After 2nd merge at the top of the loop, not having much speed, he did a yoyo and dove lower to build up speed. I did a nose uyp spiral turn into him...Because of my spiral turn, the shot wasnt there -- but he just rcoketed up BEHIND me. I continued the spiral climb hoping to get behind him as he lost speed above me, and maybe get a shot as he went up or down. Because of my spiral turn, the shot wasnt there -- but he just rcoketed up BEHIND me. I continued the spiral climb hoping to get behind him as he lost speed above me, and maybe get a shot as he went up or down.
I thought in your first post you said you did a split S, couldn't figure out how he got below you if he did a high yo-yo. With this description I think it's pretty obvious he used his excellent energy addition rate nose low to enable him to zoom climb above you.
But, he used rudder at the very top of his climb, slid the nose down (Killa -- thats about what a hammerhead is -- nose up to aaalllmost stalling, then nosing back over to be on the opponents 6 as he flies by).
It sounds like the problem here is that you were in a very poor energy addition position. Both planes can get knots in a heartbeat nose low which is what he did and he traded all his e for altitude in the zoom to put him in the catbird seat above you while you were spiral climbing gaining some altitude but at a steady and relatively slow speed. You were actually losing e relative to him and you certainly lost position advantage. Once he zoomed above you should should have dumped your nose and run...err...extended. E fighting is really all about tradoffs. E by itself does nothing, but the ability to convert E to position is what let's you cash it in. I'd say that both planes are pretty equal in some areas (energy addition, dive speed, zoom climb) but the dash 4 has a better sustained turn rate and slow speed handling. Using a better energy addition strategy allowed him to convert for position then use his superior slow speed handling over the top to beat you. Make sense?
So, how do you beat the dash 4 in your scenario? Instead of the spiral climb you probably should have matched his nose low maneuver, added e, and then gone pure vertical for another beak to beak pass over the top looking for a forward quarter shot. You're not going to get behind him by turning unless he makes a mistake. In the vertical fight he'll still make a few angles on you doing this but you should have a shot at each pass. You can't do this but a couple of times and if you haven't gotten him and you're losing too many angles (i.e., he's almost in a position to lead turn you over the top) it's time to take him 180 out (either at the top or bottom) and extend away to redefine the fight. If he's gaining both angles and altitude on you then he's probably lighter....another strong indication it's time to bug out.
Also, the Tempest has a "heavy nose", it's hard to get it moving uphill again if you're too nose low and too fast so your throttle should be at idle as you come down and full plus WEP the rest of the time. Also if he decides to extend in the vertical to gain altitude on you vice angles you can be in trouble. It's much easier for the dash 4 to do a rudder reversal over the top so if he gets above you (as he did in your case) you need to dump your nose while he's still nose high and run like a scalded ape. If you end up burying your nose you're going to lose a lot of angles and altitude at the top so either dive away immediately or begin a pull up and watch him until he commits to the vertical thinking thats what you're doing, then roll over, unload and extended to gain sufficient separation to come back for a forward quarter merge.
Just my opinon, hope it helps.
Mace
