you do it in a turning battle at low alt?  it's where i am most of the time, on account of i crash a lot and hafta take off alot.  but seriously, what are some good evasion tactics, for less maneuverable aircraft?

[HFMudd]

Sorry, I'm not sure I'm getting this...  on the one hand you say, "im on the tail end of things in a spit or a yak" and then you go on to say "what are some good evasion tactics, for less maneuverable aircraft"

These two bits seem to contradict each other.

[dtango]

That's a pretty broad question there.  Also, as Andy Bush likes to say- there are no absolutes when it comes to air combat.  Some more definition of the situation would be helpful in coming up with advice on evasion (e.g. what are your relative energy states, distances, angle off etc.?).
 
Assuming moderate to low energy states with the bogey in your rear quarter and D 1.0K or less and with greater E, here are some random thoughts for you:

(1) Evade by Avoiding the Situation:
Evasion for less maneuverable aircraft in a low alt turning fight? - Well if you're in a less maneuverable aircraft you probably wouldn't be down low mixing it up with more maneuverable aircraft in a low alt angles fight.  You usually don't live too long in these cases.  

In your case if you're flying a Spit or a Yak, you're driving some of the more maneuverable aircraft in the AH so you actually stand a chance of mixing it up down low.  Just remember that you need enough energy to maneuver or else you're simply a sitting duck.

(2) Use Flat Scissors:
The idea here is to try and get the bogey's nose crossed with yours so that you're creating at least high angle off situations for the bogey where it is harder to shoot you and where you might actually neutralize angles and disengage.  At best you can turn the tables on them by having a lower forward velocity vector and essentially forcing an overshoot so that the bogey pops out ahead of you.  There are all sorts of nuances to scissors and it takes some practice and probably a lot of dying before you get the hang of how to execute them.  My tip in scissors is to give the bogey lead when he is in lag and give him lag when he is lead pursuit.  Rolling Scissors are another variation of this tactic that I won't go into.

(3) Use a Defensive Barrel Roll:
The idea here is to use 3D space to "lengthen" your flight path to at least give the bogey a difficult angles solution to solve and at best cause the bogey to overshoot you.  One of the secrets to doing this is making the barrel roll large enough using enough vertical and lateral airspace to reduce your "forward" velocity relative to the bogey and cause an overshoot.  Again there are a lot of nuances to executing this maneuver and it will take a lot of dying before you get the hang of knowing when and how to execute a defensive barrel roll.

(4) Have a Wingman Cover Your 6:
Last but not least work with a wingman.  They are great cures for evading that bogey hanging on your 6!

I'm sure others more qualified have a lot more to contribute.  This was just a few random thoughts on the topic.

Tango, XO
412th FS Braunco Mustangs

[Kweassa]

dtango's advice doth speak the truth

 To put it simply, the whole point of maneuvering is to never ever let such a situation come in the first place.

 There might be some evasives or emergency maneuvers one might attempt, and it's a good try. But ultimately, if someone is behind you, your life is in his hands. A good pilot is virtually impossible to shake when things get hairy, and the only chance you've got is probably out-running him if your plane has a looooot higher top speed than his.

[Hawklore]

Try doing a barrel roll at a low altitude they will have to follow you in the same manuver to stay on yer six, more likely you will get behind them and be able to make the pay for there idiotic flying.



     

[akak]

Originally posted by Hawklore
Try doing a barrel roll at a low altitude they will have to follow you in the same manuver to stay on yer six, more likely you will get behind them and be able to make the pay for there idiotic flying.



     

In cases like that, when the fighter your six sees you go into a barrel roll to force the over shoot, all he has to do is chop his throttle and watch you do a real nice barrel roll before he fills your plane with lead.  4343 would be better off using rolling scissors.


Ack-Ack