What's your preferred firing range?

[oc2209]

I'm curious what range everyone prefers to fire from when engaging fighters.

 

On my best days, I like to ram my nose (with a cannon in it, of course) up the target's tail, and fire 10-30 rounds before breaking away. This tactic will ensure one kill per attack pass the vast majority of the time. My record is 8 20mm rounds to down a MiG-3. 

 

On my bad days, I will waste 50-60 cannon rounds per kill from 100-200m.

 

Spraying from a distance is usually something I do out of either impatience or frustration. Like if I know I'm coming in too fast, and the target's begun to jink, and my angle's all wrong. I spray in the hopes of landing that one good hit so I don't have to come around again and line up another attack. Or, if I know I'm too slow, yet I'm afraid of lingering too long to get closer; I'll fire from a distance then.

 

The advantages of making each attack pass both high-speed and point-blank are many; but my nerves aren't always up to the task.

 

What's your favorite distance, and why?

[ITAF_Airone1989]

If I'm sure he cannot see me I get close also to 100/50m, but in an other situation 300m is a good range

[Avimimus]

A lot depends on the arrangement and type of armament of course. Machine guns should have to be fired at very close ranges to be most effective... aircraft which have wing mounted guns do better at moderately long convergence ranges, a fast aircraft with a low turn radius (i.e. Me-262) has to fire at longer ranges, as do less maneuverable aircraft (e.g. Bf-110). There is also the issue of firing at fighters vs. bombers vs. ground targets... which adds its own diversity.

[RedKestrel]

My firing ranges typically vary from 200-300 m. I'm flying aircraft with wing-mounted guns nearly 100% of the time so convergence is a big deal. Having a reasonable convergence for air combat that doesn't hamstring you at longer ranges is key. I also usually run ground attack missions in fighter-bombers, so I need a convergence that allows me to strafe ground targets in a dive without having to get so close I can't pull up.

In the P-47 I generally run my convergance at 280m - at this point, I can strafe soft targets and still pull out of my attack dive, and enemy fighters take up almost precisely one half of the diameter of the gunsight when they are at that distance. Because of my typical mission profile I rarely get a fighter on the bounce but I tend to open up at 280-300m and continuously fire until he's dead, maneuvering, or I'm extending. Even approaching at low six, waiting until I get much closer than that seems to get people spooked before I can start firing, so I'd rather get some hits in at convergence at longer range than wait for the perfect bounce. This might change if/when they fix the excessive aircraft sounds in the cockpit, which lets you hear some planes at a fair distance away. 
 

[oc2209]

11 hours ago, RedKestrel said:

In the P-47 I generally run my convergance at 280m - at this point, I can strafe soft targets and still pull out of my attack dive, and enemy fighters take up almost precisely one half of the diameter of the gunsight when they are at that distance.
 

 

Wait, the ring in the gunsight actually means something?!

 

Kidding. But just barely. I've never paid attention to careful range estimation. When I fly a plane with wing guns, I set convergence to 200m; it seems to work well enough for my purposes. In the Spitfire, Tempest, and Mustang, you can out-turn almost anything the Germans have (at least when flown by the AI); so I usually wait for a turn and try to set the engine on fire with a deflection shot as I pull through them. I've never been good at scoring fatal hits on a plane from dead-six (with wing guns). I feel like far too much ammo is wasted, compared to the deflection method.

 

And I've never even tried to learn how to fly the P-47 properly, outside of some quick battle testing. Without being able to enter sustained turn-fights, I can't imagine I'd be very effective with it.

13 hours ago, Avimimus said:

A lot depends on the arrangement and type of armament of course.

 

Right. One of the great things about waiting to fire until you're about to ram your target, is that differing trajectories (of, say, the Yak and 109's nose guns) no longer matter.

 

Conversely, wing guns and point-blank distance won't work, unless you get lucky and are able to twist one of your wings across the engine and cockpit of your target. Even then, you're completely wasting the ammo fired from the other wing.

 

And yes, I'm really a stickler for ammo conservation.

[Roast]

I tend to set my guns to the closest range possible, which is, of course, not 10 ft but [probably around 150 ft/50 meters or so

 

Mainly the cannons, I might add, the mg's are only used for spraying i.e. scratching some paint of the adversary

 

Wrong ?

