Dogfighting maneuvers
- Thread starter spurdozer
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Climb Performance
Your aircraft's ability to gain altitude, or climb, is hampered by weight and drag. The easiest way to improve your climb performance is to get rid of any unnecessary equipment. If you're going to concentrate on air-to-air combat, get rid of any bombs you're carrying. All that air-to-mud equipment only slows you down, making you more vulnerable.
If you have external fuel tanks that are empty, drop them, too (in the F-15 Strike Eagle, for instance, your external tanks are empty when fuel remaining is less than 13,500 pounds). Fuel tanks increase drag, hurting your ability to climb.
A fighters has excellent climb performance when not loaded down with bombs and fuel. In this configuration, it can be considered ballistic because it can produce more pounds of thrust than the plane weighs and therefore can accelerate straight up at full power.
For each aircraft, there's an optimum climb rate at which trading speed for altitude and altitude for speed is minimized. When performing a sustained climb, keep your airspeed in mind. If you climb too steeply, you'll use fuel faster and lose air speed, which will take some time to recover once you reach your desired altitude. If your climb is too shallow, it will take longer to reach your desired altitude.
Acceleration Performance and Unloading
Acceleration is primarily affected by weight and thrust. Kicking in the afterburner increases your speed somewhat, but the best way to pick up a lot of speed in a short amount of time is to dive.
Figure 3-1. Ballistic Climb
An F-15 in an air-to-air configuration (AIM-7 Sparrow and AIM-9 Sidewinder missiles) in a ballistic climb.
NOTE
A gentle, unloaded dive will produce the best acceleration performance in most situations.
The trick here isn't to push hard on the stick in an attempt to dive straight down, but to perform a maneuver called unloading. In unloading, you're removing the weight of the aircraft that slows acceleration.
To do this, push forward on the stick slightly to obtain a gentle dive. This starts a gradual dive and produces a zero G condition. This is similar to going over a small hill with a car or bicycleas you go over the crest, you're momentarily weightless as you come out of your seat. The same thing happens when you unload an aircraft; however, an aircraft can continue to lose altitude and thus remain unloaded for quite some time.
Without the weight of the airplane holding it back, the speed of the plane can be increased rapidly. This can happen so quickly, in fact, that you need to keep your eye on the air-speed indicator to make sure you don't exceed the structural design limits of the aircraft, or Vmax. The Vmax of an aircraft is the maximum airspeed it can attain without ripping its wings off.
WARNING
When you see the Vmax warning, you should immediately cut power, extend your airbrakes, or pull up. (Make sure you already know which key operates the airbrakes, because you won't have time to look it up.)
Another method of increasing acceleration is to use a very steep dive. During a steep or ballistic dive, gravity greatly increases your aircraft's acceleration. In this case, if two planes are equal in all aspects but weight, the heavier plane will accelerate faster and achieve a higher terminal velocity.
If two planes are equal in weight but one has lower drag (because its shape is more efficient, or it's carrying fewer externals such as drop tanks or bombs), the one with the lower drag will have the acceleration advantage.
Even in this kind of steep or ballistic dive, it's best to perform the unloading maneuver first, and then progress to steeper dive angles.
Your aircraft's ability to gain altitude, or climb, is hampered by weight and drag. The easiest way to improve your climb performance is to get rid of any unnecessary equipment. If you're going to concentrate on air-to-air combat, get rid of any bombs you're carrying. All that air-to-mud equipment only slows you down, making you more vulnerable.
If you have external fuel tanks that are empty, drop them, too (in the F-15 Strike Eagle, for instance, your external tanks are empty when fuel remaining is less than 13,500 pounds). Fuel tanks increase drag, hurting your ability to climb.
A fighters has excellent climb performance when not loaded down with bombs and fuel. In this configuration, it can be considered ballistic because it can produce more pounds of thrust than the plane weighs and therefore can accelerate straight up at full power.
For each aircraft, there's an optimum climb rate at which trading speed for altitude and altitude for speed is minimized. When performing a sustained climb, keep your airspeed in mind. If you climb too steeply, you'll use fuel faster and lose air speed, which will take some time to recover once you reach your desired altitude. If your climb is too shallow, it will take longer to reach your desired altitude.
