flying the A6M

[flatiron1]

How about some tips from dedicated A6M pilots. Serious replies only please.

[Banshee7]

ok...hows this.......TURN 

The A6M2 (I'm assuming thats what you are talking about since you fly EW) is THE best turner in the game.  It can float in the air easily when very slow, BUT it does have a weird stall.  The cannons on the early Zeke arent the best and you only have 120 rounds, so take close, easy shots...you don't wanna waste too many rounds.  the A6M can also climb very quickly...not saying its like a rocket, but it will be able to keep up in the vert against some of your EW rides.  The !6M5b have pretty much the same principles, just better guns and more ammo.  your best bet in the Zeke is simply lure your opponents into playing your game, which would be the turn fight.  Hope this helps..

#S#

Banshee7

[FLOTSOM]

well i am no expert, but i do enjoy the a6m.

my best advice is to make your opponent fight your fight. turn until he falls from the sky.

dont waste time in the large verticle loops, dont try to chase him down and never ever try to out dive him you will lose to almost every other plane in the game using these tactics. your greatest asset is your ability to turn use it to your advantage.

keep in mind that your only protected by rice paper and maneuverability.

your BB's are usually only good as a nuisance weapon. use them to spook your opponent and get him to turn abruptly. he will burn off E and give you the ability to close with him.

your cannons have poor ballistics, the rounds drop quickly. try to take your cannon shots within 200 only. any further and you need to aim higher than with other cannons to compensate.

cannon shots from a direct 6 position should be concentrated at one elevator or the other. dont try to shoot off the entire tail, you will only waste alot of ammo. if you take off one complete side of it your job is done.

your cannons arent generally strong enough to take a wing or cause an explosion in the engine compartment without a sustained burst. you normally wont get that kind of shot in a turn fight, so any angle or side shot aim for the canopy, pilot kill is plane death. the wing root or engine radiator ect are tougher than the flesh of the pilot. you tend to only get quick burst shots (half second or less) at your opponent so press for the kill.

when in a turning fight get inside your opponents turn and then lead him when you have a good lead on his turn unload your wings by leveling your wings, this dumps the G's that will spoil your shot. as your opponents plane just starts to come into your front wind screen tap off a burst of a second or so. aim your shot just over the alt of your opponent and they should (depending on speed angle ect) drop into the seat with the pilot. but dont wait to watch, once you have take the shot pull back into the turn.

if you missed and he is still flying you should be pulling in right on his 6 ready for another shot or you will remain inside his turn ready to again line him up for another canopy attack.

remember that against his canopy even your BB's could spell a quick death to your opponent, so if you are out of cannon rounds look to take the head shots.

like i said i am no expert, but these are the things i have been practicing and they seem to be good tactics with some promise of paying out with practice.

good luck

FLOTSOM

[ink]

never, ever HO anything, its not a pretty picture...

[uptown]

If I remember right, I got into a couple of engagements with you in MW last tour. You in the zero and me in a spit9. From what I recall, you were trying to fight me in the up and down where I would have insisted on a side to side fight. Rolling scissors and tight circles to bleed the enemys energy. Never take more then 50% fuel and set your convergence in to 250. I say 250 because most of your shots should be quick snap shots created by overshoots and turning inside of the opponent. Always keep the enemy turning and reacting to YOUR moves.

The zeke doesn't like speed so keep the fight slow and you can be more snappy with your moves. IMO the A6M is one of the few planes that has the advantage with the bad guy on his 6. Turn the stall limiter off (if you haven't already), and enjoy the ride. 

[BnZs]

You are probably going to have to hang around some faster planes and pick on whatever they force to turn. You're rarely going to catch anything by yourself other than a Hurri, another Zeke, or an early Spit, everyone knows your game and ain't going to play.

However, if it makes you feel any better, both variations of the Zeke in AHII can be taken to 450mph IAS without structural failure and without *complete* loss of control in roll and pitch axis. Oh, the pilots in the IJN would have given their left testicle for such Zekes as these....

[Ghosth]

Turn turn turn, and to truly get the most out of it.

