Energy Management Lesson 1
by Dead Duck

Note from Hammer: This is the transcript from an on-line training session for Air Warrior. The performance characteristics discussed for a plane might be different from the plane's performance in Aces High, but the principles of e-fighting still apply.

Okay, folks - the topic tonight is Energy Management, and your instructor is DeadDuck...

Hocuspocus: Thanks! and for my FIRST trick I'll fake knowing how to fly. OK, was talking a bit to HR here and I asked this question: "What does E fighting mean to you?"

Anyone want to take a shot at it? Hmmmm..OK Ill answer

E fighting is MANAGING your planes energy state in order to gain a favorable fight situation. Even if you're a perfect at the E fighting part a lucky ******** can still kill you, but E management is the basis for ACM Since I'm to do this as a 2 parter I'm going to break this into: Managing your own E and How to manage someone Else's E <eg>. Part 2 is subtitled "Killing Spits in a 38"

OK definitions: You have turn fighting, B&Z, and E fighting. Last 2 are NOT the same. To me a turn fight is a yank the stick back, turn till u puke fight. May the one that rides the edge better win. B&Z is when you blow by the enemy and hope he lets you get a shot. E fighting is Dogfighting, ACM or Air Combat Maneuvering First tip I'll give is this: "You can go too fast!" Beyond a certain point additional speed or alt is at best meaningless or at worst a handicap. Example: Say you are in a FW you dive on an unsuspecting Spit. You doing 400, he's doing 200 and at 2000 yards he breaks. Guess what...you can't follow him. Imagine the same pass if FW is doing, say 250 or 275. E management is partially setting up the situation so you can take advantage. I'd throttle back and be ready for the break Questions?

Hotrail: OK. I have been throttling back as of late. BUT what if you miss?

Hocuspocus: Ahh, good question. This is were SA comes in. Killer DOESN'T miss BUT, this is why you want to be doing 250 or so, if you follow him into turn and miss, blank, blackout,etc. DON'T play the Spits game of turning. (Unless your me) Unload and set up for next run. Granted a spitter that knows his stuff will whittle down the edge. Key here is that a FW bleeds E more rapidly than Spit under G induced drag so DON'T <I'll tell you Killers FW trick in Thurs.>

Merchant: let me get this straight if I'm in FW diving on a single lone spit keep speed below 300?

Hocuspocus: Well, we talking perfect world i.e. no outside vulchers It's not "below 300" it's "Fast enough so that YOU choose fight" and slow enough to have options.

Merchant: cc what if its more than one?

Hocuspocus: More than one. That's a rough one. It depends but try to get one dead or diving out of fight and you have a smaller edge because each time u engage one the other starts chipping away at your edge basically STAY ALERT (world needs more lerts).

Jrhillman: I come the world of F3, and I have a bad habit of wanting to lay the plane on it's side and pull g's until I get into the elbow. Only problem is that in AW the planes are all too damn (can I say that) slow to work that way. What should I be doing?

Hocuspocus: Ahhhh a jet puke

Jrhillman: Yeah, and those "jets" in AW are *not* jets!<g>

Hocuspocus: Big difference u know it is that planes bleed speed in high G turns to fast and are to underpowered to maintain max Gs. Every prop plane has a "sweet spot" where it TURNS! part of E fighting is to know that spot, get to it and hold it for long enough to get kill. Part of the trick is using flaps and throttle part is, if you are in a B&Z plane, knowing when to unload and book What do u fly normally?

Jrhillman: Er, sorry. I prefer the P-38 (bad choice I hear) or the Spit

Hocuspocus: Ahhhh P-38 GOOD choice

Jrhillman: Fun to fly, but it's a lead magnet what I've seen, course that could just be my technique ;)

Hocuspocus: let me guess...u start turning and end up with enemy wrapping around on you?

Jrhillman: Not just wrapping, they smother me

Hocuspocus: P-38 has 5 GOOD points:

• Very good acceleration standing start
• Superb flaps
• Dive brakes
• Wonderful vertical performance and a
• Wicked instantaneous turn

It rolls like a pig though and is a bullet magnet

Jrhillman: Gee, that'd the only downside?<g>

Hocuspocus: Trick to 38 is to NOT, get into flat turns with it. once you master the flaps NOTHING can loop with a 38, not even the Spit

Jrhillman: How many notches of flaps in a nice close knife fight? I'd think more than one would bleed too much e, but I'm just a dweeb

Hocuspocus: And at about (guessing here) 170 knots a 38 can whip around on anything....

