How to Live and Die in the Virtual Sky by Dan "Crash" Crenshaw, www.deltahawks.org
	Chapter Five: Head on BFM VARIATIONS ON A THEME   As much fun as it is to dogfight in a simulation, in virtual reality - and real life - the longer you are in a fight, the more the chances are that you will make a mistake and end up losing (or get jumped by your playmates friends). So the idea here is to maneuver into a position to get a good kill shot. First thought is All Aspect Missiles. There are a few different variations modeled, most common are All Aspect Heat Seekers (AIM-9M) and the ASRAAM, All Aspect Short Range Air to Air Missile.   Thought number 2 … guns. Problem here is you need to maneuver to aim your guns and sacrifice setting up for good BFM. And remember, if your bullets can hit him in a HEAD ON Pass … his can hit you too. Personally, I NEVER fly HEAD ON into a bandit. I always break to one side or the other to get some separation to set up for BFM. I see tracers trying to track me which would be hitting me if I were going H2H with him. Even if I intend to extend and run, I try to keep off center to avoid giving him an easy shot.   You may even get a "Face Shot" with an All Aspect missile as you close with the bandit. But again, he may have this same opportunity. If you have the chance, and the equipment to take a HEAD ON Missile shot, do it. It should put your opponent on the defensive, take you out of a HEAD ON fight as he evades pending doom, and give you the advantage.   Based on all of this, if we are going to stay and fight, we probably are not going to go for a Head On guns shot. So we need to decide exactly what type of turn we will execute with our Lead Turn. There are 3 basic options we can use: Turn Nose Low Turn Level Go up into the Vertical   These are not the only types of turns you can use. There are other maneuvers that can be done, but anything other the three listed will probably result in you getting shot down.   HEAD ON BFM is the most maneuver intensive type of fight you can get into. And as a result, you will not win this fight. Maneuver intensive fights are lost because of mistakes. The more maneuvering required in a fight, the higher the chances of a mistake. You must make deliberate and calculated moves. Watch your opponent and work to counter his moves while putting yourself in a position that puts and/or keeps him on the defensive. Obviously to do this, you must keep him in site. "Lose Sight, Lose Fight" is not just a cute cliché, it is very real.   You also need to make sure you keep your air speed up in the area of corner velocity, pull high G's (not wimpy little mid-level G's), keep your Lift Vector on the bandit, Lead Turn … you must do all of these things CORRECTLY to have a chance to win.   The most important decision you must make in HEAD ON BFM is whether or not to stay and fight. If your opponent is in a superior handling aircraft, extend! Keep your Escape Window open. Run away! Our F-14 vs. MIG-29 example from earlier is a prime example for "putting the hammer down" and "blowing through" the fight … hit that MACH 2 and run like hell. FIGHT GEOMETREY: ONE & TWO CIRCLE FIGHTS   Figure 5-7 shows the difference between a one circle and a two circle fight. By looking at the figure, you can easily see why they are called what they are. If you and your opponent both use a Lead Turn, you are going to end up in a two circle fight. Figure 5-7   If one of the fighters turns away form the other, you will be in a one circle fight. Most fighters will turn into each other to get the most use of their available turning room. If a fighter turns AWAY from the Lead Turning bandit, he has given himself less turning room to work with while actually GIVING his opponent more turning room. Thus handing him the advantage.   What is the worst that can happen if you turn away from the bandit? You can GIVE your opponent the advantage and get yourself shot down. Figure 5-8 demonstrates one way this can happen. Fighter A turns away from fighter B. Figure 5-8   So why would you turn away from the bandit? There is a reason you may attempt this. In a two circle fight, a fighter may get the opportunity to fire an All Aspect Short Range RADAR or IR Missile if he can get his nose around fast enough. In a One Circle fight, you are most likely too tight for an accurate missile shot (missiles take a little bit of time to lock and start their tracking). So if you do not have All Aspect capability and you think your opponent does, this may be an option to stay alive.   The last rule of the circle fight …once you have started your turn, DO NOT REVERSE IT! If you want a two circle fight, but the bandit turns away, do not try to reverse. Continue with your turn. If you try a reverse, you will give away energy, time, and angles while you reverse your turn. You will also more than likely lose sight of the bandit during this move. THE FIGHT   You have decided to stay and fight. You are confident you can out turn and get parameters for a shot quickly. You are setting up for your Lead Turn. Which turn do you choose? Nose-Low:   When you pull a Nose Low Lead Turn, or Slice, you are using Gravity to help you turn faster. The RADIAL G effect will pull your nose around faster than the other Lead Turn options here. When you do a Nose Low Slice, you pull High G's with your nose pointing 10 to 15 degrees down to take advantage of the RADIAL G. Figure 5-9 shows a Nose Low Slice. Figure 5-9 Click to continue . . .		