Classic Energy Fighting

So you find yourself diving in on a supposedly unsuspecting opponent with a considerable speed advantage. Your enemy suddenly decides to wake up, he notices the attack and breaks into a turn to the right. Now you suddenly notice that you're going to overshoot. What are your options?

Thats is the purpose of this article is, to enlighten you on the merits of “E-Fighting”, or otherwise known as the “Boom & Zoom”. Classic "Boom & Zoom" tactics are what most people think of when they first become familiar with energy as it relates to air combat. Boom & Zoom tactics are only a portion of Energy Tactics however.

Energy Tactics and truely understanding them, is in my humble opinion a state of mind whenever your flying online. I am constantly estimating my opponents “Energy” state as I fly against him and I fly in a such a way that I want to ensure that my aircraft will ALWAYS be better positioned Energy wise. Once that thought is thoroughly embedded into your head, everything else will come more easily.

This normally equates to an initial altitude advantage, but can in many cases begin with an energy advantage based on speed as well. The B&Z fighter (Energy Fighter) attempts to use his energy advantage to obtain a gunshot at the appropriate moment by using low-G maneuver, and (usually) high speed gun passes/attacks. In a nutshell, the experienced B+Z pilot will use his superior energy state to maintain the initiative, this action will DICTATE the fight, and finally when the time is right, and your opponent’s energy state is so low that he has no chance of escape, use and convert that stored energy inorder that you can angle for a gunshot.

This is done by using both superior speed and maneuverability in the vertical in most cases. If the target isn't dusted off in the first quick pass, ideally the target plane is forced into a series of high-G energy bleeding defensive maneuvers. The Energy fighter, keeping the initiative, forces down the targets energy state by using the threat of a gun solution to force the target into high-G moves, which because they lose energy, will keep the target on the overall defensive. Then when the targets E-state has been sufficiently suppressed, the Energy fighter applies the final touches using his superior maneuverability to convert his energy to angle and get a gunshot. Then its time to get the crew-chief to paint on another kill decal!

This is in no way, all that easy! Almost anybody can do a 1 time high speed bounce of a target and hope for a "1 pass kill". That is Energy fighting at a bare minimum. When you start having to "work" the target with numerous passes, thats when the men get separated from the boys pretty quickly!

True “Energy Fighting” has rules. Even the first pass has its own unique rules. There are several errors that are often made even in the relatively simple procedure of doing that first pass. The following rules are simply a guideline, but if followed ... your ability to "Energy Fight" will be gretaly enhanced.

• First: Try to maneuver for a rear quarter approach, don't just buzz the target from any angle.
• Second: The greater the angle of approach the lower the closure rate should be. “Watch” your throttle!!! Attacking from slightly below and to the side of the target is normally the ideal that should be strived for on a gun pass.
• Third: Always go vertical after a guns pass, this helps to constantly maintain your energy advantage over your opponent.
• Fourth: Watch your opponent carefully after any pass, look for moves that will cause further depletion of his “Energy State” ie.. flat turns, or is he climbing up to follow you.

The Following are classic errors & pitfalls to avoid if your a beginning “Energy Fighter”

Overextending in the Horizontal:

Many BnZ pilots make the mistake of extending too far from the target before turning for another pass. That is they allow too much lateral (horizontal plane) separation. This allows the target plane to either regain his energy state, or to attempt an escape-extension if he so wishes. Its generally much better to keep the energy advantage by separating in the vertical if at all possible. That is, zoom or climb. The Zoom climb after the gun pass doesn several wonderful things. As I noted, it keeps lateral separtion at an acceptable amount. This way the target has more difficulty breaking away with an extension move. Also if the target gets aggressive and tries to follow your climb, his airspeed will fall rapidly, thus making him a slow and inviting target for your guns. Also the vertical has another great gift. When you get get above a plane you neutralize any turning advantage that a low-wing load plane (i.e. quick turning) might have over your E-fighter. How is this? Can a Focke Wulfe outturn a Spitfire? Sure can. If the Energy Fighter has "prepped" the target by cutting his energy state to the point where he cannot attempt a nose to nose vertical move, the attacker is all set for the coup de grace. Then dropping from above onto a Spitfire at a moderate rate of closure the Wulfe can use its Roll Rate to anticipate any defensive move of the Spitfire, and roll into a firing position in reaction to any flat turn the Spitfire makes in the horizontal. (Since it is assumed that the Spitfire no longer has the energy to go nose high.) Another surprised Turn-fighter puzzles as to how that E-fighter ever managed to gain the angle for a shot, when he has a 2-1 sustained turn advantage! As I never tire of repeating. There is more to a planes performance stats than its sustained turn performance.

