The art of shooting down aircraft...

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new_decade

Recruit
2
0
May 5, 2009
Hi, apologies for something of a noob question, but... what advice is there for actually landing hits on enemy aircraft??

Ive been playing this class game for a short time and loving the realism etc, and maneuvring isnt a problem, but the actual combat is insanely difficult. Even at 200m range in equal speed pursuit of other fighters, let alone bombers that are firing back, i can barely score any hits. Is it just not a game to be played on a gamepad? (great as the 360 pad is)

Advice please, i cant play forever with vulnerability off and infinite ammo!
 
First, close to less than 100 on his 6:00 , best at 50 but dont forget to dodge those gunners. Speed is importent, too fast and you'll over shoot the target. Dont always aim for his mid section, engines and wings are good targets. If he's in a turn lead your shots, in other words shoot out in front of him and watch your tracer fire to see where your bulletts are going. Dont fixate on just shooting him, watch his gunner fire,your speed and altitude.
If he dives low and your going too fast you could hit the ground.
 
deflection shooting..

aim at the point in space where the plane will be, not where it is when you pull the trigger. Let the bullets and the plane "collide". It's like shooting ducks - allow travel time for the bullets to arrive at the target,
 
Thanks, will go through those guides but looks like firing from excessive range has been the core problem.
 
I think time and practice are important. Simply flying more dogfights gets you learning about air combat. The irony is I might not have lasted through the first missions if it was real life.

I do have one question though, should the gun range be set to 500 meters or does 200 meters work better? I've always stuck with 500 meters but maybe I'm missing something.
 
I like to use 200m for MG and 300m for cannon.
 
I have mine set to converge at 750 for MG and 650 for cannon. At close ranges the spread is super and also allows me to get in great coverage on deflection shots at further distances.

It just shows that different sim pilots has differed preferences' :D :D

Mine is set to MG 150m and Cannon 100m, but I know my weaknesses and my strengths. Im very good at ACM, but a little sucky in Air-Air Gunnery, hence the short convergence. :oops:

edd
 
I have to agree, however, I hunt big things too.

Big things that will hurt you bad if you get too close :lol:
Big things you attack head on or do slashing attacks from it's high 8-9 to it's high 3-4 position, with the speed advantage you can do those boom'n'zooms.
 
In my video I made recently, there's footage of me taking on B-17s with my Fw190 with great results.

It shows my method of attack, which is to stay fluid, use short bursts and always keep moving. Never stay in one spot or you're dead. If your volley doesn't produce results, don't stay there and go for a second try, just move along to the next opportunity.

By the way, this also shows why I like to have my cannon converge at 650m and my MG converge at 750m...the spread allows me to saturate my target at optimal range with shorter bursts.

In the end of the video, it shows what happened to the pilot when he let his guard down and went in on the bomber's 6, however, it also clearly shows that at a range of about 750m - 800m, my fire was at it's point of convergance with lethal results.

http://www.ww2aircraft.net/forum/il-2-sturmovik-pilots-lounge/il-2-videos-6332-4.html#post491738
 
I personally go for a convergence of 100m for both cannon and MGs, and fire when the target fills the reticle. I also fire in two second bursts and attempt not to fly straight and level in the combat zone for above 30 seconds at a time.

The only drawback of such short convergence is that it can make strafing a little hairy - but very low-level is my part of the sky, so I don't mind it too much :oops::lol:
 
In my video I made recently, there's footage of me taking on B-17s with my Fw190 with great results.

It shows my method of attack, which is to stay fluid, use short bursts and always keep moving. Never stay in one spot or you're dead. If your volley doesn't produce results, don't stay there and go for a second try, just move along to the next opportunity.

By the way, this also shows why I like to have my cannon converge at 650m and my MG converge at 750m...the spread allows me to saturate my target at optimal range with shorter bursts.

In the end of the video, it shows what happened to the pilot when he let his guard down and went in on the bomber's 6, however, it also clearly shows that at a range of about 750m - 800m, my fire was at it's point of convergance with lethal results.

http://www.ww2aircraft.net/forum/il-2-sturmovik-pilots-lounge/il-2-videos-6332-4.html#post491738


Just interested.....:o:o

Do you fly most of the time the '190?
Do you dogfight most of the time with '190

I used some larger convergence settings, and although I hit things (my gunnery wasn't as bad as I had thought) I still like getting close to EA. (I truly believe convergence is a personal opinion)

One thing I also realised; there is ALWAYS ammo left when I return home. I never shoot longer that 2sec bursts. I HATE WASTING AMMO!!! Actually I love the feeling of getting 3 kills in a mission, return home safely, especially since I love flying 2-4hour missions

One thing is for sure...when I flew with my preferred convergence settings (MG-150m, Cannon-100m) it really gets a bit hairy when attacking some ground vehicles :shock::shock:

edd
 
Just interested.....:o:o

Do you fly most of the time the '190?
I do fly the '190 a great deal, moreso than my Me262...

But I also am well versed in the Bf109G2 and Ju87G

Do you dogfight most of the time with '190
I do indeed :D

I used some larger convergence settings, and although I hit things (my gunnery wasn't as bad as I had thought) I still like getting close to EA. (I truly believe convergence is a personal opinion)
I agree about the personal choices in regards to convergance. Your aircraft is a weapon and much like a rifle or other firearm, you need to find the sweet spot that works for you and produces the best results.

One thing I also realised; there is ALWAYS ammo left when I return home. I never shoot longer that 2sec bursts. I HATE WASTING AMMO!!! Actually I love the feeling of getting 3 kills in a mission, return home safely, especially since I love flying 2-4hour missions
Getting home with spare ammo is a heck of alot better then being almost home with no ammo and getting jumped by an enemy!


One thing is for sure...when I flew with my preferred convergence settings (MG-150m, Cannon-100m) it really gets a bit hairy when attacking some ground vehicles :shock::shock:
While I don't like GA in my '190, the convergance settings on my weapons allow me to accurately nail the ground targets without having to get right on top of them.
 
After some gunnery practice last night, Ive shortened my MG settings also to 100m.

See, this threat made me shortem my MG settings another 50meters! :) :)

edd
 

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