 

 

 

 

 

Better ?

 

Edited August 14, 2020 by Roast

[jojy47jojyrocks]

My firing range depend on aircraft I'm targeting:

 

Bombers: approx 200-250m.

Fighter: approx 100-180m.

 

For wing guns-Setting to 190-250m varies on mission. Fighter or Bomber

Edited August 17, 2020 by jojy47jojyrocks

[oc2209]

On 8/14/2020 at 6:45 AM, Roast said:

I tend to set my guns to the closest range possible, which is, of course, not 10 ft but [probably around 150 ft/50 meters or so

 

Mainly the cannons, I might add, the mg's are only used for spraying i.e. scratching some paint of the adversary

 

I think throwing birds at a plane would be more effective in most cases than a 7.92mm/.30/.303 machine gun round.

 

The Lancaster, for example, would have been far better served by carrying large sacks of live pigeons into combat, in lieu of its tail turret.

[JBullard]

less than 100 meters for me.

[Dogbert1953]

2 inches i can actually see the enemy then.

[GOA_AveFenix506*VR*]

For long deflection/ slash attacks , i set to 700 Meters in german planes.

 

USA Planes 250 meters, Russian to 300.

[JG7_X-Man]

Technically - This will not apply to the 109 (without the gondolas) because in my opinion, the MG 17s and 131s are just to annoy or scare someone (put the opponent on the defensive fast) as the weapons have no real stopping power. Thus 500 m is good so they fly straight. For the Fw 190 however, 200 m is perfect for 2/4 20 mm wing cannons.

 

On multiplayer, I don't have time to get any closer that 200 m before someone else busts up the part, usually their mate 

[THERION]

Have a look at this YT video - quite well explained:

 

 

Hope some of you may be enlightened by this video like I was...

[Bremspropeller]

The one inRangeTV are going to.

[dbzero]

I play SP only so far. 200-300 works well for

me. Played mostly 109/190 so far. 

[oc2209]

On 8/21/2020 at 4:43 AM, JG7_X-Man said:

Technically - This will not apply to the 109 (without the gondolas) because in my opinion, the MG 17s and 131s are just to annoy or scare someone (put the opponent on the defensive fast) as the weapons have no real stopping power. Thus 500 m is good so they fly straight.

 

Agreed on the MG17, but not the 131. If you find the latter ineffectual, I suggest using them in deflection while turning, at ranges less than 200m. They are absolute murder in that capacity. If you manage to get a burst along the length of your target's fuselage, it will almost certainly be crippling.

[esk_pedja]

On 8/13/2020 at 11:36 AM, ITAF_Airone1989 said:

If I'm sure he cannot see me I get close also to 100/50m, but in an other situation 300m is a good range

 

I can't hit a "dead elephant" above 70 m - talking about plane vs plane.

 

I fire below 40 m distance, except aiming the Jug from FW-190 A/F-8...

Edited September 3, 2020 by esk_pedja

[JG7_X-Man]

On 8/26/2020 at 5:10 AM, oc2209 said:

 

Agreed on the MG17, but not the 131. If you find the latter ineffectual, I suggest using them in deflection while turning, at ranges less than 200m. They are absolute murder in that capacity. If you manage to get a burst along the length of your target's fuselage, it will almost certainly be crippling.

 

I just learned something! 

[oc2209]

On 8/28/2020 at 6:58 AM, JG7_X-Man said:

 

I just learned something! 

 

Yeah, I also fire in very short bursts most often; any time you're pulling through your target in a turn, you're blind-firing over your nose, and as such, you risk wasting a good deal of ammo when you miss. So I keep bursts down to roughly 50 rounds. Just today, I downed a Spitfire in career mode by striking it in the tail with nothing but my 13mm. I can guarantee 7.92s wouldn't have had the same effect.

 

Edit: Here's an example screenshot I just took this evening, where the stricken Yak was damaged solely by approximately 100 rounds of 13mm. It was in a rather shallow turn, so I could see the target as I fired. As you can see, the pilot's dead besides the vertical stabilizer being shorn off. Needless to say, most of my attacks aren't this devastating; but it is certainly possible.

 

Edited August 31, 2020 by oc2209

[Feathered_IV]

I’m mostly flying FC these days, so 10-15 metres is the ideal.