11 replies to this topic

[Lawn]

So far, I have had a blast flying the USS Challenger-A. I have had the chance to steer our ship away from exploding ships, pull some nifty tactical starship maneuvers, and watch our current Chief of Ops pull of a sweet shuttle rescue of an away team (nice flying Tallis). What are some of your favorite hot-shot piloting moments? Any cool tactical maneuvers?

[Msgrv32]

So far, I have had a blast flying the USS Challenger-A. I have had the chance to steer our ship away from exploding ships, pull some nifty tactical starship maneuvers, and watch our current Chief of Ops pull of a sweet shuttle rescue of an away team (nice flying Tallis). What are some of your favorite hot-shot piloting moments? Any cool tactical maneuvers?

I'm not sure how much Tactical help this maneuver is but when the Ronin was holding war games with the USS Polk I used the "Immelmann Turn" to get the upper hand - or so I thought - on the competition.

I always saw it used in "Star Fox 64" where you ship pulls up into an ascending half loop followed by a hard half roll, upon completion you should be flying level in the opposite direction at a higher altitude

It was a fun maneuver, although I haven't had too much actual helm experience yet.

[Lawn]

Sounds like a cool move to me!

[Msgrv32]

That's what I thought, but I've got to find some more... lest I become a one trick pony

[Tracey]

How 'bout trying some of these on for size.

Immelmann turn - A/C pulls vertically until it is inverted and then rolls back upright and continues flying in opposite direction. (Early combat maneuver from WWI)

Split S - Ship starts level and then rolls inverted and dives down and completes bottom half of loop, and continues flying in opposite direction. This is the opposite of an Immelmann Turn.

Scissors - (name of a maneuver used in combat when you flew back and forth to bleed off speed and get behind an opponent)

Thatch Weave - Similiar maneuver but two starships would weave back and forth crossing each other's path, so that an enemy could not attack the rear of one without being seen by the other friend, which now has the enemy ship inside its firing field. These are not necessarily "stunts".

Loops - There are two kinds: Inside Loop, and Outside Loop. In the first one, the ship is flying level and pulls up continuously, so that it traces a round pattern with the pilot staying inside the vertical circle. In the Outside Loop the ship also starts flying level, but instead of pulling up, it dives down and traces a continuous circle with the pilot staying on the outside of the vertical circle.

Cuban 8 - Ship traces a figure 8 that is rotated on its side using loops and half rolls.

Barrel Roll - Ship flies straight but rolls around the axis of his flight path. A standard Roll only involves rotating the nacels around the secondary hull. A barrel roll causes the starship to rotate around an imaginery barrel.

Here are just a few. I have lots more if interested. My character was a pilot on the old Hammond

[Lawn]

These ROCK! By all means...what else ya' got?

[Msgrv32]

How 'bout trying some of these on for size.

Immelmann turn - A/C pulls vertically until it is inverted and then rolls back upright and continues flying in opposite direction. (Early combat maneuver from WWI)

Split S - Ship starts level and then rolls inverted and dives down and completes bottom half of loop, and continues flying in opposite direction. This is the opposite of an Immelmann Turn.

Scissors - (name of a maneuver used in combat when you flew back and forth to bleed off speed and get behind an opponent)

Thatch Weave - Similiar maneuver but two starships would weave back and forth crossing each other's path, so that an enemy could not attack the rear of one without being seen by the other friend, which now has the enemy ship inside its firing field. These are not necessarily "stunts".

Loops - There are two kinds: Inside Loop, and Outside Loop. In the first one, the ship is flying level and pulls up continuously, so that it traces a round pattern with the pilot staying inside the vertical circle. In the Outside Loop the ship also starts flying level, but instead of pulling up, it dives down and traces a continuous circle with the pilot staying on the outside of the vertical circle.

Cuban 8 - Ship traces a figure 8 that is rotated on its side using loops and half rolls.

Barrel Roll - Ship flies straight but rolls around the axis of his flight path. A standard Roll only involves rotating the nacels around the secondary hull. A barrel roll causes the starship to rotate around an imaginery barrel.

Here are just a few. I have lots more if interested. My character was a pilot on the old Hammond

Extremely helpful, excellent job!

[Tracey]

Here are some more...(as well as repeats, but more defined for battle scenarios)

Combat spread - The combat spread is the most basic of maneuvers used prior to engagement. A pair of attacking starships will separate, often by a distance of ten kilometers horizontal by 15000 meters vertical. The fighter with the lower altitude becomes the defender, while the wingman flies above in "the perch" position. The defender will then attempt to lure their opponents into a good position to be attacked by the wingman.

Defensive split - A pair of ships encountering one or two attackers will often use a defensive split. The maneuver consists of both defenders making turns in opposite directions, forcing the attackers to follow only one aircraft. This allows the other defender to circle around, and maneuver behind the attackers.

