Where to start? Seems logical, to me at least, to start as if a round had just ended or the event is beginning, without the 15 minute dissertation on the rules. That being said if anyone reads the rules and has questions I wouldn't turn them away and answer them to the best of my ability.
So we're starting fresh with just a plane type known. Fuel load and takeoff direction are the first things to think about. Ideally of course you only want enough fuel to last 1 minute after you kill the other guy after 'Last Two.' Or add landing if you won the event; ONLY the winner gets to land in KOTH.
The length of a round is determined by a few things, among them how many people are actually flying that round and to a lesser extend the overall skill level. Skill level relates to the length of each fight and of course a better pilot can generally dispatch his opponent quicker than lower skilled pilot. The overall length of the round is more correlated to numbers flying I think. Using the logic that the numbers are halved after every fight which is accurate enough because generally one guy wins and the other guy dies. People do discuss fuel load during takeoffs and you can auger, change it, and takeoff again as long as 'Flight Disabled' has not been called. You most likely will suffer a self-imposed altitude penalty though as I wont delay the start and burn the other peoples fuel load that they carefully planned. That penalty usually isn't too bad if your quick. Lately I have been timing rounds, takeoff to round won, and tell the crowd how long it was and what flight time they need, with them planning accordingly. And we do allow accordions in KOTH. Remember though, you have to account for fuel leaks.
Takeoff direction is important to as you generally fight the people that flew that way unless someone turns away. This direction can change whether there is a wabbit or not also as a good wabbit hunter wants to be close to the wabbit to get a shot in. Wabbit hunting is a whole different topic both from the wabbit hunter and wabbit POV.
KOTH is similar to Main Arena, Melee Arena, the main arena by whatever name it currently is or tries to be; for example the fuel burn will always be same as MA, 2.0. There are NO friendly collisions, although I did use them waaaay back and that could change if YOU wanted it to. In that regard and to the 'I'm just a target I'll only die' people remember this: in the main arena there usually is at least one person you can kill. That applies to KOTH too. Generally speaking, boy I notice I speak to generals alot, there is one player flying in KOTH you can kill. Takeoff in a direction similar to them. And I'm not trying to make this a slaughter for the 'worst pilot' there because there has to be a player flying you think you can kill. And KOTH is an event where you get better watching some other skilled cartoon pilots fight. There used to be in depth conversations in tower about peoples fighting style and how they did this or that maneuver but that was eliminated with latest incarnation of range vox. CM Eye is always on too so you can watch fights that way. It's good to try and have this setup beforehand as it's tough to give instructions on that while running the event. Heck I cant even fly and run my event. I have chosen to run a good event and not bother flying in it. As with a change in fuel load you can auger and choose a different runway, with the same penalty, or just make a turn and fly in a direction that looks good to you.
Personally I like to get a little faster than default speed climb as it gets you a little farther away from the takeoff field and the other players. I think that way you have a better chance of having a pure 1v1 fight to start the round. You may need a few gallons more petrol doing this in the long run but it's what I did. That first fight is the fight you have the most say in, sort of. After that the players left and their position on the map relative to you highly effects where you go after first fight.
And one last thing about fuel load if you fly in KOTH. ALWAYS check it on other arenas!!! it's no fun not checking it and getting that quiet sound when you realize you took off with a KOTH fuel load.
Wanted to put something up here relatively soon and this is it. Thoughts or comments, feel free to post.
