I’m not the best flyer, but I’m definitely above average skill. When flying the air plane, I’m usually the dominant aviator. I’m more likely to die from a crash then from an enemy. Helicopters are more difficult, but I’m still very lethal, especially against infantry and light armored vehicles.
I’ll start with air planes. Tomarrow I'll write my guide for helicopters. Please post replies of your own tactics and help us all become better aviators.
Keys:
First thing to do is to change your key configuration. I have my air controls completely moved to the num-pad. One thing to note, is that my particular configuration is for a left handed person, you may want to copy my concept but modify it for your own comfort.
Steering:
8 – accelerate
5 – decelerate
4 – left rudder
6 – right rudder
View – it is extremely important to be able to instantly change your views. Any decent flyer uses the view keys constantly. You can tell a flyer who does this because they will start turning the moment an enemy plane is behind them, before the lock-on buzzard sounds. Changing views also allows you to see where ground fire is coming from, and this will make it much easier to kill people using stinger missiles or anti-air vehicles.
Cockpit view – 3
Chase Front - /
Chase Rear – 1
Fly By – num-enter
Flares – 2
Afterburner – mouse 3 or num-plus
The chase rear view and fly-by view is extremely important. Rear view allows you to quickly see if a jet is on your butt, switch to this view the moment a lock-on buzzard starts beeping. Fly by view is even better but somewhat disorienting, however it allows you to easily see if missiles are coming from the ground, or where that pesky jet is turning. A good jet pilot will rarely get shot down by stinger or anti air, and anyone foolish enough to engage me with those weapons is a very easy kill.
You don’t have to use this configuration, but the point is to have your view keys within instant reach. When you first start using them, you will crash frequently. This will come to pass as you get used to flying while looking behind you. That skill makes it very easy to keep track of enemy jets, and find where ground fire is coming from.
Avoiding enemy missiles from jets and ground anti-air:
The easiest thing to do when someone locks onto you is to go into a steep left or right turn. 90% of the time, this will keep you safe regardless of who is firing at you. You don’t necessarily have to use your rudder and afterburner, but using them makes you turn tighter and thus make you much harder to shoot at. Even if you get hit, it takes 2 missiles to kill aircraft, and its rare for more then one missile to hit you at any given time. The obvious exception is if a very persistent jet is on your tail and he has an excellent angle on you.
Avoid at all costs doing a vertical barrel roll. It seems to be a logical maneuver, however it is far easier for missiles and enemy machine gun fire to shoot you in a vertical climb then if you were making a horizontal turn. A good jet pilot on your butt will always shoot you down or hurt you bad if you choose to do a vertical climb.
To rid yourself of a persistent enemy jet, go into a steep left or right turn, and after a few seconds start a steep climb, then roll to the left/right or flip upside down and perform a steep dive. If you can do this quickly, you should avoid any missiles the enemy jet will fire.
Enemy jets will also be firing their machine gun at you. A few bullets from a machine gun is harmless, but if you go into a vertical barrel roll the enemy pilot can keep that machine gun on you for a couple of seconds, more then enough time to shoot you out of the air.
Don’t use your flares when doing steep turns. Even though it will throw off the lock the missiles should never hit you anyway. It takes 2 missiles to take down any air craft, so reserve your flares for when your hurt and you can’t take any chances. Even though flares take only a few seconds to recharge, during a dog fight you will only have one chance to deploy your flares if the enemy jet has a good lock on you.
For avoiding persistent enemy jets, an advanced tactic is to climb to a high altitude. At a height of 400 or above, your plane will become much faster and far more maneuverable. This is especially important for bombers, because it’s the only way your going to get rid of a good fighter jet.
The trick is to climb to around 400 and level off. Look behind you and wait for the enemy to match your altitude and try to lock on to you. You then can do a tight turn and easily avoid his locks. A great way of loosing a plane is to roll upside down and plummet straight into the ground. When your about 150 to 200 altitude, make a sharp turn and level off. If the enemy jet can stay on your butt while you do that, he’s very good, but regardless he will never even get a lock on you. If he still persists, just climb back to 400 and repeat. After a few times, the fighter will usually get frustrated or run out of missiles and fly away. You can bomb with impunity and completely avoid air combat using that trick.
