General flying help.

[ONE_HELLCAT]

So here's my terrible secret, I suck at flying. So if anyone had any general suggestions to help me try and keep my speed up and stuff, that would be appreciated.



More specifically, if anyone had any tips for the Hellcat. I try to use it online, but the only times I've actually got someone while flying it is when they accidentally clip one of their wings on my plane, and I live.

[kool kitty89]

What types of tactics (if any) do you try to use and what difficulty/realism settings do you use?

Obviously it would depend on the match-up to use your plane's/the F6F's advantages. Which opponents do you tend to come against?

Also things might change in 1 v 1 compared to group fights.

[ONE_HELLCAT]

I try high realism. And this is more for online in Pacific fighters, so generally I'm flying against Zeros, Corsairs, Ki-84s, Ki-100s, and Spits.

Back when I played a lot, I mastered the scissors, but my skills have all but vanished. But generally I maneuver on the fly(pun not intended), and have no real tricks besides surviving long enough for someone to shoot the guy behind me, or limp back to AAA cover.

Other planes I like to fly are the Zero, Spitfire, Buffalo, Ki-100, P-47, P-38, P-39, P-63, and rarely, Wildcats.

So any general tips for those planes would be great.

[kool kitty89]

Corsair is pretty much equal in climb, better in roll, and considerably faster than the Hellcat, but the Hellcat should be able to turn inside it.

The Hellcat should be faster than the Zero and climb better. (less so for the A6M-5) Energy tactics are usually the best choice.


I generally try to use energy tactics (stay high and fast) and only turn if there's an advantage, but it really depends on the a/c. (almost alway the best choice for the P-47 is energy tactics)


The F2A-2 with 1/2 fuel load can mix it up pretty well with the Zero, the Buffalo I (1/2 load) will be somewat slower (particularly in climb) and has poorer altitude performance than the F2A-2, but can hold fairly well against the A6M-2 (at full fuel load). The B-239 wll turn the best, but isn't much good above 15,000 ft and is somewhat slower than the A6M-2.

[Amsel]

My main problem when flying anything else besides the Bf-109 is stall's.I tend to stall more frequently in the F6.

[kool kitty89]

Depending on the a/c they can be more gentle though. THe P-38 has a nice warning, as does the P-39 (though the actuall stall on the P-39 is pretty violent), P-51 is similar to the P-39 in that there's plenty of warning, but you can get some nasty flick-stalls. (if you pull too fast, though the P-39 is a bit worse here)

But I often end up diving to a speed that starts to black out in a turn before the stall.

[ONE_HELLCAT]

Ugh, I hate Blacking out. I always pull a move where I can nail someone easily, then I black out and they get away.

Yeah, P-39 is a great plane(Though I can't hit a thing with it). Unless you have a lot of altitude and some quick thinking, it's almost impossible to recover after a violent stall.

[kool kitty89]

My favorite of the P-39's is the P-39D-2 with 20mm, altitude performance is considerably better on the N and Q though.

I've tried observing the autopilot for spin recovery, but for some reason there are some that it can do that I can't very well at all even when simulating the control imputs.
Possibly the autopilot is using trim as well, but the computer seems to be able to operate things the player can't; sometimes flap positions are used on a/c that don't have them (ie Spit and Hurri only have "up" and full down/landing, but the computer can go in between) and somtimes use stick movements that aren't possible for the player.

[eddie_brunette]

The Hellcat is one awesome plane!! (IMHO the best US "dogfighter" of the war)

B&Z is best against Imperial planes, dont try and turn with them, but if you against ETO planes any tactic is good.

If you have engine management checked, the proppitch functions work a charm

edd

[Bearcat]

So here's my terrible secret, I suck at flying. So if anyone had any general suggestions to help me try and keep my speed up and stuff, that would be appreciated.

More specifically, if anyone had any tips for the Hellcat. I try to use it online, but the only times I've actually got someone while flying it is when they accidentally clip one of their wings on my plane, and I live.

Try hitting the Nugget's Guide in my sig... and I suggest that you just fly.... no combat.. just fly... do it for @ 30 minutes a day for a month or so if you can.. if you cant then as often as you can. When you fly practice diving.. without blacking out. Practice doing rolls and spit Ss. Try flying under bridges... Set your CEM to full realism.. because even in servers with looser views as in cockpit, no pit, icons etc.. most of them have full CEM set. Remember that turning will slow you down... so will flaps, skidding.. and climbing..

Practice trying to get off the ground as quickly as possible, practice using your gauges for that, especially the RoC (Rate of Climb) indicator.. To find where it is on the Hellcat hit the Essentials thread in my sig and go to the Cockpit Reference guide... or look on your CD if you have 1946.. There is an Aircraft Reference guide there..

Just practice flying... Try to see how best to keep your speed above say... 200mph.. practice trying to keep your speed up in the Zoom..

Doing that will become second nature.... also when online... remember the things you discover.. If you have E on an opponent... don't give it up just to make the shot.. If you cant hit him up pretty good on the first pass then try again... but if you stay faster than him and out of his way you will survive. Also.. don't worry so much about kills or points... if you think more in terms of surviving the mission and the survival of your wingman... in the long run you will wind up having a lot more fun, and thats really what it is all about right?

Tips to fly the P-51 - 1
Tips to fly the P-51 - 2

Look at the above posts @ UBI by a gentleman named Klingstroem.. His tips are for the P-51, but a lot of what he is saying can be applied to any plane in the sim to some degree or another.

[Barrakooda]

Remember to use combat flaps in turns stops you blacking out, to a degree, but the trade off is that you lose energy.

[kool kitty89]

Yes, because they slow you down, and thus you pull fewer "G's" in the turn.

I prefer to use a climbing turn as it slows you down and keeps a lot of energy. (speed converted to altitude)

And in some planes flaps tend to make turns more difficult, like in the P-47, ther doesn't seem to be a notable improvement in low spped turning ability and the stall (which is normally very gentle) is much worse. An in some cases, like most British a/c there is no combat setting for the flaps. (though for some reason the AI's can use various flap settings on these a/c whale the player only has "Landing" as an option)

Similarly the computer pilots cant black/red out, so they can pull unfair maneuvers.

[ONE_HELLCAT]

Yeah, those darn computer pilots. Though there is a trick so in a Spit you can use a little bit of flap at a time. I use the little slider thing on my joystick (X52) for that. I don't do that online though, I want to play fairly with everyone else.

I appreciate all the help, guys. I guess I just need a lot more practice.

[eddie_brunette]

The Sim Bible: http://web.comhem.se/~u85627360/inpursuit.pdf

and its is a fantastic read too

edd

[moomoo2]

Fix your guns to around 300m, makes you think more about your shot, where to lead your target and teaches you to get closer before you shoot, making you more accurate. Shooting at 700 to 1km is too messy