Air Warrior for Windows - The Fighter Experience V1.0

By PCA Joseph

 

It Doesn't Get Much Better Than This!

They don't call it Tank Warrior, do they? Air combat is central to this game and it's truly the most exciting component. Sure, a good bombing sortie can be pleasing but dogfighting is where it's really at. Returning intact from an 8-kill mission isn't too common. But it do feel real good!

This document covers the fighter experience from my point-of-view. I'll leave it to the Kesmai Flight Manual and Help files to relate the hard-core details and game mechanics. Eventually, you will need to read them. Most of the important fighter material is covered here. Read and absorb it. You'll learn at least one useful thing, I'm sure!

What's It All About?

You want the fighter experience in a nutshell, huh? Basically, it's taking off, gaining altitude, finding and engaging the enemy and returning home. Sounds simple enough but in practice it gets tricky. If your radar is out finding the enemy is no simple matter. If you're damaged, you must decide if you can handle another fight. At all times your mind is busy thinking about your ammo load, altitude, the map, friendly and enemy aircraft, fuel, and a host of other things. Bringing it all together into one Package 'o Death makes you a successful Air Warrior.

How To "Win"

Unfortunately, there really is no way to win. Kesmai designed AW to be cyclical. Meaning, if you destroy something, it'll come back later. There are temporary victories but no outright winners. Some define winning by score. Others think closing a field means victory. Most, though, just fly to have some fun and I think that's the best way to approach it.

Keys To Successful Air Combat

If you takeoff, immediately turn to nearby targets, never get above 1000 feet, and start shooting at dots when they're 1000 yards away, you're doing at least 3 things wrong. That approach will get you shot down every time. It's better to think your way through a fight rather than hack through it.

Here are some things to consider:

Have properly calibrated controller hardware

Having to fight a continual pull to the left is not beneficial. Calibrate daily if necessary.

Know your aircraft

Can I take out this Spitfire in my P-38? You bet. But you must know that 38 in and out and you must know the Spit's weaknesses.

Take the right stuff

Bring little fuel and no bombs for short CAP (combat air patrol) trips. Adjust these based on your mission. Also, don't fly from airfields that have bad fuel and/or hangar damage, if possible. That will affect your plane's performance.

Know your energy state

Climbing at 4,000 feet per minute at 100ias while FW190s and P-51s B&Z (boom and zoom) overhead is a great way to get shot down. Only do that when nobody's around.

A good rule of thumb is to always enter a battle with an energy advantage over the highest opponent. That extra edge gives you more options. You can go for high speed tail or deflection shots, try to "suck" the energy from your enemy, and you can escape if needed.

Situational awareness

You've heard that term in the past, I'm sure. With human opponents, it is absolutely critical to where they are at all times. And more importantly, what they're up to. Then you can match their moves and put yourself in the "kill slot". If you're on a bogie's tail, you're in the kill slot. It's the place to be to make kills.

Always try to maneuver to gain an advantage or to negate a disadvantage. Damn, someone's diving at me! Should I dive, too? Should I loop or turn? Do whatever it takes to avoid getting hit and to put yourself in a position to inflict pain!

Know when to hold 'em; know when to fold 'em; know when to walk away; know when to run! If you fly that Jug slowly into a group of 5 Spitfires, 100% of the time you will die. Have patience. Circle and wait for friendlies or wait for an opportunity to strike a lone aircraft. If you're down to 10% ammo or fuel, it's time to go home.

Practice!

Knowing the specifications of each plane isn't enough. You must put what you learn to work. And that takes practice. It's too bad offline AW doesn't include computer controlled opponents. But you can practice divebombing offline.

Observe yourself

Use the flight recorder to tape yourself. Examine the results and critique what you see. Better yet, find a good pilot and have him look at your films.

Observe those better than you

Don't overtly follow the aces, that'll annoy them, but observe from a distance. You can pick up a lot of technique this way. Also, download and play all the films you can.

The Aircraft

The Kesmai Flight manual has essential aircraft information. Be sure to read it. Here's my stint on each plane:

P-51 Mustang

The Pony turns slowly when moving slowly. Keep this bird fast. It's a great boom & zoom machine. If you run out of energy and altitude, you're in trouble. The Stang has a good ammo load and it's fairly lethal. Plus the 51 can carry 2 eggs great for nailing that pesky ack. It's also durable and incredibly fast. Use speed to exit the fight if things get hairy. The 51's fuel tank is very large so never take a full load of go-go juice.

