How the fly the Dolphin in combat

[No.23_Starling]

Any ideas? I don’t think I’ve seen anyone flying it yet in the new MP maps. When I try to turn like a Camel I enter an awful spin, and I don’t get the same speed or climb as the SE or Spad.

 

help!!

[JGr2/J5_Klugermann]

14 minutes ago, FokkerFodder said:

 I don’t think I’ve seen anyone flying it yet in the new MP maps.

 

help!!

 

There's a reason for that. The best way fly a Dolphin in combat is away from the action.

[No.23_Triggers]

I think the Dolphin might be underperforming slightly in FC / RoF. Pilot accounts say that it was very docile to fly - not heard anything about the nasty spin that 'our' Dolphin often gets into. Apparently, when the real thing was tested in a mock-dogfight, it absolutely whipped the camel it was up against...

 

As for fighting in it...ask Cuban / Apache...he's the Dolphin master round these parts...

Edited November 25, 2019 by US93_Larner

[ZachariasX]

 

1 hour ago, FokkerFodder said:

I don’t think I’ve seen anyone flying it yet in the new MP maps.

I do. (Yes I die. A lot. Often fast.)

 

1 hour ago, FokkerFodder said:

When I try to turn like a Camel

You can't.

 

1 hour ago, FokkerFodder said:

I enter an awful spin

It does spin better than the Camel, ey? Now learn how to exit the spin. It's possible.

 

1 hour ago, FokkerFodder said:

I don’t get the same speed or climb as the SE or Spad.

That's because in this game, it is the slower aircraft.

 

1 hour ago, FokkerFodder said:

Any ideas?

- Any fast firing twin gun aircraft well flown in this game is lethal.

- You have the best view in combat, this comes handy in furballs.

- You can put the most guns on that Dolphin. No other aircraft can mount 6 guns. If you can shoot, head on with 4 guns is instakill for the enemy. They might cry in chat about bad pilot damage etc., let them.

- People often make mistakes when they find "easy prey". Oblique guns are death setence for any prop hanging D7.

- At low altitude, you can outturn the D7 (NOT the D7F!), the Pfalz, and the Alb if you manage a sustained climbing turn AND survive the first full circle. By then they pissed they energyy and resort to prophaning under you. With altitude advantage and subsequent diving turns, you can outturn them. If they hit the brakes you shoot them in passes.

- 6 guns and twoseaters are no match. In case you have good aim.

 

If there are more than one against you or a Dr.I that has marked you, then

45 minutes ago, J5_Klugermann said:

The best way fly a Dolphin in combat is away from the action.

 

Besides, it's fun to take down enemies that think your ride is daft.

 

Edited November 25, 2019 by ZachariasX

[J2_Trupobaw]

Same as Camel, fly her as energy fighter. Dolphin excells as team plane.

[JGr2/J5_Klugermann]

8 minutes ago, J2_Trupobaw said:

Same as Camel, fly her as energy fighter. Dolphin excells as team plane.

 

streak killer

[SeaW0lf]

The Dolphin is to be flown as an energy fighter, as already mentioned, but to me she is an expert / veteran plane. You need to know what you are doing because she not that fast and you could be in trouble in a pinch. The good part is that you can turnfight with her against almost anything, something you cannot do with the Spad [some people can] and the SE5a. With altitude advantage and in descendant turns and bounces, even the Fokker Dr1will be in danger if you get used to avoid spins. If you drag a D7 vanilla to the deck, she is generally done.

 

I rather fly the Dolphin than the SE5a just because you can turnfight with her and work a vertical fight at the same time. She’s a very fun ride. I have not flown her lately because of the D7Fs and full real mission scenarios.

 

But I would not use the oblique guns, not even the wing mounted Lewis guns. It appears to have not being usual. The standard appears to have been one single Lewis gun, and some pilots would take it off, since in real life they were a pain to deal with. The exception appears to be the 87th squadron, with some Dolphins with two Lewis guns on the lower wings (could not be tilted or reloaded). You also compromise on speed and turn-ability. Not even in furball servers I would use it [weapon mods needs a deep review in this game].

 

[No.23_Starling]

Thanks guys, awesome as always. So I took her up for a few sorties. Dove on a furball and oiled up a Dr1 in my first pass. She can keep with the Dr1 in a turn nicely  with speed which was very satisfying. Sadly, the energy burn meant another Dr1 and DviiF jumped on me. It was comical how shafted I was. Emergency landed safely. Next sortie got a balloon and then a 2 seater over mud. The Dolphin really struggled to keep up with Halbi and felt almost slower than a Camel.