Acceleration Performance and Unloading
Acceleration is primarily affected by weight and thrust. Kicking in the afterburner increases your speed somewhat, but the best way to pick up a lot of speed in a short amount of time is to dive.
Figure 3-1. Ballistic Climb
An F-15 in an air-to-air configuration (AIM-7 Sparrow and AIM-9 Sidewinder missiles) in a ballistic climb.
NOTE
A gentle, unloaded dive will produce the best acceleration performance in most situations.
The trick here isn't to push hard on the stick in an attempt to dive straight down, but to perform a maneuver called unloading. In unloading, you're removing the weight of the aircraft that slows acceleration.
To do this, push forward on the stick slightly to obtain a gentle dive. This starts a gradual dive and produces a zero G condition. This is similar to going over a small hill with a car or bicycleas you go over the crest, you're momentarily weightless as you come out of your seat. The same thing happens when you unload an aircraft; however, an aircraft can continue to lose altitude and thus remain unloaded for quite some time.
Without the weight of the airplane holding it back, the speed of the plane can be increased rapidly. This can happen so quickly, in fact, that you need to keep your eye on the air-speed indicator to make sure you don't exceed the structural design limits of the aircraft, or Vmax. The Vmax of an aircraft is the maximum airspeed it can attain without ripping its wings off.
WARNING
When you see the Vmax warning, you should immediately cut power, extend your airbrakes, or pull up. (Make sure you already know which key operates the airbrakes, because you won't have time to look it up.)
Another method of increasing acceleration is to use a very steep dive. During a steep or ballistic dive, gravity greatly increases your aircraft's acceleration. In this case, if two planes are equal in all aspects but weight, the heavier plane will accelerate faster and achieve a higher terminal velocity.
If two planes are equal in weight but one has lower drag (because its shape is more efficient, or it's carrying fewer externals such as drop tanks or bombs), the one with the lower drag will have the acceleration advantage.
Even in this kind of steep or ballistic dive, it's best to perform the unloading maneuver first, and then progress to steeper dive angles.
Turning Performance
One of the most important performance characteristics of a modern fighter plane is its ability to turn sharply and to maintain a tight turn for an extended period of time. In most contexts, maneuverability and turn performance are synonymous. The better an aircraft's turn performance, the better it maneuvers. That, of course, translates into a better chance of winning a fighter/fighter contest.
Turn performance is generally divided into two types: instantaneous turn performance and sustained turn performance.
Instantaneous turn performance is an aircraft's ability to turn at any given point in time. This is a function of the aircraft's speed and altitude. As the term implies, the turn doesn't have to be sustained for more than an instant. Something called maximum instantaneous turn performance is achieved at very high speeds. Altitude is also a factor here since as you get higher, the density of air is reduced. The reduced amount of air passing over the wings reduces lift capability, which then reduces the turning performance.
Sustained turn performance is the aircraft's ability to maintain a turn for an extended period of time. Turn performance is measured three ways:
* Load factor or G's (gravity units) pulled during the turn. In a 5-G turn, the pilot weighs five times as much as normal.
* Turn radius, which is the area it takes to accomplish a complete turn. This is normally expressed in feet or miles.
* Turn rate, which is how fast the aircraft is changing course during a level turn. This is expressed in degrees of change per second.
The maximum G force an aircraft can handle is set by the manufacturer and normally allows for a significant safety margin. High-G turns can be performed at low and high speeds, but keep in mind that any time you're performing a maximum-G turn, all available lift is used just to maintain the current altitude. If you must climb, you'll have to reduce the angle and severity of the turn.
However, the aircraft's maximum-G turning ability isn't the most important factor to a fighter pilot. Turn rate and turn radius are more important because they determine the ability of the aircraft to turn inside another plane, either to escape or to obtain the necessary lead angle for a shot.
Maximum turn rate and minimum turn radius can best be obtained in high-G low-speed turns. Normally the speed in these turns is just slightly higher than the stall speed for that aircraft. When turning this slow at maximum G, it becomes imperative that you watch your airspeed. A stall will send you rapidly toward the ground and disrupt any maneuver you're attempting. Once your airspeed begins to bleed off in these turns, you must decrease the G load in order to increase airspeed and prevent a stall.
