This series by WW_Sensei does an excellent job of discussing wingman tactics in combat. The series consists of 5 articles, and we highly recommend you read them all!
This series by WW_Sensei does an excellent job of discussing wingman tactics in combat. The series consists of 5 articles, and we highly recommend you read them all!
By Mike "Sensei" Couvillion
In the last section we covered the potential role reversals of the Primary and the Secondary. Let's take the situation where you have set yourself up in a nice position about 500 feet up and out of the fight and the fight is at your 10 or 2 o'clock position.
First, you should never let the target extend past your 3-9 line (The imaginary line extending from your 3 o'clock to your 9 o'clock position). Since your energy is superior this should not be difficult. If you find the target is extending past your 3-9 line and a hard break is called for then break TOWARDS the fight. This will help to corral the enemy and he might get stupid and try to pull up for a snap shot at you giving the Primary a good kill shot opportunity. One reason for not letting them get past your 3-9 line is to keep from having to use a heavy loaded BFM in order to reorient yourself. Energy spent just turning to face the enemy is energy not spent in trying to kill him. Besides letting him get past there puts him somewhere near your 6--not a good spot! At this point you've done your role as the Secondary and suddenly you notice the Primary is going defensive or maybe he is calling you in because he can't get a good shot.
You now have two choices on entry. You can go in via the vertical or from BFMs outside of the enemy's turn circle (TC). The TC is defined as the enemy aircraft's BFM maneuvering circle at cornering speed. It varies with each aircraft. This is where it pays to know the enemy aircraft. In WWI aircraft it is preferable to enter the fight using the vertical. Ideally, you have already positioned yourself so that you were higher than the fight in the first place. When I say using the vertical I mean diving into the fight in general. While technically, one can enter a fight from a lower altitude this is not a good idea for WWI aircraft because of their relatively poor climbing ability. The Alb DIII and Alb DVa are the only aircraft in the corporate FM I would even think of doing this in. In the FGMOF EM2 FM the DrI can make an excellent vertical move for a short period as can the D7 and the Spads. In most of the other planes an aggressive vertical move up into a fight will usually result in you being slow, fat and soon dead. BFMs from outside the TC of the target are normally used because you are co-alt with the fight. If you have kept the fight at your 10-2 position then you should be able to stay behind the target's 3-9 line and take your shots.
Exactly how you enter the fight from outside the TC depends on which direction you are heading relative to the fight. If you are moving in the same general direction as the flow of the fight (called Co-flow--reference combatsim.com article) then getting behind the 3-9 line should be relatively easy. In a co-flow entry your superior energy state should be a huge advantage for BFMing the target to a kill. If you are maneuvering against the flow of the fight (Counter flow, same ref) then remember you will get many more snap shot opportunities, but fewer and faster bursts. Expect the enemy to cross your nose often. Be wary of the collision.
Some things to remember while you are setting up:
--Never point your nose toward the fight until you are
ready to take a shot or assume the Primary role.
--As you are watching for potential entry points should
you be called remember to keep SA
--and finally, remember counter-flow entries are the
most common outside TC entries so practice those snap
shots.
Why keep your nose pointed away from the fight? Good question. Here's the answer-because if it is pointed towards the fight it means you are flying into the fight and not keeping your distance. As you close distance you close the energy difference between you and the target. One should always strive to enter a fight with a positive energy state. I also received a question from someone asking what to do if a target suddenly turns on the Secondary and attempts to engage. Well, if you are far enough away and high enough up it shouldn't happen, but hey we make mistakes. :-) In this case use your superior energy state to deny him a clean shot. If you can dodge him a few seconds you will give the Primary and excellent opportunity to saddle up and kill the target.Don't make the mistake of joining into the fight unless the Primary is obviously out of it and a role reversal is called for.
Another question--Sensei,its too hard to keep an eye out for SA, watch the fight to see if Primary needs help, anticipate fight entries, plan potential egress vectors, plan my BFMs, watch the enemy's energy state and all the other things. Answer: What's your point? I said in the beginning the senior pilot is usually the Secondary for this very reason. Not every pilot can do this very well. Those that can't don't keep their wingmen alive and don't stay alive very long either. Those that can do stay alive. I never said this was easy. There is no "secret" maneuver or "trick" to this. It is hard work and takes practice. Those that master it will live--those that don't will die. Fortunately, we have a Start New Life button. I often hear and see boasts from some pilots on how many kills they get. I always counter by asking how many times they died getting them. 3 kills with no deaths is immensely more impressive than a 1000 kills with 1000 deaths. The Total Kill counts on the server are meaningless numbers. I'm more impressed by someone's Kills per Death ratio.