Underextending after a Pass:

The Second BIG Mistake. Many Pilots often try to "cash in" too soon, or they to keep the target as close as possible. Or they attempt to get a kill from every gun pass (This isn’t going to happen guys), forgetting to be patient, and not realizing that many gun passes simply set the table for the final kill. Or, they are Worried about allowing too much separation they pull too hard on the stick - bleeding away their precious energy advantage. (Yes I said precious, your only advantage as an Energy Fighter is your energy advantage over your opponent, so why would you just throw it all away). Also they often tend to forget about their high turning radius at high speed, thus allowing a target to turn inside them and turn the tables. Also, be mindful that even if you have the opportunity to get a good angle "saddle up" position, once you do that you are counting on angle and not energy to win the day. If you are in a high wing-load plane (this means a poor turning aircraft), and trying to saddle up on a plane with a better sustained turn rate than your own. You had better get in your gunshots in the first few seconds or you will probably lose him. If you do choose to follow an enemy with a better sustained turn rate than your own aircraft. It is best to do so with only a moderate closure rate. Develop your own guideline for when this happens, and then stick to it. As a General Rule, I will only follow the target thrugh 1, possibly 2 turning break moves. Be forwarned, that once you do commit to a turning fight with him, you are no longer acting as an Energy Fighter, your role is now that of an Angles Fighter, and you are now counting on your planes angle combat skills to score the kill. Also once you become an angles fighter, you have to contend with counterattack from other planes in the arena. For this reason, its generally very unwise to "saddle up" into an angle fight when there are multiple bogies around. If you chose to do this, you are just another Turn and Burn target for any other Energy Fighter working the Furball!

Going Low after a Guns Pass:

This is perhaps the “Cardinal Sin” of Energy Combat. Never, Never, Never break low after an energy gun pass! Breaking low, inorder to reengage is bad for almost any conceivable reason. It loses altitude; even worse, the higher turn radius at high speed means that you will end up well below your target before you recover. Indeed almost any Energy advantage can be blown with just one of these moves.

The Rushed Gunshot:

Many beginning Energy Fighters tend to run right at the target plane with high closure speed and a deflection angle and then try for a shot that is a virtually impossible. Gunshots with a very high closure rate on target are extremely difficult. Deflection shooting may not be Rocket Science on either European Air War, Warbirds, or Air Warrior 3, but it does still adds difficulty to a shot that might otherwise should be routine. Unless you are a superb shot, and confident about avoiding the danger of collision you have to learn to be mindful of your closure rate. If you do have a fast rate of closure for heaven sake avoid rushing in dead on the opponents six! Thats asking for collision. Setup the shot slightly from the side and then zoom past to the targets opposite side. Ideally, on a prepped enemy. I prefer to try and make a guns pass by coming in from either the targets 2 O'Clock or his 10 O'Clock, and plan on exiting from either his 8 O'Clock or his 4 O'Clock. If you have ever been "Boom & Zoomed" before. Have you noticed your attacker seemingly flying above you doing a figure eight pattern? If so, he's setting up both his attacking angle and his exiting angle. The rushed gunshot basically boils down to trying a inappropriate attack angle, or attacks with too high a rate of closure. The idea of energy fighting is to use and convert advantages in order to achieve a humanly possible gunshot! Many beginner B&Z'rs will attack straight at their target from any angle, leaving themselves with nearly impossible snap shots or such a high deflection gun angle that any shot has a very low probability of hitting its target. Remember, that the idea is to use the energy advantage to first obtain a reasonable shot, both in closure rate and deflection angle.

Inability to Assess Energy Level:

One of the key skills in Energy Combat is to correctly assess the targets energy state in relation to yours. This is the tactical foundation on which all Energy Combat decisions are made. While even experienced pilots often make errors in judgement in this area, accurate judgement in this area is an essential skill.

The previous parts have been warnings of how and how not to prosecute a good energy attack. Of course many fights end with one-pass! You have the energy advantage, you slide in behind the target, set up a good shot. Boom - 1 pass, 1 kill, its over – bring on the next target! Well its not always that easy. Often it takes several passes to get the target. There are several ways to do this. A very simple rule is: If the target breaks vertically, (with Split-S for instance) use a low-G vertical maneuver; stay above the target. If the target breaks laterally, and you have a moderate to substantial advantage in energy, establish a lag pursuit.

To be an effective energy fighter it is absolutely essential to understand the concept of the "lag pursuit". The first instinct of all new pilots to attempt a lead pursuit; that is, attempt to "cut the corner" of the targets turn. This is a perfectly valid tactic when you have an equal or inferior energy state. However attempting this type maneuver with an energy advantage can lead to disastrous results, because with higher speed comes a higher turn radius.

