Sorry I had to cut the session short,that's why I was relucant to start. Anyway, here as promised is a little "recap".
Basically we flew 3 merges, all three were somewhat similiar. Although I changed the merges up a bit, they were all variations of low to high with a slight (300-500) horizontal seperation. My goal was to show you a little about merge technique and angles/energy management.
The most critical issue I see at your level is a poor understanding of "tactical positioning". The tendancy to treat the enemy plane as a "target", not as an opponent. 75% or more of the newer fliers make this mistake. Once you take a "nose down" approach to attempt a shot...or to get on my six...bad things happen. The nose down approach is usually coupled with "aiming" the plane at opponent. Since the plane picks up speed, it's handling "stiffens". This makes actually hitting target impossible. Since your now trying to turn nose down, you've put yourself in the worst position for both E and angles. You turn wider...and waste more E fighting your own momentum than opponent...truthfully a pilot should simply extend on a blown merge like this. The end result is always a plane under opponent and burning E trying a climbing turn to remerge.
Ideally, you want to "mirror" your opponent on merge. Try to match alt and angle as you meet. Good one on one fliers always merge up. this maximizes conservation of E and maximizes your "angles" vs your opponent. At this point you've positioned yourself so that your flying skill and "mid-flight" tactics will decide the encounter. Probably 90% of 1vs1's are decided at the merge, learning to equalize the merge is the biggest step at your level. The 1st rule is simple...there are NO good "nose down" shots on an "even" merge.
