Gunnery films

[BnZs]

I think it would be interesting and very helpful to those of us looking to get better it the experten posted short films compiling how they set up and take the shot against various kinds of breaks...instead of the maneuvering tactics you used to win the match, concentrated examples of the "end game".

Flying is only half the story. You can put yourself in the right position and still fluff it up on the shot.

[Muzzy]

That might be very helpful.  The "end game" is very much a finesse thing.  The problem is, like in chess, it's hard to pinpoint just where it starts.  Personally I can't even begin to describe how I do it. It just kind of happens....

[mtnman]

Are you looking for clips of say 10 seconds or so, where just the last few seconds before the shot are?  That chunk where we're setting up and finalizing our aim?

[BnZs]

Yep

[The Fugitive]

That's what I'd like to see mtnman, all that fancy flying before had is for the birds anyway.

- think it would be very helpful. Not many of us get to see that end game with enough frequency for it to become that site picture we need to look for.

[mtnman]

Well, here are a couple from the last few days, which are probably pretty representative of how I shoot.

A couple end-game shots that both resulted from me being fortunate with BRD's against higher enemies.  I had a flap stuck down for the spit, so my flying is a bit rough.  These basic shot scenarios are what the vast majority of the shots I take look like-

http://www.4shared.com/file/AWCSTEdK/p51_BRD_shot_only.html

http://www.4shared.com/file/su7OwMsE/Spitfire_shot_.htm

A roped spit 16-

http://www.4shared.com/file/83sLoSr8/Spit16_rope.html

Those are normal for fairly low-stress situations.  In a 3v1 though I don't have as much time to think things through, and I even took a pretty "HOish" shot, which I will do occasionally...  Especially if I really think I can end things quickly, and need to (I've lost SA on the Yak at this point, but think I have a few seconds to get my shot off.

http://www.4shared.com/file/NwyoM9Bs/3v1_higher-stress_shooting.html

A pretty standard bomber attack-

http://www.4shared.com/file/EcQmbIlz/Bombers_from_above.html

I could post more, but I think it could quickly turn into a "show-off" type post.  If you have specific interests though, let me know and I'll see what i can find...

[FLS]

You can learn a lot about gunnery by going to the Training Arena and turning on friendly lock with Ctrl-Tab then selecting a "target" aircraft with Tab. You don't need to shoot, just put your gunsight on the green cross(es) to see where you should be shooting. If you want to shoot at your target be sure to ask permission first.

[dtrip61]

Nice posts mtnman.  Just out of curiosity, what conv settings are you using in the F4U?  BTW, nice clinic on hog flap use in the many vs one clip.  <S>

-dtrip

[kilo2]

http://www.mediafire.com/?4n0mj2rgdgvhhzd
Standard 6 shot

http://www.mediafire.com/?35wa4yps951uo5y
lead for con moving from the top of the canopy to the bottom

http://www.mediafire.com/?otasx04siod5s7w
Akward angle shot

Hope these help.

[mtnman]

Nice posts mtnman.  Just out of curiosity, what conv settings are you using in the F4U?  BTW, nice clinic on hog flap use in the many vs one clip.  <S>

-dtrip

Thanks dtrip!  It's funny I guess, I don't even think about flaps when I fly.  They just "happen".  My left index finger always lies on a rocker that will deploy or retract my flaps, and I don't give them much thought anymore.

I swear by "300ish" convergence, and personally set mine to 275 on all planes, all guns.  I used to "customize" a bit on different planes, but I've found that even when I fly other planes I still set up similar shots at similar ranges, and don't see any benefit to "customized" settings.

Through a lot of testing in the TA, I've found little or no "positive" attributes to longer settings, and some definite "negatives".  What positives there are are minimized by the dispersion that HTC has modeled.  Setting it closer also has some negative aspects.  300 is the best "happy medium" IMO.

Beyond that, 300yards is one of the few times I can know my range to the target, sonce the moment the icon counter switches from D400 to D200, he's at 300yds.  Time to shoot!

I consider D400 to be a long shot, but will fire out to D600 occasionally just for effect, or on a target that appears stationary and will allow me to aim at one of his wingtips.  A 600yd shot on bombers gives me a 15ft spread on my guns, which tightens as I close.  I'll use that effect occasionally to "walk" my rounds onto a more vulnerable part of the target.

[mtnman]

You can learn a lot about gunnery by going to the Training Arena and turning on friendly lock with Ctrl-Tab then selecting a "target" aircraft with Tab. You don't need to shoot, just put your gunsight on the green cross(es) to see where you should be shooting. If you want to shoot at your target be sure to ask permission first.

That's definitely true!  I learned a lot when I first started out by using that tool. 

It does have limitations though, and believe it or not it isn't always right. 

Rolex and I played around with it one night way-back-when, and found that it definitely has its limits.  An easy one that comes to mind is firing while inverted or banked hard.  Banked is hard to dial in, but if you use the sight inverted you'll see what I mean. 

The beauty of it though, is that if you go to that length you'll learn something about aerial gunnery anyway!  In that sense, the lead-computing sight has served its purpose...

[RTHolmes]

+1

eg. someone posted a short film or screenies last year demonstrating 30mm snapshots (grizz maybe?). it never occurred to me before I saw it, but that 1/4 roll to set up a side-to-side tracking shot is a great trick (not just for taters either)