Instead, do a lazy man's low-G chandelle for example. As you climb and "lag" behind the hard break of the target you maintain the overall initiative. Also, because of the altitude and lateral separation built into a lag pursuit, the target must expend further energy if he wants to reverse again to try to force a nose-to-nose closure. Also the lag pursuit, will "bank" some of your speed to altitude again, so that speed differential will not be as great. (The difference in speed has been converted to altitude. ) This means that you are setting up being above your target with not a substantial speed differential. This means that you can attempt to "drop" on him. As I mentioned earlier, once you have this position and the target has bleed away any capablity to meet you nose to nose by going nose high, you can then use your roll rate to get the better of any any break move he still is capable of and slide right on his six. With the minimal closure rate you have managed to engineer, you will have a good chance to set up a high-probability gun shot.

Tricks of the Trade

Dealing with the "Nose to Nose" Turner: Many E-fighters are frustrated by the fast turning plane which always seems to manage to get a nose-to-nose for every pass, (spit drivers in particular seem to love this) often challenging the E-fighter to a duel of headon's. Well there are a couple ways to deal with this. One is to anticipate the nose-to-nose turn and drop under the turn somewhat to attempt a canopy shot. This can be a very successful shot if done well, but requires superb timing. The delay that Internet "latency" often throws into the equation, can throw off the timing. The other is to simply dodge the pass and sucker the target into a series of these nose-to-nose merges. Each time the Energy fighter performs a climbing low-G turn. The target often makes the mistake of horsing the stick around in immediate pursuit. However when executed properly, the E-fighters can incrementally increase his energy advantage after each nose-nose merge. Soon the target will no longer have the energy to force a nose-to-nose turn. Then of course, he is a flying dead man.

The Zoom to the Wall: This is probably one of the oldest tricks in the book. The E fighter, judging his Energy advantage goes to pure Vertical Zoom Climb versus a pursuing angle fighter. Ideally the target will poop-out or even stall out directly below the zooming plane. Then either the E-fighter can drop in on him, or the target can be hung out to dry for a wingman to come in and clean his clock.

The Low-G loop or High Immelmann: On a nose-to-nose merge, the angle fighter will often pull a very high G lead turn. One defense is to go into a low G loop or an ultra-high Immelmann. This can often lead to similiar situation to the "Zoom to the Wall".

The Lag Pursuit transition to a Spiral Climb: Often after the targets' intial break, and the the beginning of a lag pursuit, the target will simply continue to turn instead of extending, or performing some other evasive move. This can result in what amounts to a Spiral climb. This is ideal for the E-fighter if he has a better sustained climb of course since he is entering the spiral-climb with an energy advantage. However, even an E-fighter with a poorer sustained climb need not bail out with an extension maneuver when the target challenges him with a climbing pursuit. Because the E-fighter has an energy advantage the factor of sustained climb may not come into play. Indeed, the E-fighter can lure the "faster climb" bogie into a false sense of security (thinking he has a faster sustained climb). If the E-fighter has judged the comparative energy states accurately the faster climbing bogie will stall well before he does. The the Wing-over is standard move to go for the pay-off gun shot on the very slow target.

Overshoot Control: Always be mindful of your closure rate. God provided throttle and even flaps to manage closure rate. If that doesn't work, there is a nifty trick I often use. If the target did not break but you overshoot, up nose-high and and invert into a nice wide barrel roll. Your overshoot will vanish because you are expending some of your speed laterally in the barrel roll. If the target hasn't changed direction you can sneak a peak while inverted, and then finish the barrel roll and end up right on his six again with a second shot! The chances that the target will pick this up is unlikely, it will probably simply seem like you vanished because you are shifting across his available views too fast.

In conclusion, remember that Energy Fighting revolves around just a few major concepts:

1.)    Accurate Energy State Evaluation.

2.)    Understanding how Lag Pursuit works.

3.)    Using the Vertical as much as possible.

4.)    Managing Closure Rate.

5.)     Learning how to Maneuver to Supress an Enemies Energy State.

6.)    Knowing that Roll Rate beats Turn Rate.

7.)    Having the Patience and the Understanding that not every Guns Pass will be your payoff pass.

8.) Patience, Patience, Patience and more Patience. There have I said it enough. Your T&B opponents will not like you very much, but I can assure you your Kill to Death ratio will go up dramatically.

There are a couple of general rules to remember. Maneuver for a rear quarter shot before you shoot! If you squander your opportunity by simply forcing a nose-to-nose head-on shot with your energy advantage, you deserve what you get. Headons are a crap-shoot. Its generally good sense to avoid them completely, except as a last desperate resort, or if you are dealing with a nose to nose turner such as I explained earlier. Going for them when you have an energy advantage is very poor strategy, basically giving the opposition a freebie shot at you which he should never have gotten in the first place. Manuever first, then shoot. Dont just point at the target and hose away, unless you have a good gunshot already in the bag. Secondly: The higher the deflection angle, the lower the rate of closure should be. Example: If you are attacking a target from 8'oclock with from a 45 degree high angle, you have a difficult shot. To make it humanly possible, the closure rate will have to be low. A high closure rate will make an otherwise difficult shot virtually impossible.