Article Type: Training
Article Date: July 12, 2001
Back To Part II
Lateral Separation and Maneuvering Out of Plane
“I opened fire only when the whole windshield was black with the enemy…at minimum range…it doesn't matter what your angle is to him or whether you are in a turn or any other maneuver.”
Colonel Erich "Bubi" Hartmann,
GAF, World's Leading Ace, Luftwaffe,
WWII, 352 Victories
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Lateral separation  |
Lateral separation is about room to turn, with the goal of aligning the terminus of the turn circle of our aircraft within ten degrees of the bandit’s six. All maneuvering is done to get ourselves into the engagement zone behind the opponent.
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| Turning Circles in Spit Vb ad FW190 compared. |
Whether you are in a front aspect position on the merge, or behind the bandit and attempting to engage him, when you are turning circles you need enough space to lead the target slightly. Lateral separation gives you the turning room you need to minimize the possibility of overshooting the bandit’s flight path.
At 30 degrees or more off the tail and 50 knots closure the pilot has to ask himself if he has room to make the turn that will bring him into plane with the bandit and on his six. If the pilot is flying a Spit IX at 220 mph at 4,000 feet he knows that his aircraft will have a certain turn radius. If the pilot has insufficient space to place the terminus of one half the circle in the engagement zone behind the bandit, he has to move the circle by changing his flight path. Insufficient space to complete the maneuver into the kill zone could result in an overshoot and an advantage for the bandit.
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| Out of plane |
In the above image I could roll right until my lift vector (the imaginary axis that runs the length of my aircraft whose center is roughly over my head) is on the bandit and then pull, but I will simply pass harmlessly outside the bandit’s circle since my turn circle in my current flight path is much too large for the space available. How do I find that additional space?
At this point one has to start thinking in three dimensions, and the player-to-target view is really helpful. Trying to stay on the same plane as the bandit in the current situation is a disadvantage, so the pilot must maneuver his aircraft out of plane. Unless you are below 4000 feet, the horizon is immaterial and you can think of this fight almost like a Star Wars one.
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| Out of Plane Maneuvering |
“Great pilots are made not born…A man may possess good eyesight, sensitive hands, and perfect coordination, but the end product is only fashioned by steady coaching, much practice, and experience.”
Air Vice-Marshal J.E. "Johnnie" Johnson,
Leading RAF Ace in Europe,
WWII, 38 Victories
Out of plane maneuvering is really a challenge from an internal padlock view in most simulations. In WarBirds III I find it virtually impossible. I find it much easier in IL-2, but the external player-to-target view makes it very simple indeed. In fact I do my initial maneuvering from inside the cockpit using the snap views, and then the close in furballs I fight in external view until the bandit is within my forward view area.
While the position of the horizon is incidental in thinking about position in the twists and turns of BFM, the position of the ground is more important. Why? Because any time you raise your nose above the horizon you will be trading energy (E) for altitude, and any time you drop your nose below the horizon you will be trading altitude for E.
In fact, in terms of the fight itself, raising your nose over your opponent will reduce closure and will also affect your turning circle. Dropping your nose below your opponent will increase closure (all other things being equal) while it affects your turning radius.
But there is an additional consideration here, because when you raise your nose above your opponent you are moving your turning circle relative to the bandit, and if you roll slightly at the same time, you are beginning an out-of-plane maneuver called a yo-yo.
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| Figure 3 |
In the above image the bandit has entered a turning fight with me in an aircraft of similar capability. My sustained corner speed is just slightly higher than his, and we’ll both be plowing into the earth before I gain angles. Time for an out-of-plane maneuver.
Lose Sight, Lose the Fight
“Those poor bastards. They've got us right where we want 'em. We can shoot in every direction now.”
Lt. General Louis "Chesty" Puller,
upon learning he was surrounded
The first priority is to keep the bandit in sight. When maneuvering out of plane, the preferred view is an external player to target view. Since WarBirds III doesn’t yet offer such a view, we’ll fight this one from an internal cockpit view. We’ll attempt to keep the bandit in sight, maintain orientation of our nose position relative to the target, and also maintain an awareness of the position of the horizon.