A Use the terrain, find places to fly where the terrain helps you and hinders your enemy.
I saw someone land 6 kills vs p51's because he was hanging out in the bottom of a hole. Ping the ponys when you can, and sooner or later they'll get desperate and forget to watch where they are going. Big boom on the side of the hill and another kill for you.

B Anticipate, learn to lead turn faster planes to cut inside any move they make.
This works in the vertical as well as the horizontal. Say a la7 is approaching you, but he's 3k higher, and 4k out. If you time it right, you wait till you disappear under his nose, go into a vertical lead turn. (Like an immelman, but timing is based on where he is at) done right you'll end up on his low 6 inside guns range.

Rattattat and he's going what the heck just happened?


C work with a teammate or squadie in a faster plane. Dissimilar planes can be an incredibly effective wingman tactic. Think about scenarios where the enemy can't turn because one of you is in a A6m, and can out turn him. And he can't run, because the other is in a fast mover, La7, P51, 190, Tiffy.

D Know when to get out, possibly the toughest part of SA, and "reading" a dogfight.
Being able to feel when the balance has shifted. Knowing when its time to stop turning and start working your way clear of the furball. Have an exit strategy, toughest part to me of landing kills in the A6m is getting back out of the fight once I've gotten into it

SA SA and more SA, and since your turning all the time having really good SA is tough and takes work.
Know whats in your airspace, good and bad, whats out on the edges, and which way to try to get out.

"Use the force luke!" No, I'm not kidding. Some days I can just tell when someone has me in his gunsight.
Jink first, then look, if you don't see him roll inverted and look again. If he is on your low 6, you are already halfway into your first defensive split S. If all is clear roll back up and look again.

Learn to use those hairs on the back of your head. When you feel em go, look to see what caused it.
But you probably want to jink first.

Dunno about you but mine have a definate lag built into them. So by the time you feel them you need to be moving.

[CAP1]

How about some tips from dedicated A6M pilots. Serious replies only please.

zeeks are great in furballs. pretty much anything can outrun them though. the a6m2 is the better turner of the two. the a6m5b is slightly faster, and will still outturn anything except for the a6m2.
 i use them for furballing, cv defense, and base defense, due to their ability to maneuver at such low speeds. i can maneuver almost immediatly when i go wheels up.
 i never take more than 50% internal fuel, and i almost always load a drop tank. i can get rid of it fairly quickly, should i need to.

 i've never donw well with shooting at an enemy i have time to aim at, but rather i get these quick crossing shots. generally within 200 yards. i've hit cons as far as 400 yards in the zeek, but it didn't appear to do too much damage.
 you have some verticle, but not much. if your con is simply going to loop, you most likely can hang with him....if he has the e to do it, then you do too. this is where i get quite a few kills too, as someone loopng in a furball, is slow to begin with, thus, he'll be stalled at the top of the loop.....just before you stall.....but you have time to get a good burst in him, and remove some important things.

 i don't buff hunt in the zeek at all, nor do i do any ground attack in her, although if i hear a call of a gv in the town nearby, i will try to eliminate it.(a base capture always ruins the fight)

 just remember with a zeek, once you've commited to a fight, you cannot disengage at will to reset. your in it till it's done.

there's things i'm probably missing,  but hope this helps anyway!!


ooooo.......BTW........try the P38. bigger, faster, not as nimble.....but a friggin blast!

<<S>>

[BaldEagl]

The only thing I have to add is to keep it in it's flight envelope which is relatively slow.  A6M's don't like speed and in a high speed dive the A6M2 will actually yaw to one side requiring full aileron and possibly rudder to keep it flying straight.  Releasing throttle on the downhills helps maintain manouverability.

[fudgums]

Falling leaf anyone

[flatiron1]

thanks for the tips


here is a recent flight I had in a6m5. the action starts about the 5 min mark and ends at about 17 min. although this turned out to be a good flight for me any pointers would be appreciated. I would like to post some later where things don't go too well.




http://www.mediafire.com/?mfv2wb0iznv