Bristol Fighter - flying tips

[Talisman]

Hi Folks,

 

Just a short note to ask if anyone has any tips for flying the Bristol Fighter that they would like to pass on?

 

I am thinking of giving this aircraft a try, but I have not flown a two seater before.  I may have the chance of getting a human rear gunner, so aircrew team tactics as well as flying tips would come in handy if anyone would be so kind.

 

Any information would be gratefully received.

 

Thank you in anticipation.

 

Happy landings,

 

Talisman

[BMA_Hellbender]

I would normally direct you towards Requiem's Air Combat Tutorial Library, but he hasn't made a video for the Bristol yet.

 

From my own experience I would suggest:

• fly fast
• fly low but not too low
• fly high but not too high
• practice shallow diving at full throttle and max RPM
• practice the tightest split-S you can without passing out
• don't forget that you have mixture and radiator controls
• use your adjustable stabilizer to assist you in maneuvers
• don't go for a 1 vs. 1 dogfight unless you have a massive altitude advantage, and even then expect to get bounced by his friends
• don't forget that you have mixture and radiator controls
• you can add a tremendous amount of pressure to any on-going dogfight without getting in the way of others and steal score some kills in the process
• the front Vickers is very precise, but it is your secondary defensive armament, the real firepower is in the back
• have patience with your gunner, there will come a time that you set up a perfect shot for him and he has to reload both his drums
• ask your gunner for patience, there will come a time that he has a perfect shot and you're turning your leaking wreck home to land
• trust your gunner, he can make that shot even though you think he can't
• don't trust your gunner, he can't gun them all down before you get gunned down first (and you're flying so it's your responsibility)
• don't forget your camera/radio/bombs/fuel, if you're into that sort of thing
• don't forget that you have mixture and radiator controls
• if at all possible, find another Bristol to pair up with

 

 

EDIT: Oh, I almost forgot the most important one:

 

• don't listen to advice given out on forums, do your own thing and find what works for you

 

Best of luck to you and your crew!

 

Edited November 4, 2019 by J5_Hellbender

[Zooropa_Fly]

Tip #1 : Persuade Cptn. Darling to abandon Bender in favour of your Bristol.

 

Failing that, note that the Bristol is a good climber, a powerful beast.

In RoF I found it very effective against most German crates, with all but A+ pilots.

Scissors was my secret. Gaining altitude with each turn (the power man), and eventually popping the enemy up in front of the gooner.

It's biggest weapon of course is it's roar.

Puts the willy's up the Bosch as soon as they hear it.

[RNAS10_Oliver]

I did not touch the Bristol much in Rise of Flight and rather the DH4 was the two seater that had sole possession over me. But lacking that aircraft in Flying Circus I've been using the Bristol much more. And I've been enjoying using her also to be honest.

 

I would echo the remarks above about her being a good climber and remembering to use your adjustable stabilizer (though tend forget to use this to help me during dogfights). Most of these early aircraft seem to need to you to put some degree of constant force on the stick. But the Bristol seems to climb on its own once you have the adjustable stabilizer set for full nose down, and you need just operate your rudder pedals to keep her straight or carry out turns, no hands on stick needed when climbing.

 

Also echo the remarks about going fast and the shallow dives with max power. Consider that its level and shallow diving speed have saved my virtual life a number of times.

No advice needed for landing her.

 

Contrary to the above I've tended to consider its forward firing armament to be the primary armament. Though that may be because I've unfortunatley not tended to have human gunners in the back, or at least not none that have been in voice communication with me. I also find one front Vickers to be enough firepower during dogfights. Therefore I've not seen much point in bothering with the extra weapons available, as providing more firepower to my front (which already seems suitable enough to me) and to my Observer (whom is not to be relied upon anyway) at the expense of the aircrafts speed does not seem a worthwhile trade to me.

 

Downside in the two seater roles is the bombsight. It's just too restrictive. As it limits the altitude for your bomb run to being either 10,000 feet (3,000 meters) or 15,000 feet (4,500 meters) and also limits your airspeed to two variables (altitude and airspeed parameters in imperial along with some engine limitations are provided on a plaque on the instrument panel).

 

In Rise of Flight with the DH4 you tended to be able to set the bombsights parameters in such a manner that gave you a more forward view and provided more warning that you needed to correct your run before you needed to drop your bombs (reconfiguring the bombsights parameters near the final moments). But with these restrictive parameters on the Bristols bombsight thats not quite possible (or at least the gains not worthwhile compared to the delay in reconfiguring the bombsight). So making sure your turn onto the bomb run is going to get you straight and true over the target, and keeping it thus, is somewhat important but difficult. Something I found helpful for this the other week was using my phone to take a picture of the target and the terrain I would pass over on my bomb run and use this image to guide me, comparing what I was seeing through the bombsight to the image, correcting any deviation. Though I realise thats not going to help when using headsets instead of monitors.

 

Edited November 5, 2019 by Oliver88

[slug_yuugen]

Get in the III its a beast compared with the II. ?

 

I've eschewed the bomb sight in favor of diving from around 4000ft to release over the target between 500-1000ft at full wack then getting terrain between myself and the targets defenses.

 

The time you'll get bounced is immediately after apologizing to the Observer for the boring flight so far.

[Talisman]

Many thanks to you all for your replies folks.  I very much appreciate your responses.

 

One more thing, what advantage/use are the modifications for the radio and the camera?

Is the radio usable by me to send and receive messages and can I actually take pictures with camera, or is it just the case that having them on board means that I can complete some missions and not others if they are not selected? 

 

Thanks again.

 

Happy landings,

 

Talisman

[No.23_Gaylion]

I've got a "fighting two seater" manual in the works based on a previous life of strictly two seater flying. It is also sprinkled with historical accounts, statements, tips, and pictures as well. Just need to find the time to get it sorted out.

[RNAS10_Oliver]

3 hours ago, 56RAF_Talisman said:

Many thanks to you all for your replies folks.  I very much appreciate your responses.

 

One more thing, what advantage/use are the modifications for the radio and the camera?

Is the radio usable by me to send and receive messages and can I actually take pictures with camera, or is it just the case that having them on board means that I can complete some missions and not others if they are not selected? 

 

Thanks again.

 

Happy landings,

 

Talisman

As far as I know it’s the latter.

[J2_Trupobaw]

IIRC the general advice was "Fly it like S.E.5a with back gunner and less roll".