We’re flying interlocking circles but on differing planes. Descending, we pass one another once, twice, three times at ridiculous angles, with neither of us in a position to fire. I feel like I’m gaining but not very much and I’m excited and impatient and getting terribly frustrated that I can’t get a shot. I’ve worked the angle down to where our paths are crossing at 40-to-60 degrees. What you want, ideally, is zero-to-10, with the enemy either moving almost directly away or coming almost straight at you. At anything over 30 degrees, it’s almost pointless to shoot with a fixed sight.”
Col ‘Bud’ Anderson
In the second part of this series on combat simulation, we discussed the importance of being aware of the advantages and disadvantages of your aircraft and those of your adversaries in order to exploit them in a combat situation. This involves assessing comparative speeds and rates of roll, turn, climb and dive. Taking these factors into account, your evaluation of the relative performance differences between the respective aircraft will govern the type of tactics you will employ in combat. However, it has to be borne in mind that the final aim of any tactical strategy is to gain an angle and positi…
