I don't know if you have thought about it too much, but there is another thing that greatly affects how fast you turn, and how fast you are able to respond to a threat. It's called energy, or simply put, E!. E! is speed. When you are in a dogfight there is no way to keep from losing E!, but there are things you can do to minimize it. First it has to be on your mind. You want your opponent to run out of E! before you do.

Altitude can be converted to E!, and speed, (or E!) can be traded for more altitude. When I am down low, and I know someone is coming for me, the first thing I do is turn toward them. If they are far enough away, then I try to gain as much altitude as I can, but usually there is no time for that. As I see they are getting close, flying straight ahead, I put my nose down and fly as close to the ground as I can. keeping it down till after they make their first pass. some times they hit me, some times they miss. I love it when they fly right past me. At that point even if I am shot up some, I usually have enough E! to pull my nose up and shoot them as they fly past.

Or, if I can’t shoot them before they fly past, because they came up behind me, as soon as they go by me I start my turn towards them after they can't shoot at me anymore because of their own speed. If I had enough time to build up my E! before they got too close to me, I can usually turn and shoot them before they can turn and shoot me again.

Doing that though will usually destroy most of my E!. It is very important to get as many shots in them as possible when you can because on the next pass, if you didn't shoot them up real good, they will have the advantage because they will have more altitude than you. Altitude can then be converted to E!. Your only hope is to shoot them up quickly so they can't get you on the next pass.

Trim obviously can destroy E! very quickly. Using too much rudder for too long can destroy E!. Of course any changes in your flight controls will affect E! negatively. Always make every movement as smoothly as possible. Jerky movements destroys E! because you are over controlling. Smooth movements mean you are controlling just enough to do what you need. Keep it smooth!

When I am high in the air, right after the first pass, there is one thing I do to help keep my E! up. I start doing it as soon as I start my turn. That is to do every turn with my nose on the down side. Any time you are turning with your nose up even slightly, you are losing E!. This is harder to do when you are close to the ground, but even close to the ground you can put your nose down some and gain a little speed.

Close to the ground it takes patience and just a little more speed to catch someone. If you are out of E! when you get there then you will most likely be the one getting shot. Quick reactions is another thing. Don't wait after the first pass. Start your turn before they do, even if it means not getting in all the shots you think you can get. It's much better to fill them full of holes while they are still trying to get turned around.

As the bandit is passing you on the first pass, I do a Split-S maneuver. A Split-S is easy to do. Just give it some down elevator, and left aileron, and some left rudder. As soon as the top of your head is pointed at the bandit, pull up all the way on the stick, while at the same time giving it as much up trim as you can without stalling. This gets you pointed in the right direction very quickly. Unless you are flying against an ace, you will usually have plenty of time to shoot him full of holes before he can even get pointed at you.

When you come down from high in the sky on a bandit you should never be the one getting shot down. You have all the advantages! Altitude and speed! More E! than you know what to do with! Instead of wasting it by going in circles, use it to gain back your altitude. In other words, swoop down and shoot him, then pull up in a high loop, and come around for another pass. Keep doing this till he has no power to resist.

If you pull up in a high loop, he will not be able to pull up high enough to shoot you back because of your superior E! You can gain more altitude than He can, and avoid getting shot. Do three or four of these high loops before you come in to finish him off, and you most likely won't get shot by him anyway. It also discourages others from going after you because they can't follow your high loops.

As far as your joysticks are concerned, I have the Sidewinder Force Feed Back 2. At $99.00 it is well worth the money! I know I wouldn't be able to fly as well if I didn't have it. It is far and away better than anything else out there that I have tried. I have tried the other Force Feed back sticks, and they don't compare. I put up, and down elevator trim on my joystick buttons along with zoom. Zoom is the – and + buttons.

+ brings things closer to you, and - makes them go back to normal. I usually use zoom to see what direction the bandit is going, (2 or 3 clicks on the + button) then if I see he is coming straight at me I go back to just one click on the + side. When shooting with Zoom on, you have to aim just below his plane, otherwise you will miss if you aim normally. The more + zoom you have, the lower you need to aim blow his plane to hit him.

This just takes al little practice to learn. Once the dogfight begins, click it back to normal. If you leave zoom on in a dogfight, you may get disoriented. Zoom also affects how much lead you have to give the bandit when shooting at him from the side. The more + zoom you have, the more you have to lead him. It is best to leave zoom off during a dogfight because you really don’t need it.

KK_VonBlaster