Hocuspocus: No one setting what you're trying to do (E fighting thing) is keep the 38 at max turn. Here's a typical attack Ill do: See Spit co-alt, Spit sees me. We turn into each other.We 're both doing 250-275 so I HIT AIRBRAKES Decreasing turn radius and maintaining max Gs. As I slow and I can maintain turn I pop a notch of flaps as I slow more another notch and another. OK I'm getting worried here.1 sec. I use rudder to nose down getting this into a nose down turn. Now I'm at max flaps and If I haven't killed spit I know that I will kill him soon because 38 with full flaps and about 10 deg nose down will stay right at ideal turn speed while the Spit will start picking up speed and its turn will increase till I come around on it. Key is to not just use a single flap setting or stay in a flat turn

Jrhillman: Thanks HP. I'll give it a try, but it's tough not yanking the stick back in the turns.<g>

Merchant: Is it better to use airbrakes on planes that have them instead of chopping throttle?

Blackpanther: Figures DD would be yanking about 38's in here

Hocuspocus: Sad thing is with hit bubble u fly perfect and still die

Hocuspocus: Answer to that is whatever works for u. Brake is another option, that all

Shadownyc: If you're maintaining a corner speed in 38... by keeping the nose low, what if the spit is above u...I would be <g>

Hocuspocus: This were E fighting become important assumption ONE is that the Spit is locked in turn with you and follows you down. Assumption TWO is that he doesn't start above you.

Shadownyc: When I start losing angles to slower (tighter) turning 38 I'll go over the top to get them back...what then?

Hocuspocus: Rgr as soon as you go over top I kick rudder DOWN reel in flaps and loop up to meet you. Odds are I'll catch you going up.

Shadownyc: hehe...maybe

Hocuspocus: Remember I'm watching you in a 1 on 1. Key point is that if you start in bad situation it will rarely get better In a FW keep your speed 50 knots faster than Spits in a 38 get em to turn nose low with you or loop with you. In a Ki just yank the stick back and eat em E management means YOU pick the speed and attitude of your fight! If you're in a Ki don't try to climb to F4z keep speed and wait for mistake. If you are in an F4 USE that better climb an F4 at 100 knots can spiral climb on a Ki and kill it easy. Trick is to force the Ki to climb (it can't) F4 use E better climbing. Ki is terrible E fighter bleeds E like a pig. YAK is another. Force it to fight in vertical. Otoh an F6F will climb right up your rear and rip your tail off. Anyone here know of Frog? The P-47 fanatic. OK Frog is a LOUSY pilot yet he and I are about even in killing each other even though I hunt him in F6Fs and Kis s his P47 Reason is that Frog fights his P-47 within its envelope And he is patient not a runner just waits for YOU to screw up 10 seconds after I lock up with him he dies. IF I lock up in P-47 you watch for enemies above you stay 300 knots or better and don't waste ammo. Easy enough, but hard to do in practice I'll tell you what I think is the deadliest attack

Jrhillman: Let's say I do bleed off all of my e in a high-g turn trying to get guns on that vulch over 83 (at about 3k) how do I get it back in a hurry and not die?

Hocuspocus: hehehe... probably you don't

Shadownyc: fire your RATO packs

Jrhillman: Well, maybe I already knew that and just wanted to see if I was right <g>

Merchant: bail!

Hocuspocus: best thing you can do is kick rudder down and try to build speed as you loosen up on the turn. Part of the trick is KNOW YOUR AIRPLANE. That way you know when u are close to the edge and whether u can make it or not OK my favorite attack succeeds or kills you somebody ALWAYS dies If I am over an enemy I like to wait till I am DIRECTLY over 'em. I chop throttle, dial full flaps and go straight down with speed brakes. Picture this enemy point of view. Bogey diving straight up. What do you do?

Jrhillman: Roll left and dive?

