Tips on flying Russian aircraft?

[mattebubben]

Are there any tips on flying the Lagg 3 or yak1 and how to combat the Bf 109 in them.

 

[LLv34_Flanker]

S!

 

 For what it is worth, keep speed in the LaGG-3 and do not engage in prolonged turn fights. You will be low on E and 109's eat you alive. In the Yak you have better controls than in 109, better turn and quite strong weapons. With the use of flaps the 109 can not keep up in turns and Yak is quite fast as well. In short, keep head on a swivel, speed up and altitude advantage. Slash in and out fast, gain better position and repeat while have a lookout for sneaky opponents.

[=38=Tatarenko]

For the LaGG-3 - just don't choose it. I know it has its supporters who will chime in below but ignore them

 

For the Yak-1 - same as any other plane: start higher, shoot straighter, fly smoother. Don't get into low speed very tight turns except against the 190. You are serious competition for the 109 and 190 under 3000m alt so behave like it. Think of them as prey and be aggressive.

 

Or, if it's late and you're not feeling up to it, do what I do and fly the IL-2.

[mattebubben]

in the yak1 how do i combat the 109 other then not doing low speed turns?

Or is it simply a fact of seeing enemy first and diving on them and keeping alt advantage and if i get into a even term dogfight im screwd?

[LLv34_Flanker]

S!

 

 As Tatarenko pointed out the Yak can kick the 109 in the nuts below 3000m. The easier way is to pick a target from the furball, slash through and take the shot and get up again. If tied to a turn fight the Yak can win, especially with low fuel load and well timed use of flaps. This "flap abuse" is ridiculous though, makes BoS look like an arcade game instead of a simulator. Anyways, speed and altitude advantage = E and E = win.

[mattebubben]

ok thank you for the tips guys =>

And what about best use for the La-5? mostly the same i presume using Energy and slashing attacks.

Edited August 4, 2014 by SAFmattebubben

[Finkeren]

The La-5 should be flown pretty much like the Fw 190: Keep your speed high and restrict use of the boost button (it's important that the engine is cool enough to use boost with cowl flaps closed, when it's needed)

 

The La-5 is extremely fast at low altitude and can outrun anything with boost on and cowl flaps closed. If you find your self at a disadvantage, just put it into a shallow dive and let the engine and gravity take care of the rest.

[=38=Tatarenko]

in the yak1 how do i combat the 109 other then not doing low speed turns?

Or is it simply a fact of seeing enemy first and diving on them and keeping alt advantage and if i get into a even term dogfight im screwd?

 

Re Yak vs 109 - the reason tight turns aren't great in the Yak is that the 109 has slats and incremental flaps and when the fight gets really slow and possibly into scissors, he has the advantage.

 

The best target is the 109 who is on someone else's tail because he's not looking at you. Think like that and you'll win.

 

But one on one you are so close to the 109 that the best pilot will win. It will come down, as Flanker says, to who can keep their energy best. The better pilot will end up 300m above a wallowing opponent. Keep your speed to 290 in turns if possible. If he pulls hard to come inside you he is losing energy. Evade him by doing a high yoyo, tightening your turn and keeping your energy.

 

But remember what I said about shooting. Many opportunities are lost through bad shooting. Practice especially head on shots. And remember that in combat most pilots used a 2 second burst. Give him plenty of fire, it might be the only chance you get.

 

With the La-5 your main advantage is speed. You can disengage from an enemy almost at will. Hit the boost button and close your cowl flaps and you're out of there. Fight while you have the advantage and the moment the tables turn and before he is 80 yards on your six, extend and disengage. Carry plenty of fuel and know that you have more seconds of cannon ammo than your opponent.

 

Never worry about evading a fight. If it looks bad and you have a messer 800m above you then all else being equal, you WILL lose. Look around for friendlies you can fly towards, friendly flak/trains/airbases. Use clouds, use the sun.

 

For most good pilots - the fight is won during the initial positioning and surprise. Sure, you see people online with 8 kills and no points because they air quake until they die. I have more respect for the guy with 3 kills and no deaths. Don't head into a furball at 300m alt and expect to get out of there.

Edited August 4, 2014 by =38=Tatarenko

[LLv34_Flanker]

S!

 

 This book on my shelf is pretty good read  http://www.sci.fi/~fta/fighter_combat.htm

[Livai]

With the LaGG-3 you are a very easy target.

 

If I play the Russian side I choose Yak-1 or La-5 how I like. Then I go at high altitude much as possible and look that the sun is behind me and if some clouds are there to be harder to spot when I start my attack. I never follow my enemy when the attack from high altitude failed I use the speed to gain altitude much as possible again. I never want to lose my altitude advantage.

 

A enemy dont follow you if he see you have a altitude advantage if he follow you he do a very big mistake and a easy target for you.