NOTE
The most frequently misused control in a dogfight is the throttle. To maintain a high-G turn for a sustained period will often require you to gradually increase the throttle all the way to afterburner.
Care should also be taken when you're increasing thrust or decreasing G's during a turning fight. This can easily cause you to overshoot your opponent and quickly change your posture from an offensive one to a defensive one.
One of the most important performance characteristics of a modern fighter plane is its ability to turn sharply and to maintain a tight turn for an extended period of time. In most contexts, maneuverability and turn performance are synonymous. The better an aircraft's turn performance, the better it maneuvers. That, of course, translates into a better chance of winning a fighter/fighter contest.
Turn performance is generally divided into two types: instantaneous turn performance and sustained turn performance.
Instantaneous turn performance is an aircraft's ability to turn at any given point in time. This is a function of the aircraft's speed and altitude. As the term implies, the turn doesn't have to be sustained for more than an instant. Something called maximum instantaneous turn performance is achieved at very high speeds. Altitude is also a factor here since as you get higher, the density of air is reduced. The reduced amount of air passing over the wings reduces lift capability, which then reduces the turning performance.
Sustained turn performance is the aircraft's ability to maintain a turn for an extended period of time. Turn performance is measured three ways:
* Load factor or G's (gravity units) pulled during the turn. In a 5-G turn, the pilot weighs five times as much as normal.
* Turn radius, which is the area it takes to accomplish a complete turn. This is normally expressed in feet or miles.
* Turn rate, which is how fast the aircraft is changing course during a level turn. This is expressed in degrees of change per second.
The maximum G force an aircraft can handle is set by the manufacturer and normally allows for a significant safety margin. High-G turns can be performed at low and high speeds, but keep in mind that any time you're performing a maximum-G turn, all available lift is used just to maintain the current altitude. If you must climb, you'll have to reduce the angle and severity of the turn.
However, the aircraft's maximum-G turning ability isn't the most important factor to a fighter pilot. Turn rate and turn radius are more important because they determine the ability of the aircraft to turn inside another plane, either to escape or to obtain the necessary lead angle for a shot.
Maximum turn rate and minimum turn radius can best be obtained in high-G low-speed turns. Normally the speed in these turns is just slightly higher than the stall speed for that aircraft. When turning this slow at maximum G, it becomes imperative that you watch your airspeed. A stall will send you rapidly toward the ground and disrupt any maneuver you're attempting. Once your airspeed begins to bleed off in these turns, you must decrease the G load in order to increase airspeed and prevent a stall.
NOTE
The most frequently misused control in a dogfight is the throttle. To maintain a high-G turn for a sustained period will often require you to gradually increase the throttle all the way to afterburner.
Care should also be taken when you're increasing thrust or decreasing G's during a turning fight. This can easily cause you to overshoot your opponent and quickly change your posture from an offensive one to a defensive one.
Btw, you can check both the lesson by Murad sahib and the above ones plus much more from Air Combat-Related Aerodynamics
FlyingEagle
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Want some more.......
F86 Saber
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Sir i have a question here which may sound stupid but i'll ask anyway. The maneuver used by Tom Cruise in TOP GUN where he applies the air brakes which forces the Mig to fly pass him, is that a real maneuver? Although common sense tells me that if there is a plane that close to you behind you he would have had a lock on and taken a shot before you could have applied that maneuver. Please guide me.
policecontrolroom
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can u name the program so that i can seach for some videos online ... i guess they have some ******** based on that show in torrent sites.. pleaseee....
SBD-3
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play arifix dogfighter......you ll have a chance to fly all of classic WWII airframes (I love mustang and spitfire
Wingman
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ice_man
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go to youtube type dogfights history channel! you will get the program with all episodes!!
gambit
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Here you go...
John Boyd - USAF, The Fighter Pilot Who Changed the Art of Air Warfare
This was for 'guns only' situations. Boyd did the 'cobra' maneuver long before the Russians claimed they did it.
F86 Saber
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Thanks a lot for the explaination however is this maneuver possible for a high speed chase involvings F-15s and Migs like in the movie? Also if i remember correctly in the movie, Tom Cruise uses a missile to take down his opponent after this move.
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