Shadownyc: turn into him...loop up at last sec <g>

Hocuspocus: OK in order: If he dives you just follow him and match his speed + a little going up is best option, BUT How do you judge how fast I am???? If you blow it, you'll stall in front of my guns. Thing about straight down is that turn rate DOES NOT MATTER. If I am diving on a Zeke I can match any break turn just by rolling in direction of turn. If he zooms at right time I WEP, and pull flaps and go around. I'll try to make film of this but the advantage is you are coming in at an angle that is impossible for him to turn INTO the attack effectively. They expect you to be much faster so they try to make you overshoot and you can just pull in behind 'em. The problem in non airbrake planes is that you build to much speed and end up under the enemy. This is why a diving attack is PURE E fighting. The way I do it I come down with just enough speed to maneuver and not enough to overshoot I pick MY best speed

Cld: sounds easier then it is

Hocuspocus: True

Jrhillman: Not if you're HP!<g>

Hocuspocus: You need to be able to judge the direction and attitude of target hehe and I do die a lot. Twist, when he knows it's me and I don't know its him, can nail me every time. He uses same technique and can time the zoom perfect. Of course, when I know that he knows I pull up and let him stall. Bottom line.... there is no answer. Know your plane. Pick you best attitude, altitude and speed and maintain those things! Questions?

Shadownyc: what are your favorite planes?

Hocuspocus: in order (currently ETO: P38, FW, 109 A26 is kind porked right now. In the PAC its the Ki, 38 and F6F. I truly love the Ki. Can run down those damn 51s

Shadownyc: yep...to bad it's got cobwebs these days

Hotrail: wasn't the cam furball(the one with the A26 ) you flying it?

Hocuspocus: hehe yes it was Vulture cam

Hotrail: that's a very good example if everyone here wants to view it. done was it vulture or furball?

Hocuspocus: I have a gunner in that one...Wolfman my wingman Errrrrr..... beats me

Hotrail: its the one that comes with the box

Hocuspocus: I don't pay much attention to films:( I called it Vulture but BB may have renamed it Its in the box though

Bummer: Any energy management words of wisdom about the 109? ga

Hocuspocus: Noooo I didn't mention 109. OK 109. It's an odd bird IMO cause it isn't best at anything converse it ain't bad at anything either In the 109 the main thing is to try to keep your speed higher than the enemy against anything other than a Spit you would rather have a high speed cause 109 has, effectively, no flaps. High speed means 200+ You can convert speed into vertical fairly easily in one so the vertical is the element to use. Bad news. Good 38 pilot or equal Spit pilot will win vs. a 109. Good news. Not many good 38 pilots and few good pilots in Spits

Jrhillman: I resemble [resent?] that remark!

Shadownyc: :P

Hocuspocus: hehe practice makes perfect

Jrhillman: Practice make for a big bill..

Shebop: There's been an argument on Delphi, and I am curious as to what you think... Who has the true advantage in a fight - someone who is high and slow...or someone who is low and fast

Hocuspocus: OK, low and fast, no question

Shebop: what's your reasoning? (just for grins coz I agree with ya)

Hocuspocus: let me explain. High fighter dives low fighter zooms they trade places true? That ideal world. What actually happens is that AT THE MERGE the diver is accelerating while the zoomer is decelerating. Zoomer can whip around and be going back down faster than diver can do opposite. Low fast has options can keep going high guy has to dive can engage high guy MUST fight. High guy has one choice dive and attack or die. Btw in a duel I ALWAYS go low and come back up at merge.

Hotrail: I was just gonna say....hehe that the high and slow can get low and fast quick but I guess I was wrong again

Hocuspocus: no you right BUT <g> low guy is fast and horizontal high guy is now low, fast, and POINTED below horizon that's the edge of attitude

Hotrail: But! if you do not try to drop on the guys head can you not get on equal ground?

Hocuspocus: Ahhh good question. Presumption here is: That E states are EQUAL height-high=speed-low examine what happens if high guy spirals down, he doesn't get all of E back if he just dives he pointed wrong way I'm assuming that low guy WILL kill him if he don't do SOMETHING Crud has a point too: hard to judge and control E in dive err Cld not crud Freudian slip there