• Biggest Strength: Speed
• Worst Weakness: Slow turning at low speeds

Bf109 Franz

I fell in love with this bird from the start. If the Franz had double the ammo, I'd fly it almost exclusively. It has long lasting WEP. You can use that to climb quickly. It also has a great overall climb rate without WEP. Altitude gives you options. The Franz turns quite well, too and out accelerates the best of 'em.

• Biggest Strength: Climbing ability and overall agility
• Worst Weakness: Packs a smallish punch (weakish guns and ammo)

P-38 Lightning

One of my true favorites. The Lightning takes skill and patience to fly. You'll need to work the flaps, rudder, WEP (war emergency power) and speedbrake pretty hard to be effective against BF109s, Spits, Hellcats, Ki-84s and other P-38s. The 38 has a nose cannon with limited ammo so make those opening shots count. Overall ammo load is good—you can really rack up the kills in this thing. All other specs are all above average. On the downside, the P-38 is huge and you'll take more hits because of the way AW models damage. Always stay away from bombers w/gunners.

• Biggest Strength: Combination of above average attributes
• Worst Weakness: Easy for enemies to see and hit

FW190

Very nasty cannons on this baby and lots of shells. The 190 can rip through even a B-17 in seconds. In fact, I often fly anti-bomber missions in a Wulf. But don't turnfight with it. Though its roll rate approaches some jets, it can't sustain tight turns. And when you do turn, you'll watch that speed bleed off all too quickly. Get slow in the 190 and die. Stick to booming and zooming and blitzkrieg attacks.

• Biggest Strength: Packs a gigantic punch
• Worst Weakness: Accelerates poorly and WEP is little help

Spitfire MK IX

At first, I detested this plane. I guess part of me still does. It's just too good! It's fast, climbs well and can out turn anything in Europe. After using your cannon shells, though, it'll take a lot of work to make kills as lethality drops sharply. Armor is fairly weak, too. Because it's forgiving and requires little skill to fly, many refer to it as the "dweebfire".

 

• Biggest Strength: Turns, dives, accelerates and climbs beautifully
• Worst Weakness: Packs little punch after cannon shells are depleted

Yak-9D

This aircraft isn't as bad as many claim. It's somewhat slow but flat-turns well. Even though it has a cannon, the Yak doesn't seem to hit very hard. And the Yak's ammo load is terrible. Fly it infrequently. It's nice for a change of pace. Just don't take it too far from home!

• Biggest Strength: Opponents underestimate it, especially its turn rate
• Worst Weakness: Poor overall performance

P-47D Thunderbolt

I really haven't spent much time in one. I do know it dives like nobody's business. The Jug has two things in common with the A/B-26 bomber: it takes the about the same amount of damage and has the same gunnery (8). That should make it good for anti-bomber missions. But my money is on the A/B-26! I have yet to try that (I always seem to click on the FW190 for some reason...). Also, you can load up 2 eggs, scrambled or fried. The Jug is a decent anti-ack platform, if nothing else.

• Biggest Strength: Dives like a Buick caught in Jupiter's gravity
• Worst Weakness: Terrible maneuverability; most bombers out-turn it

A-26B Invader

Wait a minute, it's a bomber, right?! It is. But it's also a formidable fighter if used properly. I've sustained a 1 on 10 furball for over 10 minutes in a 'Vader. The 'Vader has a HUGE ammo capacity. As of this writing, I have yet to run out of ammunition during a mission. Heck, just tape that trigger down. And it takes many hits to bring one down.

• Biggest Strength: Virtually unlimited ammo
• Worst Weakness: She's a big target; avoid flakpanzers

F-4U Corsair

Ah, the Hog... It's one of the best fighters in Air Warrior. The F-4U has great speed and climbs well. It has 6 machine and you get decent killing power right up to the last round. The Corsair shrugs off damage, too. Avoid low speed turnfighting and you'll do well.

• Biggest Strength: Medium and high speed handling
• Worst Weakness: Turns like a turtle when slow

F6F-3 Hellcat

The Cat has the same armor and guns as the F4U. It is slower, however. To make up for that, it turns quite well at just about any speed. In fact, it does many things well. You can B&Z with it, stallfight, loopfight and divebomb. And that's good since there's no running away, even on WEP.

• Biggest Strength: Great all around handling
• Worst Weakness: Speed (only a Zero is slower)

A6M5 Zero

Many newbies pick the Zeke when they shop in the Pacific. They think it's the Spitfire's twin. Nope. A Zeke has only one similarity: great low speed turning. It does that quite well and, in fact, can out-turn a Spitfire. But it's slow, has the lowest armor rating of any plane, very weak guns and poor ammo capacity. Climb rate is decent but don't rely on it.

