The Merge,
- Aim = to kill the enemy.
- How = By getting onto his 6 as quickly as possible.
Start, The 1st, and the hardest part of the merge is assessing the enemies Energy state, for this you have several tools at your disposal ;
The DAR, you can see at range what the intended target has been doing, i.e. just left a fight = low E.
Mk 1 eyeball, by looking out the cockpit you'll see the "dot" appear, this gives you his relative altitude to you, previous history SHOULD tell you his speed.
Most importantly, the best indication of the enemies E state will be as you go for the merge, the speed at which his counter range comes down indicates his speed relative to yours, if it counts down FAST and you're only at medium speed you know he must be traveling at a high rate of knots !
Ideally at the merge your speed should be at least the same as the enemies give or take 20 KIAS however, given the choice, the best speed is one that allows you to do 2 Immelmann's incase the Lead Turn is unsuccessful.
For the Merge there are two maneuvers to get onto the opponents rear quarter, see Diagram 1.
-
Flight Path Separation, FPS, before you meet the enemy you point your plane away from his so as to pass alongside rather than straight at / through him, the distance should be 2xRA this is twice your turn Radius. See Diagram 1.
- The Lead Turn, A turn into the enemy before you pass each other, this must be used with FPS and this will do 2 things...
Diagram 1
- Puts you directly behind him at short range perfect position for a kill, and if you misjudge it ...
- Allowed you to make large "Angle" gains onto his 6, this can be done no matter how small the FPS, BUT the nearer to 2xRA the better. Diagram 2 shows 2 lead Lead Turns with NO FPS.
Diagram 2
As we can see from All of the above diagrams, at time 2 the attacker is well positioned for a shot, at the worst he has gained angles on the enemy.
Now in AW the best method is to do the lead turn in the vertical, this means getting FPS in the vertical and the best way to do this is to get lower than the enemy for the merge, this essentially looks like an upside down version of Diagram 1. OR, imagine the situation in Diagram 2 Case 1 if the attacker had been slightly lower at time 1, where would he be at time 2 ? :-)
It also gives you "slightly" more safety if you start the turn too early, in Diagram 2 Case 2 if the attacker had been lower at time 1 there's a chance he would have been behind the enemy.
How does this look in AW ?
At the Merge try to be around 275 KIAS, also try to get around a 100 YDS lower than the
enemy (lower the faster you are) and pull straight up (vertical) just before you pass
him and then maneuver onto his 6.
Start the Lead Turn at a distance depending on your relative speeds and the size of your turn circle at that speed.
If done perfectly you'll fall straight in behind him and get off a lethal shot, a "kill will be recorded".
Though what generally happens is ;
- The enemy doesn't allow you to get FPS, or
- He maneuvers after you start your lead turn so that you can't get a shot
There are two types of pilot out there, they are recognised as follows.......
- After the merge they will do a horizontal turn or some other E wasting manoeuvre, they should be dispatched to a red screen with ease.
- You merge with someone who knows what they're doing, you recognise them by the fact that they try to get lower than you at the merge (FPS) and they also go vertical at the merge (lead turn) !
Don't worry, all is not lost as you are about to find out how to beat them <G>
The Double Immelmann
So you've found a worthy opponent, you both tried for a Lead Turn and didn't get it, now you're BOTH going straight up, looking at each other using KP5 view !! the next move is a VERY important one, The situation is that neither of you have gained, or lost, any angles so far, what you need to do now is to get onto his 6 so we'll try doing it all again, the manoeuvre you're in MUST turn into an Immelmann, trust me he will do the same or he'll Die. By doing an Immelmann you are essentially starting this all over again but this time you're upside down ! you're at time 4 now but for clarity we'll go back to the start...
OK this is what it looks like so far... Diagram 3.
You did the merge (ideally
around 275 KIAS)
, tried
for a Lead Turn time 2, got to time 3 and saw that the enemy had done
the same, before time 4 we roll inverted and one of the two planes will get a
snapshot opportunity as one passes in front of the other briefly, that's our
1st Immel' done
Now, as long as speed permits (MINIMUM speed for an Immel' ? = ~130KIAS in an F6F) we go into our second Immel' this has to be done fairly gently, again depending on speed, and there will be another snapshot opportunity for one of the planes after Time 5, At Time 6 the fight is decided (usually, stalls permitting) by the fact that the higher plane will be behind the lower plane once they both come down, this is as long as the higher plane doesn't stall, or his E is actually lower OR the lower plane has better low speed handling qualities and is able to "hang" there longer.
Remember the snapshot opportunities, it is possible to vary the flight path slightly at times 3 and 5 so as to follow the enemy (back into a Lead Turn) rather than do an Immel' BUT it is an E draining manoeuvre ! It is easier to do if there was a larger difference in your altitudes at time 2 i.e. you almost got the lead turn right.
OK so one thing is certain, Energy, patience and some skill will win this fight, you can carry out this manoeuvre with only quick glances at the enemy to check he is where he should be and hasn't stalled out already, as it's FAR more important to do this manoeuvre without stalling than anything else, it is one of those situations where you are fairly equally matched and it is the first one to make a mistake who will be shot down.
Remember after the 1st Immel' you will have to be gentle on the stick to maintain control, this has the added benefit of preserving your "E"
Once one of the planes goes down before the other one they are "dead man flying" The higher plane will naturally be on the others rear quarter and as long as he doesn't panic and stall he should get the kill. If the fight continues due to missed shot at this stage remember your plane types will dictate who will gain E quicker and it is better to use the vertical and NOT the horizontal where at all possible.
Always try to keep the enemy in your forward quadrant and in line with your lift vector, this is between straight up (KP5 view) and the Gun pipper. In this low E fight, angle gains can be made without too much force on the stick.
Terminology
Energy
- Speed = kinetic energy
- Altitude = Potential energy
Enemy E is relative to your E state just before a fight
A plane can have Higher E than you if he is ..
- Lower but a lot Faster
- Higher but only a little bit Slower
A plane can have Lower E than you if he is ..
- Lower and Slower
- Higher but near Stall / a lot slower
DAR,
The Map in AW
Within 45' of the enemies tail and pointing at the enemy, basically, "in the saddle", a "Gun-firing" position
Any Manoeuvre that isn't in the vertical (up or down) waste's Energy, the worst of all is a flat horizontal turn.
The Merge - witch