Here's my first part, more will be coming later. Keep in mind that I am relatively new to the game, and still suck horribly
, but this is what I have gained through my experience in flying the 38 in and among some of the best guys in the game and some of the best 38 sticks in the game. I am in no way a good/great stick, but I like to think that I can hold my own most of the time. Ok here we go...
The Lightning is a “strange” aircraft to say the least… As you’ve seen, it’s not an aircraft that just clicks as soon as you get into it. It’s actually one of the harder planes in the game to “master.” That’s because the 38 doesn’t have that one ability that you can utilize against other rides.
For example, the pony and La both have speed, the 109 has its climb, and the spits/zero has its turn radius… you get it. The 38’s greatest strength is that it has no weakness; it does everything ok. It’s greatest weakness though is that it doesn’t have any one great ability; it just does everything ok. That is why it’s such a hard plane to fly efficiently, you’re always (well, most likely) up against someone who has a distinct advantage over you, and if they’re good, they’ll utilize that against you. The “secret” to the 38 is knowing how you stack up against the plane you come up against, and then using each and everyone of your ok/average abilities to overcome your opponent, especially if they are trying to dictate the fight around their one great ability. You also have to know when and where to use each ability.
The 38 really isn’t a cut and dry plane, like others are. The pony is mainly a BnZ type plane; a zeke is a TnB. In the 38 you need to BnZ, TnB, and then combine them, ultimately in the goal of developing a very good E fighting game. You have to be able to switch between various “roles” as the situation calls for, because as we’ve seen, the 38 isn’t suited for one flat out type of style. Having a very solid grasp on BFM, and then stringing that together depending on the situation for ACM, is also key. This is because while being average at say turning, the 38 can “outturn” better turning rides. For example, if you engage a N1KI, and it starts flat turning, using consecutive high and low yo-yo’s will eventually allow you to gain angles on him, and an eventual shot, effectively allowing you to “outturn” him. There are also times when you can out turn a better turning aircraft when you are both flat turning. It’s dependent on your E state relative to him. If you’re at your corner velocity, and he’s not, you might just have the E and better turn rate to turn inside of him for a shot. This is where being able to read an opponents E state comes into play, and in a 38, that’s very important. Strong Situational Awareness is also key in a 38. A 38 has a very big full profile. It’s HUGE. This, combined with the fact that most people view 38’s as just being used on porking missions, and that their pilots can’t really fight, makes people seek you out, almost as much as P-40’s. One of my goals when I first started in a 38 was to try to become good enough so as to help get this stereotype away from 38’s, so that when people would come across a lone 38, they would thing twice about just blinding diving in. But enough of this, you want to know the secrets of the 38 right? 8)
Well, sadly there aren’t any “secrets,” or else I would be a MUCH better pilot then I am now 8). At best, there are only guidelines and suggestions, as each and every encounter is unique and different. There is no one “move” that will automatically win you the fight or save your but each time you get into trouble, but there are things that you can do to help increase your chances at winning a fight and surviving.
The following are some of the things that I feel are especially important when flying around in a 38.
Looping: The 38 LOVES to loop. Without torque, that means you are rock steady at the top, especially at lower speeds. Use this to your advantage-gaining angles and keeping someone off your six. Use that last notch or two of flaps when coming over the top of loops to really get you down (I’ll talk a little more about flaps latter). A variation of a loop that is really critical to get down in the 38 is a stall loop. Basically, its half a loop and half a stall, usually/most of the time done at lower speeds. When coming over the top of a loop, your speed is low enough to the point where you stall your aircraft. Because of the 38 having no torque, your nose just DROPS, and I mean drops down, and you’re instantly back into control. This allows you to get over the top and facing back down quickly, which allows to you lose someone or gain angles quickly as they are either below you, or trying to follow you through a loop all the while fighting their torque and trying not to stall/spin at those low speeds. (Side Note: Going back to the strengths of the 38, if it did have one that it held over the majority of the plane set, it would be the no torque, which allows it to perform beautifully in the vertical, or when flat turning on the deck at stall speeds).