A warning, avoid climbing much past 400. At an altitude of 600, your plane will become difficult to control. At 700, you will completely loose control and go into a spin.
The best way of getting out of a spin is to let your plane slow to a stop and fall out of the sky. When it becomes obvious that you no longer can control the plane, release the accelerator and hold down the decelerator. Don’t bother trying to steer, just let the plane spin. As you slow down, your spinning will stop and you will start to dive. At that point, its very easy to just engage the afterburners and regain control of the plane. As long as your calm, you will regain control before going out of bounds or crashing into the ground..
Bombing using a fighter:
Bombing with a fighter is more difficult because they only have 2 bombs. Many people say going into a steep angle helps with bombing in a fighter, but this is only part of the trick.
The best way to do it is to climb to a height of between 200 to 250, find a target, and then at the last moment go into a steep dive and release the bombs on the target. The point to going at this height instead of higher or lower is its easy to get a steep angle from this height, and it doesn’t take as long as trying to climb to 400 or 600. In addition, climbing to those heights makes the plane unstable and allot easier to be off target when coming down, and the targeting system doesn’t show vehicles reliably.
At an altitude of 200, you can easily gain a steep angle of attack on the target. Make sure the angle is very steep, so don’t start the dive the moment you see the target. Get to within a few seconds of the target before you start the dive. The sweet spot is to put your reticle above the targeted, so that no part of the reticle is touching the target, but the target is not directly between the reticle and horizontal guide (if the horizontal guide is the “bottom” and the reticle is the “top,” you want the target to be located 3/4th of the way up between them). If you place your reticle directly on the target, the bombs usually fall right in front of the vehicle instead of directly on top of it.
Do not release the bombs until the last minute, and do not start to pull up until you hear the second bomb release. Many pilots release their bombs too early into the dive and the bombs fall short of the target.
Another reason why you should always perform steep dives when using a fighter to bomb is tanks can easily withstand a single direct bomb hit, or 2 indirect bomb hits. Tanks can only be taken out if both of the bombs directly hit them, therefore accuracy is key.
Bombing using the Bomber:
Bombing using the bombers is easy as pie. Climb to a relatively low altitude, around 100 to 150. Select an unlucky target. You don’t have to go into a steep dive, but make sure that your reticle is above the target so that most of the bombs fall directly on top of it instead of in front of the target. The purpose for bombing using a relatively shallow angle is to spread out the bombs. Its important to use a steep angle with a fighter to make both of the bombs hit the target, but the 5 bombs of a bomber can easily kill a tank even if your not very accurate since you only need 3 indirect bomb hits to kill a tank.
I see allot of pilots trying to control their speed when bombing. Do not do this. While its allot easier to bomb at a low speed, if your jet gets under a speed of 800 or 700, I will easily shoot you out of the sky.
Bombing using a Copilot:
The copilot for the bomber has the best weapon, far better then the bombs. A copilot can kill many more vehicles then the bombs, can kill them more easily, and can kill them with fewer trips to the air field for reloading. I’ve had several copilots get over 20 kills and gold stars by just letting them kill the vehicles, and they can kill them far faster and more efficiently then I can using the bombs. On maps such as the oil fields, the pass, or the gulf, I can dominate the battlefield by using a copilot to destroy every enemy vehicle.
The best way to give your copilot a consistent lock on a target is to line up your reticle on the vehicle as though your going to machine gun it. Use the low altitude, shallow angle of attack. Do not use the high altitude steep angle, because you approach the target too fast. From the copilot’s perspective, if you use a steep angle of attack, he gets a lock at the last moment, and there will not be enough time for the missile to home in on the target. Also note that the missile will change directions when you do, so keep the nose of the plane on the target for as long as possible.
