Air combat maneuvering (ACM)
Aileron Roll- Apply left or right stick and make vertical adjustments as necessary to cause the aircraft to roll around it axis while maintaining the same direction of travel. Not an effective combat maneuver by itself, but it is the basis for at least some part of all the others with the exception of the straight loop.
Aileron Roll
Flat Turn (or Break Turn)- Doing a 1/4 aileron roll and pulling back on the stick will cause you to turn. Ya, I know you already know this, but the reason I put this in here is you need to understand what happens when you sustain that turn. Look at the illustration below.
Sustained Turn
(Top View)
Loop- You can think of a loop as a vertical turn. Simply pull back on the stick (no aileron input required), making sure you don't pull too many Gs or stall. Make sure you have enough energy (read speed) to complete the loop. Flaps can be used to help you over the top. The same E loss principles described in the flat turn apply in the loop. The difference is that on the upward part of your loop you decelerate rapidly, causing your turn radius to shrink, and on the downward portion, you accelerate, causing your turn radius to increase. Not a move you will want to use to often in a fight, but it does have it's uses. Usually, a high yo-yo would be more appropriate during combat.
Loop
Barrel Roll- Apply left or right stick and pull back slightly to cause the aircraft to roll in a corkscrew pattern. Adding a bit of rudder amplifies even mover. This is a good evasive maneuver when you have an enemy on your tail.
Barrel Roll
Immelman- An Immelman is a half-loop with a half-aileron roll at the top to get your plane upright. Good for merging, especially at co-altitude.
Immelman
Vertical 8
The Vertical 8 is two half loops performed one right after the other. You can accomplish this only if your airspeed is very high. If a slower bandit tries to follow you, and he isn’t watching his airspeed closely, he will stall below you, giving you an excellent opportunity to attack him.
Many players use this principle far more simply. They pull into a zoom climb after they've drawn the interest of a slower bandit. If the latter is not paying attention, he'll stall and become a helpless target. In Air Warrior this is called the rope-a-dope.
Vertical 8
Spit-S- A split-s is the opposite of an Immelman. Do a half-aileron roll until you are inverted then pull back on the stick to complete the second half of a loop. Sometimes used to avoid BnZ attacks if your energy state is too low.
Split-S
High Yo-Yo- A high yo-yo is a done by going into a climbing turn. At about the 90 degree point of your turn, you roll partially inverted and finish the turn diving back to your original altitude. It is used to convert speed into altitude during the initial part of the turn with the lower speed allowing you to make a tighter turn. Near the apex of your turn, you then convert the altitude you gained back into speed by going back down to your initial altitude.
High Yo-Yo
Low Yo-Yo- A low yo-yo is the opposite of a high yo-yo. It is done by turning while going into a slight dive and pulling back up to your original altitude. It is used to gain some energy during the turn. Often used to turn back on a higher bogie with enough energy to meet it nose to nose.
Low Yo-Yo
Luftberry Circle As a variation on the circling fight, the Lufberry Circle of World War I also found favour in World War II, though pilots had to be careful in their decision to use the tactic: on one occasion RAF single-engined fighters managed to get inside a circle of Messerschmitt Bf 110 twin-engined fighters, and by circling in the opposite direction to the German aircraft, were able to down a number of them with hardly a shot fired in return by the Bf 110s, whose forward firing guns could not be brought to bear, and whose single flexible machine-guns had little more than nuisance value. So it was essential in a Lufberry Circle to ensure that one's adversary could not insinuate himself into the circle, or disaster was almost inevitable.
Thach Weave- The key to the Thach Weave is teamwork. Once an enemy gets behind one of your compatriots, you've got to start the weave pretty quickly. The fighter pilot who's acting as "bait" has to know his stuff, too. He needs to survive long enough (with the enemy right on his tail) for the "hook" pilot to get in and do his job. Executed correctly, the Thach weave is a deadly trap with no real hope of escape.
Thach Weave
Links for Further Reading
The Above Information and Graphics are a small representation of ACM. To get a better understanding of ACM, 173rd recommends further reading by following any of the links below and by inputting Air combat maneuvering (ACM) in any internet search engine.
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