• Biggest Strength: Unmatched low speed turning
• Worst Weakness: Everything else

Ki-84 Frank

The Frank probably resembles the Spit more than the Zeke, in performance and attitude. It turns well, is very fast, climbs decently and has cannons. Armor is on the weak side, so be careful. That being said, this is still a bird to be reckoned with.

• Biggest Strength: Agility
• Worst Weakness: Fragility

N1K1 George

The Niki climbs exceptionally well. It's as fast as an F4-U. It has powerful cannons and a decent amount of shells. I lost count of how many single trigger pull kills I've recorded in it! It turns acceptably, though not nearly as well as a Ki-84 or Hellcat. The Shiden's roll rate is also good at most speeds and it probably has the thickest armor of any Japanese plane.

• Biggest Strength: Great guns!
• Worst Weakness: Probably turning though it's certainly OK at it

Fuel

Taking 100% fuel all the time, eh? That's maybe fine if you're flying a Bf109 which has a tiny tank. Otherwise, it'll just reduce your bird's performance. If you plan on B&Zing, take more fuel because you'll need it for altitude and to find targets. Gonna take a cross country flight to the enemy's main airbase? Take enough to get there, stay airborne for a time, and get home. Are you flying a bird like the Spit, with a smallish ammo load? Take less fuel because you'll be back for more ammo soon enough. Factor in these things before clicking Fly.

Eggs

Generally, if I plan to fly across several sectors before engaging the enemy near his base, I'll take 1 or 2 eggs. You never know when they'll come in handy. Plus you can always dump them along the way. Eggs add drag, though. You can engage B-17s, B-25s and the odd Jug while carrying bombs but otherwise dump them well before the fight.

I carry an egg or two on a about a third of my fighter missions. Most of the time, I'll be flying a P-38 or P-51 where I may need bombs for field ack or Flakpansies. Eggs also come in handy when a fully manned B-17 just happens to appear on the runway beneath you!

Basic AC Maneuvers

Air combat (AC) is a collection of vertical and lateral movements to get that enemy Spit under your pipper and to keep you from entering his. This is an oversimplification but concentrate on loops, sharp 90 degree turns and diagonal roll-overs (yo-yos). Always consider your energy in every move. If you turnfight your Spit against a P-51 at low speeds you'll frag him easily.

Only stop maneuvering to gain speed and build-up energy. This is the time you're most vulnerable. It's hard to hit a moving target, yes, but it's even tougher to hit one that is also looping or jinking. Failing all strategy, at least try to be unpredictable—vary your moves to keep your opponent off balance.

Booming & Zooming

This is great fun but only if you know how. The P-51 is arguably the best at B&Zing but start with the FW190 to force yourself not to turn and waste energy. The trick is starting the boom (dive) with enough altitude, keeping your speed up during the strike, and hitting the enemy when he's asleep. It's hard to take down an aircraft when you're diving at 400+ias and he's turning like a screw. If he doesn't see you coming, he won't be turning. That's the perfect time to introduce your bullets to his tailpipe!

Essentially, what you're doing is making high speed strafing passes on aircraft. You start high enough to provide enough energy (speed) for the attack. Dive and approach the target at high speed, paint him with your guns, then zoom upwards and away. You're rarely touched during this and you'll strike fear into the heart of that enemy Spit jock. Be sure to kill or heavily wound him during that first pass because he'll be aware of you afterward.

The ultimate form of this technique is boom and zooming on aircraft that are boom and zooming. I'll let you figure this one out.

If you know the enemy's radar is down, give booming and zooming a try. I think you'll like it.

Stallfighting

Also called turnfighting (and, ::ahem:: dweebfighting). This is what most people do. Basically, you turn and sometimes loop at very low (near stall) speeds. Try it in a P-47 and die a fiery death. It's best left to Spits, Bf109s, Yaks, Ki-84s, Hellcats, Zeros and P-38s. It requires little altitude and planning. Newbies tend to think two dimensionally and rarely loop or half loop when they stallfight. Newbies also die a lot.

Stallfighting near the turf is very dangerous. Good rudder control can help you avoid the grass while at the same time cause your foe to get a few grass stains.

Defense

Obviously, the best form of defense is to avoid putting yourself in a vulnerable position. And I'm not talking during ACM either, though it does apply there. If you make a head-on pass at an A-26, for instance, I'm betting you'll take hits. Get out of the way! Also, try to fight with a friend or 10. It helps confuse the enemy.