If you are the copilot, only fire at targets directly in front of the plane, since the missiles will only travel in the direction the nose of the bomber is pointing. If you see a enemy vehicle highlighted, go ahead and fire the missile before you get a lock. The missiles usually automatically home in on targets while in mid air when you lock onto a target. The point to firing more then one missile at a time is that if there’s more then one vehicle you have a very good chance of killing 2 or 3 vehicles before the pilot has to pull the nose up.
The missile is also somewhat guided, so if the bomber is doing a bomb run on a flag, the copilot can fire the missile and hit an area where troops spawn, scouring some kills for himself while the pilot is does his bombing run. Just guide the missile as though your using a anti-tank trooper.
Machine gun, when to use it:
The machine gun for the jets is extremely lethal. The best times to use the machine gun are on lightly armored vehicles, stinger emplacements, and especially on buggies.
The gun is easy to use, just line it up on the target. You don’t have to use the gun if your concentrating on bombing. However, if you’re a fighter, its useful to soften up a target with the machine gun while in a steep dive before pulling the nose up and releasing the bombs on the target. This is especially useful for killing tanks. Its allot easier to kill a wounded tank with an indirect bomb hit then to kill a healthy tank with 2 direct bomb hits.
As I mentioned before, I rarely get shot down by stingers and anti-air vehicles. The machine gun can kill infantry with a single hit, so if anyone is foolish enough to fire a stinger at you, just find them and machine gun them. Don’t bother bombing stingers, a small burst of machine gun fire will easily kill the idiot using the stinger.
The machine gun is also useful for killing infantry. If a spawn point has been recently taken and your already approaching it, go into a steep dive and spray the machine gun all over the flag. You will be surprised how many random kills you get from doing that.
Finally, the machine gun is always to be used when dog fighting. Its difficult to hit the enemy jet with a single bullet, because you must lead into the target. Do not fire the machine gun at a jet while keeping your reticle directly on it, you will always miss. Place the reticle slightly in front of the enemy jet’s path, and you have a greater chance of striking the enemy jet. If the enemy jet is foolish enough to do a bombing run while your on his tail, spray him with machine gun fire and missiles. If the enemy jet is foolish enough to do a steep climb with you on his butt, follow him and use the machine gun. If the enemy jet does not deviate from the climb, he will catch allot of your bullets.
I’ll start with air planes. Tomarrow I'll write my guide for helicopters. Please post replies of your own tactics and help us all become better aviators.
Keys:
First thing to do is to change your key configuration. I have my air controls completely moved to the num-pad. One thing to note, is that my particular configuration is for a left handed person, you may want to copy my concept but modify it for your own comfort.
Steering:
8 – accelerate
5 – decelerate
4 – left rudder
6 – right rudder
View – it is extremely important to be able to instantly change your views. Any decent flyer uses the view keys constantly. You can tell a flyer who does this because they will start turning the moment an enemy plane is behind them, before the lock-on buzzard sounds. Changing views also allows you to see where ground fire is coming from, and this will make it much easier to kill people using stinger missiles or anti-air vehicles.
Cockpit view – 3
Chase Front - /
Chase Rear – 1
Fly By – num-enter
Flares – 2
Afterburner – mouse 3 or num-plus
The chase rear view and fly-by view is extremely important. Rear view allows you to quickly see if a jet is on your butt, switch to this view the moment a lock-on buzzard starts beeping. Fly by view is even better but somewhat disorienting, however it allows you to easily see if missiles are coming from the ground, or where that pesky jet is turning. A good jet pilot will rarely get shot down by stinger or anti air, and anyone foolish enough to engage me with those weapons is a very easy kill.
You don’t have to use this configuration, but the point is to have your view keys within instant reach. When you first start using them, you will crash frequently. This will come to pass as you get used to flying while looking behind you. That skill makes it very easy to keep track of enemy jets, and find where ground fire is coming from.
Avoiding enemy missiles from jets and ground anti-air:
The easiest thing to do when someone locks onto you is to go into a steep left or right turn. 90% of the time, this will keep you safe regardless of who is firing at you. You don’t necessarily have to use your rudder and afterburner, but using them makes you turn tighter and thus make you much harder to shoot at. Even if you get hit, it takes 2 missiles to kill aircraft, and its rare for more then one missile to hit you at any given time. The obvious exception is if a very persistent jet is on your tail and he has an excellent angle on you.