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| The Bandit is Diving |
The bandit is diving and crossing my path, so I rolled to the right and placed my lift vector on him, following his progress by using the up view on my hat.
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| Pulling up into the bandit |
As I pulled toward the bandit I was also diving, which gave me the help of gravity in maintaining speed and thus my turn rate. I didn’t need to pull maximum G to maintain a good rate of turn.
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| Pulling into plane |
Slightly out of position, I rolled right to pull into the bandit for a shot. Normally you should not be pointing AT the bandit at this stage but somewhere behind him. Now it’s time to roll left and watch the bandit’s next move.
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| Lagging Behind |
He dives and I lag behind slightly to see what he’ll do next.
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| Closure Rate is High |
I pulled onto the tail of the bandit but my closure rate was high in spite of chopping the throttle.
In the next example the turn performance of the aircraft is identical. This means that I will use more out-of-plane maneuvers in order to establish myself behind the bandit.
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| Pulling out of plane |
In the first image I have pulled my nose above the horizon with the bandit to my left and pointing his nose below the horizon. What gives? Shouldn’t I be pulling on his tail?
At this angle my closure is too great and I need more turning room. By moving my flight path above the horizon I am trading angles and maneuvering out of plane. Essentially my turn circle is shifting out of the bandit’s plane of flight so that I can get the bandit inside my turn circle. I am pointing outside the bandit’s flight path and have unloaded my stick, letting my aircraft move straight forward. I’m watching the bandit, panning my view with the hat.
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| Inverted . . . |
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| Inverted and pulling toward the bandit |
The bandit went low and a moment later I rolled inverted, switched to an UP view and pulled into the bandit. He was close enough that I took a snap shot before rolling upright to follow his next move.
“I decided to make a run on this [Japanese Zero]. He never changed his course much, but started an ever-so-gentle turn. My Corsair gradually closed the gap between us. I was thinking: "As long as he is turning, he knows he isn't safe. It looks too easy." Then I happened to recall something I had experienced in Burma with the Flying Tigers, so I violently reversed my course. And sure enough, there was his little pal coming along behind. He was just waiting for the sucker, me, to commence my pass on his mate.”
Colonel Gregory "Pappy" Boyington, USMC
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| In good shape here |
In this shot you can see that unless the bandit’s flight path changes I am in good shape to come out on his six. Imagine my aircraft moving in an arc upward toward the bandit’s path forward. Unless the bandit pulls up right here I will have a great position.
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| Good position but low |
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| Works out perfectly |
What do you do if your out-of-plane maneuver places you in plane on the tail of the bandit but with too high a closure?
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| Closure Rate is High |
The maneuver starts the same as above, but this time the maneuver will be more violent. First, reduce throttle and roll left or right and pull your nose up, then roll inverted and switch to a padlock view of the bandit or an external player to target view and place your lift vector on the bandit and pull back into plane. If you can picture this in your mind, you are rolling around the bandit’s flight path.
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| Pulling up out of plane |
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| Rolling inverted |
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| There is my target |
This maneuver, which if continued will become a barrel roll, will create a longer distance of travel relative to the bandit’s flight path and will also shed some energy. So long as the bandit continues more or less along his flight path, you can simply pull back into plane when the spread is sufficient and closure is reduced. Be sure to keep your eye on the bandit, since he may not cooperate and you will then have to adjust your maneuver.
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| Barrel roll |
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| Can become a scissors |
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| Here's hoping |
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| Distances are small |
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| ...and sometimes smaller... |
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| ...requiring more maneuvering... |
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| Almost there... |
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| closer... |
Good position now, only pulling light G’s…but if the position wasn’t so good the maneuver could be repeated endlessly. If the bandit joins in the game you no longer have a yo-yo maneuver, but a scissors…. These become really common at higher levels of AI in IL-2. As you can see, the distance between your two aircraft can become dangerously small, and collision is always a risk.
