MiG Alley is a
sophisticated Korean war simulation that allows players to fly and
dogfight MiGs in F86 Sabres, escort B29s into North Korea, pound the
ground in Korea in an F51 or F80, or fly CAP in an F84? And you can do
all this in one of three campaigns, the third being a fully dynamic
campaign setting that allows you a level of interaction rivalling
Falcon 4.0.
Recently I met Major General "Boots" Blesse, Korean ace and the
author of "Check Six," and had a chance to hear some of his life
stories as well as to chat with him afterwards. I've converted some of
the tape to Real Audio clips and the links will appear at the end of
this article.
"Boots" told many great stories from his Korean war days, and all of
them confirmed actual events I have seen while flying Empire's latest
release, MiG Alley.
For example, it was a rare flight to the North that actually
encountered MiGs. And even when MiGs were spotted, they were often
difficult to engage unless the MiGs themselves wanted to be engaged!
(Similar top speeds and limited fuel made it difficult for the American
Sabres to pursue them.)
"Boots" also related a time when he was on the tail of a MiG 17
and scored a hit. As he pulled onto the tail of the wing leader, the
leader promptly ejected! While the Russians and Chinese also had many
good pilots, there were also young and green pilots out there who
simply panicked. If you've had a chance to fly MiG Alley, you may have
had this happen to you, as I have.
We had a chance to talk to Boots about his experience flying
the F4 in Vietnam as well as his experiences in Korea flying the F86
Sabre. One of the most astonishing facts came out as we listened to him
talk about the "padlock" system. It turns out that the system was not
in effect when Boots arrived in Vietnam, and that the Sabre squadrons
were flying defensive.
Not with Boots around! He quickly came to see how ineffective
the tactics were, and Major Blesse soon developed new tactics. Whenever
the flight LEAD spotted an enemy aircraft, he would never take his eyes
off his target. Wouldn't that leave him vulnerable?
Major-General (ret). "Boots" Blesse
The system he worked out ensured safety for the padlocked pilot. When
his wingman heard him call, "Baker lead, padlocked," he understood that
the flight LEAD was now engaged, and it was his job as number TWO to
ensure the safety of the engaged pilot. Number three and four similarly
ensured the safety of the engaged element.
See the audio clip at right to hear Boots describe the tactic.
Boots himself transitioned from the P47 to the P51, and then to
the F100 and F86 Sabre. The transition to prop vs prop tactics and then
jet vs prop and jet vs jet tactics was a challenging one. Boots himself
had the advantage of having trained against P51s in the United States.
When he describes taking on an LA9 with the F86, you'll hear how the
high yo-yo was an effective manouver.
The version 1.1 patch for MiG Alley is near to completion, and will
include some navigation enhancements, improvements in air to ground AI,
and allow MiG Alley to be networked at mplayer.com. If you haven't yet
discovered MiG Alley, you'll have your chance when the US release ships
on December 15th.