Avoid at all costs doing a vertical barrel roll. It seems to be a logical maneuver, however it is far easier for missiles and enemy machine gun fire to shoot you in a vertical climb then if you were making a horizontal turn. A good jet pilot on your butt will always shoot you down or hurt you bad if you choose to do a vertical climb.
To rid yourself of a persistent enemy jet, go into a steep left or right turn, and after a few seconds start a steep climb, then roll to the left/right or flip upside down and perform a steep dive. If you can do this quickly, you should avoid any missiles the enemy jet will fire.
Enemy jets will also be firing their machine gun at you. A few bullets from a machine gun is harmless, but if you go into a vertical barrel roll the enemy pilot can keep that machine gun on you for a couple of seconds, more then enough time to shoot you out of the air.
Don’t use your flares when doing steep turns. Even though it will throw off the lock the missiles should never hit you anyway. It takes 2 missiles to take down any air craft, so reserve your flares for when your hurt and you can’t take any chances. Even though flares take only a few seconds to recharge, during a dog fight you will only have one chance to deploy your flares if the enemy jet has a good lock on you.
For avoiding persistent enemy jets, an advanced tactic is to climb to a high altitude. At a height of 400 or above, your plane will become much faster and far more maneuverable. This is especially important for bombers, because it’s the only way your going to get rid of a good fighter jet.
The trick is to climb to around 400 and level off. Look behind you and wait for the enemy to match your altitude and try to lock on to you. You then can do a tight turn and easily avoid his locks. A great way of loosing a plane is to roll upside down and plummet straight into the ground. When your about 150 to 200 altitude, make a sharp turn and level off. If the enemy jet can stay on your butt while you do that, he’s very good, but regardless he will never even get a lock on you. If he still persists, just climb back to 400 and repeat. After a few times, the fighter will usually get frustrated or run out of missiles and fly away. You can bomb with impunity and completely avoid air combat using that trick.
A warning, avoid climbing much past 400. At an altitude of 600, your plane will become difficult to control. At 700, you will completely loose control and go into a spin.
The best way of getting out of a spin is to let your plane slow to a stop and fall out of the sky. When it becomes obvious that you no longer can control the plane, release the accelerator and hold down the decelerator. Don’t bother trying to steer, just let the plane spin. As you slow down, your spinning will stop and you will start to dive. At that point, its very easy to just engage the afterburners and regain control of the plane. As long as your calm, you will regain control before going out of bounds or crashing into the ground..
Bombing using a fighter:
Bombing with a fighter is more difficult because they only have 2 bombs. Many people say going into a steep angle helps with bombing in a fighter, but this is only part of the trick.
The best way to do it is to climb to a height of between 200 to 250, find a target, and then at the last moment go into a steep dive and release the bombs on the target. The point to going at this height instead of higher or lower is its easy to get a steep angle from this height, and it doesn’t take as long as trying to climb to 400 or 600. In addition, climbing to those heights makes the plane unstable and allot easier to be off target when coming down, and the targeting system doesn’t show vehicles reliably.
At an altitude of 200, you can easily gain a steep angle of attack on the target. Make sure the angle is very steep, so don’t start the dive the moment you see the target. Get to within a few seconds of the target before you start the dive. The sweet spot is to put your reticle above the targeted, so that no part of the reticle is touching the target, but the target is not directly between the reticle and horizontal guide (if the horizontal guide is the “bottom” and the reticle is the “top,” you want the target to be located 3/4th of the way up between them). If you place your reticle directly on the target, the bombs usually fall right in front of the vehicle instead of directly on top of it.
Do not release the bombs until the last minute, and do not start to pull up until you hear the second bomb release. Many pilots release their bombs too early into the dive and the bombs fall short of the target.
Another reason why you should always perform steep dives when using a fighter to bomb is tanks can easily withstand a single direct bomb hit, or 2 indirect bomb hits. Tanks can only be taken out if both of the bombs directly hit them, therefore accuracy is key.
