before you learn combat maneuvers and you may have a fighting chance!
Believe it or not, you can not fly a Plane without any can of maneuvers. Just a simple turn is a maneuver. That is why it is important for you to learn the Basic Aerobatic Maneuvers such as turns, dives and maneuvers such as the Aileron Roll. As you will see thaat these Basic Aerobatic Maneuvers will go in hand ind with the more complex maneuvers.
Also remember there are Basicly two types of Air Combat Maneuvers, 1) Offensives and 2) Defensives Combat Maneuvers. Also remember some Defensives Maneuvers can be turn into a Offensive Maneuver if it is done right.
I will try to put these Maneuvers into the right Category that they belong in.
Commonly referred to as a "LOOP" this move is a way to make a vertical circle in the sky and end up back where you started. Practicing LOOP OVER will help you get acccustomed to unusual pitch attitudes,rapidly changing airspeeds,
and the effects of G-forces.
TO PERFORM:
Make sure you have enough airspeed or you will stall at the top of the LOOP. Slowly pull back on the stick. As you climb, you'll lose airspeed. Once inverted, ease off off on the stick. Add a little back pressure as you start down the back side, and reduce the throttle as you dive.
TIP:
Watch your wingtip to see where in the loop you are. The wing should draw a circle on the horizon. In reality you really don't make a circle, instaed it is more like an lowwer case E.
NOTE:
Never use the LOOP as a combat maneuver. The loop is more for Aerobatics Stunts in an Air Show. There is maybe one plane that can be a Loop Fighter and that is the Japanese Zero, still I do not recommend using this maneuver for anything else but for aerobatices or for practice purpose.
Rarely used on its own in battle, the Aileron Roll is worht learning because it is part of many combat maneuvers.
TO PERFORM:
Raise the nose slightly. Pick a reference point on the horizon, then smoothly push the stick all the way to one side and
hold it there. Use the stick to keep the nose on the reference point, then center the stick as the wings approach level again. Practice stopping the roll partway through for a half roll. That's an easy way to get inverted quickly.
The Barrel Roll is a defensive maneuver. It is more complx maneuver in that one needs to have a very good foundation in the Basic, particularly the yoyo before you can master it, the Barrel Roll is very similar to a Lag Roll but it is a defensive in nature. Hence it will be done with greater urgency.
The Barrel Roll is defensive because its goal is to force the overshoot of an attacker who is closing fast. The ideal is not so much to slow your plane down in air speed, but to shorten the distance you cover in a straight line by adding lateral movement. Think of it this way. An attacker is closing on your six from Altitude. He is traveling from point A
(your six O'Clock position) to point B ( a position leading your flight path at 12 O'Clock). By pushing your flight path to the side in a Barrel shaped circle, you lenghten the time it takes you to travel to travel to point B. While your attacker is already closing upon point B with great speed as it is. Also the complexity of the movements is able to defect a guns resolution in the short term.
TO PERFORM:
To begin a Barrel Roll, roll 45 degrees right or lift and begin a shallow climb. This will create the lateral movement you'll need to begin the roll. Many make the mistake of excluding this first step and they only perform a corkscrew
(Aileron Roll) which is easy to down. You need to first step to the side to create a larger Barrel Roll shaped circle.
The next step is to Roll back the opposite direction 90 degrees and pull again. So if you rolled 45 degrees to the right and pulled up into the start of a yoyo, you then roll 90 degrees (45 until you are level and 45 more to get set for a left
yoyo) and pull (just like a yoyo) in the opposite direction. You will not need to be anywhere near a stall as you want to conserve energy for a kill. If you did step 1 correctly. you won't have to work that hard at this.
Then you may watch for the overshoot. The attacker should shoot by like a seed being squeezed out of a grape! To begin with you will move him from your dead six view to your six high view and finally to your straight up view. Once he is in the straight up view, you have them. This is also your lift vector and any time a plane gets in front of that, you are moving over to the offensive. Rotate around your enemy simply by using the straight up view. Rotate so that you are rolling toward his flight path.
When he moves out of the top view to a more forward view, then shoot him.
NOTE:
Know that all gun defensives moves are sucker moves. But even the Best Pilot can be caught with a Barrel Roll because it is so subtle and sudden. The counter is for your opponent to Lag his Rolls and stay on to of the maneuver.
"You will not master this move simmply by flying off line with smoke enable. You will want to have a Trainer in the back seat at some point or a friend, who can watch your move and evaluate it. Be patient. It is an extremely deadly move and very rewarding when you can reverse a situation from your six to your twelve for a kill.