 

It made me beg the question of why didn’t I just fly the Camel? The Dolphin feels a bit pointless when the Camel and SE5 are both there which is a shame given the work on the model.

[SeaW0lf]

4 minutes ago, FokkerFodder said:

It made me beg the question of why didn’t I just fly the Camel? The Dolphin feels a bit pointless when the Camel and SE5 are both there which is a shame given the work on the model.

 

Yes, the Camel is for sure a better option, but you could work with the Dolphin for balance purposes [pointless at the moment since the D7F is available in good numbers] or if you are looking for some vertical fighting. It is very rewarding when you shot down a D7F or to get into a mêlée with a couple Albatroses.

[1PL-Lucas-1Esk]

The Dolphin is in my opinion the best gun platform in the FC. Stable, with excellent responses while performing vertical maneouvers. Remember, that the prop rotates counterclockwise (just like in the S.13), so she better turns to the left, than to the right. Sure, she is tricky, but can be very deadly at low alt, up to 6000 feet. It is a very versalite plane, as you can boom and zoom and also turn fight. When performing a vertical fight, you have to be very careful and gentle with the speed and high G's, as you can loose your wings

[BMA_Hellbender]

Ah, the old flipper, she's got it where it counts. You're better off in a Camel, obviously, but if you're a good shot you could potentially blast anything out of the sky before the fight even starts. It's a stable gun platform and you can add overwing guns to it. Against:

 

Pfalz: energy fight (left hand climbing turn, dive and attack with energy, repeat)

Albatros: energy fight (left hand climbing turn, dive and attack with energy, repeat)

Dr.I: one pass, haul ass

D.VII: turn and burn

D.VIIF: turn and pray

 

And as always, avoid attacking two-seaters alone if at all possible.

[J5_Gamecock]

1 hour ago, FokkerFodder said:

Thanks guys, awesome as always. So I took her up for a few sorties. Dove on a furball and oiled up a Dr1 in my first pass. She can keep with the Dr1 in a turn nicely  with speed which was very satisfying. Sadly, the energy burn meant another Dr1 and DviiF jumped on me. It was comical how shafted I was. Emergency landed safely. Next sortie got a balloon and then a 2 seater over mud. The Dolphin really struggled to keep up with Halbi and felt almost slower than a Camel.

 

It made me beg the question of why didn’t I just fly the Camel? The Dolphin feels a bit pointless when the Camel and SE5 are both there which is a shame given the work on the model.

You want to talk pointless?  Try flying the Alb, the Pfalz, or even the Diesel VII against heards of Camels.

[US103_Baer]

8 hours ago, J5_Gamecock said:

You want to talk pointless?  Try flying the Alb, the Pfalz, or even the Diesel VII against heards of Camels.

 

Apparently that would be either caravans or flocks of Camels.

 

But yeah, the way FC is at the moment, flying anything other than a D7f or Camel is for the mature brave pilot.

 

Edited November 26, 2019 by US103_Baer

[SeaW0lf]

I disagree on the Camel. The pilot physiology crippled the Camel bad. I rather fly the Dr1 (which is still post 2014 patch), since most players will not make good use of the Camel engine and speed. Two good Albatros players will give the Camel a hard time, something that was a breeze before. You can only have trouble with the Camel in a Dr1 if the player is flying on fumes or if you are rusty and get stuck on the left turns (the Camel is easier to fly). Also, a good D7F pilot will also dominate the Camel after 7000ft. Of course, you can mince an Albatros or a Pfalz in a duel, but I would expect it so, even the ROF DVa against the crippled ROF Camel. Even the N17 topples the Dva in ROF on furball servers, although there are a few people flying N17s.

 

Although the Camel is still better than the Dolphin, since you can turn with almost anything but the Dr1 depending on the fuel loads and split-s' you do. If the ROF Camel wasn’t so crippled, they could have kept the FM. It would require some tweaking. The [bad*] surprise was that they rolled back the Albatros and the Pfalz.

 

But I hope that they will fix the Dva and Pfalz with engine variants. I do miss the post 2014 DVa.