Bombing using the Bomber:
Bombing using the bombers is easy as pie. Climb to a relatively low altitude, around 100 to 150. Select an unlucky target. You don’t have to go into a steep dive, but make sure that your reticle is above the target so that most of the bombs fall directly on top of it instead of in front of the target. The purpose for bombing using a relatively shallow angle is to spread out the bombs. Its important to use a steep angle with a fighter to make both of the bombs hit the target, but the 5 bombs of a bomber can easily kill a tank even if your not very accurate since you only need 3 indirect bomb hits to kill a tank.
I see allot of pilots trying to control their speed when bombing. Do not do this. While its allot easier to bomb at a low speed, if your jet gets under a speed of 800 or 700, I will easily shoot you out of the sky.
Bombing using a Copilot:
The copilot for the bomber has the best weapon, far better then the bombs. A copilot can kill many more vehicles then the bombs, can kill them more easily, and can kill them with fewer trips to the air field for reloading. I’ve had several copilots get over 20 kills and gold stars by just letting them kill the vehicles, and they can kill them far faster and more efficiently then I can using the bombs. On maps such as the oil fields, the pass, or the gulf, I can dominate the battlefield by using a copilot to destroy every enemy vehicle.
The best way to give your copilot a consistent lock on a target is to line up your reticle on the vehicle as though your going to machine gun it. Use the low altitude, shallow angle of attack. Do not use the high altitude steep angle, because you approach the target too fast. From the copilot’s perspective, if you use a steep angle of attack, he gets a lock at the last moment, and there will not be enough time for the missile to home in on the target. Also note that the missile will change directions when you do, so keep the nose of the plane on the target for as long as possible.
If you are the copilot, only fire at targets directly in front of the plane, since the missiles will only travel in the direction the nose of the bomber is pointing. If you see a enemy vehicle highlighted, go ahead and fire the missile before you get a lock. The missiles usually automatically home in on targets while in mid air when you lock onto a target. The point to firing more then one missile at a time is that if there’s more then one vehicle you have a very good chance of killing 2 or 3 vehicles before the pilot has to pull the nose up.
The missile is also somewhat guided, so if the bomber is doing a bomb run on a flag, the copilot can fire the missile and hit an area where troops spawn, scouring some kills for himself while the pilot is does his bombing run. Just guide the missile as though your using a anti-tank trooper.
Machine gun, when to use it:
The machine gun for the jets is extremely lethal. The best times to use the machine gun are on lightly armored vehicles, stinger emplacements, and especially on buggies.
The gun is easy to use, just line it up on the target. You don’t have to use the gun if your concentrating on bombing. However, if you’re a fighter, its useful to soften up a target with the machine gun while in a steep dive before pulling the nose up and releasing the bombs on the target. This is especially useful for killing tanks. Its allot easier to kill a wounded tank with an indirect bomb hit then to kill a healthy tank with 2 direct bomb hits.
As I mentioned before, I rarely get shot down by stingers and anti-air vehicles. The machine gun can kill infantry with a single hit, so if anyone is foolish enough to fire a stinger at you, just find them and machine gun them. Don’t bother bombing stingers, a small burst of machine gun fire will easily kill the idiot using the stinger.
The machine gun is also useful for killing infantry. If a spawn point has been recently taken and your already approaching it, go into a steep dive and spray the machine gun all over the flag. You will be surprised how many random kills you get from doing that.
Finally, the machine gun is always to be used when dog fighting. Its difficult to hit the enemy jet with a single bullet, because you must lead into the target. Do not fire the machine gun at a jet while keeping your reticle directly on it, you will always miss. Place the reticle slightly in front of the enemy jet’s path, and you have a greater chance of striking the enemy jet. If the enemy jet is foolish enough to do a bombing run while your on his tail, spray him with machine gun fire and missiles. If the enemy jet is foolish enough to do a steep climb with you on his butt, follow him and use the machine gun. If the enemy jet does not deviate from the climb, he will catch allot of your bullets.
(click to enlarge)
(click to enlarge)
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