Yak 3's

[Max]

They're a nemesis to me, and to many others as well it appears. Every now and then I take a few hops in hopes of finding the magical Holy Grail these birds offer even the most novice noobs...but the magic eludes me...at least when I'm in the cockpit. If I were to encounter a co E 1 v 1 Yak3 fight I'd probably be outturned, chased down, out maneuvered and laid to rest in less than 5 minutes.

Can any of you Yak 3 wizards clue me in on the do's & don'ts?

TYIA 

[Oldman731]

I think of Yak3s like I think of Spits 5-16 (except for 14, which is hard to fly).  Probably they're flown by someone working his/her way up the experience ladder.  More experienced players (looking at you, Max) should be able to use their Clever Tricks to equalize things.  Less experienced players are probably flying Yak3s or Spits.

What perplexes me is why an experienced player would fly a Yak3 (or the above-named Spits).  Where's the challenge in that?

- oldman

[Lusche]

Where's the challenge in that?

- oldman

Not everybody is looking for challenges all of the time when playing a game

BTW, I always found the short legs and in particular the small clip quite a bit of a challenge, especially when encountering bombers. One of the reasons I hardly ever flew it.

[Oldman731]

Not everybody is looking for challenges all of the time when playing a game

Could be.  I don't get it, but could be.

Didn't mean to offend.

- oldman

[DaddyAce]

Not a frequent Yak flyer, and most often when I do it's been the 9u.  But I will offer get in close, Yak 3 especially accelerates quickly, and at low alts climbs like a rocket, but ballistics of the gun are not great,  So I like to get in under 300 yds.   And mostly only shoot in short bursts, if you shoot well nose mounted guns are a big plus IMHO.  Also, I like to keep it fast, as I think turn rate degrades at slower speeds.

[The Fugitive]

They're a nemesis to me, and to many others as well it appears. Every now and then I take a few hops in hopes of finding the magical Holy Grail these birds offer even the most novice noobs...but the magic eludes me...at least when I'm in the cockpit. If I were to encounter a co E 1 v 1 Yak3 fight I'd probably be outturned, chased down, out maneuvered and laid to rest in less than 5 minutes.

Can any of you Yak 3 wizards clue me in on the do's & don'ts?

TYIA 

The trick in more cases than not is not fly alone. Most of the time you see bunches of yaks and they work together setting each other up. If you get a lone yak it isnt more than fighting a spit.

I dont think the yak is anything special, only that the guys who do fly it fly it alot and so know ever inch of the bird, AND they fly well together.

[Rich46yo]

The Yak 3 is very tough because its flown at mostly low altitudes, "If I remember right Luftwaffe pilots were eventually ordered not to engage Soviet fighters at the Lower altitudes in the war".

The Yak can usually do one or two things better then anything its facing. If it can't out run you then it probably can out climb you and out turn you. If it cant out turn you it can probably out run you and very few can out climb it. Its main edge is the game is usually played at lower altitudes tho.

They are very good at eating up P-51s because they can out turn and out climb them and the P-51 stick will probably eat all his wep while trying to turn fight vs a Yak. I used to just spin around in a climbing circle and slowly watch the 51 eat its wep trying to keep up, eventually he'll flatten out with no energy and with no wep he'll have little acceleration to out run you.

Heres a Yak vs 109 comparison tho I think its with an early model 109. The "K" climbs like a beast, is very fast, heavily armed, and had loads of wep. https://aviatia.net/yak-3-vs-bf-109/

[SPKmes]

don't try to fly it...set the throttle to go and don't touch it.... people who get in trouble with it try to manage it too much...

[Rich46yo]

don't try to fly it...set the throttle to go and don't touch it.... people who get in trouble with it try to manage it too much...

Actually that's a pretty good summation.