Break - Spotting an attacker approaching from behind, the defender will usually break. The maneuver consists of turning sharply across the attacker's flight path. The defender exposes the ship to the attacker's weapons for only a brief instant. The maneuver works well because the slower moving defender has a much smaller turn radius, and a ship moving in such a direction is very difficult to shoot. This can also help to force the attacker to overshoot, which may not be true had the turn been made away from the attacker's flight path.

High-side guns pass - If the attacker has a significant altitude advantage, a high-side guns pass is usually prudent. Sometimes called a "swoop," plus a variety of other names, it consists of a powered dive toward the rear quarter of a lower flying opponent. Shooting in a single, high-speed pass, the attacker uses excess kinetic energy to disengage from the fight in a zoom climb( a climb where the rate of climb is greater than the maximum for a sustained climb, as determined from the thrust of the aircraft's engines. During a zoom climb, the aircraft gains potential energy at the expense of kinetic energy.) back to a safe altitude, restoring the potential energy. This allows the attacker to set up another attack and dive again. Surprise is often a key element in this type of attack, and the attackers will often hide in the sun or behind planets, stalking their opponents until a good opportunity is presented. A high-side guns pass is a very effective tactic against a more maneuverable opponent, where the turning battle of a dogfight is best avoided.

Barrel roll attack - The counter to a break is often a displacement roll called a barrel roll attack. A barrel roll consists of performing a roll and a loop, completing both at the same time. The result is a helical roll around a straight flight path. The barrel roll attack uses a much tighter loop than the roll, completing a full loop while only executing 3/4 of a roll. The result is a virtual 90 degree turn, using all three dimensions, in the direction opposite of the roll. Rolling away from the defender's break, the attacker completes the roll with the starship's nose pointed in the direction of the defender's travel.

Immelmann - An Immelmann trades airspeed for altitude during a 180 degree change in direction. The ship performs the first half of a loop, and when completely inverted, rolls to the upright position. The Immelmann is a good offensive maneuver, for setting up a high-side weapons pass against a lower altitude, slow moving opponent, going in an opposite direction. However, an Immelmann is a poor defensive maneuver, turning the defender into a slow moving target.

Split-s - The opposite of an Immelmann is the split-s. This maneuver consists of rolling inverted and pulling back on the stick, diving the starship into a half loop, which changes the starship's direction 180 degrees. The split-s is rarely a viable option in combat as it depletes kinetic energy in a turn and potential energy in a dive. It is most often used to set up a high-side weapons pass against a lower but fast moving opponent that is traveling in the opposite direction. Also, the split-s is sometimes used as a disengagement tactic.

Pitchback - A pitchback is an Immelmann that is executed in some plane other than the vertical. Basically just a pitch turn, the fighter will be at some angle of bank before performing the half loop and roll. Unlike the Immelmann, a pitchback depletes less kinetic energy and is harder for an adversary to track.

Low Yo-Yo - The low Yo-Yo is one of the most useful maneuvers, which sacrifices altitude for an instantaneous increase in speed. This maneuver is accomplished by rolling with the nose low into the turn, and dropping into a steeper slice turn. By utilizing some energy that was stored in the vertical plane, the attacker can quickly decrease range and improve the angle of the attack, literally cutting the corner on the opponent's turn. The pilot then pulls back on the stick, climbing back to the defender's height. This helps slow the starship and prevents an overshoot, while placing the energy back into altitude. A defender spotting this maneuver may try to take advantage of the increase in angle off tail by tightening the turn in order to force an overshoot. The low Yo-Yo is often followed by a high Yo-Yo, to help prevent an overshoot, or several small low Yo-Yos can be used instead of one large maneuver.

High Yo-Yo - The high Yo-Yo is a very effective maneuver, and very difficult to counter. The maneuver is used to slow the approach of a fast moving attacker while conserving the speed energy. The maneuver is performed by reducing the angle at which the aircraft is banking during a turn, and pulling back on the stick, bringing the fighter up into a new plane of travel. The attacker then rolls into a steeper pitch turn, climbing above the defender. The trade off between airspeed and altitude provides the fighter with a burst of increased maneuverability. This allows the attacker to make a smaller turn, correcting an overshoot, and to pull in behind the defender. Then, by returning to the defenders plane, the attacker restores the lost speed while maintaining energy.

Lag displacement roll - A lag displacement roll, also called a "high-g barrel roll", is a maneuver used to reduce the angle off tail by bringing the attacker from lead pursuit to pure, or even lag pursuit. The maneuver is performed by rolling up and away from the turn, then, when the starship's lift vector is aligned with the defender, pulling back on the stick, bringing the fighter back into the turn. This maneuver helps prevent an overshoot caused by the high angle off tail of lead pursuit, and can also be used to increase the distance between starships.