There is a qualifier here. This maneuver will more than likely, if executed correctly, put the bandit out of sight for a very short period of time. Now we talked about "Lose Sight, Lose Fight" a while ago, so you are thinking this is probably not the best maneuver to initiate. Well, from a technical standpoint and from what I have told you - yes. However … you should only lose sight for a VERY brief time. The bandit should reappear quickly approaching your 12 o'clock, a bit above the horizon, as you come around a full 180°.   If you are attempting to execute this maneuver, you are in a fast turning aircraft that can pull High G's. If this is not the case, you have already made your first mistake by staying in the fight. Maintaining a Tally in flight simulations is usually pretty easy since many of them model PADLOCK views that can "see through" the airframe. So the disadvantage you would normally deal with here does not exist in many simulations.   At this writing, SU-27 Versions 1, 1.2 and 1.5 are probably the best example of an exception. It has a PADLOCK view that requires you to first see your desired target to PADLOCK and will then lose PADLOCK once the bandit has past beyond your airframe or to a position that you would not be able to physically see in the aircraft. In this situation, you are dealing what real fighter pilots have to deal with. In my opinion, the best example of a PADLOCK view in any simulation to date. Level Turn:   Basically the same maneuver as the Nose Low Slice with it's own pros and cons. In a Level Lead Turn, you should be able to maintain a visual on the bandit, but will slow your airspeed down much more than a Nose Low Slice. Vertical:   Going Vertical is not usually your best option. A few cases do exist where it may be a good idea. If the sun is overhead, you may be able to lose yourself in it. The bandit may lose sight of you, "Lose Sight, Lose Fight" works both ways. This may also help in the event of a Heat Seeker Missile shot. Many new sims are modeling the confusion caused when a IR missile is looking at your exhaust and the sun at the same time.   If the sun is NOT above you … you are a marked man. Hot afterburner against a cold blue or gray sky, makes a nice signature for an IR missile. If the bandit does lose sight of you, you can then set yourself up for a better shot while he flounders around looking for you. (If you see S-turns and rocking wings, he is trying to look behind himself to find out where you are. He will more than likely not be pulling towards you either.)   You will also have a lot of plane form to look at of your bandit while you do this. Problem you will have is speed loss is HIGH! As you begin your Vertical move, you will be at a disadvantage since you must fight gravity to pull up (RADIAL G again), remember that you will gain the advantage of the RADIAL G as you come over the top. If the bandit manages to get a tally on you while you are doing this, you can bet he will be making moves on you. Best bet is that unless you are positive you can get lost in the sun, going vertical is a big gamble at best.   A rule of thumb here is if you plan to go vertical, get some speed built up. Not corner velocity. Once you pull up, you will bleed speed so fast, that you will hit CV pretty quick anyway. Start wings level for maximum lift, get some high speed and pull hard.   As you get to the pure vertical, find your little pal and put your lift vector on him and pull into him. You may have to pivot or rotate your aircraft to do this (if not, he really is daft and deserves to be shot down). The odds are the bandit has had a tally on you for a little while and has made moves of his own.   What this means is the YOU are the wrong end of a Nose Low/Nose High merge like we discussed earlier. (See why I said you should not go vertical unless you are SURE you can get lost in the sun?) He will probably start a Lead Turn into you. You need to counter this with a Lead Turn of your own. Once you are able to continue around in the level, put your lift vector on him and pull into him.   Your other option here would be to continue the vertical fight. If you pull over the top and realize you have been spotted, go vertical again. You will not have the luxury of getting a lot of speed built up again. Accelerate until you are passing the bandit and pull up again. As you get to the pure vertical, look for your playmate and rotate and put your lift vector on him again and pull into him.   Do not hesitate on this vertical pull, if you do the bandit will be able to convert and get on your 6. Watch your opponent. You may have to try this vertical move again. When he is no longer pulling his nose up into you, you have the advantage. Then you have altitude that you can trade for speed and your opponent is out of energy. You now have the turning room and the energy advantage.   I am only talking about a full vertical climb and turn here. An oblique vertical turn will not give you enough turning room. See figure 5-10 for the difference in turning room offered between a full vertical turn and an oblique vertical turn. The full vertical turn is on the left, while the oblique vertical turn is on the right. Figure 5-10   These are the basic maneuvers you can use to get behind your opponent. Depending on how successful you have been, you can go back to the chapter on Offensive BFM or if you weren't so smooth, Defensive BFM. The main thing you need to remember is to make your decision and stick with it. Do not wait and decide at the last minute you will stay and fight, or after you have started a Lead Turn that you may want to extend and run instead. Go to: Chapter Six: Beyond Visual Range Fight Back to MENU
This material is copyrighted and may not be reprinted in any form without permission of the publisher. Last Updated November 25th, 1998 This article was originally published at the Combat Simulations site

 

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