Daerdor Training AAR

Training Day
Daerdor
February 19, 2012

Instructors: BlackJack


Training Goals for the Day
This concerned several dogfights between pairs.
The first Rotte was flown by BlackJack and Drew.
The second Rotte was flown by Whiteadder and myself. Later on also DesertFox joined us.

We switched sides during the training so each pair had an equal time in flying the desired Axis >< despised Allied planes.


Instructor's Orders
Depending on the side you're on, use the strengths of your a/c. Know the difference between the behavior of Axis >< Allied planes and use them to your advantage. Work together as a pair!

Pilot's Notes
I lost count, I think it were 4 Sorties
- On the first Sortie we were at a higher altitude than the enemy but dove in too quickly, losing the advantage and getting wiped out. The main issue was that we didn't have a good plan. One of us attacked and the second followed in behind leaving us both open for the enemy wingman.

- On the second Sortie we altered our tactic, this time deciding to split up and go 1vs1. Again however we squandered our height advantage with the inevitable wipe out to follow.

- On the third Sortie a bell started ringing and we decided to do it in a different way: ignore the enemy, just keep heading on course, don't dive in and let them come to us. This in fact paid off well. We managed to down the enemy wingman and severely damage the leader. What should have ended in an easy pickup ended however in disaster: we both chased the enemy and .... crashed into each other.
This was a very nice dogfight, we really did +/- everything according to the book. The final mistake was mine however. Whiteadder clearly said he was going in so at that point I should have broken off my attack.

- On the fourth Sortie we went back to the horrible pattern of Sortie 1&2, lost any advantage, went much too low, got bounced from high altitude and got completely wiped out in no time. During this Sortie we had a 3vs2 advantage but due to our inferior tactics we couldn't turn it into silver.


Concerns
- Knowing the theory is one thing, but actually applying it is a whole different story ... I definitely need to do such dogfights more often to actually get the hang of it.

- The above Notes show that's it clear that I still don't correctly apply the Boom-&-Zoom tactic. I always throw away my advantage... so again much more practice is needed.

- Sortie 3 proved that communication is the key. Next time we'll do as BlackJack instructed: ONE goes in and ONE stays behind, waiting.

- When I score hits on an enemy I mostly hit some unimportant parts which don't do any critical damage. On the contrary, when I get hit either my pilot is killed or my engine is dead. This indicates I should severely improve my shooting in order to aim for the cockpit. The issue is that in a dogfight things are so hectic that I'm already very happy to actually hit something ...

Overall I think my biggest issue is 'self-control' i.e. I should keep my head cool, don't rush in and always try to maintain situational awareness.

yeah,I see you picking up

Off line missions are best, set up a Quick Mission against friendly aircraft at first. Practice lining up behind them at first, then get more creative and come at them from above, below, from the sides etc. Then set up 1 plane, Average AI, enemy plane and practice. Then up the skill of AI. Of course this is nothing new and you have heard it all before but it is some thing you should be doing several times a week as it is a skill that seems to fad quickly if not practiced often.

The thing with Boom and Zoom is shooting. You only get a few moments for a shot, then you are going up again to maintain your energy. The problem is going down for the pass, and sticking around for a dogfight because you missed or did not get a chance to have a shot. It is much more difficult than getting in there and mixing it up. The shooting time is short, when you break off and climb you often lose visual and have to take time to re-aquire target, then you have to take the time to set up the pass again if it is to have any chance of getting hits. Most people don’t have the patience to do this. Its see the enemy, fly toward him, get on his 6 and stay there till you shoot him down. That may be fine if it is 1 on 1 but disastrous when the enemy has friends.

As for the pair of you diving down and attacking 1 plane, that is fine IF you kill him quick and then climb back up. If that don’t happen and you stick around, well that is where things can go any which way. The higher planes have the advantage and should be bold and use it, just know when to get out of Dodge and climb again if you miss you opportunity.

Thanks for the advise Kampf, much appreciated! *!*

Great text Gott.I like the :

The shooting time is short, when you break off and climb you often lose visual and have to take time to re-aquire target, then you have to take the time to set up the pass again if it is to have any chance of getting hits. Most people don’t have the patience to do this.

Pointing out the "lose visual"-> try not to lose it
"no patience" -> thats very true,thats why most get involved in turning dogfights where they will mostly loose in equal situations

Training Day
Daerdor
March 5, 2012

Pilots: Adder, Drew, Elite, Daerdor


Training Goals for the Day
We have been flying different missions on Kampverband.
- The first was over Russian territory, flying Bf 109 F4's.
The main goal here was to get oriented, regrouped after take-off and watch each other's back.

- The second was in the desert, flying MC.202 Serie VII's.
The goal here was to fly in a Finger Four formation, approaching the enemy territory from an unexpected angle and strafe an airfield.

- The final was on the same desert map, flying Bf 109 F2's.
The main objective here was skip bombing a shipping convoy just off the coast of the enemy territory.


Pilot's Notes
- During the first mission too much time was spent on regrouping and keeping visual on each other.We either went in alone or didn't watch the other's tail.

- During the second mission the formation flying was quite good. When I got attacked, Drew made a very nice call and managed to drive the bogey off. In the end however the bogey got us both ...
Adder made some good strafing runs vs the enemy AAA before getting downed by it.

- The final mission went quite well, formation flying was OK, also the skip bombing went very nice with everyone hitting their targets. Adder managed to sink a ship in one hit while Drew and me each damaged one. We all made it back to base and after a re-arm me and Adder headed back to sink one of the damaged ships and head back home once more!


Concerns
- A big issue is being able to keep an eye on each other while at the same time scanning the air.
- In addition, during combat it gets so hectic that I completely lose indication where my wingman is. Much more practice is needed on that one.
- In the second mission I made an excellent bounce on an enemy plane, perfectly nestled behind him and had a very long time to shoot him down ... only to screw it up by firing a few minor shots because I still wasn't sure (at 200m!!!!!) if he was really an enemy or not. The end result was that he finally noticed me and after 2 sec I was dead ... So ID'ing planes remains one of the toughest nuts to crack.

maby this can help abit
http://www.fritzthefox.com/camo_guide.html

Allso i suggest at som point we take som pilots park em in thier planes on the ground and then let diffent planes in diffent higth and spped go by to let em train identifying em

Daerdor
sounds like some good training missions!