#WWII AIR COMBAT MANEUVERS PDF TV#

In addition, by setting a climbing maneuver at the time of the merge, the forward movement vector will also be reduced, thus increasing the chances of the pilot of finding hilmself/herself inside the turning radius of the defender. Having said that, the pilot will tend to develop the fight upwards to reduce the airspeed to a minimum and, as a consequence, to reduce the turning radius as shown in Fig. This type of fight is decided by the pilot who wants to use the excellent turning radius characteristics of his/her aircraft against a Red that is not as good in turn radius. At this point a fighter pilot already has in mind the “Game Plan”: the intention to enter into the fight and perform a “single circle” fight. Figure 1: One Circle Fight.Įverything starts with the “Blue” jet flying towards the “Red” in a neutral scenario (point A). In this type of aerial engagement, both fighters fight on a “single circle” and tend to cross their tracks as shown in Fig.

#WWII AIR COMBAT MANEUVERS PDF TV#

For this reason, although they have much evolved with the introduction of technological aids such as the HMD (Helmet Mounted Display) or aerodynamic aids such as TV (Thrust Vectoring), fighters pilots are still taught these basic concepts in their IFF (Introduction to Fighter Fundamentals) training. These represent two fundamental concepts of the doctrine that has reigned since the birth of aviation and that remain valid today. Two great pillars have always been at the base of dogfights: the ONE CIRCLE FIGHT, also called “radius fight” or “nose to nose fight” and the TWO CIRLCE FIGHT, also called “rate fight” or “nose to tail fight”. BFM combines the fundamentals of aerodynamic flight and the geometry of pursuit, with the physics of managing the aircraft’s energy-to-weight ratio, called its specific energy. BFM are based on aerodynamic, physics, kinematics, energy and geometry conceptsīasic fighter maneuvers (BFM) are tactical movements performed by fighter aircraft during air combat maneuvering (also called ACM, or dogfighting), to gain a positional advantage over the opponent. And we will do that through a bit of the theory behind WVR aerial combat, explaining the so-called BFM (Basic Fighter Maneuvers), the tactical movements performed by a fighter during an aerial engagement to gain a positional advantage over the opponent. Today we will try to bring you inside the mind of a fighter pilot engaging an adversary aircraft during a dogfight. Navy) We talk about the basics of WVR (Within Visual Range) engagements: turn performance, speed at merge, Specific Excess Power and much more. Navy McDonnell Douglas F/A-18C of attack squadron VFA-82 Marauders over Germany in September 1998. A German Mikoyan-Gurevitch MiG-29 Fulcrum of Jagdgeschwader 73 (73rd Fighter Wing) caught with the gun camera of a U.S.

Wwii air combat maneuvers pdf