Having an altitude advantage is great defense. He can't hit you if he can't see or reach you, right? Alternatively, dropping to below radar is sometimes helpful but being that low is risky. Always look behind, above and in between (behind+above view keys). B&Zers will hate you for it but you'll live longer. If someone does dive at you it's usually best to perform a vertical counter move. If he's fast he won't be able to compensate quickly enough.

Never maintain a predictable flight path. If you fly straight and level even the most inept pilot can hit you with a straight-on or deflection shot. Keep moving and dodging to spoof him.

Offense

First off, don't waste your ammo. Without it, you have nothing to convince your opponent he should stick to online backgammon. This is vital when flying the Spitfire, Bf109 and Yak which have short clips. Never open up at over 800 yards, with or against the wind.

An altitude advantage is a great help here. Altitude equals energy and ample energy wins many air-to-air engagements. From a high position you can pick and choose your fights and you have the most options. You can B&Z or drop onto an opponent or start a nasty turnfight.

Most pilots don't use the vertical enough. Meaning, they'll stay on a level plane, turnfighting until they hit rock bottom. Try looping. Some aircraft are better suited for loop fighting than others. Looping can be very dangerous if the enemy is following you into the move and you partially stall at the top while he's got extra juice.

Vulching

Is it an art? A science? Is it really necessary? In a word, yes. To vulch is to circle over an enemy field, diving on and otherwise molesting the helpless aircraft taking off. It's certainly not fair. But if your enemy is dumb enough to get vulched, he deserves it. And believe me, if he can do it to you he will.

Vulching can be done with or without the odds in your favor. The ultimate vulching weapon is the unlaiden A-26. Given its ammo supply, potency, gunner options, and turning ability, it's the premiere vulcher. Especially if you had just dropped bombs on the foe's fuel or hanger (so launching aircraft are at a disadvantage). My second choice for Best Vulcher is the P-38 followed by the FW190, N1K1 and P-51.

A few Flakpanzers tend to spoil a good vulching session. Even if the flak gunners are substandard, it's fairly easy to hit something the size of an A-26B or P-38. Avoid flak.

If you start vulching right after a nice bomb run and find yourself outnumbered, stick it out, don't run. Vulch like mad. Vulch 'til you drop. More often than not, this is better than attempting to flee. With practice, you can stick it out for a long time...long enough for reinforcements to arrive. And when you're vulching, the enemy can't make progress on your friends.

Anti-bomber BARCAP

This is really fun stuff. Yes, bombers often have gunners so it can be challenging. The best weapon to use is the FW190 or N1K1. The 190, for instance, has enough cannon power and ammo to down 2 or 3 B-17s and still have ammo left to bag more. It's also fast enough to catch those pesky A-26s and Mosquitos. The P-47D might also make a decent anti-bomber aircraft because it's fairly fast and has 8 machine guns.

It's best to attack from high above your opponent. His upper turret gunner (if any) will have trouble tracking you. Running up behind a B-17 at or near the 17's speed is risky if his tail turret is manned. This is true even if you have a superior closure rate. Better to dive at him from above, attack, loop and dive again. Make the gunners work for their pay. And don't forget you can shoot the gunners from their seats!

The second best way to shoot down that doggone Fortress is to use deflection shots from either side. The '17 is a big, slow target. Her side turrets are rarely manned and shooting a fast moving fighter approaching from that angle is tough.

Friendly Fire

Everybody hates it. Sometimes it happens and there's nothing you or he can do. Other times it's easily avoided. I can't tell you how irritating it is to have chased a bandit all by yourself to near a friendly base, be right on top of him and in the "slot", when 5 newbies decide to starting shooting, too. They'll shoot without regard for you or others. There's no need for this.

It's fine to gang up on a single aircraft, especially a bomber, but if someone's ahead of you, don't shoot blindly. This takes restraint, yes, but everyone is better off. And if you shoot down 2 friendly aircraft in one day, AW will not give you ammo for 24 hours. Is it worth that hassle?

Comms

Assume the enemy works as a team. Often, that'll be the case. You must do the same. If you take out the ack at a field, report it (use the country channel). If you spot a bomber group, report that, and so on. And if a friendly asks for information, be friendly and answer him.

Don't go overboard and clutter the country channel, though. There are squadron operations and the like going on. The last thing we all need to see is a dozen people doing the stupid "kill...kill....kill" macro thing.

Scoring

Returning to base with your kills scores the most points. Do it often enough and you'll rack up the points in no time. Ditching over friendly territory is not as effective. Ditching over enemy territory is worse. Bailing and crashing are next down the list and being shot down earns you very little in the points department.