Throttle/Rudder/WEP: The J (what I fly) and the L both have 5 minutes of WEP. That’s the standard in AHII. Only German rides beat you out. I believe, so don’t quote me, that it’s two seconds off of WEP for each second gained back. Basic rule though is don’t waste your WEP getting to the battle. This means in transit, because you’ll need in in combat. As for the throttle, proper work of it (as in most planes) is important. You can’t just have it open the whole fight. There are plenty of times when you will need to back off of it. For example, when I get into rolling scissors, lots of times I find myself backing off the throttle for a second or two, just to keep my speed in check. This allows me to not have to much speed over my opponent. Infact, I cut my throttle so they get faster and so they get out in front of me. Also, when in a dive, sometimes you’ll want to back off the throttle so as not to buffet/let you speed build up to much. Contrary to popular belief, getting fast in a dive in a 38 really isn’t that much of a problem. Under 20000 feet, where you’ll be fighting most of the time, you will not compress 99% of the time. You’ll feel you’re controls start to tighten up, but as long as you have trim mapped handy, you’ll be good. I regularly get speeds up to 450/500 and rarely use trim to get out. Just cut throttle and use rudders to bleed speed as necessary. The only negative effect you will see in the J from these fight speeds is a very bad roll rate. Rudders. Rudders are very important in a 38. From getting that last second front quarter shot in to helping in controlling your speed. The single most important thing about using rudders in a 38 for me (besides gunnery) is in assisting in your roll. 38’s have never been known for their roll, infact its among some of the worst. Use rudder in the direction of your roll to help increase it. This will allow you to help stay in phase with someone you’re following, or help you get out of phase when someone is one your six.
Flaps Flaps are something that you’re going to have to get familiar with. The 38 needs and loves them, but they can also hurt you by sapping your E. The flaps on the 38 will suck you dry of E. Because of this, you never want to leave them out longer then you have to. Sorry that I can’t be more specific on when to and not to use them though. That is something that you’ll have to develop by just getting into a lot of fights with a 38 and using flaps. Eventually it will become second nature, and you’ll know when to drop them, and then whether to keep them out or suck them in. Just keep in mind that the 38 does benefit from them, and does need them, so don’t be afraid to drop them when you think you need them, it’s not going to totally screw you over if you keep them out forever, it will just make things harder. Another place the 38 excels at, and needs its flaps when doing, is a low speed spiral climb. Full flaps, with WEP, the 38 can spiral climb at very slow speeds, because of it not having to fight torque. I’ve been in many situations where I’m spiral climbing under 100 mph with a enemy 200 off my six, but they just can’t quite get their nose up on me. They’re fighting torque, and eventually they’re going to either shoot under me because their forward speed is greater then mine and I’m climbing over them, or they are going to stall out trying to pull up into to high of a AoA for a shot on me. Use this to your advantage, as this leads into using the vertical.
Using the Vertical The vertical is where the 38 really excels against other opponents, because it does not have to fight torque like single engine fighters do. Loops, spiral climbs, and yo-yo’s will help you to conserve E, while playing into the 38’s strengths, and most likely the enemy’s weakness (torque/ bad climb/ etc). Roping once into a fight is one of my main tactics against people, and while I do get caught, more often then not, people underestimate the 38’s zoom or its ability to hang in the vert, and they end up under me and my guns, which, if it weren’t for my horrible aim, would be very bad for them. Just be careful though, unless you are certain you’re just fighting that one opponent and you know his E and yours, don’t hang to much, as you might need to dodge an incoming new threat, or abort a rope or whatever if you see your opponent has more E then you. While being incredible solid at low speeds/high AoA, the 38 still isn’t going to just magically maneuver away from someone who decides to pick you.
donkey
Continued below because of character limit.