 

 

Edited November 26, 2019 by SeaW0lf

[No.23_Starling]

It sounds like a 110hp Camel and 200hp DVII, Dva, and Pfalz could really help with the balancing and give a bird like the Dolphin more of a chance?

 

I don’t think anything needs to change with the current Camel or Dvii, rather provide alternatives engines to give server admins help with balancing. 

[J2_Trupobaw]

On 11/26/2019 at 2:07 PM, SeaW0lf said:

I disagree on the Camel. The pilot physiology crippled the Camel bad. I rather fly the Dr1 (which is still post 2014 patch), since most players will not make good use of the Camel engine and speed. Two good Albatros players will give the Camel a hard time, something that was a breeze before. You can only have trouble with the Camel in a Dr1 if the player is flying on fumes or if you are rusty and get stuck on the left turns (the Camel is easier to fly). Also, a good D7F pilot will also dominate the Camel after 7000ft. Of course, you can mince an Albatros or a Pfalz in a duel, but I would expect it so, even the ROF DVa against the crippled ROF Camel. Even the N17 topples the Dva in ROF on furball servers, although there are a few people flying N17s.

 

I can't agree with that - all that was crippled was stick-to-belly turn and burn (and good riddance to that). Camel can still combine energy fighting with very tight turns. 
Other planes were crippled more, as before you could at least dive onto the Camel at high speed then spend this speed to stay with Camel long enough to kill it. Now it's one way ticket to pilot passing out on you, you need to moderate your energy spending and do your turns while flying slow while Camel still produces energy out of thin air and can convert speed pilot can't handle to altitude. 

I suppose the Camel might have turned from plane you like flying into plane I like :). But it's far from crippled, especially given caliber of her oposition.

Edited November 27, 2019 by J2_Trupobaw

[HagarTheHorrible]

I know it's been said before, only like a million times, but I still think the problem, at least in part, is the shooting accuracy over longer ranges.  I don't mean dispersion neccesarily as employed in RoF, but aircraft stability and control system efficiency.  Once engaged it is very dificult to disengage, even if you are in an aircraft, like the Alb, that should be able to dive and accelerate away from rotaries like the Camel.  It means that once engaged it's pretty much a fight to the death and everything, apart from the "f" on the Central side only has a very limited set of options or time frame to take out their adversary.  I don't think it was possible to resolve in RoF, apart from through dispersion, because players had response curves, so they could pretty much undo anything that the Dev's might have tried to do to fix it through aerodynamics.

[BMA_Hellbender]

On 11/26/2019 at 2:07 PM, SeaW0lf said:

I disagree on the Camel. The pilot physiology crippled the Camel bad. I rather fly the Dr1 (which is still post 2014 patch), since most players will not make good use of the Camel engine and speed. Two good Albatros players will give the Camel a hard time, something that was a breeze before.

 

It's become very clear that both its speed and rate of turn have become the Camel's enemies in a sustained dogfight.

 

Flown as an energy fighter there is still nothing that tops her down low in a 1 vs 1, but I agree that with the new physiology and damage model, there's potential to make things very, very interesting again. After all, life is all about adapting to change. Some might call this gaming the game. We will see.

[SeaW0lf]

11 minutes ago, J5_Hellbender said:

 

It's become very clear that both its speed and rate of turn have become the Camel's enemies in a sustained dogfight.

 

Flown as an energy fighter there is still nothing that tops her down low in a 1 vs 1, but I agree that with the new physiology and damage model, there's potential to make things very, very interesting again. After all, life is all about adapting to change. Some might call this gaming the game. We will see.

 

I'm adapting, but I'm still not sure if this is realistic, since as you said, you have to fly the Camel as an energy fighter, which she's not. But because we are in a game and a real Camel would behave most likely totally different, with a different physiology, we just have to game the game.

 

But the question is: since it is very dangerous to get on the inside flying the Camel and trade blows, she is more exposed to two or more adversaries, something that happens with energy fighters. So I rather fly the Dr1. Perhaps who is a good shot or has a very low ping can get the job done in a few turns, but even then it is not that easy. The problem with the Dr1 is that you cannot venture freely on enemy territory because she is slow as a snail, but at the mud or in friendly territory, the Dr1 fits like a glove to me. 

 

The interesting would be for you to face yourself (a clone let’s say) in a Camel or a Dr1. That would be fun. I'm not really sure if I would win myself in a Camel or in a Dr1. Tough call. Perhaps it would depend on the altitude.