High Yo-Yo defense - An attacker in lead pursuit may need to correct with an out-of-plane maneuver. If the angle off tail is excessively high, the attacker will probably use a displacement roll. However, if the angle off tail is low enough, the attacker will likely use a high Yo-Yo. The high Yo-Yo defense can be a good tactic in these situations. The maneuver is performed when the attacker rolls away from the turn to begin the correction. The defender will begin to relax the turn by easing off of the stick, called "unloading," which causes both turn radius and speed to increase, restoring the fighter's lost energy. If the defender maintains the same angle of bank, the subtle maneuver will be very difficult for the attacker to spot. When the attacker completes the out-of-plane maneuver, the defending fighter has regained some of its energy. This allows the defender to, once again, turn harder into the attack, regaining an angular advantage over the higher energy attacker. If the attacker is surprised by the maneuver, a high Yo-Yo defense might even cause an overshoot.

Unloaded extension - An unloaded extension is a disengagement maneuver often used by the defender whenever there is enough energy and separation. The maneuver consists of slipping into a steep, straight dive and applying full thrust. Removing all g-force load from the ship causes it to accelerate at a very high rate, allowing the defender to vastly increase range, or "extend," and possibly to escape. If a defender breaks suddenly, causing the attacker to overshoot, the defender may reverse the turn and move in behind the attacker. An unloaded extension is usually the attacker's best option, using the energy advantage to escape the slower moving defender. An unloaded extension is usually not recommended against a higher energy opponent. However, in many circumstances, such as when an attacker performs a high Yo-Yo too steeply, an unloaded extension is a viable option.

Scissors - The Scissors are a series of turn reversals and overshoots intended to slow the relative forward motion of the starship in an attempt to either force a dangerous overshoot, on the part of the defender, and prevent a dangerous overshoot on the attacker's part. The defender's goal is to stay out of phase with the attacker, trying to prevent a weapons solution, while the attacker tries to get in phase with the defender. The advantage usually goes to the more maneuverable aircraft. There are two types of scissor maneuvers, called flat scissors and rolling scissors.

Flat scissors - Flat scissors, also called horizontal scissors, usually occur after a low speed overshoot in a horizontal direction. The defender reverses the turn, attempting to force the attacker to fly out in front and to spoil aim. The attacker then reverses, trying to remain behind the defender, and the two aircraft begin a weaving flight pattern.

Rolling scissors - Rolling scissors, also called vertical scissors, tend to happen after a high speed overshoot from above. The defender reverses into a vertical climb and into a barrel roll over the top, forcing the attacker to attempt to follow. The advantage lies in the starship that can pull its nose through the top or bottom of the turn faster. In battles with starships that have a thrust-to-weight ratio of less than one the starship will quickly lose altitude, and if performed within the atmosphere of a planet, crashing into the ground becomes a possibility. In this case, disengagement from a vertical rolling scissors is best made with a split-s and a lot of hope.

Guns defense - Guns defense maneuvering, or "guns-D," is the last resort for a defender that fails to out-maneuver the attacker. Guns-D is a series of random changes in the defenders flight path, intended to spoil the attacker's aim by presenting a constantly shifting target, and, hopefully, to maneuver out of the weapon stream. It consists of arbitrary speed changes, yaws, skids, pitch-ups, and rolls, often referred to as "jinking," and is very effective at preventing the attacker from achieving a suitable weapons solution. However, guns-D maneuvering leaves the defender suceptible to stray fire and "lucky shot" hits, and is only employed when nothing else works.

Hope these help make your SIMming times more fun. These are real life maneuvers and take gravity into effect. Some of these will need to be altered in order to make them work in the vacuum of space. (i.e. By pointing your nose down, in space, will not increase your speed, but pointing the nose towards a gravity well, such as a planet or star, would.)

[Lawn]

Wow! I'm gonna' call you "Top-Gun Townson" from now on!

[Liam Frost]

So during our last mission, I pulled something similar to an Immelmann to escape a Romulan Warbird while in orbit of a planet. We began nose to nose, with the Victory closing in on the Warbird. At the last second, I pitched us up and over the Warbird, coming within one hundred meters of a collision. Once over, I rolled her 180 degrees and pulled into an inside half-loop. During the loop, our tactical officer dropped several modified photon "mines" to limit their movement. At the bottom of the loop, we skimmed close enough to the atmosphere of the planet we were orbiting that our nacelle exhaust kicked up enough of the Ionized matter from the atmosphere to prevent the Romulans from getting a target lock on us while we jumped to warp.

So I figure after having crashed a shuttlecraft on the above mentioned planet, with that maneuver, I should just about break even.

[Nathan Baker]

This link here might give you fly guys and gals some good ideas for your SIMs.

I particularly like how it shows which maneuvers go with which defense/attack patterns.

[Nathan Baker]

Oops, I messed up that link and couldn't figure out how to edit the post.

Try clicking here this time.

Edited by Nathan Baker, 20 April 2011 - 11:06 AM.