Flying Difficulties To Master
1. Always keep an eye out. There will always be a time where you will be jumped by an enemy and will not know what hit you; try not to let this happen.

2. Don't dive. Don't dive unless you know you are in the process of getting the kill or you are trying to evade a possible enemy.

3. Watch your gauges. When flying in dark, this is really the time when you have to do this. I have seen many people crash into the ocean many times because they weren't watching their gauges.

4. Keep your speed up. If you are going an excess of 400 MPH and diving (depending on what plane your in) on an enemy pull up do a loop and try again. This way they can't hit you and you're in a better firing position.

5. Don't lose sight. As the old saying goes, Lose sight, lose the fight.

6. Don't waste ammo. If the enemies wing is off, why waste more bullets and try to blow him up.

7. Do the unexpected. Do what the enemy won't expect you to do and catch him off guard.

8. It's not the plane you fly. If you outthink your opponent, no matter what plane you're in you will win.

9. Never go into a fight thinking you will lose. Fighting spirit a pilot must have. Even if a man lacks some of the other qualifications of being a fighter pilot, he can often make up for it with the fighting spirit.

10. Don't shoot too far away. Don't shoot two times more than your convergence setting.

11. Set up for a plan of attack. Patience is the key to fighter combat and coming out victorious.

12. Assess the situation. What does the enemy have that you don't? What do you have that the enemy doesn't? Enforce your strengths and go after his weaknesses. Even if he has a better plane in everything, you can outthink him. Everything is possible in air combat.

13. No guts, no glory. If your going to shoot down an enemy plane, you have to get in there and mix it up with him.

14. Fight to fly, fly to fight, fight to win. As an anonymous pilot always says, I um...fly on the seat of my pants, that's why I am so good.

Robert Shaw's Book Fighter Combat: Tactics & Manuevering
Fighter Weapons

The most effective technique often is to fill the widescreen with target and let er rip. Have half of the gunsight filled with the enemy. In order to destroy a target with a gun system, the shooter must meet range, aiming, and firing-time requirements. Closure, shooter maneuverability, deflection, and pilot reaction time is based on the minimum range for a gun system. Don't shoot more than 2 times your convergence. Aerial gunnery is 90 percent instinct and 10 percent aim. (Captain Frederick C. Libby, RFC). Go in close, and then when you think you are too close, go in closer. I liked the whole front of my windscreen to be full of the enemy aircraft when I fired. (Colonel Erich Bubi Hartmann, GAF). If the attacker cannot be prevented from reaching effective guns range, the next priority is to keep him out of your 6 area. This is accomplished by a break turn toward the attacker. If a pilot sees an enemy aircraft behind him in firing range he must take evasive action immediately. He slips and skids the ship as much as possible giving the attacker maximum deflection. It is a good idea to turn in the direction of friendly planes, so they can shoot or scare the jerry off your tail. Fighting spirit one must have to conquer these things.

Basic Fighter Maneuvers

Even if a man lacks some of the other qualifications, he can often make up for it in fighting spirit. (Brigaduer General Robin Olds, USAF). For a lead turn, get the nose of your aircraft in front of the enemy as much as you can so you have a better chance of killing him. If you have the speed, go up! Don't turn! If you have low speed than of course you should dive. If an enemy is chasing you dive and turn when you have speed. If you are being chased by an enemy dive and try to outrun him, if you can't do that then you turn. Pulls back hard, if you have a plane that doesn't turn, don't try to turn. If you know you can't outrun the enemy, turn. If you fly the 190D9, outrun them, don't outturn them, you can't...the P-51 can outturn you!! Don't think you cannot outrun an opponent. When outrunning the opponent always go low and don't pull up, then he will gain the speed on you, but make sure you still do some kind of little manuever to throw off his aiming.

1 Versus 1 Maneuvering, Similar Aircraft

Fight to fly, fly to fight, fight to win. (Motto of the U.S. Navy Fighter Weapons School). Never go in a fight thinking your going to lose, everything is possible in fighter combat. A good fighter pilot must have one outstanding trait-aggressiveness. If you have lower speed than your opponent and he’s behind you, do a nose-to-nose turn to make the fight equal. If you have speed than gain altitude over the bandit and make him expend his E. The only defensive maneuver is to be on the offensive. Try to become an energy fighter, it is very hard to be an effective turn fighter; it is a lot easier to boom and zoom enemy by zooming up and coming back down. Hopefully they will follow you up, than you would be able to swoop down and nail em. With the speed of American fighters (excluding the F6F-5), you have the advantage. Well ok, with the speed of your German & Russian fighters, you still have the advantage also. Never go into the air thinking your going to lose. Whenever you can, gain as much altitude as you can, you can never have too much of it. Altitude and speed can be your friend if you use it to it's full potential. If you have altitude than you have the potential for speed. Never stay low and slow, that's the worst position a fighter pilot can find himself in.

1 Versus 1 Maneuvering, Dissimilar Aircraft

When two different aircraft are fighting, it is a whole different ballgame than two of the same fighters. First you have to figure out what can you do that the enemy can't and vice versa. Climb, acceleration, speed, instantaneous and sustained turn are examples of what you should compare. If you were in a P-51D against a Spit IX. The 51 has the speed advantage, but the Spit can outturn the 51. So what the 51 pilot has to do is stay out of the Spit's turning radius and keep boom and zooming him. The Spit pilot can't let the 51 pilot too close or he's toast. Don't give the enemy any angles at the start of the fight, this will haunt you later in the fight.

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