What to do when the enemy is above you?

[Wolfs]

Dear everybody,

 

I'm having trouble dealing with enemies that start above me in an engagement.

 

Yesterday i was flying in a 109 together with a friend and we got jumped flying at 3km by yaks coming from little below 5km.

First thing i did was going full throttle and try to get to a higher altitude before the engagement started but unfortunately they saw us and used their altitude advantage to jump us. After trying to climb and some evading i dove down with a yak on my tail and managed to evade some shots by doing barrel rolls whilst going down to the ground however the yak managed to hit me quite badly and i had to flee into a cloud.

 

I want to ask everybody how they would deal with enemies starting above them and if anybody has some nice maneauvers to make or some footage of such scenarios.

 

Cheers,

Wolfs

[IRRE_Rolluptito]

Hi Wolfs, 

 

First thing with a bf109: flight high, always higher than your enemies and at a higher energy state, cause if they are at higher altitude and good pilots, they will for (almost) sure kill you. 

 

Okay, in this situation, if you're in a BF109 at 3km and the Yak is at 5-6km and is bouncing on you, you can do simple evasive manœuvres like a simple break or a split S. Wait the good moment to do it, do not let him know immediately that you have an eye on him. Do it when he's close but not at gun range too.

That, is to avoid immediate risk of death. 

 

The surprise of your break-move as he thought it was going to be an easy kill can surprise him and make him burn a lot of energy in a tight turn. 

 

(You have to keep in mind that you have the climb speed and the dive speed for you in this case. Max dive-speed for Yaks is 720, where yours is 850.)

 

After that, it depends what the other pilot do. If he burns a lot of energy in a turn you can attract him in your split S and use your energy, your engine and the fact that 109 is better at climbing to set something like a Rope A Dope or a Hammer-head.

 

Fight with vertical maneuvers and keep a high energy state. Make the Yak bleed his energy, and manage yours, set traps and you will have for sure some shooting windows. 

 

Fight on your terms, do not let him force you to enter in a turn-fight or in a barrel roll or your screwed as it will be better in this situation. 

 

 

Now if he's a good pilot, on his first attack he might climb back high where he was. Here, you're pretty much screwed. So your can dive...

Dive in friendly direction (don't forget that you dive 130km/h faster than him). Once he's not on your back anymore climb higher than him, and come back later with a better situation, and fight on your terms. 

 

Edited July 27, 2016 by rolluptito

[IRRE_Rolluptito]

PS: read Johan Kylander's awesome book "In Pursuit", you will learn a lot (lot lot lot...) about that kind of situations: http://www.virtualpilots.fi/feature/lento_ohjeet/inpursuit/inpursuit.pdf !

 

PS2: and there's some nice team-play advices in it, if you want to set some traps, defensive or attack maneuvers with your friend.

 

Edited July 27, 2016 by rolluptito

[Wolfs]

Thanks for the advice and the book rolluptito!

Will definitely give it a read.

 

Regarding the advice to always fly higher and have an higher energy state, this is unfortunately on the wings of shittery server not always possible since russians will be cruising around the german bases at 5km altitude waiting for someone to take off. Any tips on that?

 

For now i'm practicising in the qmb with enemy yak's(ace) spawning 1.5km above me but that seems to be way easier than it is in multiplayer.

[IRRE_Rolluptito]

You're welcome.

 

Well, try to take-off somewhere else, further in your territory. But if you have no choice, take a bit more fuel, wait for the good moment to go without too much danger, take-off but stay low and fast, hide and extend some kilometers flying low (not in the direction of your enemies of course), once your secure some km away, climb fast at the optimal speed and come back to secure your airfield. But it's always better to take-off from a safe airfield if you don't have air superiority over airfields that are close to enemy lines. Try to take back air superiority and you'll be able to take-off from there next time.

 

A least, it's my opinion. A 109 taking-off without air superiority is like a legless zebra in lions city. 

Edited July 27, 2016 by rolluptito

[Eagle-OnePirabee]

My problem is when diving with the 109 (which is my preferred bird) I'm nearly always losing control and overspeeding and breaking up. Others do it so beautifully, hanging up there for like eternity nose-down and even manage to fight as well. I try it and the speed rockets instantly above 700kph and I'm unable to even hit the brolly. Do others use speedbrakes or flaps or something? Glad if you guys can help me here.

 

Pirabee.

[II/JG17_HerrMurf]

The 109 can get into an overspeed very quickly. By the time you are hitting 550, or so, you should already be getting the nose up to no more than about 15 degrees below the horizon. Then you can manage the speed efficiently. I don't use a lot of trim adjustments but an extended climb or dive with a pursuer may require maximum efficiency.

 

Pay attention to the bubble in all phases of flight as the pedals do require constant attention in the 109.

[Eagle-OnePirabee]

Thanks HerrMurf for the tips. I'm gonna watch 550kph lile a hawk from now on. Interestingly, I wearied of my saitek ProFlight rudders and went for the twist function instead but something tells me that realistic flight control can only be attained by foot rudder use. My sensitivities on the Saitek were way overboard and no level of tweaking helped. Ive heard of some modding work that many here have done which involves taking the device apart, but Im afraid Im not that capable with taking things apart and putting them back again.

 

Pirabee.

[II/JG17_HerrMurf]

The 109 requires constant deflection except at economical cruise settings because of the fixed trim tabs. Low speeds/right pedal, high speeds/left pedal. If you can afford them the MFG Crosswinds are unbeatable and hyper precise. The VKB T-Rudder also gets positive reviews but I have not tried them personally.