Page 24
MarkShot's STK/EAW Guide
by Mark "MarkShot" Kratzer
Table Of Contents Download/Print PDF Version
Engagement Psychology (suckering) on 05/31/00
Unbeknownst to many EAW pilots, psychology can play a major part in achieving kills. There is more to victory (especially against lesser pilots), than just good flying techniques.
Psychological Offense/Defense
In the main body of STK/EAW, I briefly touched on some of the psychological aspects of a one-versus-one engagement. The perspective on psychology was that of establishing yourself as the better and/or more dangerous pilot. The idea was that once your opponent views you that way, then he is psychologically on the defensive. An opponent who feels defensive will often fly defensive. Needless to say, one cannot get kills by flying defensive.
Taking the psychological high ground was a matter of:
- Not spinning.
- Flying on the edge of the envelope.
- Taking passable snapshots on scissor crossings.
- Repeatedly dodging a boom and zoom attacker at just the right time.
- Avoiding nose to nose shots in favor of maneuvering for position.
Psychology of Manipulation
I would like to address in this topic a different aspect of psychology. It is the psychology of manipulation. I also tend to refer to it as suckering your opponent. Although not a flattering description, as you will see, it is really a matter of making your opponent behave foolishly.
I would estimate that anywhere from 50-70% of all my kills are the result of sucker plays. Also, the potential for sucker plays is usually fairly high when two players have yet to engage and there is a moderate disparity in energy states between them.
There are basically two tools you have at your disposal to execute the sucker play.
- The Bait
- The Trap
The Bait
You need something to entice your opponent. There is only one thing that you control which will get your opponent's attention and that is your destruction. In regards to bait, it is really more a matter of your potential destruction than your actual destruction. The important thing to realize is that the bait is your opponent's belief that your potential destruction is in hand. So, you are the bait.
The Trap
The trap is a matter of having your opponent willing to put himself in a situation where he either arrives at a critical angles or energy disadvantage. This creates the trap. Finally, through your skillful flying abilities and by applying the techniques which I have covered in the main body of STK/EAW, you close the trap to destroy your opponent.
Some Examples
EAW 1v1 engagements present countless opportunities to execute sucker plays. I will present two basic examples so you can see how this all comes together. Both of these examples were already covered in the main body of STK/EAW. In the main body of STK/EAW, we approached them from the perspective of the execution of the flight maneuvers. However, here we will be approaching them from the perspective of pilot versus pilot psychology.
Please note that there is some correlation between this topic and my previous discussion of domains.
Pulling the Sucker Up
Often you find yourself in an advantageous energy situation relative your opponent. Perhaps, you have 40-100 mph in terms of a normalized energy advantage. You can end up in this state in number of ways.
- The fight started with you at a higher altitude.
- Your opponent spun his plane.
- Your opponent performed a lot of flap down high G maneuvers and bled his energy away.
- Your opponent spiraled down and throttle back intentionally to gain an angle advantage.
How you actually got into this situation is less relevant than what you are going to do with it. Given such a situation, I have taught that you will maneuver into the vertical in order to put yourself at corner speed while forcing your opponent to drop below corner speed. That is the technique, but what about the actual timing and manner by which you do this?
I will often turn flat and too fast with an opponent who I have an energy advantage on. I will do this for a turn or two. In some cases, my opponent may intentionally dump energy further so that he can improve his ability to turn inside me. The standard dogfighting reasons for me not to turn flat and fast significantly above corner speed are:
- I am turning with a much greater turn radius than what is possible for my plane.
- I may be experiencing some degree of black out which jeopardizes my situational awareness.
To some extent, I will permit my opponent to turn inside me and appear to be coming around fast on my tail provided that I am sure that I hold the energy advantage. What he sees is a rapidly improving angle situation which should be evolving into nice tracking rear quarter shot with minimal deflection. It is hard to imagine a more tempting situation. The trap has been baited. My opponent is now committed to the kill which he feels is due him. He is thinking what I want him to think.
Now, before I get myself killed, it is time to close the trap. Prior to my opponent gaining sufficient angles to pull lead and make a tracking shot, I initiate a tight climbing spiral. My opponent begins to loose angles rapidly as his speed drops off (well below corner). When I see my opponent's speed drop to 120mph or less, I should be at 180mph or so. At this point, I begin to level out and continue turning hard. Then, I quickly roll into him while dropping flaps. This rapidly puts me on his six with enough speed to put lead and get the kill.
In the best possible application of this technique, my opponent will be completely wallowing at below 100mph as I come around. I will simply need to complete my turn and put him out of his misery.
In less successful executions, I will be able to gain a position on my opponent's six, and then, I will have to push the fight through a number of turns to get the ultimate kill.
The important thing to realize is that my opponent was suckered up with psychology playing a key role in his demise.
Pulling the Sucker Down
The psychology of bait and trap can be applied equally well when you are the energy deficient player. I often apply it in those situations where I am under attack by a player who starts with significant altitude advantage.
Initially, my opponent will usually proceed through a number of high speed passes. I tend to place myself as such:
- I put my opponent behind me.
- I pick an appropriate altitude based on what I want to do and the heat situation of my engine.
- I settle into a level or gradually climbing cruise around 190-220 mph.
I will initiate a dodge of my opponent before he gets inside my turning circle of about 3,000' or so. His initial attack runs will probably have him charging at me with as much as a 200mph energy advantage. Generally, in this case, he will try for a shot, zoom away, climb, and try it again. Under the circumstances, there is little more that I can do than getting out of the way. There is no real opportunity for me to successfully engage and I make no real attempt to do so. Mainly, I am just dodging and once again putting separation in excess of my turning circle between him and myself.
After a while, there will come a point where the attack run is taking place with my opponent holding a 60-100mph energy advantage. It is now time to bait the trap. Once again, I let my opponent fly up my six. At 3,500' - 4,500', I break back hard into him in a descending turn. My goal is to be in the following situation when the two planes pass:
- I am still turning, but we are pretty much passing with our noses oriented 180 degrees to one another. Generally, it is supposed to look to him like he is getting nose on first.
- I appear a few hundred feet below his nose. This makes the shot fairly difficult, since it is hard for him to push his nose down to shoot especially when going fast. Also, it encourages him to attempt to invert to take the shot, since this is the natural thing to do. However, this is something that he will not have sufficient time to accomplish.
Note that I have gotten him to begin inverting (rolling his wings), and this means he is going to be pulling down and entering my domain. Unfortunately for him, he is too fast to be doing this.
He will generally shoot as he goes by and then, make a diving turn by pulling back on the stick. He incorrectly assumes that it is a good time to initiate the turning engagement.
As he passes above me, I will snap roll my plane in the other direction and break turn. He is currently in the process of making a large sweeping turn and possibly suffering from partial blackout. After a few seconds, I quickly snap roll and break turn in the opposite direction. My maneuver effectively looks like a level "S" inside his big "O". This will often put me somewhat behind him and above; and right on his six. From there, I can often press the angles advantage for a kill.
The important thing to realize is that my opponent was suckered down with psychology playing a key role in his demise.
© This STK/EAW Guide is Copyright 2000 Mark Kratzer. All Rights Reserved.
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