 

I like to build for my enemy a trap. Funny to see how easy it is if you are a Russian Fighter.

 

And if you fly with a team then it is much easier because someone have eyes on you and when you get in trouble someone comes to help you. Be careful if you fly alone and want to attack a team who fly together. Alone against a team your lost is programmed

[ShamrockOneFive]

on my first day palying i out truned several 109 with a lagg

 

the trick is not turn to the limit when level turning but do it smothly at 270 kph

 

I'll further that... the LaGG-3 is not easy to fly competitively as its definitely the inferior type, however, raaaid is right that you should not try and turn to the limit but keep your speed up. Both Yak-1 and LaGG-3 turn better around the 300kph mark so rather than matching 109 for a tight break turn, instead, do a wing over and use angle and speed as your guide in any combat turns. The Yak-1 is undeniably better but I'm sure there are LaGG-3 supporters and its not all bad either - in particular the armament options on the LaGG-3 do make it an appealing type.

[=38=Tatarenko]

Just an example from the last match I just played - the Germans were flying at alt and ganging up on our fighters and getting kills so I went a base to the rear to Grishin (in a Yak-1) and took 50+% fuel and climbed to 6000m before entering the combat area. At one point I had an F4 and G2 coming to get me but I shot the F4 down and the G2 dived away. The trick was a very slow scissors at high alt with full flaps and just 112 speed at one point! The F4 couldn't quite stay with it, put nose down and came out in front.

Then on the same flight I met a 190 at 5000m and finally shot him down right on the deck after he made a mistake at 3000m.

 

Most notably the top 5 Axis pilots had all been killed at least 2x, one guy 8 times. Of the top 5 Soviet pilots, three of us hadn't been killed at all.

 

Now obviously this doesn't always happen. MrX and VikS weren't flying so we had a chance

 

But the point is that the Russian planes can win and win well if you start the fight in the right position and don't insist on dogfighting right over their flak. Don't be a victim up there by flying under a Messer umbrella. Get up there and shoot the invading bastards down!

Edited August 4, 2014 by =38=Tatarenko

[Livai]

MrX and VikS weren't flying so we had a chance

 

How to fly a Russian Plane watch 0:44 - 0:50

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fqolfc5lLNE

 

Take a look at youtube videos, too. Why you can learn a lot from them but the rest is experience.

[=38=Tatarenko]

Yes he was 14 for 0 the other day. That's skill!

[BraveSirRobin]

Yes he was 14 for 0 the other day. That's skill!

 

What's so tough about flying 14 missions with no kills?  I do it all the time...

[Livai]

Yes he was 14 for 0 the other day. That's skill!

 

14 kill and 0 deaths is great I would not say this is skill but I would say more luck because the other team or player played not good enough. I dont had a chance to play with him or against him in a teamplay but looking at his video from BoS I would say he has the skill to read the player who is flying the enemy plane if it is a good or worse player and to use his mistake against him. And that should everyone learn.

[MK_RED13]

 

How to fly a Russian Plane watch 0:44 - 0:50

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fqolfc5lLNE

 

Take a look at youtube videos, too. Why you can learn a lot from them but the rest is experience.

:-) interesting DM of VVS weapon.. hmm... one hit=kill.. 2:36...4:08...4:23.... 5:04... It is very ridiculous... or MrX=sorcerer!  

[andyw248]

That's a pretty old video from the days when we didn't have MP yet... don't count on that DM anymore - your VVS plane will break if you try

[oneeyeddog]

S!

 

 As Tatarenko pointed out the Yak can kick the 109 in the nuts below 3000m. The easier way is to pick a target from the furball, slash through and take the shot and get up again. If tied to a turn fight the Yak can win, especially with low fuel load and well timed use of flaps. This "flap abuse" is ridiculous though, makes BoS look like an arcade game instead of a simulator. Anyways, speed and altitude advantage = E and E = win.

Flanker, In the Quick Missions I swear that I've seen the AI Yaks deploy flaps too.

[Duckman]

This "flap abuse" is ridiculous though, makes BoS look like an arcade game instead of a simulator.

 

Flap abuse is of course a long-standing issue and was present in the original Il2 as well.

 

I remember something about the reason being that - apart from the fact that we don't die and are thus willing to tolerate lower speed and higher risk - the flaps in sims are usually "instant on/off" whereas in a real world war two aircraft you would have to fiddle with a wheel or something like that. In any case it wasn't a question of popping them in and out all the time because it took time, effort, and a bit of concentration.

 

Anyone know more about this? Are the flaps still "instant on/off"?

Edited August 10, 2014 by Duckman

[Rama]

Are the flaps still "instant on/off"?

They aren't.

[Descolada]

Also it wasn't exactly completely unheard of to use flaps in combat. Almost all USAAF planes had a combat setting that was used quite frequently, though afaik none of the german/vvs planes had any such setting.